The Prince Who Loved Me - Chapter 69
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 69
At Bada’s firm tone, the women lost their words and began to gauge the situation.
She was no ordinary person. If they got on her bad side for no reason, their future social circle life might become difficult.
Eventually, one of them bowed her head.
“We’re sorry. We didn’t know you were here and spoke carelessly.”
“That sounds like you’re saying it’s okay to speak carelessly when I’m not around.”
“…We’ll make sure there’s no gossip in the future.”
The women who apologized repeatedly left the restroom like criminals.
Bada shook her head and let out a sigh.
‘How ridiculous. But when did the rumors cross the walls of Windswood House and reach those women’s ears? The NDA has no effect at all.’
Suddenly, she thought she caught a whiff of cigarette smoke, then heard applause from somewhere.
Startled, Bada turned around, and a woman emerged from the last stall.
Cherry blonde hair and a green dress. Surprisingly, it was Lady Adelaine.
“Amazing. That was completely satisfying just now!”
As she approached with a cigarette between her fingers, Bada said.
“…Aren’t you not supposed to smoke in here?”
“Sorry. But dealing with such hypocritical people makes you crave cigarettes, doesn’t it?”
“…”
Adelaine waved her hand to disperse the cigarette smoke. Then she extended her other hand and said.
“I’m late with my introduction. I’m Adelaine, Lady Yu.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Now I see the target of criticism has shifted from me to you. I feel a bit sorry about this.”
Bada stared at her for a moment before speaking.
“Was it because you’re Damien’s first love?”
At those words, Adelaine’s eyes widened, then she burst into incredulous laughter.
“Ahaha! Ah, it’s been a while since I laughed.”
“…”
“Didn’t Damien tell you? Don’t tell me that bastard is using me to make you jealous?”
“What?”
“Since there are never any women around that guy, people created rumors when they saw the three of us together with Charlotte sometimes. He can’t have a scandal with Lancaster, after all.”
“…I see.”
“It’s unlikely, but even if it were true, I wouldn’t want the crown princess position even if you gave it to me. Ugh. Someone like me could never handle it. The whole world would torment me like an evil stepmother, right? Maybe duchess would be fine, but crown princess isn’t a position I can handle. You should think carefully too. Now is your only chance to escape.”
“…”
Adelaine exhaled cigarette smoke and narrowed her eyes. Then she raised one eyebrow suspiciously and asked.
“But are you two really in love?”
“…What?”
Bada was slightly flustered by Adelaine’s sudden interrogation.
She tried to hide it, but sweat trickled down the back of her neck.
‘Why is she asking such things? Don’t tell me our acting looked awkward?’
Bada stared intently into Adelaine’s light green eyes and said.
“Of course we are. But why are you asking such a question?”
Then Adelaine shrugged as if it was nothing.
“Ah, Damien said something like that before. That if he ever found a woman he truly loved, he wouldn’t marry her. He said the Royal Family is nothing but a beautiful-looking prison.”
“…”
“But looking at Damien’s eyes, I can feel he’s completely smitten with you. Even while eating next to me earlier, he was gaping and staring at you so much. I was wondering if I should use a napkin as a bib for him.”
At those words, Bada felt inwardly relieved and burst into laughter.
“Well, I guess meeting me changed his mind.”
Adelaine’s words made her heart area feel ticklish somehow.
‘Damien must have acted properly even when I wasn’t watching.’
Adelaine chuckled at Bada, whose face had slightly flushed. Then she took out a business card from her clutch and handed it over.
“This is the address of the gallery I run. I’m going to expand and relocate soon, so come visit sometime. Fellow social circle outcasts should stick together.”
“Yes, I’ll definitely visit once. But I heard you were very close with Princess Charlotte.”
“We were close, very much so.”
“What kind of person was the Princess?”
Adelaine stubbed out her cigarette in the sink and turned around.
“She wasn’t much different from what people know. Righteous and intelligent. Sometimes she was so righteous that I thought she didn’t know much about the world because she was born a princess, but she was a good person.”
“…”
“Come to think of it, you’re somewhat similar to her.”
“To me? We don’t seem alike at all.”
Bada recalled Charlotte from the photos. Blonde hair and blue eyes resembling The Queen.
If you thought of the complete opposite human specimen from Bada, that would be Charlotte.
“No, not in appearance, but in the atmosphere you give off.”
Adelaine’s gaze toward Bada softened considerably. Adelaine let out a quiet sigh.
“…Who would have known that girl would go so futilely.”
“How did the Princess pass away?”
“She overdosed on zolpidem and got into an accident while driving. Wait, you don’t believe that ridiculous rumor that Charlotte was assassinated, do you?”
“I asked an unnecessary question.”
“I don’t understand why such rumors spread either. I think people can’t accept the fact that intelligent Charlotte died so futilely. So they’d rather believe someone killed her, right? At least then there would be someone to blame.”
She smiled sadly and began grooming herself in the mirror. Then she spoke to Bada’s reflection in the mirror.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and reapply your lipstick. It’s time to return to the battlefield.”
* * *
When she returned to the ballroom, Damien was nowhere to be seen.
After wandering around the Royal Ballroom looking for him, Bada finally gave up and entered the garden.
She intended to take a walk to clear her head.
After passing through the arch gate surrounded by rose vines, the music from the ballroom had considerably quieted.
‘But seeing that rumors reached the ears of women I’ve never met, the situation is serious. I need to take some action quickly.’
The rose scent carried by the summer night breeze was particularly fragrant. From a distance, the sound of the fountain’s water stream was quiet.
It was then, as she walked aimlessly lost in thought.
For some reason, an angry man’s voice echoed from deep within the garden.
Startled, Bada approached the direction of the sound.
Then she saw two men entangled and fighting under the dim garden streetlight.
No, rather than fighting, it seemed like one side was being unilaterally beaten.
The large-built man looked ready to throw punches at the man pinned beneath him.
But the man’s back looked very familiar.
“Damien?”
Looking closely, the one pinned underneath was Lucien. Shocked, Bada quickly ran toward the two men.
“What are you two doing! Stop right now!”
Bada tried her best to stop Damien, but he didn’t budge like a rock.
“Damien! Snap out of it!”
Lucien’s appearance with his collar grabbed was quite pitiful.
His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was disheveled.
Moreover, he was already bleeding from his nose, apparently having been hit once.
Bada grabbed Damien’s collar and pulled.
“People will see if this continues. Please! Damien, please!”
But Bada’s pleas didn’t seem to reach his ears.
His eyes clearly showed he had lost his reason, and blue veins bulged on his thick neck.
Meanwhile, Lucien was giggling for some reason even while helplessly trapped in Damien’s grasp.
That sight further fueled Damien’s anger.
“You’re laughing?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————