Kneel Before The Villain

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Lady Flynn opened her eyes wide and looked at me.

Currently, in the Empire, the fur business was conducted almost exclusively by the Flynn family. However, if I were to join the business, it was going to be a different story.

Now, Lady Flynn raised her head and looked at me dumbfoundedly.

It was because she didn’t know what was going on. The Flynn family was no match for the Lillian family in terms of power and money. The Marquis family would suffer a great deal of damage if I intervened their business.

The Flynn family would be deprived of its leadership and might even have to step down.

If the Flynn family suffer a great loss, would Marquis Flynn forgive his daughter?

Even though the Marquis was her parent, the depth of a parent’s affection and that of a sibling were not the same, so it was impossible to know how Young Master Flynn would treat her after she had ruined his business.

Fortunately, after what I said, Lady Flynn’s turned pale. It seemed she understood me at once.

“A moment ago, His Majesty said that if there’s anything I want for my birthday, I can just tell him. Currently, when I look at Lady Flynn, I feel that I should have exclusive rights to a certain business.”

“…. !”

Some of the nobles around her made a fuss.

“Such careless behavior…….”

Lady Flynn glared at me sternly, her teeth clenched.

“What’s wrong?”

The Crown Prince asked with a cold face, as if he was there for sometime.

“Your Highness, the Young Lady…”

Upon discovering the Crown Prince, Lady Flynn burst into tears.

That imposing and arrogant figure who had made accusations against me earlier had disappeared after a shadow of a second.

The small, cute girl looked so pathetic as she looked at him with a sad expression on her face, her eyes full of tears.

People could tell just from his attitude towards Claire that the Crown Prince was usually calm and gentle.

The Crown Prince was kind to everyone, regardless of their status, and many women adored him. I thought I could keep quiet this time, but with no Claire, the situation was the same, only this time the person had changed.

I felt a little tired, but I didn’t show any sign of it and stood still, when the Crown Prince asked me.

“Roxana, your face is red, are you okay?”

He looked concerned as he alternated between the glass of wine in my hand and my face. He acted as if he couldn’t see Lady Flynn who was right in front of him. Seeing it, Lady Flynn’s expression hardened.

“Jeremy, I’m fine.”

I called his name in a gentle voice, not only Lady Flynn, but even the Crown Prince looked perplexed. He stared at me with a blank face and immediately held out his arm to me. It was meant to escort me.

“You’re not feeling well, so don’t overdo it. Let’s take a walk in the garden for a while until you’re sober. Just like before.”

The Crown Prince spoke softly with a smiling face. Lady Flynn seemed to be invisible at this moment.

Lady Flynn who had been watching the scene, fled with painful look on her face.

She turned around to stare at me, and before I knew it, heavy tears had fallen down her face. The sight of her reminded me what I had heard had heard. That she also loved the Crown Prince for a long time.

I heard that she was being considered as a candidate for the crown prince’s wife until the engagement between Roxana and the Crown Prince was confirmed…. Hasn’t she given up on him yet?

It was then that I finally understood the cause of her strong hostility.

“That’s unfortunate.”

I was a little worried about her hurt expression at first, but she was the one who caused the trouble first when I didn’t say anything. She deserved it.

I placed my hand on the Crown Prince’s arm and slowly made my way out of the banquet hall as he escorted me.

The Crown Prince’s gait was neither slow nor fast. He seemed to be concerned with the speed at which I was walking.

‘Is he being considerate of me?’

Looking sideways, the Crown Prince had a complex face. I admired his side face, which seemed lost in thought. In terms of appearance alone, the Crown Prince was definitely close to my ideal type.

However, perhaps it was because of my worst first impression, or perhaps it was because of the way I saw him in Roxana’s memory, now I found the Crown Prince awkward and uncomfortable.

However, when I saw him just now taking me by the shoulders and dealing with Lady Flynn, the unpleasant feelings I had felt while watching him were forgotten for a while.

he recent change in the attitude of the Crown Prince may have had a significant impact. It would be perfect if it could remain the same in the future.

But can I believe that people change so easily?

The minute I stepped out of the banquet hall and reached the entrance to the garden, and there was no gazes from the people, I retreated my hand.

“I’ll take a break by myself and go back. Your Highness, if you are busy, you may go back first.”

“Good, I was just about to go get some cool air too. Let’s go together.

The Crown Prince replied plausibly.

“By the way, what was going on just now? It looked like you two were arguing.”

“It’s nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing?”

The Crown Prince wrinkled his brow.

“There was a minor misunderstanding, so there was a small argument.”

“The way I see it, Lady Flynn was unilaterally picking a fight with you.”

