A Fake Marriage? Sure! …Wait, Is It Actually Fake? Something’s Not Right Here! - Chapter 9

Simultaneously, several large teardrops spilled from Lidoria’s eyes.

How frustrating.

She was supposed to be the victim.

She was the one who had been attacked.

So why did she have to face further pursuit?

Why did she have to be subjected to more humiliation?

Lidoria wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks with her fingers and sniffled.

She couldn’t go before the Crown Princess looking like this.

She needed to let things cool down for a while before approaching the Crown Princess.

Maybe she should return to the palace waiting room first and fix her makeup.

As Lidoria thought this, she caught sight of Evan speaking to Alex from the corner of her vision.

Fizzle—the flames of anger ignited once more in her heart.

(Go ahead and say whatever you want.)

Thump, thump—with heavy, angry footsteps, Lidoria headed toward the palace building.

Of course, she couldn’t hear their conversation. But she could easily imagine Evan telling Alex “the real story he’d heard” with a kind face and a concerned tone of voice.

And Sena’s malicious face as she fed him those lies.

Stomp, stomp—she marched down the palace corridor and entered the ladies-in-waiting waiting room.

Amanda was using it today too.

Lidoria snatched the basket containing her bag, pulled out the compact with face powder inside, grabbed it roughly, and moved to the full-length mirror provided in the waiting room.

Reflected there was herself—wearing her best dress, yet with a face so cruel she looked like she could kill someone, her eyes red and wet.

As expected, her makeup around her eyes was slightly smudged.

Sniff—she sniffled and applied powder with the puff. Waft—the scent of perfume from the makeup itself drifted up, calming her heart just a little.

(I wonder if Sir Alex Reading will believe Sir Evan’s story.)

The thought crossed her mind suddenly.

Snap—she closed the compact and turned her gaze to the mirror.

In the reflection, Lidoria was in battle mode, her eyes shining with intense light.

If he believes it, then that’s the kind of man he is.

After all, wasn’t he the one who proposed this fake engagement in the first place? When you think about it, he’s a pretty terrible guy. I’ll cut him off first. And then I’ll spill everything to the Crown Princess.

After returning the compact to her basket, Lidoria squared her shoulders again and stomped down the corridor.

Her destination was the Crown Princess.

She was going to tell her: “That rotten woman Sena, out of spite, has set up this scheme against me this time!”

There was a guard in front of the door leading from the building to the garden, but perhaps overwhelmed by the aura Lidoria was emitting, he opened the door for her without even asking, “Heading out?”

The moment she stepped into the garden, a pleasantly cool breeze enveloped her, but it wasn’t comforting enough to quell her anger.

(The Crown Princess…)

As she turned her head, wondering where Her Highness might be, she saw Alex approaching her with Evan in tow.

(He’s coming to counterattack.)

Lidoria clenched her fists and broke into a half-run toward the two.

“Good, I was just looking for you… wait, what? Are you planning to hit me?”

Alex immediately fell into a martial arts stance. Lidoria glared at him sharply.

“I won’t hit you, but I have something to say.”

“Is that so? Well, first things first. Let me report first.”

Though he dropped his stance, Alex remained at maximum alert as he addressed Lidoria.

“The tea party is a great success. His Highness the Crown Prince is in excellent spirits, and Her Highness the Crown Princess is currently surrounded by participants, enjoying herself immensely.”

“Really?!”

Her earlier anger vanished in an instant.

“Yeah. The concept was good. Since it’s only younger ladies, if it had been a stuffy tea party it wouldn’t have gone this well. The squad members are saying it’s nice that it’s not too formal.”

“That’s wonderful! Turning misfortune into blessing—this is exactly that! Everything is for the Crown Princess!”

She made a tight fist and thrust her arm toward the sky, but Alex just looked startled.

“Ah. That would be for the Crown Prince, wouldn’t it?”

Remembering it wasn’t Amanda she was talking about, she bounced up again lightly.

“Ah! Are the maids not too tired? I asked for the buffet area to be set up with tents too… They haven’t had any breaks. Damn it. I should have told them to take rotating breaks. Ah, I need to share information with Amanda too!”

