The Prince Who Loved Me - Chapter 95

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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 95

The refreshing breeze and sunlight touching her skin naturally lifted her spirits.

Bada suddenly recalled the time she rode on the back of his bike along the coastal road in Bali.

The breathtaking scenery and the wind that brushed through her fingers.

It felt like returning to that moment when she enjoyed freedom without any worries.

On the other hand, Damien let out a dry breath.

His gaze traveled down her slender neckline and shoulders toward her hip line wrapped in the pencil skirt.

When his eyes reached her pale thighs revealed beneath the skirt hem, his lower body naturally grew tense.

Moreover, the sight of her body repeatedly swaying up and down with the horse’s movement was not helpful at all in controlling his reason.

And the scent wafting from her nape. He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them and whispered.

“Bada.”

“Hmm?”

“Shall we go back and have some tea?”

“What are you talking about? We just got on the horse. And we already had tea after arriving earlier. Let’s look around more.”

“….”

Having grown accustomed to horseback riding, Bada shifted her gaze to look around. Then, a Greek-style small temple-like building erected in the middle of a field blooming with flowers caught her eye.

Bada pointed to the building with her chin.

“What’s that building for?”

“It’s the mausoleum of the late Queen Dowager Elizabeth.”

“Queen Dowager Elizabeth, you mean your grandmother?”

“That’s right. Are you curious?”

“Yes. I’d like to go see it. I’m curious!”

At Bada’s urging, Damien pulled the reins to change direction.

As they approached closer, the mausoleum became visible in detail. At the entrance of the cylindrical building with Doric columns stood a statue of a faun playing a flute.

Damien stopped the horse near the sculpture and jumped down.

Then he grasped Bada’s waist with both hands and lifted her down from the horse.

“Thank you.”

As Bada arranged her hair that was tousled by a sudden breeze, flowers blooming in the distant field came into her view.

Just as Damien took her hand to enter the tomb, Bada turned her body.

“Wait a moment.”

Soon Bada went into the middle of the field and crouched down, beginning to pick the prettiest flowers.

White and light purple Michaelmas daisies and pink heath.

Bada skillfully made a wildflower bouquet and untied the scarf around her neck to bind the bundle.

Standing up, she approached Damien while smelling the bouquet’s fragrance with her nose.

Seeing this, Damien smiled gently.

“Is it a gift for grandmother?”

“Yes. It’s my first time meeting your grandmother, so I can’t go empty-handed. How is it, does it look decent?”

“It’s very lovely.”

Damien took Bada’s hand and entered the mausoleum.

The quiet space was filled with honey-like afternoon sunlight, and the sound of shoe heels hitting the marble floor echoed from the ceiling.

Bada followed Damien to stand before the Queen Dowager’s statue placed in the center, then read the inscription carved on the tombstone below it.

‘Beloved mother and great supporter of the King, eternal light of the Bernhardt people. Elizabeth rests here. (1917~2002)’

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you for the first time.”

After curtsying politely, Bada carefully placed the bouquet beside the tombstone.

“It’s been a while, grandmother.”

Bada quietly looked up at Damien, who seemed lost in thought. Then suddenly, a curiosity arose.

“But why is the Queen Dowager buried here?”

Usually, it was customary for royal family members to be buried in the cathedral in Cavendish. Princess Charlotte’s tombstone was also located there.

“Grandmother left a will saying she wanted to be buried here. Above all, the residents here loved grandmother very much.”

“Really? Is there a special reason?”

“During World War II, grandmother came to evacuate to Ashgrove Hall due to Nazi air raids. At that time, grandmother risked danger to hide several Jews in the castle’s underground and saved their lives. After the war, she also sold most of her personal assets to help the poor.”

“…I didn’t know she was such a remarkable person.”

“Actually, grandmother was born in Germany. She was a princess of the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburgh. Among her relatives, there were those who joined the Nazis, but she never bent her beliefs. At the same time, because she was German-born, she was always subject to suspicion and restraint, and was sometimes hated. But she lived a life of service to the people until her death.”

A small smile appeared on Bada’s lips as she quietly listened to Damien’s words.

“So you took after your grandmother.”

Queen Dowager Elizabeth’s chivalrous spirit and strength in not bending her beliefs had clearly been inherited by Damien.

Understanding her meaning, Damien smiled slightly.

Just then, a refreshing autumn breeze blew, tousling both their hair.

It felt strangely as if Queen Dowager Elizabeth’s breath was alive and breathing.

Bada closed her eyes tightly, feeling that breeze.

Damien tightened his grip on Bada’s hand. Soon their fingers intertwined and locked together firmly.

The two stood silently like that for a while.

Before long, the afternoon sunlight that had flown between the columns was hitting the tombstone’s surface and shining brilliantly.

* * *

Daily life at Ashgrove flowed very peacefully and leisurely.

Bada spent time searching for traces of Charlotte and Damien’s childhood that remained throughout the manor.

Christmas cards written by young Damien with crayons placed on the mantelpiece of the fireplace. Photos hanging here and there.

Bada became fond of discovering such traces while wandering around the manor.

One day, she even found traces on the study door where Charlotte and Damien’s heights had been recorded with a pen.

C – 138cm

D – 128cm

C – 158cm

D – 155cm

C – 164cm

D – 172cm

…

Seeing this, Bada burst into laughter.

“Damien was once 128cm tall? That’s unbelievable.”

What on earth did he eat to grow such a large frame? Somehow it seemed like he would have had the same stern expression even as a child.

While wandering the manor with such thoughts, Bada accidentally discovered a ‘home cinema room.’

Opening the thick soundproof door, a space with red velvet curtains hanging revealed itself.

She approached near the video player connected to a large TV.

Then she saw videotapes neatly inserted in an antique cabinet placed beside the player.

They were mainly classic movies and home video footage recording Charlotte and Damien’s childhood.

“Wow, it’s been really long since I’ve seen videotapes like these.”

Bada read the text written on the videotape cases. Titles like ‘Summer Festival 2005,’ ‘Charlotte’s Seventh Birthday,’ and ‘Damien’s First Kindergarten Attendance’ caught her eye.

Bada took out one videotape and inserted it into the VCR machine.

Then she settled on the sofa and began watching the footage playing on the television.

The videos were mainly taken by Charlotte and Damien’s nanny when they were little.

Innocent Charlotte riding a toy horse and Damien grabbing birthday cake with both hands to eat.

She had no idea how adorable young Damien looked wearing a wool sweater and woolen shorts with knee-high socks.

“…He’s so cute. I want to pinch those cheeks!”

Especially during his boyhood, Damien had been quite the beautiful boy.

While he now exuded masculine charm, during his teenage years he boasted beauty more stunning than most women.

With his fine black hair, melancholy eyes that seemed to hold the Milky Way, and cheeks with a slight rosy tint.

The sight of him wearing an Oxford shirt with a book tucked under his arm was truly like a prince who had stepped out of a fairy tale.

‘Wow. If I had met him back then, I would have been hopelessly crushing on him from afar all by myself. The people who saw him in person were lucky.’

Time flew by just from admiring his beauty.

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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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