Chapter 23
Why is that guy here again?
I barely managed to keep a scowl off my face as Alex approached me, his bright red hair fluttering lightly in the breeze.
“My love, where have you been?”
Who said I was his love? If he loved me so much, why did he poison me?
The way he was acting sweet today meant he was clearly in a good mood—probably because something went well for him.
Thinking about his moody personality, I forced a polite smile onto my face.
“I told you before. I’m making medicine for the First Prince for the time being.”
“Oh, right. So, you just came back from seeing him? Is he feeling better?”
“I didn’t see him today, but I heard he’s doing better.”
Alex nodded, but his eyes flashed with something strange. His gaze quickly scanned my face.
“You’re not what I thought you were. I didn’t expect you to be such a bold woman.”
“What do you mean by bold?”
He squinted, as if saying you know what I mean.
“You always locked yourself away in the lab, so I thought you were the type to be satisfied with little things. But turns out, you had bigger plans all along.”
“……”
“Trying to get into the palace as a royal pharmacist by winning over the First Prince? They say quiet cats climb the stove first, huh.”
Listening to him talk left me feeling irritated.
“I didn’t help the First Prince with that kind of intention. He was sick—I just couldn’t ignore him.”
“Oh, right. Come to think of it, the First Prince doesn’t have any power left. Looks good on the outside, but he’s basically a sick old man now. That’s what the rumors say, anyway.”
Alex was acting cocky, his chest puffed out with pride. It looked even narrower than his head.
I just gave him a faint smile.
I already knew Alex was working with the Second Prince. No wonder he was trying so hard to insult Prince Claude.
Old man, huh? Prince Claude’s body is way more fit than yours, bunny boy.
I smiled brightly, pretending to agree with him.
“By the way, why are you here? We were supposed to meet tomorrow.”
“I just signed an important contract with a merchant group today. I was so happy, I had to see you. What do you say—shall we go on a date?”
I was exhausted from running around all day. A date now?
Does this man even know what a promise means?
Still, I calmed myself and decided to get it over with quickly.
“Sure, let’s go.”
“Really? Then, shall we get going, my love?”
Alex offered his arm to me. His arm looked even thinner than Prince Claude’s, the man he called an old man.
I let out a quiet chuckle, linked arms with him, and walked away.
When we reached the carriage, Alex opened the door with exaggerated manners.
“My lady, please step in first.”
His overly smooth voice made me want to gag. I had only eaten lightly in the morning, but now I really felt sick.
Still, I grabbed his hand like it was nothing and glanced behind me.
I spotted Rachel pretending to take a walk in the garden while clearly spying on me and Alex.
When our eyes met, I gave her a bright smile and climbed into the carriage, making sure she saw everything.
“Try on all the dresses you like. With your body, everything will look good on you.”
We’d already been picking out dresses for over an hour.
Alex, clearly just enjoying the show, kept choosing the most revealing ones for me to try on.
“With such clear skin, bold colors suit you well. Not many ladies can pull off such daring designs,” the shop assistant flattered.
Alex’s ego puffed up even more. His eyes wandered all over me and stopped at the neckline of the dress.
His creepy gaze made my skin crawl. I quickly covered my chest with my hand.
Alex cleared his throat, trying to play it cool.
“Everything looks perfect, but your wrist seems a bit bare. Could you show us some bracelets to match the dress?”
The assistant jumped at the chance, laying out all the jewelry on the display table.
Alex only asked for one bracelet, but the assistant brought out every expensive item in the shop.
“I think this one suits you best. What do you think?”
He held up a bracelet with tiny diamonds—so small they were barely visible.
Honestly, I didn’t want anything that came from him. Even if it was just a rag.
So I kept my mouth shut.
Just then—
“Oh my, isn’t that Baron Alex, the owner of the empire’s top merchant group?”
“Yes! And that must be his fiancée. Looks like they’re shopping for engagement gifts.”
“How romantic. With a rich man like him, I bet he’ll buy something extravagant.”
As the noble ladies whispered and giggled, Alex noticed the attention and couldn’t resist.
Public image was everything to him, so he immediately puffed up his chest again.
“I’ll buy everything here. For my fiancée, money is no object.”
“Baron, your taste is exceptional!”
The jeweler cheerfully began packing everything and stated the total price.
Alex’s pupils twitched slightly.
He had already spent a fortune on me, and this time he came planning to buy something cheaper.
But now it looked like he’d be spending nearly 50 million trang—and the thought made his stomach churn.
But Alex quickly changed his mind.
Considering the marquis title he’d receive after marriage and the money Aselin could earn from making medicine, it wasn’t a waste to spend a bit now.
It made him furious thinking that the foolish Duke Pierre had been keeping Aselin—basically a goose that lays golden eggs—all to himself until now.
Once they got married, she would be his forever.
‘Yeah, well, soon enough, those golden eggs she lays will be mine completely. I just need to be patient until then.’
Thinking that, Alex escorted Aselin out of the shop.
He felt very satisfied seeing the luxurious pearl bracelet on her white wrist.
It felt like he had chained her up, like putting her in handcuffs.
Just as he was about to take her back to the carriage—
Neighhhh—
Aaaah!
Watch out!
The street suddenly turned into chaos with the panicked cries of people and the loud neighing of a wild horse charging from the other side.
“Ahhh!”
The out-of-control horse was charging violently at people.
If anyone got trampled by those hooves, they would be crushed.
Without a second thought, Alex jumped out of the way.
From the force of his movement, Aselin was pushed forward and fell hard onto the ground.
Her body ached to the bone, but she ignored it and tried to get up quickly.
Neighhhh. The horse, which she thought had run far away, was now circling back.
“Lady!”
“No! Hurry, move!”
Screams rang out from all sides as Aselin clenched her teeth and tried to escape.
But it was too much to dodge the charging horse.
When it raised its massive front hooves right in front of her, she shut her eyes tightly.
Everything went dark.
Thud.
With a dull sound, the horse suddenly fell over to the side.
Boom.
As the horse hit the ground, Aselin slowly opened her eyes.
“Lady Rondinella.”
A calm, low voice rang out—clear and cool like a summer breeze in the forest.
He put away his sword and reached out his hand.
“Are you alright?”
His black hair fluttered in the wind, glowing with the golden light of the sunset behind him like a halo.
Aselin stared blankly at his outstretched hand.
‘…Prince Claude? Why is he… here?’
Right at that moment, Aselin felt like she was seeing a ghost.
She never imagined she’d run into him in broad daylight, in the middle of the street.
“Thankfully, it looks like you weren’t seriously hurt.”
Prince Claude’s calm voice came again.
The way the sunset light sparkled behind him made the scene look like a painting from an old masterpiece.
His outfit was neat and buttoned up to the neck, showing his disciplined, restrained personality. Every movement he made was graceful.
He casually offered his hand to Aselin.
The fact that she almost got trampled to death—and that it was Prince Claude who had saved her—all felt like a dream.
With a dazed look, Aselin took his hand and stood up.
His red eyes lingered on her for a moment, as if to check if she was okay, then looked away.
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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Advance chapters of this novel are available of my kofi channel
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