Silence is best when youâre pressuring a person to spill out the beans. I stared at the orange-haired young lady, and she averted her eyes as if the thief had numbed her foot.
âIâm sorry, I know itâs hard to forgive, but there was nothing I could do at that time.â
After a moment of hesitation, the orange head eventually opened her mouth cautiously.
âPeopleâs hearts donât always work the way we want, do they? It was really hard for me too, and Iâm sorry I hurt you, butâŠ.â
The orange-haired girl, who had been making excuses in a muffled voice, suddenly snapped her head up, and then spoke up like a person blessed with emotions.
âYouâre the one whoâs stuck in a rut now arenât you?!â
âWhatâs wrong with her?â
I frowned suddenly, not knowing why, and my dark light-lotus like brows instantly shot up.
âWhatâs with that look? Iâve had a hard time because of you, and so has His Highness Pavel!â
The orange-haired young lady jutted her chin provocatively, as if she would not lose to me.
âHonestly, isnât it his choice that His Highness Pavel chose me and not you? If you had handled yourself better, none of this would have ever happened!â
âOh my, is that what happened?â
The words that followed after were a series of exclamations from the Orange Haired lady.
I seemed to finally have a vague idea about what happened between Young Lady Bright and this Orange-haired girl.
âIt was said that it was Young Lady Brightâs fault, that their engagement was broken, but⊠It was actually our faultâŠâ
And this young lady here was probably one of the reasons for their breakup.
âWhat, youâre mad at me? You think itâs unfair? I know Iâm a bad person. Thatâs how I am. But You shouldnât have done that, Young Lady Bright.â
As I calmly gathered my thoughts together, the orange-haired young ladyâs expression changed. She crossed her arms and glared at me with a fierce expression.
âSee, I warned you, youâre gonna get yourself in trouble one of these days.â
She had so many facial expressions, I could actually learn from her. I glanced back at the orange-haired young lady with admiration and then her face contorted.
âWhatâs that look? Itâs not like you.â
The orange-haired young lady was fierce, as if her friendly demeanor a moment ago had been a lie.
âYou screamed at the top of your lungs and cried for the world to go away, why arenât you crying this time?â
âYeah, tell me more. Come on.â
I watched in silence as the orange-haired young lady rambled on. She eventually sneered sarcastically with an excited giggle, as if she took my silence to mean something else.
âWhat, no tears now? Or have you finally accepted reality?â
âWell, the fact that you, a Villainess, are still at the mercy of the prince⊠Itâs like passing gas that was enough to make a dog laugh.â
Amber eyes curved into crescents of obvious sneer. âYou were never worthy of the position of the Princeâs wife in the first place. You were too greedy.â
The orange-haired young lady twisted her red lips as she looked at me with mocking eyes. Leaning toward me, she whispered in a husky voice, âIâm sorry. You trusted your family name and your looks. Only to find yourself abandoned by your family and loved ones right?â
So this is the socialiteâs thread of society. Suddenly, an unbearable feeling of disgust enveloped me. I wondered why my mother hadnât been able to endure the imperial judicial system. Now I know why. She couldnât stand the social circles of the empire, and this is probably why she suffered from postpartum depression. Now I understand.
âHow shameless.â
Oh, I want to curse, I think, and I force out the mildest words I can muster as I squeeze through the dozens of expletives that have risen to the top of my throat.
âWhat did you just say?â
âWhat?â
âWhat did You just called me?âŠâ
âOh, shameless?â
I said it again, nicely, and the orange-haired young lady sucked in a breath. She couldnât hide her puzzled expression, wondering why my reaction was unusual.
âWh-whatâŠ..â
âI said.. You⊠Are⊠Shameless.â
I purposely enunciated each word with force, and the orange-haired young lady shuddered like someone who had just been horribly insulted.
âHow rude, how rudeâŠâŠâ
âYouâre the rude one. Why are you talking so loudly? Itâs as if Iâm the one who committed adultery.â
I choked back a laugh and glared at the orange-haired young lady. In the Empire, adultery is treated like a crime. The bloodline-oriented nobility was sensitive to adultery. So much so that when a nobleman drew up his marriage vows, he made sure to include a clause requiring him to pay a large amount of alimony if he committed adultery.
The amount of alimony was at least as much as the cost of one of the pillars of a mansion. If a person was unable to pay for financial reasons, he or she could be demoted to a lower rank. This is why the nobility of the empire were as cautious about marriage as anyone else.
