The Prince Who Loved Me - Chapter 1

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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 1

* * *

A few months before the scandal broke.

Cavendish, the capital of Bernhardt.

“This is shocking news. Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte died in a traffic accident around 7 PM today on a road near Cavendish.”

People were stunned by the breaking news flowing from the TV.

The princess, who was next in line to be queen, was dead.

At only 32 years of age.

“With her death confirmed, the succession rights will be transferred to Prince Damien, who was second in line.”

Following this, the prince’s aristocratic face appeared on screen.

Unlike the princess who had received support from the entire nation, he was a controversial figure.

His towering height of 195cm and unrealistic good looks.

His genius-level linguistic abilities, speaking English, German, French, and Russian fluently.

Moreover, he was also a skilled soldier who had served as a naval officer and been assigned to special missions for many years, earning great military honors.

However, his image as a rebel was simultaneously his stumbling block.

Despite the Royal Family’s opposition, Damien participated in dangerous motor Grand Prix competitions and was an adrenaline junkie who mastered various extreme sports like yacht racing and polo.

Furthermore, he frequently made tabloid headlines due to altercations with paparazzi.

Most of all, an incident from his teenage years where he bloodied a classmate’s face followed him like a stigma.

Due to this destructive and unstable behavior, many people were displeased with the prospect of him ascending to the throne.

The princess’s untimely death gave rise to all sorts of rumors.

“That brilliant princess died in a traffic accident from drug overdose? That’s ridiculous.”

“Why, there are even rumors that Prince Damien, who coveted the throne, assassinated the princess.”

The funeral, conducted as a state ceremony, was broadcast live worldwide and watched by millions of people.

According to tradition, the princess’s body was placed in the chapel for three days and received tens of thousands of mourners.

After that shocking incident, sympathy for the Royal Family spread throughout the nation, and as a result, the Bernhardt Royal Family’s approval rating shot up from 57% to 65%.

* * *

At the same time. Windmere Palace, residence of the Bernhardt Royal Family.

Early morning, just as the fog was beginning to lift.

King Richard III of Bernhardt was enjoying skeet shooting with his aides (a sport using shotguns to break clay targets flying through the air).

Wearing a hunting jacket embroidered with the royal crest, he raised his shotgun.

“Pull!”

At the king’s shout, clay discs shot up into the air one by one.

Bang, bang!

When Richard missed the first shot but hit the disc on his second attempt, Prince Damien standing beside him spoke with heavy sarcasm.

“You’re wasting a lot of bullets.”

Richard looked disapprovingly at the prince loading his shotgun.

“How long has it been since your sister died, and you’re spouting such trivial jokes? You must still not be in your right mind.”

“And how long has it been since Your Majesty’s daughter died that you’re pursuing hobbies from dawn? Looking at the aides’ faces, they all look dead tired—I suppose none of them are morning people?”

The king dismissed his sarcasm and said,

“There’s turmoil both inside and outside the Royal Family. At times like this, you have a duty as crown prince to show that the Royal Family’s authority remains unshaken.”

Of course.

He was definitely doing this from morning to talk about marriage again.

‘He’s probably trying to rush the crown prince’s wedding to send the message that the Royal Family is still solid.’

Damien’s cold blue eyes gazed at the distant Cedar Forest.

As he inhaled, the cool air filled his lungs completely.

With an expressionless face, Damien raised the shotgun to his shoulder and slowly regulated his breathing.

Eventually, he spoke in a low voice.

“Pull.”

Following his instruction, two discs shot up simultaneously from the launcher.

But even as the discs traced parabolic arcs and moved away, Damien didn’t pull the trigger.

The watching aides began to murmur.

“Why isn’t he shooting?”

Just as the descending discs reached the most difficult point to hit, only then did Damien pull the trigger.

Bang bang!

Two short, crisp gunshots tore through the air, and both discs shattered into pieces.

He had instinctively calculated the lead on targets that were barely visible to the naked eye and shot them down.

