My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 78

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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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Chapter 78
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Prince Argon had chosen one of the fashionable outdoor banquets currently in vogue.
Luminous orbs crafted from marble hung suspended above the tables and throughout the trees, casting their gentle radiance upon the night.
‘How beautiful. It’s as though stars have crystallized upon the branches.’
And Prince Argon, reclining languidly upon an enormous golden silk cushion within an Eastern Continent-style pavilion, received his guests in such a manner.
‘That’s rather… lacking in formality, isn’t it?’
Prince Argon resembled a lazy beast.
His shirt had two or three buttons undone at the collar, and his platinum hair lay in complete disarray.
Confronted by such shockingly negligent appearance, Kanna Adis intuited immediately.
‘Prince Argon clearly harbors no interest in the throne.’
Otherwise, he would never neglect his image management to such an extent.
“Your Highness, look at you! You’re absolutely gorgeous!”
“Oh my, aren’t you adorable today?”
“Look at that tousled hair. I wish I could comb it for you.”
Curiously, his disheveled appearance seemed to exert a peculiar charm upon several noble ladies.
“I offer my felicitations on your birthday, Your Highness.”
As Kanna Adis approached, Prince Argon’s mouth fell open.
“Oh.”
“Yes?”
“You’re beautiful.”
“You honor me, Your Highness.”
Kanna Adis answered without the slightest hint of discomposure.
“Why not be careful as you pass through the Garden? I’m afraid the Duchess might wilt all the flowers I’ve taken such pains to prepare.”
This compliment was even more extraordinary; goosebumps rose upon my skin, yet I responded with perfect composure: “Thank you, Your Highness.”
‘I did take care with my appearance today, after all.’
I had left my hair loose and neat, adorning it with a cascade of pearl-woven ornaments. The white pearls scattered across my dark hair gleamed like starlight scattered across the heavens.
“Why don’t you sit here for a moment and converse with me? These are chairs imported from the Eastern Continent—extraordinarily plush. Would you like to try one?”
It was then that Kalen, standing beside me, drew a line without concealing his displeasure.
“We shall take our leave now, Your Highness.”
“Very well, you may go. The Duchess and I shall remain a while longer….”
“Your Highness, forgive me, but——”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
With that, he narrowed his eyes in a smile and brought a water pipe to his lips.
“Moreover, unless I’m mistaken, I believe Lord Kalen is the Duchess’s younger brother, not her nursemaid.”
“As you know, my sister is unaccustomed to social gatherings. As her younger brother, there are certainly ways in which I may be of assistance.”
“Ah, I see. Then, Duchess, would you dance with me? The current piece happens to be one of my favorites.”
“My sister has only recently risen from her sickbed. She has not yet recovered sufficiently to dance, so I humbly beg your understanding.”
Kalen was mounting an absolutely impenetrable defense.
‘This is rather excessive.’
Kalen’s excessive wariness was enough to embarrass even Kanna.
“Impressive. Anyone watching would think Kalen was your husband.”
“Then, I wish you a pleasant evening, Your Highness.”
After a moment, once Kanna was certain they had moved far enough away from Prince Argon, she asked.
“Kalen, is something wrong between you and Prince Argon?”
“He is notorious for his wandering hands. There is nothing to gain from keeping close company with him.”
“….”
Ah, I see. Kanna laughed somewhat awkwardly.
‘Though I am grateful he drove him away for me.’
After all, I had no intention of growing close to Prince Argon either.
‘But his protectiveness does seem a bit excessive.’
I had thought it was overdoing it ever since he named the fragrance ‘Kanna’.
It seemed that something had been deeply imprinted upon him ever since that day not long ago when Kanna nearly died—the day of the incident.
Guilt, protective instinct, and other such trivial things.
‘I wonder if he’ll cling to me later when I’ve used him up and discarded him.’
When the time came for me to abandon Kalen after my capital had solidified, it would be annoying if he became clingy.
‘Well, I’ll just shake him off when the time comes.’
If he clings, I’ll brush him away; if he sticks, I’ll kick him aside. It doesn’t matter to me—it will be Kalen who suffers each time.
‘Ugh, just thinking about it is tiresome.’
For a moment, the spark of imagination flickered.
Since he has opened his heart so fully to me now, he will suffer a great wound if betrayed. Though that too would be tiresome in its own way.
‘It might actually be amusing to wound him. He might even cry.’
Kalen crying?
Surely that couldn’t happen, but imagining it was rather funny, so Kanna let out a playful giggle.
