The Prince Who Loved Me - Chapter 66
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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 66
King Richard III was dressed in a tailcoat, with numerous knightly order medals adorning his chest.
The Queen wore a deep blue evening dress that matched her eyes, with a light blue sash draped across it. She exuded an aura of grace and authority.
After exchanging greetings with several invited guests, the two made their way to the podium for their speech.
At the same time, the Queen’s sharp gaze turned toward Bada.
Her eyes, which had been wandering over Bada’s face, stopped at her necklace. Soon after, the Queen narrowed her brow and withdrew her gaze.
Feeling as if her entire body had been pierced by a laser, Bada gulped nervously.
* * *
After the King’s toast concluded, the formal banquet began in earnest.
Appetizers were served, and conversations blossomed at each table.
Bada tried to focus on the conversation while struggling to pull her attention away from Damien and Adeline.
She happened to strike up a conversation about the beauty business with the Viscountess of Winchester seated across from her.
“Oh my, it seems you’ve tried our company’s products as well?”
“Of course. The quality of the organic rose water toner was excellent. Do you have any plans to enter the Korean market at this opportunity?”
“Ho ho ho! Is that so? Well, K-beauty is quite trendy these days.”
The Viscountess quickly warmed up to the Crown Prince’s fiancée who showed interest in her business.
With Lord Middleway seated beside her, she opened the conversation with topics of wine and horseback riding.
“I prefer dry Riesling wines. Do you have any recommendations?”
“Riesling, you say. You’ve chosen an elegant variety that perfectly matches your atmosphere. I happen to have a product from an Australian winery I recently invested in…”
Lord Middleway excitedly shared his knowledge about wine. Before long, he too was looking at Bada with favorable eyes.
As the situation flowed according to plan, Bada smiled with satisfaction.
‘It’s all thanks to Count Lucien’s notes.’
Lucien also sent her a pleased look from his seat beside her. Bada raised her glass toward him as if offering thanks.
Then Lucien leaned toward her and whispered.
“At this rate, it won’t be long before you dominate Bernhardt’s social circles.”
“You flatter me. It’s all thanks to you, Count Lucien.”
“Well, I may have provided the information, but the ability to utilize it fully is yours.”
Bada smiled, secretly pleased by his praise.
It seemed to be thanks to the social skills she had acquired while working in Yeouido.
‘When I worked at the company, I had to please my superiors every lunch break. I remember getting sick of eating stir-fried pork and Western-style pork cutlet with the director every day. At least here they serve caviar and scallop dishes.’
The only thing that had changed was that the target of her flattery had shifted from a stubborn team leader to social figures. The essence remained the same.
Moreover, she had often engaged in sophisticated psychological warfare to please difficult clients, so this wasn’t particularly challenging.
Meanwhile, Lord Anderson seated to her left twitched his nose. According to the information in Count Lucien’s notes, this was a sign that he was displeased.
‘Lord Anderson is King Richard’s closest confidant, right? Actually, he’s the person I need to impress most at this gathering.’
Bada quickly strategized in her mind how to win over Lord Anderson.
But he was not an easy target.
‘Most people enjoy talking about themselves, but Lord Anderson is the taciturn type. Is he naturally secretive?’
Just then, sea bass with lemon butter sauce was served at the table.
As Bada picked up her knife, she recalled that Lord Anderson was very interested in fishing.
She cleared her throat casually and spoke up.
“Wow, looking at the flesh, this seems like summer sea bass caught from deep waters. To catch sea bass of this size with lure fishing, you’d need to time the feeding time and select the right spot well.”
As she expected, Lord Anderson, who had been maintaining his silence, showed a subtle reaction.
“You’ve tried fishing before?”
“Yes, occasionally. There was a large lake near the high school I attended, and I used to go fishing with friends sometimes to relieve stress. Large muskies would often show themselves in that lake.”
“Muskie? Muskies are quite a ferocious species. Have you ever caught one?”
“Haha, yes. It was probably beginner’s luck.”
“How big was it?”
“43 inches.”
Lord Anderson’s eyes widened at her words.
“…That’s an enormous size. I’m curious how you managed to catch such a large muskie.”
“Haha, shall I tell you the story?”
Soon, the Viscountess of Winchester and Lord Middleway also turned curious gazes toward Bada. She began her tale as if unable to resist their interest.
“The high school I attended was located near the Pocono Mountains in northern Pennsylvania. There was a large lake near the school…”
It was spring of 10th grade.
At Agatha Hall, located in the countryside, there wasn’t much to do even on weekends.
Bada and Caroline were sitting in the common lounge, watching TV that only showed news.
“Sigh. This place is no different from a convent. You know what? In medieval times, noble daughters who couldn’t receive marriage dowries were sent to convents.”
“Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden, Caroline?”
“I was also banished from Kentucky to this cold countryside. When you think about it, the situation is similar.”
“You were kicked out for causing trouble at your previous school, so it’s not quite the same situation.”
“Tch.”
While they were half-crazy from exam stress, Caroline suddenly urged them to go fishing.
“Go fishing?”
“Yeah. Let’s become legends at school through fishing.”
Caroline’s plan was this:
The Agatha Hall Principal’s hobby at the time was fishing. So they would steal his fishing rod and catch a bigger fish than him to humble him.
“I’ll get revenge for when he threw me in the Detention Room for a ridiculous reason last time. How frustrated would he be if we caught a bigger fish?”
“You’re crazy. Do you even know how to fish?”
“I did it occasionally when I was in Kentucky. Anyway, just trust me.”
Normally she would never have participated, but unfortunately, Bada was also half-crazy from exam stress.
Moreover, Caroline earnestly promised that even if they got caught, she would make sure Bada wouldn’t get expelled.
“If we get caught, I’ll say you’re my minion and had no choice but to follow my orders.”
So the two headed to the lakeside with fishing rods and bait containers stolen from the principal’s office.
Since it was fishing season, several fishermen were positioned around the lakeside.
The two also found spots nearby and cast their baited fishing rods into the water.
How much time had passed while waiting for a bite? Caroline, who had only caught a few small fish, sighed.
“Should we head back now? It looks like it’ll get dark soon.”
Then Bada, who had been sitting in a folding chair reading a book, jumped up.
“What are you saying? Are we going to give up like this?”
Just then, something seemed to bite the bait and the fishing rod began to move. Bada quickly lunged forward and grabbed the handle.
“Ugh, it’s incredibly strong!”
Caroline rushed over to help, but the resistance became even fiercer. The fishing rod was bending as if it might break.
“Help, help us!”
Seeing this, one of the fishermen quickly ran over to help the two.
“Wow, just how big is this thing that got hooked? The strength is incredible!”
Thanks to the fisherman’s skillful assistance, the enormous fish shot up above the surface.
“Wow!”
The fisherman barely managed to hold the flopping fish on land. It was so enormous it filled both his arms.
“This is a trophy fish among trophy fish! Catching a muskie of this size at the lakeside is divine luck – they must have come up to shallow waters right after spawning season!”
Soon other fishermen also gathered to watch.
“Wow, this size is record-worthy! Wait, girls. Both of you hold the fish and stand together. We need to take a picture to commemorate this.”
Lord Anderson, who had listened to the story up to this point, burst into laughter.
“Haha, what a wonderful experience you had! Do you still have that photo?”
“Of course.”
Before long, everyone at the table was listening intently to Bada’s story.
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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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