Of course, in the case of betrothal, divorce was freer than marriage.
Through thick and thin, I can see why the crown prince said it was their fault. Seeing the orange-haired one make a scene like that made me visualize what the situation must have been like.
âItâs your fault. You shouldnât be surprisedâŠâ
âPfft..!â
If it were me, Iâd be so ashamed of myself, I wouldnât even be able to hold my head up. God, I love the world, with an adulterer holding their head up in shame. If she were in my estate, she would have been carpetbagged and beaten long ago. I took a deep breath, while swallowing down the lump in my throat.
âThis is the price of an orange.â Letâs get the kid out of here first. Ignoring the bobbing orange head in shock, I pulled out a handful of silver coins from my inside pocket.
I put three or four silver coins in the basket, and the kidâs face lit up as she looked at us both.
âIf you donât mind, can you give me the basket too?â
âSure!â
âThank you.â
A much bigger return than expected. The kid excitedly handed the basket over to me.
âHey, orange head.â
I didnât know what her name was, so I called her Orange Head, and her face turned bright red. Regardless, I pulled a round orange out of my basket.
âFirst, I am not Young Lady Bright.â
With a deliberate word, I glared at the orangeâs head as I spoke. I was furious, so I added a little extra flesh to her face. The orange-haired woman hiccupped at the speculation, but I didnât let it bother me, instead tightening my grip on the orange.
âSecondly, I donât walk away from a fight Iâve walked into.â
Crushed.
As soon as I finished speaking, the orange was completely crushed in my hand. Seeing that, the Young Ladyâs face immediately turned pale.
âA-Are you threatening me?â
The orange-haired young lady trembled and opened her mouth.
âNo. Iâm just responding to you because you made the first move.â
Oh well. Iâd succeeded in scaring her, but the juice dripping from my hand was unpleasant. I brushed my hand away and said something back, and the orange head clutched at her member and stomped her foot. She was angry, but she couldnât seem to get the words out because she was scared of me.
âWhatâs going on?â
Just then, a dark blue-green head appeared above the Orange.
âWhat is that seaweed hair?â
âIâm out here by myself, just wanting to breathe andâŠâ
The man seemed to be part of the orange-haired youngsterâs group. Suddenly, the tanned unwanted guest spotted me and frowned at me.
âArchie, why are you here?â
âPavel!â
âOh. So Itâs the Second Prince, that creep from the other world.â
The orange-haired young lady had summoned him, so it was easy to recognize him. âYour Highness, listen to me, Did you know what that woman said to me?â
The flustered orange-haired woman regained her composure as her adversary appeared.
âEris, calm down, whatâs going on?â
The man soothed the orange-haired woman who had turned on him with a calm voice, he was looking at me with fierce eyes.
âIâm so sick of you. I thought I told you never to set foot in front of my sight again.â
âIâm sick of it too,â I said nonchalantly.
My chest felt tight as if a hot potato was hanging around my neck. I wanted to curse at him, but he was a prince of an empire.
âIâm the one whoâs sick of you, you salted seaweed head.â
âWhat have you done to Eris?â
I could only curse inwardly, but the seaweed-headed prince asked with a fierce look on his face. One would think I was a substitute sinner.
âI didnât do anything.â
âYouâre lying, you didnât do anything, and Eris is like this?â
The hostility in his eyes made me feel even more uncomfortable. Now I was really starting to feel like a b-tch.
âCome on⊠What did I do? i simply saw a bug sa I crushed itâ
As I replied bluntly, I looked at the orange-haired girl called Eris, and she shuddered in the princeâs arms, her shoulders slumping as she shivered. The prince frowned at the sight.
âIf youâve done anything to Eris, then youâd regret itâŠâ
âI was just smashing an orange..â
âAn orange?â
âYes. An orange.â
The prince looked at the orange, crushed and lying on the floor.
He then blinked.
âWhat theâŠâ
âPavel! That woman threatened me with an orange!â
âHuh?â
The prince narrowed his brow, as if he didnât quite understand the current situation. If it were an ordinary young lady, she wouldnât have the strength to crush an orange with her hands, so he had reasons to be suspicious.
But I have a Knightâs body. I could crush an apple or a walnut, both of which are harder than oranges.
â€
TL NOTE:
Iâm so pissed off. Theyâre so shameless. I actually feel sorry for Archie now⊠She seemed like a sweet Persimmon..