“Ari…”
Arrie, it was at that very moment that Aaron was about to passionately call out Ariella’s name.
Finally, the hairpin was under the Countess’s palm.
Saaak-!
Countess Anabelle swung her hand without hesitation, and the sharp tip of the short-held hairpin slashed across the man’s body.
Saaak!
Lest once wasn’t enough, this time in the opposite direction again. And again in the opposite direction.
Driven into a corner, she didn’t think about the consequences and wildly flailed her hand. Continuing until bright red blood soaked the white bedsheets.
“Kkeuaaaaaaack!!”
And so, a scream of agony filled the luxurious hotel.
***
After confirming that Aaron had gone up in the elevator, Ariella returned to the restaurant and sat back down. Then, as if she knew nothing, she resumed her meal alone.
As she cut into the thick steak with a knife, the red flesh was revealed, and juices burst out.
She cut the sliced piece into smaller pieces. Smaller, even smaller.
Only when it was small enough for a child to eat in one bite did she stop cutting and put the meat in her mouth.
“Um, excuse me… His Highness just left the restaurant.”
The employee who had cleaned the wine-soaked table earlier approached, cautiously speaking.
Ariella slowly chewed and swallowed the half-cooked meat before answering.
“Oh? He must have had something urgent to attend to.”
It was a calm reaction, considering she had been stood up by her date.
She then placed her fork and knife on the table and took out a letter from her small bag.
“If His Highness returns, could you please give him this? I’ll leave it here.”
“Arrie Bedford!”
Just as she was about to gently place the letter down, a familiar voice came from the entrance of the restaurant.
Slowly turning her head, she saw Duke Bedford and Lizzy approaching like angry bulls.
“Father…? What brings you here-.”
“See! I told you! I saw Arrie luring His Highness to the hotel!”
Lizzy’s agitated voice cut off Ariella’s words. The sound was somewhat loud, and the attention of the guests and staff was immediately focused on them.
‘Where did that Aaron bastard go?’
Lizzy looked around, panting.
Something was wrong. The appointment time was clearly seven o’clock, but Ariella’s table already had food that seemed to have been eaten quite a bit, and Aaron, who should have been in the seat opposite her, was nowhere to be seen.
“…Arrie, tell me yourself.”
Duke Bedford interrogated Ariella with a fierce expression. Fortunately, perhaps because he was conscious of the people around them, a fist didn’t fly at her right away.
“Who was sitting in front of you, and where did he go?”
Violet eyes sharply scanned the letter envelope in Ariella’s hand.
[To Aaron.]
Veins bulged on his thick arms as he discovered the writing on the envelope. Lizzy smiled expectantly as she confirmed this.
Ariella slowly rose from her seat and faced her family.
“…Yes, that’s right. His Highness the Crown Prince was sitting in that seat until just a moment ago.”
Even though the scene had been discovered, her attitude was still calm.
If she’s dragged away like a dog and beaten, that arrogant nose of hers will be broken. Lizzy thought with a smirk.
“When I firmly rejected his offer to become his mistress, he seemed offended and disappeared without a word while I was in the restroom.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what Lizzy is mistaken about… Father, the reason I met Aaron here was to properly reject him. No matter how much I ignored him, Aaron kept sending letters and even came to the Bedford estate, sneaking past Father and Lizzy to my door.”
The Crown Prince is abandoning the real princess and courting the fake princess. People stopped eating and listened to the fascinating story.
“I thought that if I met him outside once, as he requested, and gently but firmly expressed my rejection, such things would not continue. Just in case, I wrote it down in a letter, so please, check it.”
Ariella handed the letter to the Duke. The Duke, with narrowed eyes, took the letter and roughly tore open the envelope to check the contents. Lizzy also hurriedly scanned the letter.
As Ariella claimed, the letter contained words of rejection that were both gentle and firm.
The main content was that she had no intention of having an unhealthy relationship with her sister’s fiancé, and that she would be looking for a new marriage partner before the end of the year, so please do not contact her again.
‘That can’t be…!’
Lizzy bit her lower lip and glared.
That couldn’t be. She had personally eavesdropped on their disgusting conversation, so it couldn’t be!
But when she thought about it, Ariella had been Kaiawarm during their conversation. It was Aaron who was impatient and urging her on.
Perhaps Ariella really did want to meet to reject him. Having confirmed the contents of the pre-written letter, there was little room for doubt.
However, Lizzy sensed it.
The fact that it was a place frequented by high-ranking people, the sudden change in appointment time, Aaron suddenly disappearing without his partner… There was no way all of this was a coincidence.
‘He knew I was eavesdropping!’
Her guess was accurate.
Before Aaron came to her room, Ariella had instructed Amira.
If Lizzy seemed to be coming, she was to take the servants and move out of sight so that Lizzy could properly hear the conversation.
