I’ll Be the Heroine’s Competent Divorce Partner - Chapter 130
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 130
“Pardon?”
“Recommending drinks that a Lady would enjoy, bringing me to such an atmospheric bar, and all that.”
Ugh, having to explain all this with my own mouth in such detail.
How pathetic of me…
However, the Crown Prince still looked puzzled.
“Well, I’m not particularly familiar with it.”
The Crown Prince answered quietly.
“I simply did my own research beforehand.”
“…You researched?”
“Of course. Since I finally got the chance to date the Marchioness, shouldn’t I do my best to make a good impression?”
The Crown Prince continued earnestly.
“First, I considered the average tastes of Ladies, and tried to exclude foods that were too unusual or divisive. I also remembered how you used to enjoy sweet snacks.”
It was a logical explanation, like an administrator reporting to a superior.
“Also, since we came to the night market, I tried to find a dining room where we could see the night view as much as possible. So the candidates I decided on were…”
“Pfft.”
As I found myself listening to his explanation, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
The Crown Prince furrowed his brow and looked at me.
“…Marchioness?”
I absolutely couldn’t hold back my laughter.
It definitely wasn’t laughter in a bad way.
Rather.
‘Why is this man so adorable?!’
Paying attention to every detail of his outfit for our meeting.
Planning the date course.
Even reserving a restaurant considering not only my taste, but the general tastes of Ladies.
His Highness the Crown Prince felt truly endearing.
Not as a noble figure who would become the next supreme ruler of the Empire, but just.
Like an ordinary young man trying his best to impress me somehow.
“S-sorry for suddenly laughing. I just…”
After giggling for a while, I finally managed to stop laughing.
I had laughed so much that tears had gathered in my eyes.
I dabbed away the tears with a napkin and carefully continued.
“I’m just now really feeling how seriously Your Highness considered our meeting.”
“You’re stating the obvious.”
Suddenly, the Crown Prince looked straight into my eyes.
“I don’t spend time like this with someone I don’t think about seriously.”
Just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and rain pours from the sky and flows to the sea.
A calm voice, as if simply stating an obvious fact.
‘Ah.’
I took a short breath.
That man probably has no idea at all.
How sensitively I react to each and every word you say.
Look at me now.
If you’re really thinking about me seriously, how deep are those feelings.
What meaning do I hold for you.
…I’m already having so many thoughts.
Just as strength slowly entered my grip clutching the napkin.
“By the way, Marquis.”
“Yes?”
“You just said to me that I ‘seem accustomed to this kind of situation.'”
Wh, why are you suddenly bringing that up?!
I froze stiff.
The Crown Prince questioned me again.
“What was your intention behind those words?”
“Th, that was.”
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be accustomed? Perhaps my showing familiarity to other ladies is…”
His violet gaze held a faint smile.
A persistent look, as if trying to completely figure out my inner thoughts.
“Uncomfortable for you?”
That question left me speechless.
As if bewitched by something, I couldn’t bring myself to look away from those eyes.
In the end, I nodded slightly.
“…Yes, it’s uncomfortable.”
At that moment.
A faint ripple spread through the Crown Prince’s eyes that had been quiet all along, like a lake with a pebble thrown into it.
At the same time, I suddenly came to my senses.
‘What did I just say?!’
Didn’t I just express my feelings way too openly?!
Startled, I frantically grabbed the menu placed on the table.
“An, anyway! Let’s order first, shall we.”
I desperately tried to change the subject somehow.
The Crown Prince looked at me with an unreadable expression for a moment, then obediently lowered his gaze to the menu.
‘Phew.’
Only then did I let out a small sigh.
I, it seems like I managed to get through that safely?
After that.
We spent an ordinarily pleasant time together.
Delicious food and drinks.
The pleasant warmth spreading from the vigorously burning bonfire.
Even the beautiful night scenery unique to festivals.
It was an environment where one couldn’t help but enjoy themselves.
What I found most satisfying was the honey wine.
After taking a sip of the honey wine, my eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow, this is really delicious.”
The moderate sweetness, and the subtle honey fragrance that followed after.
They said this was the most popular drink at this shop.
I could understand why it was so popular.
“Thanks to Your Highness, I get to try such delicious wine.”
I smiled brightly at the Crown Prince and sipped the honey wine again.
It was closer to a sweet beverage than alcohol, making it easy to drink.
“Still, it’s alcohol, so please be careful. Ah.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes widened as he looked at me.
His long, firm fingers gently touched my cheek.
‘Huh?’
As I looked up at the Crown Prince with wide eyes, he smiled and showed me his hand.
“Excuse me. You had a hair stuck there.”
Between his thumb and index finger was a single strand of pink hair.
Somehow, it seemed I had reacted too sensitively for no reason.
I muttered awkwardly.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me for that.”
Huh? What does that mean?
I looked puzzled.
At the same time, the Crown Prince shrugged and added.
“Actually, I was being a bit mischievous just now.”
“Mischievous?”
“Yes.”
The Crown Prince nodded obediently and leaned slightly toward me.
As if sharing the most important and secret information in the world.
He whispered softly.
“Because I wanted to touch the Marchioness even once more.”
Whoosh-.
Just then, a river breeze swept in.
Was it because of that wind?
Or was it because of this man before me?
My heart became completely disheveled on its own.
…I simply couldn’t control my wavering heart.
* * *
Time passed quickly, and before we knew it, the night market was winding down.
The Crown Prince and I emerged from the restaurant.
‘It feels a bit regrettable to part ways like this.’
As I kept glancing at the Crown Prince’s clean profile, I inwardly shook my head in disapproval.
Really, we’d been together from evening until now.
And yet I still felt regretful—honestly, me too.
‘Ugh, it’s cold.’
As I clicked my tongue inwardly, I unconsciously shivered and trembled my shoulders.
It was because the temperature had dropped even further as the night deepened.
Then.
“Please wear this.”
The Crown Prince very naturally took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
Since the Crown Prince had such a sturdy build, I ended up looking almost like I was buried deep in a large sack.
His body warmth transmitted through the jacket was warm.
As I fidgeted with the hem of the clothes, I looked up at the Crown Prince blankly.
“Is this also a kind of move?”
“Of course.”
When I asked mischievously on purpose, the Crown Prince nodded seriously.
Then, as if realizing something, he hastily added.
“If you dislike it, please tell me anytime. I’ll restrain myself.”
“….”
After biting my lower lip for a moment, I answered coyly.
“I didn’t ask because I particularly disliked it. It’s just….”
But then.
Someone called out to us loudly.
“Hey, you two there!”
The Crown Prince and I, startled, turned around.
In the distance, a merchant who had been organizing his stall was gesturing and calling to us.
‘Is he telling us to come over?’
We looked at each other and hesitantly approached the stall.
The merchant asked with good-natured boldness.
“Aren’t you going to float wish lanterns?”
Wish lanterns.
It was an old custom of the Empire.
You float flower-shaped lanterns made of paper on the river while making a wish.
And when the lanterns burn completely and the remaining remnants sink to the bottom of the river, the wish is said to come true.
Earlier at the restaurant too, I had seen countless people floating lanterns on the river.
“There happen to be exactly two left. I’ll sell them cheap, so take them. How about it?”
It seemed the merchant wanted to push off the remaining lanterns to us somehow.
The Crown Prince glanced back at me.
“What do you think? Shall we try floating a lantern too?”
While floating wish lanterns, we could stay together a little longer, right?
I smiled brightly and nodded my head.
“That sounds good.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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