It Seemed My Fiancé Hated Me, So I Distanced Myself—But for Some Reason, He Complained - Chapter 21

“Clarissa, are you alright? Are you tired?”

As the crowd finally dispersed and I let out a breath, His Highness Lucas looked at me with concern.

“No! I suppose I was just a bit overwhelmed.”

“You were surrounded for quite a long time. Perhaps we should rest somewhere.”

“No, I’m perfectly fine. Please don’t worry about me.”

“But you look pale to me. Let’s step away from the venue for a moment.”

His Highness Lucas said this and took my arm. Perhaps my fatigue showed more on my face than I realized.

Even though I’m supposedly a marquis’s daughter, it’s pathetic that just being surrounded by people for a short while would make me look so tired.

Though I was filled with self-loathing, His Highness continued speaking to me with gentle, caring words.

We entered the royal castle from the garden, and he had me sit on a sofa in the hall. There was no one else in sight besides us.

“Clarissa, wait here for a moment. I’ll bring you some water.”

Without waiting for my reply, His Highness Lucas dashed off. Our positions were reversed from last time.

Though I felt terribly guilty about making the crown prince fetch water for me, I must have been more tired than I thought, as I slumped limply against the sofa.

I never expected to receive such positive attention from people.

And though I’d always thought people would mock me if they saw my ugly eye, no one at the venue said anything bad. If anything, I felt I received nothing but favorable looks.

“I don’t understand. Lord Ryan always said I must keep my eye covered or terrible things would happen. ”

I murmured this while leaning against the sofa.

Then I heard someone’s footsteps approaching from a distance.

Thinking His Highness Lucas had returned, I straightened my posture. But the person who appeared wasn’t His Highness.

“Clarissa. You seem to be having quite the enjoyable time.”

“L-Lord Ryan…?”

The person who emerged from behind the pillar was Lord Ryan.

Lord Ryan wore a twisted smile that seemed to suppress his anger as he stomped toward me.

“W-what is it?”

“‘What is it’ isn’t the right question. What was all that about? Why were you attending the party with His Highness Lucas?”

“…I simply accepted when I received his invitation.”

“Why would His Highness invite an ugly woman like you? What tricks did you use?”

Lord Ryan said this with his eyes glittering fiercely.

Feeling somewhat frightened, I stood up from the sofa. Perhaps I should run away.

“Hey, wait. I’m still talking to you.”

“…What about Chelsea? Wouldn’t you rather be with her than bothering with me?”

“That woman doesn’t matter. There was some young lord staring intently at us in the venue, so I pushed her off on him.”

Lord Ryan said this with cold eyes. A question flickered through my mind – hadn’t he been fond of Chelsea?

There was something strange about Lord Ryan today.