Episode 57: The Truth Behind the Rumors

“Have you heard? His Highness…”

A woman began whispering about the Princess’s past. She even glanced toward the Prince as she spoke, leaving Valerie wondering if she had lost her mind.

Instead of looking at the woman, the Prince’s gaze landed on Valerie. Her heart pounded. She had a sinking feeling that he knew something.

Valerie felt her cheeks flush under his piercing gaze and bit her lip. She couldn’t fathom what foolish stunt these women were trying to pull.

She had vaguely anticipated that Gladys would use the rumors Lena spread to stir up something. She had let it happen, hoping that whatever chaos ensued would disgrace Lena—a woman who was once her servant.

But she hadn’t expected such idiocy to unfold right in front of the Prince.

“Damn it…”

The Prince’s sharp gaze felt like a dagger at her throat, as though he could pierce her neck at any moment.

“So, is it true that she might have been a slave?”

“That can’t be true. It must be just a baseless rumor. If what you’re saying is correct, how could Her Highness have married the Prince and taken her position here?”

“That’s right. If it were true, then we’d all be attending a banquet prepared by a slave.”

“Exactly. How could such a ridiculous thing happen? At a banquet meant only for noble guests… Imagine a runaway slave not only attending but hosting it.”

Their sarcasm was blatant. The Prince, however, showed no reaction and quietly sipped his aperitif. Valerie turned her gaze to the Princess, whose face had slightly stiffened.

The way the Princess tried to remove the Prince’s hand from her waist gave Valerie a twisted sense of satisfaction. She didn’t know how the Prince would react, but the idea of the Princess being hurt delighted her.

“My, how utterly rude of you all. Whispering about baseless, vulgar rumors in the presence of Their Highnesses.”

Gladys fluttered her fan, glancing sideways at the women. Valerie couldn’t imagine what sort of bond Gladys had formed with them to orchestrate such stupidity in an attempt to stand out.

Could such a spectacle happen in front of the Prince if they were all just foolish idiots? Valerie, caught between her glee at the Princess’s distressed face and her fear of the Prince, nervously parted her dry lips.

“Well, these days, unbelievable things happen quite often.”

The Prince spoke lazily, breaking the silence. He gripped the Princess’s waist tightly as she tried to move away and gently pulled her closer while fixing his gaze on Gladys.

“Take, for example, a girl born of an affair who should’ve grown up hidden away as an illegitimate child, suddenly transforming into a lady of grace and dignity. Not to mention, having the rightful daughter of the household serve as her lackey, carrying out her dirty work.”

“……”

“And her father, who likely purchased a noble title with money, is truly vulgar. Ideally, someone like that shouldn’t cast even a shadow over a banquet hosted by my Princess. But, what can you do?”

After taking a leisurely sip of champagne, the Prince spoke again with a calm and serene expression.

“My Princess is so compassionate that she even extends kindness to such people.”

The Prince’s sharp gaze landed on Gladys. The women in Julia’s group, who had been rendered speechless, turned their attention to her. Valerie also feigned an expression of confusion as she stared at Gladys.

All eyes were now on her after the Prince’s remarks. Gladys, with a flushed and reddened face, bit her lip in frustration.

“It’s a generosity I couldn’t possibly emulate. So…”

“Your Highness.”

Gladys whispered faintly.

“I’d appreciate it if you refrained from further nonsense.”

The Prince’s gaze shifted to Valerie.

“Of course, if the filthy truth behind rumors of an illegitimate pregnancy and abortion were exposed, perhaps then some would learn their lesson after being thoroughly humiliated.”

The Prince shrugged. Valerie felt an intense wave of dizziness. Cold sweat broke out as primal fear overtook her, making her glance around in panic.

She briefly caught Lawrence’s glance as he entered with Marquis Heslow at a slow pace. Gillian, due to the previous incident, was absent, and while Edward was likely somewhere in attendance, he was nowhere to be seen.

She quickly glanced at Gladys and the women surrounding them. They were all whispering and casting cautious glances.

Her heart pounded. Everyone must have realized that the story was about her. After all, no one would think the Prince had mentioned it for no reason.

Blinking rapidly, she turned her gaze to the Prince. Nothing else mattered now. The most important thing was determining how much he knew.

“Let’s stop this uninteresting talk, Alec.”

The Princess’s calm gaze landed on her. The serene blue eyes were eerily quiet, almost unnervingly so. It was as if her sharp gaze pierced straight through Valerie’s thoughts, leaving her breath unsteady.

