C68
I thought it was a coincidence, but when I saw the Crown Prince coming straight towards me, I realized that I was the target.
"Ambassador Leok, it's been a while."
"I see, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Glory to Asteroth."
"I'm very glad that you found your daughter. Congratulations."
"Thank you very much."
"By the way, I have something to tell Miss Ethel Wallace. Could you step aside?"
"..."
Although it was Ambassador Leok, there was no way I could refuse a request from the imperial Crown Prince. I didn't want the ambassador to get into trouble, so I took a step forward.
"It's an honor, Your Highness."
Honor my ass. What is this guy thinking?
"Please, have a pleasant chat. That's enough for us."
The ambassador's wife, realizing what he meant, took my husband and daughter and left. Other people around us also distanced themselves from us.
"Miss Wallace, isn't this the first time we've met like this?"
"Yes, it is."
"I'm glad to see that you seem like a good listener."
I swallowed dry saliva. The Crown Prince had remained expressionless since then. Even at the moment he congratulated the ambassador who found his lost daughter.
Mikhail Petos Asteroth. The Crown Prince of the empire, the male protagonist of the novel "Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers," and the noble lover of Liena.
Black hair resembling chestnut and sculpted features. I could see it up close. He resembles his half-brother Terence. But there was a crucial difference.
"If Terence is a dark man who smiles in front of many people, is Mikhail a straight-up protagonist who only smiles at his woman?"
For him, Liena was a kind of savior. A father who treats his son strictly as his successor, and a mother who, aware of the existence of an illegitimate son, pushes him to be more perfect.
Mikhail had a difficult childhood with those parents.
According to the novel, he was so obsessed with perfection that even if he hurt or fell ill, he desperately hid his physical condition for fear of being seen as a defect. His life was so painful that he would hide away and cry.
The person who appeared at that time was Liena. The girl somehow knew about it and went to Mikhail's secret place to comfort the boy.
"Oh my god! Look at that wound! Just stay still. I'll give you some medicine now."
"You're valuable on your own. There's no need to punish yourself to be perfect."
"Don't you know? People can't be perfect, but that's why we help each other. Then you can get close to perfection. I'll help you."
Alongside these kind words, the girl spared no material help or advice for the boy. Interestingly, they shone every time the boy was in danger.
It didn't take long for the boy to fall in love with the girl. He grew up to become a wonderful young man who only loves and is obsessed with her.
There was a slightly impure background here; indeed, Liena had intentionally approached the young Crown Prince. She wanted to further revive the family by building a friendly relationship with the next emperor.
She remembered reading the Emperor's autobiography in the first episode of life and came up with a clever idea to get to know him.
She paid attention to the part where Mikhail wrote, "I had difficulties like this when I was young." His secret location was also mentioned in his autobiography.
So, Liena begins to truly sympathize with Mikhail, who was in an unfortunate situation, and falls in love with his reckless approach, and in the end...
"Wow, I got too absorbed in the novel's content."
Anyway, for that reason, Mikhail was a person of interest. Because he's crazy about Liena.
"I often heard stories about Miss Wallace from Liena."
Mikhail, not in a novel but in reality, opened his mouth.
"Liena said you were a very good person. That her sister-in-law is like a friend."
I don't agree, but anyway, I was glad that Liena said something good.
"But there's another important point. The last time Liena mentioned you, she had tears in her eyes."
Shit!
"I will never tolerate someone who makes my wife cry."
The Crown Prince quickly approached me. His bright blue eyes glowed dangerously. I took a step back unconsciously.
"I hope you take this fact seriously. I'll be watching you from now on."
In the next moment, his intimidating feeling that overwhelmed me completely disappeared. Mikhail lightly touched my shoulder as if the warning before was a lie.
"Well, if possible, I also want to have an easy relationship with the person Liena likes. Don't be too scared."
This crazy guy! How can I not be scared?
"Cancel the idea that I ever thought this guy was an attractive male protagonist! Cancel that he made my heart beat!"
Still, I felt relieved that the conversation with Mikhail seemed to have ended. If I go abroad, I won't even sleep with my head facing the empire.
It was then. An elegant voice intervened between us.
