In the Middle of The Night in the Duke’s Residence - Chapter 74

Evan quickly walked away with Aris, having the courtesy to give greetings to the Empress. Seeing this, the ladies’ mouths could not stop.

“It seems that Duke Verdick still cherishes the Lady a lot.”

“The two must be very close. Still, the Lady says that she is going to talk with the Crown Prince. Rather than her older brother…….”

The lady who was talking glanced at the Crown Prince, and as he smiled, she grew more energetic. That means the Crown Prince did not deny it.

After that, the Crown Prince left the place saying he had to go to meet the Commander of the Imperial Knights, and the remaining ladies asked the Empress if lady Verdick would become a member of the Imperial Family, but the Empress, who knew nothing, could not say anything. She merely replied that he had a friendly relationship with Verdick, raising the imperial authority while leaving the room.

º º º

The next day.

Aris held a newspaper from Lentil Newspaper in her hand. The article written on the very front caught her eye.

< Exclusive coverage of this magazine! >

[Lady Aristasia Verdick and His Highness the Crown Prince are meeting openly!]

It was said that there are not just one or two people who have witnessed this meeting…… Although the Verdick siblings were known for their good friendship, the Lady chose the Crown Prince, not Duke Verdick!

Regarding this, an official from the imperial family, Person A, said that there is a chance that Lady Verdick would enter the imperial family, and that she would have a suitable position considering her family, and Person B, a close aide to Lady Aris, said that she had a good relationship with the Crown Prince from the past!

Aris’s hand got tenser and the newspaper she was holding got wrinkled mercilessly

“Since when did I have a good relationship with the Crown Prince!”

Rather, if it was Aris’s aide, they couldn’t have been unaware that Aris had rejected being the Crown Princess. Aris had a very different mood when she was with her brother Duke Verdick, than when she was with other men. Among them, she had the worst mood when she was with the Crown Prince, and since she was Duke Verdick’s younger sister, even the imperial family co.

But to say that she had a good relationship with the Crown Prince, of course, that was utter nonsense.

“Damn Crown Prince.”

No matter how much she think about it, the fact that the magazine that exclusively covered the article was Lentil newspaper that the Crown Prince could scheme with, and that they spoke of the possibility of her entering the imperial family, which is difficult for ordinary people to mention, it was clear that the Crown Prince had his hands on it. So was the lie that she had had a good relationship with the Crown Prince. High-ranking nobles who have seen how Aris treats the Crown Prince may know the truth, but other low-ranking nobles and commoners will believe that the article was true.

She thought she would attend the Countess’ tea party, whom she was acquainted with, to avoid the Crown Prince, as she would never know when he would come again. But under such circumstances she could not afford to go. It would be obvious that she would be questioned, asking if the rumors were true.

She wanted to wait for the rumors to subside, but coincidentally, three days later was the Emperor’s birthday banquet, which all nobles had to attend.

As a Verdick, it was possible that she could not attend for various reasons, but she couldn’t because the Crown Prince would prevent Aris from doing so.

‘How long do I have to be swayed by the Crown Prince like this?’

Aris quietly closed her eyes. It was frustrating as if she had swallowed sand in her throat, but it was a relief nonetheless. While enduring it herself, her brothers would not be harmed.

‘Yes, some people are anxious to be a member of the imperial family. It’s okay, it’ll be okay.’

º º º

It was the Emperor’s birthday. In the meantime, Aris hasn’t opened any of the correspondences sent to her and hasn’t revealed her position. And there was a visit from the Crown Prince who she could not refuse, and he gave Aris a gift that matched the theme of the clothes he would wear on the day.

It was only natural for everyone to guess that the article in the Lentil newspaper was true just by wearing that dress. This was because matched clothing was only between lovers or especially close family members.

‘The material is not good and the decoration is not good! Everything is bad!’

The only problem was that, unlike the dress prepared by the Crown Prince, the dress Duke Verdick had bought was on the cutting edge of fashion, and it was perfect as it was prepared with beautiful and colorful embroidery and even jewelry that went well with the dress.

Aris looked at the dress and jewels her older brother had given her as a gift with regretful eyes, but she could not help but wear the dress the Crown Prince had prepared for her. It was humiliating for Aris, who had been receiving everyone’s attention in the social world, to wear such a scarce dress.

Aris sighed as she heard a voice calling from outside her door. It was Evan.

“Aris. Are you ready?”

“You can go first, brother.”

“Who will I escort but you?”

“…… Lady Nadir?”

She said it herself, but she got offended too. There were times when she felt superior to Lady Nadir, but the reality was that her life was mortgaged to the Crown Prince.

“I don’t care if Lady Nadir goes alone or holds her brother’s or father’s hand.”

“But I can’t. Because I decided to go with the Crown Prince.”

Evan immediately opened the door and entered when Aris said that she had decided to go with the Crown Prince. Perhaps showing what she said was true, Aris was wearing the dress he had never seen, not the dress Evan had given her. He was even more shocked that the beautiful dress he had given her had been overtaken by something else. But he couldn’t point out Aris’s clothes, so he didn’t say anything.

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