Ariella muffled her footsteps to avoid being noticed by him. However, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, Fletcher suddenly turned around, and unfortunately, she was soon discovered.
“Hmm? Princess Bedford?”
She was even immediately recognized.
‘Well, this is good. If he knows my identity, he won’t act recklessly.’
She thought this, but it was a rather naive thought.
“Wow, finally I get to see the noble Lady Ariella’s face up close! Come closer!”
It was a delusion to think that everyone would act rationally.
A drunken man had no capacity to distinguish who should not be touched. Instead, he had half-closed eyes and was leering at her.
“Count Fletcher, please step aside. As you know, my fiancé is quite jealous, and I think this is not a good time for a conversation.”
“Jealous? I saw you being rejected for a dance earlier. It seems His Highness the Crown Prince can’t do anything for his beautiful fiancée, huh?”
He tried to sell out Aaron’s temperament, but it seemed that the count had witnessed the scene where Aaron had refused to dance. If he was going to watch, he should have seen it through to the end; it seemed he had only been drinking since then and was unaware of what happened afterward.
“How sad it must be! No one to comfort you… So, Princess.”
His cloudy eyes roamed over her body. It was a familiar gaze. A look filled with drunkenness and l**t.
“Should I comfort you…?”
Ariella’s face hardened as she noticed the hairy hand approaching her.
It wasn’t just her face that had stiffened. Instinctively, her body froze, and her legs wouldn’t move.
A man of a similar age to her father. A build that could easily overpower her. An oppressive tone and a gaze that felt like it was stripping her bare.
In front of such a man, her body often froze like this. As if it had been conditioned.
‘No.’
She couldn’t just stand there and take it. If she couldn’t overcome this, she would never be able to start her revenge.
Ariella clenched her trembling hands tightly.
The count was currently off guard. The glass in his hand looked dangerous, but if she seized the opportunity, she could strike a vital point.
Just a little closer, just a little more, and she would jab him in the chin with her elbow.
Her nails dug painfully into her palm. Thanks to that, it felt like strength was gradually returning to her immobile body.
And just as she was about to bend down to deliver a blow to him.
“Eek…!”
Count Fletcher, who had been approaching her, suddenly gasped and took a step back. As if he had seen something terrifying, his eyes widened in shock as he stared behind her.
Thud, thud, thud!
The sound of heavy footsteps grew louder. Ariella, who had only just realized this due to the tension that engulfed her body, tried to turn her head back, but it was unnecessary.
Crash!
With the sound of a glass shattering against the floor, the count’s hefty body flew through the air.
A red cloak fluttering like a blazing flame filled her vision in an instant.
“Cough…!”
Count Fletcher, letting out a dying groan, collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Blood seeped from the back of his head, as if it had been cracked open.
The man who had rushed past Ariella and seized the count’s neck walked toward the fallen count, as if his anger was not yet satisfied.
Ariella stared at the man’s back in confusion.
A red cloak and an unusually large and broad body. It was the man who had danced with her just moments ago.
Thud!
The man, who grabbed the count by the collar again, struck his solar plexus without hesitation. It was a punch, but it made a heavy sound as if he had been hit with a blunt object. It seemed she could hear something breaking.
Count Fletcher’s eyes rolled back completely. His hefty body slumped down.
Even though the count had fainted, the man’s demeanor remained fierce. His long fingers curled one by one, making a cracking sound, as if preparing to throw another punch.
For some reason, Ariella had a gut feeling that if this continued, he might really kill him. She hurriedly opened her mouth to stop him.
“Stop! You’ll get in trouble!”
The duke’s status was by no means low. The fact that he could drink freely at the marquise’s party was because he had some confidence in that.
To knock him out like this was not something that could be overlooked.
Moreover, if it became known that the man who had knocked out Count Fletcher was the same person who had asked the Crown Prince’s fiancée for a dance, the situation would become even more complicated. It was certain that at least his remaining life would become miserable.