"Where are you going? What are you doing in a place like this, Prince?"
"Mother."
Before I realized it, the Empress, who had left her throne, was behind me.
I quickly showed my courtesy, but the Empress didn't even look at me and spoke to her son.
"The dance has started. Go invite the young lady from the Isaberg family to dance. They say that girl is a very good dancer."
"Sorry, but there's only one woman in the world I will dance with. I'll be watching Lady Isaberg's dance skills from afar."
The Empress's temples felt uncontrollable. The Isaberg family had a close relationship with the Empress's parents, the Duke of Birod, and in the novel, she wanted to connect her son with the daughter of that family.
"You still have bad taste in women."
Her eyes sparkled and turned towards me.
"After an orphan, now a divorced woman?"
Wait a moment, divorced? Are you really talking about me?
"Mother!"
The Crown Prince was furious.
"Liena is not an orphan. She has a decent family called Cassius."
Could you defend me too?
Thanks to you, the Empress looked at me for no reason.
"She's not even from the true Cassius lineage."
"You're talking too much."
However, the two entered into a subtle nerve war, completely erasing my presence. I stood there awkwardly, like a shrimp about to explode in a whale fight.
"I can't leave without permission..."
It was polite for subordinates to leave only after receiving permission from their superiors.
"Are you going to continue like this? That girl doesn't benefit the Crown Prince in any way."
"No matter what my mother says, my feelings won't change."
I felt relieved and turned my attention elsewhere, hoping that the two would quickly finish their discussion.
"Wow, the music is really good. Everyone is dancing hard. Oh, Diana is also dancing... huh?"
Then, I made eye contact with someone from the dancing crowd. Leandro, who was dancing with a certain lady, was staring in this direction.
"Why is he like that?"
I didn't understand. While dancing, you have to make eye contact with your partner, why are you looking at me?
"Look there. The young Duke Cassius is dancing with Lady Delacent."
As she is the type of person who doesn't avoid a fight when presented with one, she was looking at her the same way, and I heard the whispers of the maids helping the Empress.
Ah, that woman is Lady Delacent. It's a name I remember. She was Liena's friend and a secondary character who loved Leandro. Moreover, her face looked familiar.
[—"Don't act like you don't have money! You sold all the gifts Leandro gave you!
—With that money, you can even hire a lawyer! Don't you have a conscience? Are you going to slander Leandro vulgarly over something like this?]
It was the woman from the audience who burst in when Leandro was on the defensive during the divorce trial. For some reason, I felt she was very excited, but I guess it was because she felt something for Leandro.
The maid who spoke a moment ago looked at me and continued talking to her colleague.
"After all, if he's a duke, isn't divorce nothing? It hasn't been long since they separated, but he's dancing with another woman."
Eh? Why am I looking at this? Could you stop turning me into a miserable divorced woman? I was the one who suggested divorce in the first place!
After hearing it, I couldn't take it anymore. It was difficult to say something harsh to the Empress due to the difference in status, but I was about to say something harsh to the maids.
"The glory of the empire comes from His Majesty the Emperor!"
At that moment, the emperor appeared from the second floor with a loud announcement from the servant.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's good to see everyone dancing."
The emperor chuckled, seeming to be in quite a good mood.
Someone came out behind the emperor. The emperor put his hand on the man's shoulder.
"I would like to thank everyone who gathered to congratulate me again this year."
Who is that young man? Who the hell is he to be standing next to His Majesty the Emperor as if it were natural? While most people present had these kinds of questions, only a very small number knew the man's identity.
"He, he..."
The Empress seemed to have seen a ghost. Mikhail also looked towards the second floor with a serious expression.
"Many people may not know, but this person here is Marquess Terence Freeheiden. He's quite shy."
The emperor cunningly introduced his son.
"But wasn't the shocking truth confirmed not long ago? The marquess was actually my son and my ex-fiancée's."
It was a bit of a joke, but it was something everyone knew. This was a well-written and amusing play.
"So, although it's very late, I've decided to officially accept him as my son. Let me introduce him again. This is my son, Terence Belver Asteroth."
Terence, who was calmly looking down, narrowed his eyes.