Jason Turner, a man in his fifties, old enough to be her father, was an even more unpleasant person than she had imagined.
He was a full thirty minutes late for their appointment, and without a word of apology, he brazenly took credit.
“Oh, you were here first. Well, do you like the restaurant I booked for the princess? I put some thought into it, since young women like these things.”
You’d think he had booked the entire restaurant just from listening to him.
To take credit for booking a restaurant. Even Aaron, who loved to boast, didn’t go that far.
She was already taken aback by that, but he didn’t stop there once he sat down.
“Well, I guess you can’t really call the princess a young woman. At twenty-two, it wouldn’t be strange to have three or four children. How fortunate! That I’m interested in the princess. Otherwise, you’d be teased for being an old maid, hahaha!”
Ariella was dumbfounded by his laughter, as if he had made a very funny joke.
‘What is this guy?’
She had met so many people in society, but this type was rare.
To be precise, she was usually surrounded by high-ranking nobles, so it was rare to see someone who spoke so thoughtlessly.
As she stared at him in bewilderment, Baron Turner suddenly blushed and began to ramble about how much money he had agreed to pay Duke Bedford in exchange for marrying her.
Even then, he kept glancing at Ariella’s face, chest, waist, and thighs. With eyes that clearly harbored ulterior motives.
“The princess has a very… mature body. You could easily have three or four children with that.”
That was the third strike. Ariella felt dizzy and squeezed her eyes shut.
‘I can’t believe I’m thinking it would be easier to deal with Aaron.’
The man in front of her wasn’t as hateful as Aaron, but he was even more uncomfortable.
The way he scrutinized her like an object reminded her of her father, the expression that didn’t hide his s****l desire reminded her of Aaron, and the fact that his level of conversation didn’t match hers reminded her of David.
All of that combined made him, dare she say, the worst person she had ever met.
‘No wonder his hair all ran away with a personality like that.’
Ariella had an ominous thought as she stared at his shiny head.
The conversation continued in a similar vein after that. It was more like a one-sided rant than a conversation.
Baron Turner constantly boasted about his wealth, abilities, and past glories, and continued to make rude and offensive remarks under the guise of complimenting Ariella. Ariella, almost resigned, just sipped her water.
The only thing that left an impression was that he had worked as a knight in his youth. How could he, with a body that looked like it would be difficult to even run? She was curious, but she didn’t bother to ask.
She had a feeling that if she did, she would have to listen to stories about his time as a knight for hours.
After listening to his words with one ear and letting them out the other for several minutes, Baron Turner stopped talking excitedly and cleared his throat.
“By the way… at the debutante ball last time. The man the princess had her first dance with…”
She wondered why he was hesitating so much, but he was asking about her relationship with Nobert.
Even if he was thoughtless, he seemed to be afraid. Afraid that he might get into trouble if he touched a woman that Duke Ashbon had his eye on.
Pleased with his cautious attitude, Ariella smiled and said.
“Ah, Nobert?”
“Cough! Cough, cough, cough!”
Baron Turner coughed madly as she innocently spoke Nobert’s name. He seemed to have choked in surprise.
“H-how dare you say His Highness the Grand Duke’s name…!”
“It’s okay. Nobert asked me to call him by his name. I have his permission, so don’t worry.”
The baron’s small eyes darted back and forth. The Grand Duke had asked her to call him by his name. Even he, who wasn’t very familiar with the affairs of society, could tell that it wasn’t normal.
“Wh-what is your relationship with His Highness the Grand Duke…?”
His tone suddenly became polite. He also closed his legs, which had been spread out in an unsightly manner, as if he had never done so.
Ariella scoffed at him and shook her head lightly.
“We don’t have any special relationship. We’ve only had a few conversations. I don’t have any romantic feelings for Nobert, so please don’t misunderstand.”
“Ah, I see!”
Baron Turner’s face brightened again.
Of course, the great Duke Ashbon wouldn’t be interested in a fake princess!
Thinking this, he felt relieved and tried to spread his legs again. Just as his knee was about to brush against Ariella’s.
Thwack! Something hard and rocky struck the baron’s thigh hard.
“Ouch!”
He screamed and naturally closed his legs.
“That’s a disappointing thing to say.”
A low voice rang in his ears, and Baron Turner turned his head, his eyes filled with tears.
He was about to lash out at the guy who dared to kick his leg, but his courageous heart quickly shrank.
