The Prince Who Loved Me - Chapter 81

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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 81

“D-Damien!”

“Hello.”

Under his cold gaze, Bada flinched as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

Meanwhile, Damien approached with leisurely steps and stood beside her, looking down at Jacob.

Even Jacob, who had quite a large build, seemed about a span shorter when compared to Damien.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere between the two men, Bada finally came to her senses and introduced them.

“This is my friend Jacob McAllister from Kentucky! Jacob, this is my fiancé…”

“Nice to meet you.”

Before Bada could finish speaking, Jacob suddenly extended his hand. Seeing this, Bada smiled as if troubled.

‘Offering a handshake first to royalty goes against protocol.’

Sensing something was wrong from her expression, Jacob spoke in an uncertain voice.

“Um… Royal Grace?”

In fact, Royal Grace was a non-existent title, and the Crown Prince should be addressed as Royal Highness.

However, Damien didn’t bother to correct the mistake and shook hands with a relaxed attitude.

“Nice to meet you. McAllister… you’re Sissi’s owner, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Transporting such a sensitive horse couldn’t have been an easy decision. You’ve worked hard.”

“Haha, thanks to the Royal Family’s consideration, I’m just happy to be able to participate in the Derby.”

“I hope you achieve good results.”

“Of course. Having come this far, I should at least win, shouldn’t I?”

At Jacob’s spirited remark, Damien chuckled and said mockingly,

“Quite interesting.”

“Thank you. I heard Your Highness’s horse is also participating in the race. I wish you the best of luck.”

“Do I need luck?”

With those words, Damien placed his hand on Bada’s waist and pulled her into his embrace.

“The goddess of luck is already in my arms.”

Damien flashed a victor’s smile at the pale-faced Jacob.

“Isn’t that right, darling?”

Damien caressed the tip of Bada’s chin and smiled with his eyes.

While Bada was flustered and at a loss for words from his sudden eye-smile attack, Damien shot another cold look at Jacob and said,

“Sorry, but I have a photo shoot with my fiancée, so I’ll have to take her away now.”

“…”

“Let’s postpone your ‘little’ chat for later. Well then, we’ll be going first.”

Damien ostentatiously pulled Bada even closer into his embrace and started walking. Bada hurriedly turned her head to say goodbye to Jacob.

“See you later, Jacob!”

Jacob’s eyebrows drooped as he watched Bada being dragged away by Damien’s hand.

As they moved away from Jacob, Bada’s shoulder began to hurt from Damien’s forceful grip.

“Hey, could you please let go of my shoulder…”

But Damien tightened his grip as if he had no intention of letting go, and with one corner of his mouth smoothly raised, he said in a sharp voice,

“I didn’t know that type of stable boy was your preference.”

“…Stable boy?”

Bada gaped with an incredulous expression. Stable boy—was he talking about Jacob?

“You were grinning from ear to ear.”

“Of course I was happy to see a friend after so long.”

“When you left me without a word and went to Kentucky, was that also to see that guy?”

For a moment, Damien’s face crumpled as if recalling a painful memory.

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“What’s your relationship with him?”

“We’re just friends, I told you.”

“How ridiculous. Do you think that stable boy feels the same way? There’s a limit to how naive you can be.”

“Are you going to keep calling my friend a stable boy?”

“What kind of crazy bastard would transport an expensive horse that won the Kentucky Derby all the way to Europe? His ulterior motives are so obvious it’s nauseating.”

“What? You’re misunderstanding. Jacob has been interested in the Sovereign Derby since childhood.”

Since childhood.

Those words grated on his nerves even more.

Was she advertising that they’d been close since childhood, knowing each other’s interests inside and out?

Suddenly, fierce jealousy washed over him.

Irrational jealousy toward everyone who had known her during her childhood and college years that he knew nothing about.

I should have ignored Lancaster’s words 11 years ago and chased you to Kentucky to track you down.

“Next time, tell Mr. Paul Bunyan that the dress code for the Sovereign Derby is top hat and morning coat. Does he have to wear a cowboy hat after coming all this way?”

“Is it because of his outfit? I’ll make sure to tell him. Jacob just has a very down-to-earth personality.”

“Well, what would Uncle Sam know? The history of these stables is probably older than America’s history.”

