I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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After Returning, I Proposed to My Childhood Friend
Chapter 11
Claude Dalton had told Beatrice Hartwell one lie.
If something happened while we were apart, meet me at the Promised Meeting Place—that was the lie.
At the time, he had assumed their separation as naturally as if there were no problems…….
“……My stomach…….”
“Your stomach?”
“My stomach hurts so badly…….”
“……Ah, that… yes, I see.”
As long as Claude knew that Valoa was in the same space as Beatrice, he had no intention of leaving her side.
Watching Valoa’s clumsy scheming, Claude—hidden in the darkness—quietly twisted one corner of his mouth upward.
“Ha. As if.”
Valoa Edvain Crawford had not deviated from his expectations in the slightest.
Her self-centeredness was so extreme that she didn’t hesitate at suspicious and flimsy schemes, and her malice in readily harming others for her own desires—all of it was perfectly predictable.
Watching the two of them, a question Beatrice had posed not long ago suddenly surfaced in his mind.
‘Claude, what did Valoa do to you?’
‘All of a sudden?’
‘You shudder with disgust whenever you see her. Like you’re looking at some revolting insect.’
‘…….’
‘Look at your expression. Something definitely happened, didn’t it? What was it? Did she tell you to become her husband to save your life? Or did she treat you like a pet?’
If only it had been something like that. It would hardly have wounded him at all.
Claude’s dreams were still haunted by that day’s scene like a nightmare.
The day he had revealed himself to buy time after sending the Crown Prince and his comrades to safety.
Valoa had looked down at him with an indolent air and spoken.
‘Claude Dalton, let me make you a simple proposal. Even if it’s a lie, tell me that you willingly become mine. Then, you who so desire…….’
In that moment, Beatrice’s voice—taut with fierce determination—pulled him from his reverie.
“……I will! Call a servant on the way and have them help you right away!”
Watching her move away from Valoa and toward the Promised Meeting Place as they had arranged, the tension that had gripped his nerves eased somewhat.
Her footsteps, which seemed casual on the surface, were unmistakably hurried.
He could almost see Beatrice’s expression reflected in his mind’s eye from just watching her retreating form—the sheer revulsion written across her face.
With a calmer heart, Claude fixed his gaze on Valoa, standing alone in the Hallway.
She moved slowly, her expression showing signs of imminent mischief as she pondered something intently. Her direction was, of course, toward the place he and Beatrice had designated.
‘Not surprising at all.’
Though Beatrice had not noticed, Claude had leaked information about the location of their meeting place multiple times at the Ball Venue—reminding her of their promise—while watching Valoa’s every move.
The more eyes watching, the better for them; it also served to limit where Valoa could commit her misdeeds.
More precisely, it ensured that Beatrice would be completely safe from her malice.
‘All for that, I even had to attach the Crown Prince to my side like some protective talisman…….’
—Whoosh!
‘But it turned out to be the right call.’
The moment Valoa saw the silhouettes of the man and woman behind the Old Tree, she broke an Oil Lamp nearby and set it ablaze.
Setting a fire brazenly at a large gathering where nobility was abundant was truly both reckless and irrational—yet Claude felt no surprise.
‘Predictable.’
The Valoa he knew was someone who, regardless of her cunning and malicious thinking, cared for nothing beyond her own whims—brazen and crude in her disregard for all else.
“……What’s the fuss over something so trivial. Even if I’m pointed out as the culprit, I can just say it was an accident. What of it?”
“…….”
“Besides, would they really die from such a paltry fire? At most, they’d just lose those faces they love each other so much for.”
Yes, like this.
Claude curled the corners of his mouth upward into a cruel smile as he watched Valoa, then spoke softly.
“So. I believed you wouldn’t hesitate to commit such an irrational and cruel act.”
At the sound of his voice from so near, Valoa reflexively turned her head—and confusion flickered across her eyes for the first time in a while.
“……Claude Dalton? Why are you here…….”
“Strange, isn’t it? Why am I here, when I should be the victim of the fire you set involving Beatrice? You clearly saw two figures behind the Old Tree and set the blaze.”
“…….”
“Isn’t that right? Miss Valoa Edvain Crawford?”
“……How? How did you see through me?”
Shock flooded Valoa’s eyes. But Claude had no intention of kindly resolving her confusion.
“That’s hardly the important part right now. More importantly, shouldn’t you check who actually fell victim to your mischief instead of me?”
As Claude spoke, Valoa—her brow furrowed—hastily turned her gaze toward the Old Tree.
Beyond the flames growing steadily larger, two round faces of different heights peeked out from beside the Old Tree.
And one of them bore silver hair that no citizen of the Empire could fail to recognize.
“Crowell Edvain…….”
She unconsciously moved her lips and breathed out the familiar name—then swayed slightly.
Before she could even understand how things had unfolded, Valoa spun around and bolted from the Garden.
For the rarest of moments, a red warning had flashed in her mind.
Of course, it was in vain.
Before Valoa could even escape the scene, the guards who had been protecting the Crown Prince from their hiding places swiftly subdued her.
Experiencing rough handling for the first time in her life, Valoa’s body stiffened as she struggled to comprehend the situation—then a fury boiling from within erupted from her lips.
“How dare you! Let go of me this instant! Do you know who you’re……!”
“Whoever you are, that doesn’t change the fact that you attempted to harm the Crown Prince.”
“A criminal…? Who, me? Stop spouting nonsense. I never touched the Crown Prince, so how am I the criminal? I was clearly……!”
“Clearly you intended to kill me and my wife. To be honest, you’d deserve to be captured for just this alone, but since you seem unwilling to accept that reason, shall I recite Imperial Law for you?”
Imperial Law Article 3, Section 1.
“For the security of the Empire and the stable operation of the realm, any act that directly or indirectly threatens the safety of the Emperor, the Empress, and the Crown Prince as the next Emperor shall be deemed Treason.”
“…….”
Standing in place of the guard, he—fending off her desperate struggles—looked down coldly and trampled the scorched grass beneath his feet.
“Miss. You have committed Treason. Do you understand?”
“Treason, haha! Me, committing Treason? Ahahaha!”
“…….”
“Ha! You wretched little rat, luring me in from the start, and now—Treason? Trying to brand me a traitor?”
Valoa Crawford burst into manic laughter, then—unable to contain herself—descended into frenzied thrashing once more.
“Your Highness, you should maintain greater distance…….”
“It’s fine. Claude, are you alright?”
“Claude!”
By the time Crown Prince Crowell and Beatrice emerged from behind the Old Tree, and people from the Garden began gathering after noticing the disturbance.
“What was that? Did you hear something just now?”
“I thought I smelled burning too.”
“Ah……. Look there, doesn’t it seem like someone’s been caught? Who could it be?”
As the voices of the crowd drew near enough to hear clearly, Valoa twisted her crimson lips and cried out loudly and defiantly.
“I’m saying it again! I was targeting Beatrice Hartwell and Claude Dalton. They harassed me first, so I wanted to teach them a lesson. But how is it my fault that the Crown Prince happened to be in the very place where I was targeting them!”
Lifting her chin brazenly, she fixed a sharp gaze on Beatrice and Crowell and spilled out harsh words.
“And if you want to talk about it, isn’t it stranger that those two are together? What business could a married woman have being alone with the Crown Prince in a secret place?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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