The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 215

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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 28
‘Ah.’
The Crown Prince drew a shallow breath.
His head was spinning entirely.
Somehow, breathing felt difficult.
Thump—his heart beat hard in his chest.
That was when Endymion and Evangeline first met.
Looking back on it now.
The Crown Prince had never once stopped liking Evangeline from that moment forward.
* * *
The Crown Prince was eventually apprehended by the butler.
He’d been so entranced by the girl that he’d completely lost his senses.
However, the Crown Prince was not immediately sent off to Milton.
Instead, he found himself face to face with another visitor.
“Make your acquaintance—this is Lord Claudius.”
At the Empress’s words, eyes as piercing blue as ice fixed themselves squarely upon the Crown Prince.
Hair white as fresh snow.
A willowy yet solidly built frame.
A face so utterly expressionless it seemed impossible for someone of fourteen years.
A boy of perfect beauty, as though sculpted by a goddess with the utmost care, offered a flawless bow to the Crown Prince.
“Dietrich von Claudius presents himself to Your Highness.”
Wait—already a duke?
The Crown Prince tilted his head slightly, puzzled.
The boy before him appeared to be roughly his own age at best.
Perhaps if he were an heir apparent to a dukedom, but wasn’t he far too young to have already inherited the title?
Though the Crown Prince harbored doubts, Dietrich continued speaking matter-of-factly.
“And this is my sister, Evangeline.”
When the Crown Prince turned to look in that direction without thinking, his eyes widened in surprise.
The very girl he’d glimpsed passing through the Rose Garden moments before.
So lovely that she seemed more fairy than human, she met his gaze with quiet composure.
The girl, Evangeline, lifted the hem of her dress delicately and offered a graceful curtsy.
“Evangeline von Claudius is honored to meet Your Highness.”
At the same moment, the Empress sighed deeply and shook her head.
“But Endymion, where on earth were you hiding? I called you here precisely because the young Lord and Lady Claudius had come, hoping to have you greet them.”
“M-Mother?”
“No matter how much you dislike your studies, that’s no excuse. Running away like that is a dreadful habit.”
At that scolding, cold sweat trickled down the Crown Prince’s back.
This was not good.
The very first impression he made on the lady was of him being caught fleeing his lessons!
“The Lord Claudius’ Town House is undergoing repairs at present, so the two of them will be staying at the Imperial Palace for a while.”
Having explained this, the Empress rose lightly to her feet.
“I shall go wash my hands. Do try to converse with them in the meantime.”
With a gentle expression, the Empress glanced around before departing.
Silence descended.
“…….”
“…….”
It appeared the young Lord and Lady Claudius were not particularly talkative.
“Ah, hello?”
In the end, he who thirsts must dig the well.
The Crown Prince, stealing glances at Evangeline, ventured a careful greeting.
Evangeline regarded him with a cool expression for a moment, then answered with exactly one word.
“Yes.”
“…….”
The atmosphere grew chilly once more.
“Eva, what is that tone you’re using with His Highness?”
Unable to bear it, Dietrich reproved his sister.
At the same time, Evangeline turned her head away coolly.
“I saw earlier that His Highness was being dragged away by the butler.”
A lie.
The Crown Prince stiffened slightly at the shoulders.
‘You really looked at all of it?!’
Evangeline added in a sullen voice.
“I hate people who don’t study.”
……
The Crown Prince felt the ground tilt beneath him.
At a first meeting where even perfection would have been barely adequate, he’d managed to plant the worst possible impression!
* * *
Despite the various incidents at their first encounter,
the Claudius siblings and the Crown Prince grew close remarkably quickly.
Moreover, the Crown Prince learned the circumstances behind Dietrich’s having inherited his title at such an early age.
Lord and Lady Claudius had passed away from plague far too soon,
which was why Dietrich had taken responsibility for his domain while still so young.
Hearing this account, the Crown Prince felt genuine sorrow for the Claudius siblings’ misfortune.
But alongside that sympathy came a feeling that…
‘Remarkable. There’s barely a year between us.’
The Crown Prince swallowed hard, eyes fixed on Dietrich across the way.
Dietrich sat with an impassive expression, reviewing documents that had arrived from his domain.
There was something remarkably mature about his bearing.
‘Of course she wouldn’t even notice me. She sees that magnificent, dignified duke every day…’
The Crown Prince’s spirits sank a little.
Not that he hadn’t been studying hard himself these days.
“You’ve been showing quite remarkable dedication to your studies lately.”
“Truly commendable progress.”
His tutors offered him all manner of praise,
yet Evangeline still seemed as distant as a flower blooming on a cliff’s edge.
As the Crown Prince brooded in this melancholy state,
the Empress decided to host a Tea Party, inviting several young ladies and gentlemen from the noble families.
It was meant as a kindness to the Claudius siblings, who had spent so long in their domain and never had the chance to socialize in the capital.
‘What if the Lady makes new friends?’
His anxiety was so overwhelming that the Crown Prince nearly lost sleep over it.
‘She’ll certainly be popular. There’s no lady as beautiful and intelligent as she is. So then…’
Dark imaginings bloomed like storm clouds in his mind.
Unable to bear the frustration, the Crown Prince buried his face in his pillow.
And so, on the day of the Tea Party,
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Evangeline.”
There was one young man in particular who had been grating on the Crown Prince’s nerves all afternoon.
A nobleman’s son from some count’s family, if he recalled correctly.
That was right.
Evangeline was currently engaged in animated conversation with another young nobleman.
Though calling it “animated” was something of a stretch.
While the young man persisted in his attempts at conversation, Evangeline replied with little more than yes or no.
Yet that alone was enough to twist the Crown Prince’s mood entirely.
“Oh, by the way, Lady Evangeline—what wish did you make at the Laila Festival?”
Just then, the nobleman’s son turned to her with an ingratiating tone.
“You know, people say that if you hang an ornament on a Fir Tree while making a wish, it comes true.”
……
At that very moment, Evangeline’s expression grew slightly dimmer.
As if she’d recalled some unpleasant memory.
‘Hmm?’
Even in his pique, the Crown Prince found himself concerned about her.
The problem, however, was that Evangeline’s change in expression was so subtle
that no one else seemed to notice her lowered mood at all.
The nobleman’s son continued cheerfully, undeterred.
“I asked for a new coat, and sure enough…”
……
Evangeline still did not respond.
She simply maintained her silence.
Unable to watch any longer, the Crown Prince suddenly cut into the conversation.
“The Lady doesn’t care for that sort of thing.”
……
The atmosphere froze in an instant.
And little wonder—the Crown Prince had essentially signaled his displeasure to Count Yeongshik without saying a word.
Evangeline regarded the Crown Prince with a puzzled expression.
“No, Your Highness, I never said I disliked it. It’s not that you dislike it, is it?”
“That is… well…”
The Crown Prince trailed off despite himself.
With Evangeline pushing back like this, he found his words dissolving.
At the same time, an odd sadness crept over him.
I said it all for Lady Claudius’s sake.
‘And she doesn’t even understand my heart…’
That was why it happened.
Why that petulant edge had slipped into his voice.
“Besides, wishes don’t come true anyway, do they? She’s not a child, for heaven’s sake.”

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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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