I Proposed to My Childhood Friend After Regressing - Chapter 12

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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 12
‘H-huh… she’s insane!’
Beatrice caught her breath without meaning to, listening to Valoa’s mockery and provocations from behind Crowell.
‘I suspected she wasn’t in her right mind when she tried to lay hands on me at a ball packed with nobles, but…….’
At this point, wasn’t there something seriously broken in her judgment?
‘Wait, does Duke Alec really have enough influence to shield her from even this?’
The words Valoa had carelessly spouted couldn’t be dismissed as merely impious.
The figure she’d made the scandal’s centerpiece was none other than the empire’s crown prince!
Of course, Beatrice had no intention whatsoever of becoming anything like that with Clyde, even if it meant dying. She didn’t. But still!
Even if something like that had truly happened, the sensible thing would be to pretend not to see it, to pretend not to hear it.
‘Unless you had a death wish!’
And yet, Valoa Edvain Crawford pulled off that tremendous revelation.
The crowd that had gathered at the sudden commotion began murmuring in shock.
“What exactly did I just hear?”
“Surely these burn marks…… Did that woman set the fire?”
“And she’s claiming the crown prince and the Hartwell heiress have an inappropriate relationship? Good heavens.”
Pleased by the crowd’s reaction, Valoa curled her lips and began slandering the two with enthusiasm.
“And those two were at the Old Tree—practically a shrine for lovers, right? And of all days, today isn’t just any ball, it’s a Masquerade Ball! I mean, even if you’re madly in love, isn’t this just way too obvious?”
“…….”
Momentarily at a loss for words amid the torrent of madness, Beatrice quickly seized hold of herself.
If she didn’t do something now, it felt like everything would unfold exactly as Valoa Crawford wished.
Wracking her complicated thoughts, Beatrice swiftly arranged her hands across her chest in a pitiful gesture.
Then she opened her mouth with a trembling voice that sounded wounded and calm.
“That’s just… too much.”
Beatrice’s quiet voice, contrasted against Valoa’s harsh tone, actually drew the crowd’s attention more effectively.
Beatrice gazed at Valoa with a look of disbelief, then carefully linked her arm through Clyde’s.
“I don’t know who you are, but how could you possibly cast such vile accusations upon me and the crown prince? How could there be such a misunderstanding…….”
“You…….”
“I could recite every marriage vow I exchanged with my beloved Clyde right here and now.”
She couldn’t, of course. How would she remember something like that? She was simply bluffing on sheer momentum.
Worried Valoa might actually demand she recite the marriage vows, Beatrice quickly drew a breath and continued.
“And the way you’ve depicted the crown prince as if something improper happened—that’s not the case at all! The crown prince simply…….”
“Simply agreed to a favor from me as a friend. Darling, don’t worry you’ll be misled by such slander.”
As if eager to match her impromptu performance, Clyde smoothly picked up her words.
Like a romantic male lead from a novel, he took her hand firmly, his voice honeyed as he added his explanation.
“It was I who summoned our darling here, after all. I was just startled to find you in my place, wasn’t I?”
“Oh, darling, surely not!”
“Yes, it’s true.”
He released her arm and dropped to one knee, fishing a small box from his pocket.
Inside lay a necklace adorned with a pale green jewel that matched Beatrice’s eyes perfectly.
“I wanted to convey my heart to you once more. To tell you how grateful I am that you’re with me.”
“Good heavens, Clyde!”
Beatrice covered her mouth with both hands like someone deeply moved.
Similar gasps erupted from those around her—the witnesses to what they’d seen and heard.
“That’s right! We’ve been noticing Lord Dalton preparing something at the Old Tree for a while now.”
“Indeed. We saw how full of love they are—you could tell who they were even at the Masquerade Ball. This talk of a secret meeting is just…….”
As the crowd’s opinion swiftly reversed, Valoa shrieked with irritation.
“I saw them! I saw them alone together! I saw them clinging to each other with my own eyes! Are you really going to hide behind such a flimsy lie for your wife? Clyde Dalton, you really have lost your mind!”
“I wonder who’s actually lost their mind. In any case, I can prove Clyde’s words. That’s why he suddenly asked me to wait at the Old Tree instead of the ballroom…….”
Crowell cut off Valoa’s protests at just the right moment, producing a bouquet from somewhere and handing it to Clyde with a slight shake of his head.
“Truly, you’re the only one who’d use the empire’s crown prince as a flower courier.”
Their actions flowed together so perfectly that Beatrice herself felt a flicker of inner panic.
‘Wait, what—what is this? I never heard about any contingency plan like this…….’
Well, regardless. Beatrice decided to seize this momentum and expose Valoa’s true nature.
Beatrice, adopting an expression of moved emotion and letting out another small whimper, approached Valoa with an Oh-I-just-remembered look.
“Come to think of it, I still don’t know who you are—the one who insulted me and the crown prince.”
“Don’t you dare touch me. Lay a single finger on my body and next time, you’ll be missing a finger on each hand!”
Ignoring Valoa’s menacing threats, Beatrice removed her barely-there mask before her.
There was one fascinating rule at the Masquerade Ball—a device to filter out troublesome people. If you revealed your identity, the other person had to reveal theirs as well.
“According to the rules, I reveal my identity now. My name is Beatrice Hartwell. And who might you be?”
“Shut up. I said shut up! You, you……!”
“Oh, but you’re being held by your guards so you can’t remove your mask on your own, are you? Let me help you!”
Tap.
The mask Beatrice’s fingertips brushed fell straight to the floor.
The crowd reacted swiftly at the sight of Valoa Crawford’s fully exposed face.
“So it was…… it really was…….”
“Wait, what happens now? Is the Grand Duke House swept up in treason because of Miss Crawford?”
“I always wondered why she hated Miss Hartwell so much…… Now it makes sense…….”
As people murmured their fragments of realization, Valoa’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
Not from shame, but from surging rage.
Her eyes blazing like fire, she seemed to lose her reason entirely and let out a scream.
“You…… You…!”
“Ugh.”
“I’m going to kill you! How dare you, how dare you make me into this spectacle? Not you! I won’t forgive this. I won’t forgive it!”
Screaming like a madwoman, Valoa threw herself at Beatrice with all her might.
But before she could even reach her, Clyde gently wrapped an arm around Beatrice’s shoulders and pulled her back, striking Valoa at the nape of her neck.
—Thud!
“Clyde Dal…ton, you too…….”
With a sharp, precise impact, Valoa’s body crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
He gazed down at her inert form coldly for only a moment. Then Clyde pressed his forehead and called to Crowell.
“Your Highness, this was…….”
“Yes. It appears to be self-defense, necessarily committed to protect my wife. We’ll let it pass without further inquiry. Does anyone object?”
The crowd shook their heads lightly at the crown prince’s pronouncement. After all, they’d seen for themselves who wasn’t in her right mind.
A garden scorched by flames, a collapsed rogue of society—Valoa Edvain Crawford—and Clyde Dalton along with his wife, even caught up in it all, the crown prince himself.
The nobles present all understood. What they’d just witnessed would be the burning hot issue consuming high society for some time to come!

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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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