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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Starfall]
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Chapter 3 – Who Were You With?
For the past two weeks, Selina hadn’t seen her fiancé—no, soon-to-be ex-fiancé—who now looked at her as if he’d always known something like this would happen.
She glared at Eric, seething with anger.
‘This is all because of him.’
Selina felt wronged.
She wasn’t a true villainess.
Of course, their contract offered the benefit of exclusivity, but if she had thought it would truly harm Ingrid, Selina would have refused.
She agreed because she believed she was helping the naive but sincere Crown Prince find happiness with Ingrid, the Baron’s daughter.
Selina had planned to apologize to Ingrid formally once she and Eric were engaged.
She believed that Ingrid, who always accepted her apology gifts, would understand everything.
Selina’s role as the villainess highlighted Ingrid’s gentleness and purity, and gradually, it became
fashionable in society to see people for who they were, not their status.
Eric’s strategy was quite brilliant, as it showed the royal family and society how deeply he cared for Ingrid.
Although Selina became the villainess, she was willing to sacrifice her reputation temporarily if it helped overcome the high wall of class difference in society.
But to be accused of causing an international incident because of this?
The victim was the Second Princess of Furon, and it was certain that Selina had no alibi at the time the dress was torn.
It seemed that Crown Prince Eric, who could resolve all of this, had no intention of intervening.
“If your only defense is a denial, perhaps it would be best to inform His Majesty and allow him to ascertain the truth.”
“It’s amazing that you haven’t even apologized for this situation.”
Despite the mounting accusations, Selina remained silent, biting her lip in frustration.
‘Apologize… no, I can’t do that.’
This wasn’t just about ruining a royal dress.
The Count of Arsene family owned an international trading company and was about to enter a joint venture with the Patel family.
If Selina apologized to escape the immediate crisis, it would be admitting guilt, and if that were to be misconstrued, it would affect the company.
As the only legitimate daughter of the Count of Arsene, Selina had always strived to avoid being overshadowed by her stepmother, stepbrother, and half-brother, even agreeing to a beneficial marriage for the family.
If this incident escalated, she could even be asked to step down as acting head of the family.
‘I can’t let that happen at any cost.’
She needed a way out.
“My lady, can’t you at least tell us where you were and what you were doing at that time?”
Princess Helena spoke to Selina as if she pitied her.
“I… was with someone else.”
“Who? Multiple people? If they’re not here, call them and have them testify.”
“Ah, that’s…”
Eric frantically signaled with his eyes for her to remain silent.
“Your Highness, are your eyes… hurting?”
Ingrid, who was watching from the side, interjected. Eric cleared his throat and spoke.
“My… my eyes are uncomfortable from witnessing such an unpleasant incident. How about we remove that dress first?”
But Princess Helena retorted sharply.
“No. This is evidence of crime. We will decide whether to remove it after Selina tells us who she was with and we secure their testimony.”
‘She won’t even let us destroy the evidence.’
Eric ran a frustrated hand over his face.
‘How did things get to this point?’
She knew what she was doing was insane, but she had to make her engagement work.
Recently, they had even gone on a few secret dates, and people had started saying they were the most well-suited couple in society when they stood together.
She couldn’t back down now that they were so close to their goal.
‘I’m sorry, my friend. You’ll have to find your own way to survive. I’ll make sure you get that
exclusivity, no matter what.’
Selina closed her eyes in despair, watching Eric quietly turn his head away.
‘That bastard… he’s thinking of bailing.’
Never before had Eric’s nickname, “The Lucky Crown Prince,” felt so apt.
Others took the blame for him, and he took credit for the praise that others had worked hard for.
That was the nature of being the one and only Crown Prince, recognized by the Emperor as the next in line to the throne.
Thanks to this, Eric could comfortably focus on his first love.
‘Even if it means framing someone else.’
Seeing Selina’s self-deprecating smile, the young master Patel asked, as if displeased, “Who were you with? If you’re so certain of your innocence, bring them here.”
‘As if it’s not a lie anyway.’
The unspoken words seemed to echo in her ears.
“The person I was with…”
All eyes were on her. Selina, with a resigned sigh, replied, “I cannot reveal their name.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Does this seem like a trivial matter to you?”
“This is a matter for the Imperial Court!”
In the midst of the commotion, someone entered the lounge.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
Janus Justia, the only Grand Duke of the Sephia Empire.
He was the same age as Crown Prince Eric and his cousin, but he was already a war hero who had fought in five battles.
He was the hero of Sephia, who inherited the mysterious power of the dragon passed down only through the royal bloodline.
Janus, who always returned victorious from battle, was now revered by all the people of the empire as the God of War.
“Greetings to the Little Sun of the Empire, Crown Prince Eric.”
Will Chase, Janus’s adjutant and childhood friend, also greeted him from the side. He continued smoothly,”The Grand Duke is curious about what you were discussing.”
Will often conveyed Janus’s intentions, as the Grand Duke was a man of few words and did not enjoy being in the limelight.
“I’m sure the Grand Duke will be surprised to hear it as well… ”
“Princess Helena of Furon, the guest of honor at this banquet… ”
Everyone stepped forward to explain what had happened in the lounge.
Janus and Will, due to the frequent wars between Autumn and Sephia, often had to return to the battlefield as soon as they arrived in the capital.
Since anyone rarely had the opportunity to see and talk to them, everyone was eager to speak up and try to get a word in.
‘What should I do?’
Selina, isolated from the heated crowd, pondered how to resolve the situation.
Suddenly, she felt a gaze fixed upon her. Cautiously, she looked in that direction and her eyes locked with Janus’s.
The red eyes of the one who possessed the dragon’s power were undoubtedly focused on Selina.
‘Does the Grand Duke also suspect me? Just from listening to those people?’
Selina, who had lowered her head as soon as their eyes met, slowly raised it again.
Janus was still looking at her.
As if there was no one else in the lounge but Selina.
‘That’s not a look of suspicion… It’s more like…’
Selina shook her head, dismissing the absurd thought.
‘What am I thinking? That he has feelings for me? In this situation, no less. Right now, I need to find a way out of this mess.’
Before Selina could come up with a plan, the others had finished explaining the situation to Janus.
“We believe the culprit is the Lady Arsene, who caused another incident recently.”
“She’s the only one who hasn’t been able to properly explain where she was and what she was doing at that time.”
“All she says is that she didn’t do it.”
Morgan, who had broken off his engagement with Selina, asked urgently, “So who were you with? Why can’t you say? Surely you’re not going to tell us now that it was a lie?”
At Morgan’s words, Princess Helena nodded and said, “Lady Arsene, if you don’t give a proper explanation, people will think you did it.”
Selina could neither reveal the truth nor apologize for something she hadn’t done.
Even if it seemed shameless, she had no choice but to repeat what she had said before.
“As I said earlier, I was with someone else. But as for who that person is…”
“Me.”
A pleasant baritone voice resonated heavily.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Starfall]
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