Chapter 39
“How dare you speak to me like that?”
She slapped Marie’s cheek. To the onlookers, it was a typical scene. Marie thought the slap was cheap payment for provoking the Duke’s daughter, but she didn’t want to be hit again and took a step back.
Clench. Someone grabbed Marie’s shoulder. A large hand, warm to the touch. A familiar embrace.
“Lady Dietrich.”
Ah, so he wasn’t on first-name terms with Arwena. Marie thought this and immediately felt disappointed in herself. Why am I relieved over something so trivial?
Lately, her concern over Russell had been excessive. Frowning, she leaned into the Crown Prince who was holding her gently. They needed to appear as a close couple.
Somehow, the Crown Prince’s body supporting her from behind felt more tense than usual, but that must have been her imagination. He wouldn’t be shaken by something like this.
“You can’t just slap my courtesan’s face.”
As if suddenly softening, Arwena whispered with a playful tone.
“Your Highness, it’s not like that. Do you know how vulgar that woman was? She dared to call me a ‘recessive Omega.’ How could I just stand by after hearing such an insult?”
“Is that so? Marie said that?”
Russell positioned Marie slightly aside. Their eyes briefly met, and Marie nodded in confirmation. People nearby sighed, whispering if she was crazy. Arwena’s boldness seemed truly overwhelming.
Still, she had to play her part. This was exactly the role the Crown Prince wanted. Smiling wryly inside, Marie hooked her arm through his with an air of sweetness.
“I’m sorry. I was terribly rude, Lady Dietrich. You’ve already punished me, so would you kindly be gracious enough to forgive me? I am promised a dance with His Highness next.”
Arwena glared at the arm linked with his.
“Your Highness. Surely you don’t intend to dance with that woman instead of me, right?”
People laughed. From here, depending on whose side was taken — the courtesan or the Duke’s daughter — the Crown Prince’s true intentions would become clear.
After the silence, the Crown Prince finally spoke.
“I’m sure I told you, Marie.”
He directed his words at her.
Of course, she didn’t expect anything. No, she tried not to expect. Even as he reached out and grabbed her arm, even as he bowed his head slightly and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist as if to kiss it…
With his lips still touching her skin, he whispered:
“As my courtesan, you must behave yourself.”
“Yes, Your Highness. But…”
“Then you will be punished, Marie.”
He whispered with surprising intimacy, then parted his lips. His neat teeth bit gently into the soft skin of Marie’s wrist. The strong pressure left a bite mark, accompanied by an unmistakable and overwhelming Alpha pheromone.
Gasps of shock echoed around the room, but the Crown Prince’s intentions didn’t seem to be to arouse her. Rather, he harshly wiped away the other Alpha pheromones clinging to every inch of her body.
A chilling silence fell. Every Alpha in the banquet hall saw it — the clear bite mark on the released Omega’s skin, like a territorial mark.
But then the Crown Prince made an unexpected choice.
“Well then, Marie, wait quietly.”
Turning away from the courtesan who had just covered with his pheromones, he reached out his hand to Arwena, who had been glaring at Marie with a fierce expression.
His choice was the Duke’s daughter.
‘Of course.’
Marie whispered to herself, watching the scene.
‘I knew it. That’s what I’m here for. But Marie Alphrose, what are you doing? Why are you like this?’
A series of mocking laughter brushed past her ears.
It was so strange.
‘Why is my heart aching?’
Since when had it been like this? Since when, exactly?
Amid the dismissive scrutiny of those around her, Marie looked at the well-matched couple.
Without realizing it, she stroked the arm that bore his bite marks and recalled the burning expression on the man’s face, shown only to her. She also fumbled through the sharp words that had pierced her heart.
It was all Russell.
That wasn’t a good sign. It meant she was thinking about him far more than she should.
There was nothing more foolish than trying to put down roots where she knew she had to leave. So she shouldn’t have started at all.
Marie firmly suppressed her feelings, pressing down on them. Perhaps if she did so strongly enough, they would all disappear.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.