The onlookers clicked their tongues at his inhuman marksmanship.

Meanwhile, Richard couldn’t hide his discomfort at his son’s attitude, which seemed to mock his own shooting skills.

“So now you know how to put on a show, do you?”

“Well, isn’t everything the Royal Family does a show?”

“What did you say?”

“I’m going to Monaco for a while.”

“…Are you out of your mind right now?”

“I’d like to ask Your Majesty the same question, trying to mate the crown prince like breeding stallions in this situation.”

“…”

“A prince grieving his sister’s death is recuperating in Monaco—let’s make that the official story. Your Majesty should at least pretend to be sad too, shouldn’t you? Unless you want to look like a psychopath.”

At those words, the king’s face crumpled with anger.

“…Pretend! How much I’ve suffered because of the princess’s death!”

Conscious of the surrounding gazes, the king lowered his voice and whispered,

“…I’ll give you six months. After that, return to the Royal Family and fulfill your responsibilities. I’ll look for a suitable partner for your engagement through the advisory council.”

Having finished speaking, the king exchanged a meaningful glance with a nobleman standing some distance behind.

Now that he looked, this was one of the people obsessed with making his daughter the crown princess.

‘I see.’

Damien let out a small laugh as he loaded a slug round into his shotgun and signaled to the servant operating the pigeon launcher.

Understanding his intention, the servant pulled the launcher, and Damien quickly took position and fired his shotgun.

Bang!

At that moment, instead of hitting the disc, the bullet precisely struck the connection point of a weathered gargoyle statue positioned at the top of the palace.

As part of the broken statue rapidly fell, people below the building panicked.

“Aaaaah!”

Thud!

The heavy chunk of stone raised dust as it coincidentally fell right in front of the feet of the man who had exchanged glances with the king moments before.

“Huff… huff…”

The man who had nearly been crushed by the stone looked at Damien with frightened eyes.

But Damien wore a seemingly bored expression and shrugged his shoulders.

“Oops, my mistake.”

Realizing it was a quite intentional attack, the man trembled and lowered his gaze.

Meanwhile, Richard glared at Damien in fury.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

“Who knows.”

Damien calmly broke open the rear of the shotgun, and shell casings clattered to the ground.

He kicked the casings with the toe of his polished boot and said,

“I can hardly control falling debris, can I?”

The eyes that spoke those meaningful words were deep as a well.

* * *

After an unscheduled morning routine, Damien returned to his room in a foul mood and sat on the windowsill, sipping whiskey.

As he gazed out the window for a moment, his phone rang.

Damien answered the call and muttered something incomprehensible in a low voice.

“Proceed with the plan as scheduled.”

-Understood.

Then a man’s confidential report continued from the other end of the line.

However, the conversation he had with The King that morning kept circling in Damien’s mind.

Now that he was first in line for the throne, he couldn’t avoid marriage forever.

But he had no intention of marrying some socialite woman with grand dreams of entering the Royal Family and letting himself be used.

The man on the other end cleared his throat and asked.

-…Then is Monaco the next destination?

He had threatened to go to Monaco to avoid the commotion, but truthfully, that wasn’t a particularly appealing option.

The opportunists in Monaco wouldn’t leave alone the tragic prince who was grieving his sister’s death.

Just thinking about being surrounded by such people made him sick.

As he picked up a dart from the nightstand and fidgeted with it, his gaze suddenly fell on an old map hanging on the wall.

The dart he threw flew swiftly and stuck into the map.

‘Bali Island, Indonesia.’

Right at the place he had unconsciously been keeping in mind.

Suddenly, the face of an Asian woman he had met 11 years ago flashed before his eyes.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t that woman say she was planning to go to Bali too?’

The man’s urging voice came from the other end of the line.

-Your Highness, please tell me the destination. Is it Monaco?

He stared quietly at where the dart had landed and muttered in a low voice.

“No, Bali.”

-Pardon?

He raised one corner of his mouth and said.

“This time, let’s see how things go in Bali.”

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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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