“You seem to be in good spirits, Duchess.”
Just then, a prince who embodied textbook perfection approached.
Unlike Prince Argon, who seemed to have a screw loose, Prince Crescent had every strand of hair swept back immaculately.
“I greet Your Highness.”
“Have you been well?”
Well, I have been well.
My wrist nearly got severed, and I nearly became prey in a human hunt. Yet Kanna answered with a light laugh.
“Yes, thanks to your kindness. I am grateful.”
“As always, but you seem particularly beautiful today.”
“You flatter me.”
At that, Kalen, who had been watching, asked curtly.
“Your Highness, if I may ask an impertinent question—do you have prior acquaintance with my sister?”
“Yes, I do.”
Was it an illusion? For a moment, a chill seemed to emanate sharply from Kalen.
‘Why? Could Prince Crescent also be a philanderer?’
He didn’t seem to be that type.
Kanna examined Kalen’s face with a lukewarm gaze. His expression was emotionless, yet somehow it felt cold.
“I’m referring to the perfume that Adis Trading Company recently launched.”
Fortunately, Crescent smoothly changed the subject.
“It’s a captivating fragrance. The night I first smelled it, I couldn’t sleep at all.”
Then he smiled faintly.
“I gave it as a gift to Amelia and Mother. Both of them loved it very much.”
“Thank you.”
Kalen replied. Crescent gazed at Kanna with an enigmatic expression.
“The perfume is named Kanna, isn’t it? The fragrance is just as enchanting as the name.”
“Thank you.”
This time too, Kalen answered on her behalf.
‘It seems like he’s preventing me from speaking, but surely that’s just my imagination?’
Shortly after, Crescent left without exchanging more than a few words with Kanna.
“Kalen.”
Kanna asked more seriously than before.
“It seems like you blocked my conversation with Prince Crescent. Am I mistaken?”
“You’re mistaken.”
“….”
“I apologize. That was a lie. You’re not mistaken.”
Kalen sighed and rubbed his face wearily.
“Please forgive me. However, Prince Crescent had other intentions.”
“What?”
“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spouted such nonsense about losing sleep… Excuse me. He wouldn’t have said such things.”
Kanna looked up at Kalen with a complicated expression.
It seems like you’re the one spouting nonsense, Kalen.
“He was talking about the perfume, the perfume. He wasn’t talking about me.”
However, Kalen rebutted methodically.
“That fragrance was one that had only ever emanated from you until now.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Prince Crescent had already met you before the perfume was launched, and he said he couldn’t sleep the night he first smelled it.”
“….”
“In other words, he was indirectly saying that he couldn’t sleep the night he first met you.”
I wondered why he was being so verbose, but it was just elaborate nonsense.
“That’s not it. I told you, I’ve been gifting perfume to the Empress since long ago. So she would have smelled it long before meeting you.”
“No fool loses sleep over a fragrance from family, no matter how pleasant it is.”
“….”
This is pointless. Was Kalen always this obstinate?
“In any case, that’s impossible. Prince Crescent is much younger than me. There’s a five or six year age difference, isn’t there? Besides, I’m a married woman.”
“But you are a beautiful woman. Extraordinarily so.”
Kalen said this, then quickly realized his mistake and added hastily.
“If I’ve upset you, I won’t intrude again next time. My apologies, sister.”
“….”
I didn’t bother to reassure him that it was fine.
‘Argon is someone I’d rather avoid, but there’s no harm in growing closer to Crescent.’
It was too early to jump to conclusions, but from what I could see, Crescent seemed destined to become the next Emperor.
Besides, he was the Empress’s son. There was nothing wrong with befriending someone powerful, was there?
‘This Kalen fellow has a tendency toward delusions of grandeur.’
If I kept him at my side much longer, he’d end up cutting off all my conversations with others.
Fortunately, the perfect excuse presented itself. I spotted a cluster of noble ladies gathered beyond the Pond Bridge.
At a glance, one of them was holding my fragrance, and the others were admiring it as they caught its scent.
If I approached them now, I’d have something to talk about with them.
“Kalen, I’m going to head over there now. Thank you for escorting me.”
“Pardon? But….”
“Surely you’re not thinking of joining a conversation between women?”
“…I understand. I hope you have a pleasant time.”
Finally, freedom! I hurried away in quick, eager steps before Kalen could stop me.
“Oh.”
As I walked, I encountered Isabel in the middle of the Pond Bridge.

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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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