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the time to go complain to the Crown Princess.

She needed to immediately inform Alex of the engagement cancellation and head to manage the event.

“If you have something to say, please say it quickly.”

As if saying “Come at me,” Lidoria gestured with little flicks of her finger. If he dared say something like “I heard from Evan that you’re a terrible woman,” she planned to respond with “Yes, engagement canceled—!” and run off.

She was running that simulation in her head, but…

“Well? Would someone who says things like ‘Everything is for the Crown Princess’ and worries about comrades running around for the Crown Princess deliberately involve Her Highness in lies?”

Alex maintained his usual expressionless face as he spoke.

His words and gaze were directed at Evan standing beside him.

“This must be an act too. Don’t be fooled, Sir Alex.”

Evan pleaded with an expression that seemed genuinely well-intentioned.

“I definitely heard it from Sena.”

Alex’s response to this was a silent sigh.

“Ah. You know what, Sir Alex Reading? Since this is troublesome, let’s just call off the engagement or whatever.”

After saying this to the startled Alex, Lidoria’s expression shifted to anger as she puffed out her chest and glared at Evan.

“However, I haven’t been lying. What I told you is the truth. I don’t want to say this, but Miss Sena is the one who’s lying.”

“You’re being rude! Are you saying my fiancée is lying?!”

“Then you’re being rude too, aren’t you? You’ve been calling my fiancée a liar this whole time.”

A cold voice cut between Lidoria and Evan.

This time it was Evan who looked startled.

“No, I mean I’m just advising that it might be questionable to have a woman who would tell such lies as your fiancée.”

“I’ll return those exact words to you.”

While his black eyes still held a cold light, Alex looked at Evan.

“You never seemed satisfied with why I was chosen as vice-captain, did you?”

“That’s… His Highness the Crown Prince and the captain had their reasons.”

“You lack impartiality. That’s all there is to it.”

Alex stated clearly, and Evan looked stunned.

“Look, you keep telling me ‘it’s the truth,’ but truth isn’t just one thing. There are as many ‘truths’ as there are people involved. What looks like a beautiful diamond to you might look like a lump of carbon to someone else, or like glass imitation to another. So, our job is to compile everyone’s stories, check for consistency, and create facts that everyone can accept before reporting to His Highness.”

Alex continued staring silently at Evan.

“You can’t do that. You believe the first story you hear is correct. Are you a newly hatched chick?”

A blush spread across Evan’s cheeks as if painted with a brush.

“On top of that, you have no awareness that you’re saying extremely rude and disrespectful things to others. You think if you’re right and pursuing your own cause, it’s acceptable for others to get hurt. Yet when others do the same to you, you feel it’s rude. What’s that about?”

After staring intently at Evan, Alex said,

“You’re not the only one who’s right, and what you believe isn’t the only truth. If you don’t understand that much, don’t expect to advance in your career.”

“But what reason would Sena have to feed me lies?! Where’s the necessity for that?!”

Evan’s face turned bright red as he confronted Alex, who remained expressionless and shrugged.

“She wanted to feed you lies to put Miss Lidoria in a difficult position, right? And she wanted to drive a wedge between her and Her Highness the Crown Princess. That’s all. You were used as a tool.”

“Evan,” Alex called to his colleague.

“That woman Sena only approached you because of your handsome appearance and impeccable family background. It’s not the loving relationship you’re imagining.”

“That’s not true! What would you know about it?!”

“Well, I wouldn’t know. What’s the truth you believe? So—”

Alex pressed his raised index finger firmly against Evan’s shoulder.

“—I’m telling you not to easily interfere in others’ relationships. Listen, the more tight-lipped people are, the more they’re observing you. ‘You get along so well,’ ‘What a beautiful fiancée, I’m envious.’ Don’t take seriously what people say when they spout such flattery as easily as breathing. You’re a grown adult now.”

After saying only that, he turned his black eyes toward Lidoria.

“Let’s go. Her Highness the Crown Princess is waiting.”

Though flustered by the sudden address, Lidoria gave Evan a perfunctory bow. Alex had already turned his back and started walking away.