The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 203

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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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Special Side Story: Chapter 16
Truthfully, there was little reason for her to stumble under normal circumstances.
After all, they were aboard a luxury pleasure cruise ship reserved for the nobility.
Safety fixtures were naturally installed to prevent any swaying.
Evangeline knew this well enough.
So the Crown Prince was…
‘Endymion just wants to hold my hand, doesn’t he?’
Evangeline’s eyes curved like crescents.
She wanted to tease him again if she could.
‘No, I’ve already had my fun with him during dinner.’
The mood was too sweet to spoil with pranks.
Evangeline pretended to yield, clasping the Crown Prince’s hand in return.
Sweet moments spent with the one you love.
Her smile deepened.
His hand, clasped with hers, was as warm as always.
When they moved toward the bow of the ship, small clusters of people were gathering to wait for the fireworks.
The two of them slipped in among them, leaning side by side against the railing as they gazed up at the dark night sky.
The night sky, not yet blooming with fireworks, was instead studded thick with glittering stars as if to compensate for their absence.
‘Brrr.’
That was when it happened.
As the cool wind from the riverbank swept across the bow, Evangeline trembled lightly in her shoulders.
The thin dress had its limits against the strong night breeze.
‘Oh.’
With a soft click of his tongue, the Crown Prince immediately slipped off his outer coat and draped it around Evangeline’s shoulders.
Then he fastened it carefully all the way to her collar.
There was just one small problem, though.
“Oh.”
Seeing Evangeline in his coat, the Crown Prince let out an enigmatic exclamation.
Since it was his garment, it naturally hung loose on her frame.
Was that why she felt as though she’d borrowed her father’s clothes—or was it merely her imagination?
Noticing that questionable gleam in his eye, Evangeline pouted and shot him a sidelong glance.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, it’s just…”
The Crown Prince rolled his eyes and replied in an evasive tone.
“It’s adorable…?”
“Adorable? What’s adorable about this?!”
A indignant Evangeline began to pout at the Crown Prince.
That was right.
For someone like Evangeline, who lived and died by style, she simply could not abide this sack-like fashion.
“No, this won’t do. I need to take it off.”
Shaking her head firmly, Evangeline moved to peel off the outer coat.
The startled Crown Prince quickly seized her shoulders.
“You’ll catch cold. Just keep it on.”
“But my fashion sense!”
The Crown Prince hurried to soothe his wife.
“I mean it. You’re adorable. Truly, you’re the cutest person in the world.”
“…”
“And if you were to catch a cold because of this… it would pain me deeply.”
Only then did Evangeline’s expression soften.
She adjusted the bouquet in her arms and turned her head away with a huff.
“Well, if Endymion insists, I suppose I’ll wear it this time.”
“That’s right. Our Evangeline is truly kind.”
Endymion smiled warmly as he patted his wife’s head.
Evangeline thrust out her lips like a pouting duck, grumbling softly.
“Really, Endymion thinks I’m just a little child.”
Just as the two of them were playfully bickering.
Whoosh—
A firecracker suddenly shot upward with a sound.
Boom!!
A massive crimson firework blossomed into full bloom.
At his signal, fireworks began blooming across the night sky, blossom by blossom.
Evangeline whirled around, startled.
In the same instant, a gasp escaped her lips.
“Oh!”
Her blue eyes filled with the kaleidoscope of bursting light.
Deep violet and vivid green.
Brilliant, gleaming yellow.
Vivid crimson.
And that deep blue—the exact shade of Evangeline’s own eyes.
Crackle—bang! Pop-pop!
The long, feathered tails of the fireworks scattered into glittering dust.
Bursts of color dotted the night sky.
Evangeline tilted her head back, utterly transfixed, unable to tear her gaze from the fireworks embroidering the darkness with their brilliance.
“……It’s really beautiful.”
She murmured the words softly.
But the Crown Prince hadn’t quite heard them.
In this moment,
he was gazing upon the most beautiful thing in all the world.
Perhaps that was why—
the faint whisper slipped past his lips, unbidden.
“You’re more beautiful, Evangeline.”
The voice was so quiet, and the fireworks were exploding so constantly, that he thought surely she hadn’t heard him.
But Evangeline turned sharply, meeting his gaze.
‘Oh.’
The Crown Prince’s breath caught.
His own face, carved into those blue eyes.
Yes.
She was looking at him, and only him.
It felt almost like a miracle.
His chest felt so full it might burst……
“You know, Endymion.”
Evangeline spoke softly.
She hesitated for a moment, then let her gaze drift back toward the fireworks.
Bang!
Another burst of crimson light painted the sky.
Perhaps that light reflected off her—
the tips of her ears seemed flushed.
“When the fireworks end, I was thinking……”
Her voice, laden with meaning, hung softly at his ear.
“Will we really go back to the Imperial Palace just like that?”
……
The Crown Prince’s mouth went dry.
He wasn’t a fool.
He couldn’t have missed the hidden meaning woven into those words.
“……Actually,”
he forced out, his voice trembling,
“I did book us a lodging.”
At the same moment, pale fingers curled gently around his.
Evangeline smiled knowingly.
“We went to the trouble of booking it—it would be wasteful not to use it, don’t you think?”
Fingers intertwined, skin pressed against skin, burning where they touched.
“I’m getting a little cold.”
Still keeping her eyes fixed on the fireworks,
Evangeline pressed on.
“Shouldn’t we go inside?”
At once, the Crown Prince’s violet gaze darkened completely.
* * *
Chirp, chirp-chirp.
A bird’s morning song rang out cheerfully, announcing the dawn.
“Mm……”
A soft whimper escaped from between Evangeline’s parted lips as she lay deep in sleep.
The bright morning sunlight spilled across her face, which still held the weight of slumber.
She buried her face into the pillow for a long while, trying to escape the light.
Unable to overcome the relentless brightness, Evangeline forced her eyelids open with great effort.
‘Of all things, to hear birdsong even here on the ship…….’
Though it made perfect sense.
The pleasure cruise had anchored at the riverbank last night.
There were certainly birds that lived along the water, so their calls were hardly unusual.
Still, hearing them now felt oddly ironic.
‘Where is Endymion?’
As Evangeline glanced about the room, she instinctively wrapped her arm around her waist and let out a short cry.
“Ow.”
In that moment, the events of last night came flooding back to her.
The urgency of kicking open the bedroom door while holding each other as tightly as they could.
Lips that had hungrily sought one another.
The dense sensation of breath mingling with breath.
Their bodies pressing together without the smallest gap between them, the sweet fragrance of crushed flower petals drifting through the space between.
And finally, herself—sprawled across the bed in complete disarray, gazing up at the Crown Prince…….
‘Oh my God!’
Evangeline let out a silent scream within herself.

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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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