Bada frowned, exasperated by his sharp attitude.

Usually, despite being the Crown Prince, Damien wasn’t particularly fond of the Royal Family’s strict dress codes. They weren’t practical, he’d say.

Moreover, mocking someone he’d just met with three different nicknames—stable boy, Paul Bunyan, and Uncle Sam—wasn’t like him at all.

Why was he being so sensitive today?

“Ah.”

Bada nodded as realization dawned on her.

It seemed like he had developed a rivalry complex since Jacob’s horse Sissi was a competitor to his own horse Orpheus.

On top of that, there seemed to be a subtle competitive spirit between American and European breeds at play.

Men, really. Bada patted Damien’s shoulder and said,

“Jacob’s may be powerful and fast, but yours has impressive size and technique.”

“…What?”

“Your horse is showing skills that match Jacob’s, so have confidence.”

She meant it to encourage him. But for some reason, his eyes became bloodshot.

Damien stared at Bada with narrowed eyes and said,

“Remember Article 4, Section 1. Party B shall refrain from romance or scandals with others during the contract period.”

“…Did you memorize the entire contract?”

“At least one of us should remember it, shouldn’t we?”

Bada was about to retort when she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

He frowned as if flustered, his ears turning bright red in an instant.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Ha!”

Annoyed by his attitude of drawing lines, Bada gritted her teeth and whispered,

“You think I want to do this? There are journalists camped out over there. Please cooperate, Your Highness.”

When Damien shifted his gaze, he could see journalists taking pictures from behind the barricades in the distance.

He instantly changed his attitude 180 degrees and put on an affectionate smile.

Damien cupped her cheek with his hand and pulled her toward him.

Then he squished her cheek until her lips pouted out.

“Mmph…”

He rubbed his nose against the struggling Bada’s as if he was about to kiss her.

“Want to kiss?”

“Mmph, I don’t think that’s necessary… mmph.”

“Why? If we’re going to put on a show, we should do it properly.”

Even in the midst of this, his eyes were so loving that even the seasoned journalists seemed to be completely charmed.

Behind them, journalists could be heard shouting, “What a beautiful couple!” and “You look perfect together!”

Bada smiled at him with artificially crinkled eyes and said,

“You know you’re really annoying sometimes, right?”

“Oh my, you got me. You’re the only one who understands my heart so well.”

When Damien tried to bring his lips closer, Bada trembled her lower jaw like an angry squirrel.

Seeing her like that, he burst into laughter as if he found it amusing.

Not wanting to lose to this, Bada reached her hand toward his tie knot.

“Oh my, darling. Your ascot tie is crooked.”

She put strength into her hand and tightly squeezed the end of the knot, causing Damien’s thick Adam’s apple to be pressed.

“Ugh.”

Toward him with his flustered expression, Bada showed an annoyingly elegant smile.

Then she gently stroked down his silk tie with her hand and spoke in a teasing tone.

“Now you finally look like a prince.”

* * *

For several days after that day, similar schedules were repeated.

Watching races, enjoying afternoon tea, and participating in social events at gala dinners. Even amid the busy schedule, Bada met with Jacob whenever she could to catch up.

Bada, who had no friends in Bernhardt, was very pleased with her meetings with Jacob.

On the third day of the event, the sky was overcast as if it would rain. The smell of moisture-soaked earth spread to the tip of her nose, and the air was humid.

That afternoon, the highlight of the Sovereign Derby, the ‘Prince of Wexley Stakes,’ was scheduled to take place.

People sitting in the stands were having heated discussions about which horse to bet on.

“Sissi is a monster. Even if the odds are low, I’ll bet on Sissi.”

“Even if Sissi is a Triple Crown winner, the European horse racing environment is completely different from America, right? I’ll bet on Orpheus, whose owner is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

It seemed that opinions about the winning horse had narrowed down to Sissi and Orpheus.

Bada pondered for a moment about which horse to bet on.

She knew better than anyone the effort Jacob had made to get to this point.

Moreover, Sissi was also her nickname.

In contrast, for Damien, horse racing was more like a minor hobby as the crown prince.

‘Hmm…’

Bada, who had been staring intently at the betting app, slowly began to move her fingers.

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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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