He Who Covets the Abandoned Bride - Chapter 25

Today already feels like a distant memory from last night.

As Layla entered the banquet hall where people freely danced, holding Millay’s hand, she felt dizzy even before stepping inside, seeing the fluttering white veils at the entrance.

Noticing her heavy steps, Millay spoke in a low voice.

“Do not worry, Princess. I will make sure you escape.”

Tap, tap.

Amidst the careful clicking of heels on the polished floor, Layla asked without looking at him.

“Are you truly confident you can do that?”

“I have never broken a promise to anyone. Of course, if you say you cannot trust even this, I have nothing more to say…”

“No, I believe you. Because you are the only one I can trust right now, Lord Millay.”

It was almost a forced belief. Now that she had decided to escape, Millay was her only hope.

In fact, Millay’s plan was not a simple escape. Layla recalled what he had said last night.

To do that, Millay said he had to somehow lead the Filmer side to have no choice but to choose to break off the engagement.

Trying to calm her pounding heart, Layla entered the wedding hall. As soon as she stepped through the entrance, she saw Filmer’s 1st Prince.

While everyone was waiting for Layla, the protagonist of the engagement ceremony, he expressed gratitude to Millay who had escorted her.

“Lord Millay, you have done much to bring the Princess here. We are simply grateful for the help you have given our royal family.”

“Please, don’t mention it. I did it because it is not right to ignore someone else’s crisis.”

During the light exchange of greetings, Layla spotted Reynold standing at the end of the engagement hall.

Didn’t they say his ribs were broken? But Reynold looked quite fine on the outside and was waiting for her quietly.

Even smiling.

Just as Layla flinched at that, Millay let go of her hand and stepped back.

“Then, Princess Layla Wessex, it was an honor to escort you.”

As Millay placed his hand on his chest and politely bid farewell, Layla slightly nodded her head at him.

After showing a clean smile on his face one last time, Millay walked towards his seat with his aide, Lilburn.

Now it was Layla’s turn to hold hands with the 1st Prince, but she couldn’t readily reach out her hand due to nervousness. The scene of him kissing a woman other than his wife in the garden yesterday came to mind.

The 1st Prince looked at her with eyes asking why she was acting like that and asked.

“Princess, will you walk without an escort?”

“Oh, no…”

Layla shook her head and took his hand.

Seriously thinking about it while walking to Reynold, there was no place as messed up as the Filmer royal family.

Brothers who indulged in debauchery like it was their daily meal.

A royal family that seemed hell-bent only on squandering the national treasury.

‘Why did they send me to a place like this?’

The deeper she delved, the more she resented her father who had sold her to such a person.

Both Layla and Reynold had reached this age without a single fiancé, so in other people’s eyes, the two of them might eventually be seen as the same level.

However, Layla had not lived a life to be called trash by others like Reynold.

“Layla.”

While she was thinking, the 1st Prince’s escort ended and Layla stood face to face with Reynold on a small platform.

Then, a royal attendant informed the guests that the engagement ceremony had begun, and Layla stood side by side with Reynold, looking into the banquet hall.

It seemed that all the nobles of the capital had gathered, filling the engagement hall without any empty seats.

Were they inwardly sneering while watching the union of her and Reynold, who had already passed marriageable age? While unable to smile due to such feelings of inferiority and negative perceptions, Reynold gently took Layla’s hand from the side.

Layla almost instinctively shook off his hand but managed to maintain her posture with reason.

In the meantime, Reynold spoke to her.

“What happened last night? I was so worried because I couldn’t find you even after searching for a long time.”

“…You were looking for me?”

Although his tone was quite affectionate, it sounded disgusting to Layla’s ears. At her questioning reply, Reynold placed his hand on Layla’s waist and came even closer.

“Yes, I reflected on it yesterday. Did I say something too scary? Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

Just then, the attendants around them told them to face each other and held out a pair of rings in front of them.

Rings with a sparkling diamond in the center.

Seeing Reynold’s rough hand picking it up, Layla remained silent with her mouth tightly shut.

If the engagement ceremony ended smoothly, their wedding was scheduled to be held three months later. So it was a relatively simple ceremony due to the simple preparations.

The pre-ceremony party they enjoyed yesterday was merely something held to suit the tastes of fun-loving Reynold and the Filmer royal family.

As Reynold was about to take her hand and put the ring on her finger, Layla looked into his eyes and called his name.

“Reynold.”

“What? Hurry and take the ring.”

“I don’t need your reflection.”

“What…?”

After taking a deep breath, Layla turned her body. Reynold showed a perplexed expression at the clear sign of rejection. It wasn’t just him. The attendants around them and the guests also began to stir.

Confirming their reactions, Layla took a deep breath and opened her mouth. Taking care not to reveal the trembling in her voice.

“Staking the name of Layla Wessex, Princess of Wessex, I have a confession to make about the infidelity of my fiancé in this place.”

“…Layla?”

Reynold showed a surprised expression beside her.

Just the words ‘my fiancé’s infidelity’ were enough to cause a stir in the engagement hall. While the king, queen, and princes of Filmer were looking at each other, not knowing what was going on, Layla stepped down from the platform.

Then, her eyes met Millay’s, who was sitting on one side of the hall, and she saw him slightly nodding his head.

Gaining courage from that, Layla continued. The eyes of everyone in the hall were on her lips.

“Reynold Filmer, who is to be my fiancé… not only threatened me, but also tried to use me for his personal gain by sending me to another man.”

“What nonsense are you talking about! Don’t lie, Layla Wessex!”

An angry voice erupted from Reynold. He immediately came down from the platform and strode towards Layla.

Reynold tried to grab her arm and turn her around, but before that, Layla stepped back and met his eyes.

“Did I lie? Have you forgotten what you did to me yesterday?”

Reynold was dumbfounded by Layla’s reaction, as if there was something to it. Although he had actually said such things, he had not put them into action, had he?

In an instant, the engagement hall turned into a place of impeachment, and people began to chatter about this spectacle. Feeling wronged, Reynold turned to his father, the King of Filmer, and shouted.

“Your Majesty, here Princess Layla Wessex is insulting me with false words in front of the nobles of Filmer. Please clear the grievances of this Reynold Filmer and…”

Just as he was about to continue.

“It’s not that unjust, is it?”

Suddenly, a question from the 1st Prince intervened. Reynold turned to look at the 1st Prince, who was sitting in the front row of the guest seats after escorting Layla.

Seeing him stand up and smile slightly, Reynold widened his eyes.

“Brother? What are you suddenly talking about…”

Layla also did not expect the 1st Prince to intervene at this point, so she remained quiet for now. Because somehow it didn’t seem like it would harm her.

In fact, when she looked at Millay, she saw him giving a slight eye smile.

While the King and Queen of Filmer were still seated, seemingly unable to judge how to handle this situation, the 1st Prince stood up and received something from a nearby attendant.

“Your Majesty, here is evidence that Reynold Filmer, the 7th Prince, has tarnished the honor of our royal family.”

As he spoke, what the 1st Prince held up and shook in his hand was none other than the two contracts that Millay had forced them to write last night.

The ship trade agreement and the loan contract.

Discovering these items that he never expected to appear in this situation, especially in the hands of the 1st Prince, Reynold realized that something had gone terribly wrong.