The White Stoat Princess - Chapter 67
Who’s supposed to share lodgings in enemy territory?
‘Moreover, if it’s the White Jade Palace…’
If the names and purposes of the palace buildings haven’t changed, the White Jade Palace is where the crown princess resides.
‘Why should I stay there?’
Hadel, having the same thought, immediately protested.
“Marian is my fiancée. I cannot allow her to stay in a different palace.”
As if having received strict instructions beforehand, even with Hadel directly confronting him, the official stubbornly persisted.
“You haven’t formally engaged yet, have you? Rather, there should be another official fiancée.”
Logically, there was no flaw. The fiancée approved by the king’s seal is none other than Lady Nella Orsini.
The official continued with snake-like cunning.
“Besides, if she’s to become Prince Hadel’s princess, wouldn’t it be proper for her to stay in the White Jade Palace?”
I wonder if this person knows or doesn’t know that his words are logically inconsistent.
‘It seems he just wants to push me into the White Jade Palace at all costs.’
Seeing him act this way, I also felt stubborn.
Watching the confrontation between the two, I smiled sweetly and linked arms with Hadel.
“Then let’s say I’m his lover. It’s not unusual to bring a lover or two to the palace, is it?”
“Marian!”
Hadel’s face contorted with anger at my words, demoting myself to a lover.
Without looking back at Hadel, I shot a sharp retort at the official.
“There’s no etiquette about giving separate palaces to lovers, right? So I’ll stay in the same palace as His Highness.”
“That’s not possible. It goes against orders.”
The official waved his hands, looking very flustered. I smiled sweetly.
“Then I’ll have to speak directly to the person who gave the order. I don’t know who it is, but they seem to be quite idle. Taking interest in the Grand Duke’s affairs. Or should I say, generous?”
As I subtly mocked Prince Saedel, the official’s face also hardened.
“I will not tolerate any further disrespect.”
At that moment, Hadel, unable to hold back, cut in with a highly agitated tone.
“That’s my line.”
Due to his anger, a steam-like heat rose from his body. Seeing this, the official screamed “Eek!” and stepped back a few paces.
“She is my fiancée, recognized by all in the North, and I came to the capital to protest to Father, who ignored my fiancée and arbitrarily sent down a woman I’ve never met. Do you think I would entrust my fiancée to you in such circumstances?”
“Y-you’re speaking as if we’re plotting something!”
“Judging from our conversation so far, it seems you’ll do anything if ordered. So I can’t help but be suspicious.”
Hadel declared, looking down at the other with cold eyes.
“No one can separate her from me. Get lost if you don’t want to burn to death.”
Not having the guts to say they didn’t mind burning to death, those who came to greet us eventually tucked their tails and ran away.
In the end, we ended up staying comfortably together in the Azure Palace.
It seemed clear that the Azure Palace was already full of people to monitor us. I could feel the spider web-like dense surveillance.
Still, it was reassuring that we could be alone with Hadel once we closed the door.
‘I’m glad we didn’t separate. If I were alone in the White Jade Palace, I would have been restless.’
As soon as I entered the room, I flopped onto the bed and rolled halfway. Then, resting my chin on the bed and lifting my head, I saw Hadel taking off his outer clothes.
‘I didn’t know Hadel could threaten others like that.’
The young man who had been intimidated by the fact that everyone feared him because of his flames could now skillfully wield those flames as his weapon.
I smiled at Hadel and spoke to him.
“Hadel, you’ve become stronger.”
“I had to.”
Hadel replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Because you’re here.”
Saying such things without embarrassment and with confidence was also different from the previous Hadel. As I pursed my lips into a circle, Hadel frowned.
“Why that expression?”
“No, I feel proud but also a bit sad…”
“Why?”
Well, I don’t even know my own feelings.
After wiggling my feet for a moment, I chuckled and said,
“I’m saying you’re becoming more and more handsome.”
Hadel frowned in incomprehension, then approached me. The bed tilted slightly as he sat down next to me.
He leaned close enough for his lips to touch my earlobe and asked,
“Really?”
“Do I have any reason to lie?”
“Your expression doesn’t look like you find me handsome.”
“Then what should I do to show my sincerity?”
Instead of answering, Hadel lightly bit the tip of my ear. Surprised by the unexpected contact, I turned to look at him with wide eyes.
Hadel smiled mischievously and said,
“That expression is better.”