“Since I’ve become a source of ridicule for all, this level of humiliation is to be expected. Before, they just talked behind my back, but now, they blatantly do it in front of me, so I’m just tired.”

“…”

I said in a light tone, like I was joking.

The Crown Prince became silent again, perhaps because what I said stimulated his guilt.

Eventually he said to me with a dark look on his face.

“If it happens again, you can tell me.”

“…… Yes, I will.”

As I walked around the garden for a bit, looking around, I saw a servant running this way.

The servant gave me a light bow and whispered something in the Crown Prince’s ear. I couldn’t quite hear what exactly he was talking about, but by the look on the Crown Prince’s face, it seemed that something not good had happened.

Gritting his teeth, the Crown Prince mumbled the name of the second Prince and quickly turned his head towards me.

“Roxana, I’m sorry, but….”

“I’m fine, go ahead. It seemed like something urgent has come up.”

“It’s cold, go back to the banquet hall first, I’ll be there soon.”

After the Crown Prince left, I was alone.

I was a little disappointed, but not particularly lonely.

In fact, I thought it went well.

I needed some time alone to collect my thoughts, and I needed a quiet place to do that, rather than the crowded banquet hall.

A quiet garden was more suitable for that. Besides, the large garden with its colorful flowers was very beautiful unser the white moonlight.

As I quietly gazed at it, I almost forgot how much time had passed. As I walked alone in this way, I found myself coming to a somewhat remote place. The gorgeous roses that had caught my attention was now out of sight.

Instead, the simple wild flowers blooming on the grass floor made me feel comfortable. However, perhaps because it was remote place, no one was seen. It made me feel a little chilly.

Feeling a little strange, I couldn’t immediately turn around, so I stopped.

I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, even though this was my first time here. As I stood there tracing my memory, I finally remembered.

I remembered that this was the exact spot where I had jumped. I raised my head and looked up at the space that slightly protruding from the wall of the building.

Through the closed windowpanes, I could see the dazzlingly bright lights inside the banquet hall leaking out.

I listened to the sound of a lilting musical melody pouring out from between the laughter of the people.

I felt a jolt of fear.

Even though I was not looking down from above, but up from below.

The distance from the ground to the terrace seemed considerable.

In hindsight, I was lucky that I was not seriously injured after jumping from that height. At that moment, I heard someone’s voice.

“Did you see His Highness’ attitude just now? I heard His Highness was ashamed and went to apologize to the Princess. When I first heard it, I thought it was outrageous, but now I see it’s not a hoax.

“Why the sudden change in attitude?”

“It seems that he is forced to listen to the Duke’s mood.”

While I was sentimentalizing the past for a while, I could hear people’s voices from the upper terrace.

Realizing that they were talking about the Crown Prince, I leaned my head back reflexively and looked up. There stood three familiar men, whom I had met many times in the banquet hall.

Seeing that they were conversing in a relaxed atmosphere, it seemed that they were still unaware of my presence.

“Speaking of which, I don’t see Lady Dana today.”

“It seems that the Crown Prince is tired of her now. I think that’s why he abandoned her. Well, she lasted a year.”

“Well, we don’t know which one will be abandoned yet.”

The terrace was a private space, so it was extremely rude to open the door and come in where it already had a guest.

Besides, the glass doors were quite thick, so the soundproofing was good, and even if you had a secret conversation on the terrace, there was no way others could hear it over the lively music in the back. Was that why people carried on controversy conversations without being afraid. They never thought there would be anyone eavesdropping from below.

“What do you mean?”

“Lady Dana has a low status, but she has a pretty face. In addition, she has a talent for attracting people.”

“Isn’t that why the Crown Prince fell for her?”

“You’re right. It’s certainly worth falling for.”

“I’m fine with either. So I would like His Highness to choose as soon as possible.”

I listened to their conversation and found that the request I made for the Hermes was carried out successfully.

However, I felt more unpleasant than satisfied when I continued to listen to their low-grade dialogue.

“I seem to recall that you were very interested in Lady Dana. What are you going to do if she is really abandoned? Are you going to propose to her?”

“Are you crazy? I’m not going to marry a woman from such a humble family. Maybe a mistress?”

“That’s right.”

There was a loud laugh and the clinking of cups from above.

“The Princess looks beautiful today. She’s also from a good family, so it’s a bonus. I saw her at the last banquet, I thought their engagement wouldn’t last long. If she breaks off her engagement in disgrace, there should be no place that will accept her any more, so if I can get her, it will be good for both of us.”

They chatted for a while more and soon went inside as they felt the cold. I stayed in my seat and clenched my fist. My long fingernails pierced my palms painfully.

****

*This story keeps talking about rumors and rumors, how many more chapters will the author stretch this out? I’m losing my interest to be honest.