“…!”
What kind of expression am I making now?
I could feel my face, touched by Hadel’s palm, was very hot. I fanned my face with my hand and pouted.
‘He’s become so sly!’
Even his broad back, as he entered the bathroom saying he’d wash first, somehow looked like it was laughing.
Anyway, I stayed in the same room as Hadel, we bathed comfortably, and ate meals in the room. Several days passed like this.
The king continued to not show his face.
Even I, who had been patient for a day or two, felt my anger rising on the morning of the third day.
‘I thought he wouldn’t listen to reason.’
I also knew the layout of the palace thoroughly.
‘Should I just barge into the king’s room like this?’
As I walked out into the garden, fuming and measuring the distance to the Sun Palace where the king stayed.
“Hello?”
A woman I had never seen before approached me.
[This is the timeline separator]Recently, Prince Hadel’s name has been constantly mentioned in social circles.
“Why did Prince Hadel come to the capital?”
“He’s so scary.”
“I heard he can suddenly spew flames.”
“Untamed flames… Isn’t that chilling?”
“How did such a terrifying flame mana user come to be in the royal family?”
In the past, flame mana users weren’t that rare. As if everyone had forgotten that fact, people kept talking about Hadel.
The reason Hadel’s story caught fire now was because Nella Orsini, who returned to the capital with Hadel, had spoken up.
“I heard the story from Miss Nella. As you know, Miss Nella was Prince Hadel’s arranged companion from the royal family, right?”
“Yes, I heard she returned with him.”
The lady who had heard directly from Nella, very pleased with the attention focused on her, said,
“It seems Prince Hadel has found someone he loves, so he can’t marry Miss Nella. He came to the capital to get recognition for that woman.”
Surprised by the unexpected reason, everyone exchanged glances.
Because they were fundamentally negative about Hadel, those who heard the story first spat out malicious words.
“A beloved woman not recognized by His Majesty the King is just a mistress, isn’t she?”
“Having a lover or two isn’t unusual, why make things so complicated?”
Though they mocked Hadel’s love sarcastically, positive comments eventually emerged.
“It means Prince Hadel isn’t just violent as rumored.”
“Is he saying that woman must be his official wife? Kyaa! That’s certainly romantic.”
And the end of such conversations inevitably turned towards Cecil.
“Miss Cecil, haven’t you heard anything?”
Cecil felt powerless for the first time since her engagement to Prince Saedel, and smiled quietly.
“No. His Highness hasn’t told me anything.”
The reason Saedel didn’t say anything was because she didn’t need to know. Cecil comforted herself with such thoughts.
It was then that she heard the disturbing words.
“Oh, that’s strange. I thought he would have told you.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
The chatty lady told Cecil facts she hadn’t even asked about.
“I heard it from my distant relative who works as a maid in the palace, but they say that lady looks exactly like you, Miss Cecil.”
At those words, Cecil turned pale. After that, she couldn’t even remember what was said.
Walking down the familiar corridor with heavy steps, Cecil kept thinking the same thing.
‘Exactly the same? That’s impossible.’
No matter how much she tried to comfort herself, one memory kept coming back.
Occasionally, very rarely, Prince Saedel would just rest his chin and gaze at Cecil.
‘Was it because of her?’
She thought there might be someone, but she didn’t expect them to appear in reality like this. The fear was considerable. It felt like her blood was freezing.
Cecil, who had stopped walking for a moment and stood blankly, shook her head.
‘That can’t be. It doesn’t even match up chronologically. They say she’s Prince Hadel’s beloved.’
Stories of brothers having similar tastes in women are common in the world. Maybe they both had the same memories of a pink-haired woman in their childhood. Isn’t it quite common to fall in love with someone who resembles your first childhood love?
But.
‘It bothers me.’
Prince Saedel isn’t that kind of person. The man Cecil had come to know over the years was more rational and cool-headed than anyone. The fact that she had no expectations despite being in the position of his fiancée stemmed from his nature.
But he’s human too, can he always be the same?
What if he had hidden his desires deep in his heart?
Cecil turned around. And headed towards Prince Saedel’s palace.
Cecil boldly requested an audience.
“I’d like to see Prince Saedel.”
However, her courage shrank the moment she faced the aide looking at her with business-like eyes.
“His Highness is busy now and has no time to meet.”
Cecil asked again in a deflated voice.
“Then, could you please ask when he might have time?”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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