“You’re behaving quite rudely in front of the ladies. At this rate, it’s bound to become a dull ball.”

Feigning composure, Valerie turned her gaze slightly aside. The Princess slowly murmured as she fanned herself to cool the cold sweat forming on her brow.

“Let’s leave now.”

The Princess whispered to the Prince, who nodded in response and began to walk away. They soon disappeared into the distance, appearing harmonious once again.

Valerie was left trembling beside Gladys and the other foolish women. Gladys and Julia seemed paralyzed, their minds blank, as they sat in silence, only moving their eyes. It had been a truly dreadful evening.

---

How many people truly knew about her past? Lara thought about the nauseating behavior of the women she had just witnessed and instinctively clutched her lower abdomen.

Lara was still the runaway slave of Marquis Oppreese. However, the Marquis had no means to summon her back using that fact. If it came to it, Alec could always suppress him.

No matter how she had started as a runaway slave, no one could recklessly act against a woman who had become the Prince’s wife. Yet more than that…

“Did you hear?”

With every step Lara took, cold stares seemed to pierce her. These were people she had personally listed and sent invitations to. She had selected the paper and written the wording for the invitations herself. Since when had they known the rumors?

“…Disgusting.”

She wanted to gouge out and discard the eyes stealing glances at her. Lara slipped away from the hall while Alec chatted with Marquis Heslow and other dignitaries.

The voices of Julia Plafins and her group echoed deep in her mind, making it unbearable. Feeling queasy, Lara clutched her stomach and sought a quiet corner to catch her breath.

But as she walked, she felt more and more cold stares directed at her. She realized that, like every other high society, Dranberk’s social circles were likely no different from Travis’s.

Ever since Julia Plafins’s group had begun threatening her with rumors, Lara had suspected that most of the people here already knew about her past, as though someone had deliberately dug it up and spread it.

“Ha…”

Her face flushed, and she found it hard to take another step. Shame caused her to bite her lips hard, while tears welled up in her eyes. She clung to a tree for support.

Spreading rumors with sly precision was one of Valerie’s specialties. It was undoubtedly her doing.

Lara had suffered in the same way in her previous life, so it wasn’t surprising. Yet, even so, she found it hard to breathe. Fear gripped her as she trembled, stroking her stomach with a trembling hand, terrified of losing her child again.

“Don’t worry, my baby… It’s okay.”

Blinking away her tears, she tried to calm her fear. She had endured worse before. In fact, she was quite accustomed to such stares. For decades, she had lived with the shameful label of being a woman brazen enough to covet the Empress’s throne.

She had no reason to cry now. And yet, she was so angry and terrified that…

“Isn’t that Her Highness?”

It was a composed, low voice. Lara, who had been clutching the tree and gasping for air, turned around in surprise. Standing before her was Lawrence Hamizel, holding a cigar in one hand. It seemed he had come to this secluded spot to smoke. Lara stared blankly at him before hastily wiping her eyes.

“What brings you here?”

“Wait, wait…”

She faltered, unable to find the right words. She felt inexplicably frustrated that she always seemed to turn into a fool in front of this man. Clamping her lips shut, she decided to wait for him to say something and leave.

However, Lawrence didn’t leave even as time passed. Instead, he stubbed out his cigar on the tree and discarded it carelessly. It was a delinquent-like act.

When Lara frowned, the man’s hand reached for her face. Startled, she stepped back, but his firm thumb gently brushed beneath her eye.

A strange sensation swept over her, raising goosebumps. Quickly swatting his hand away, Lara glared at him.

“You’ve been crying.”

“…”

“Who made you cry?”

“Mr. Hamizel…”

“Gillian isn’t here, is he?”

Lawrence’s expression hardened. Lara, confused by his words, looked at him with a puzzled expression before averting her gaze. She wasn’t about to confide in him about what had happened earlier.

“It’s none of your business, so please leave.”

“Looks like that wretched Valerie pulled another dirty stunt.”

Lara’s face turned pale as she stared at him. She had thought he might know a thing or two, but realizing Lawrence was aware of the rumors made it harder to stay composed.

“What have you heard?”

“What do you mean, ‘heard’?”

“Earlier, you mentioned Valerie…”

“I haven’t heard anything.”

“Then…”

“Oh. I guess I did hear that.”

“What… what are you talking about?”

“The rumor the Prince spread.”

“What rumor did Ailrek spread?”

Lara asked urgently, and Lawrence chuckled lowly. He gazed down at her with an amused expression, curling his lips. Lara, now annoyed, pressed him for answers.

“Tell me already.”

“I never thought the Prince was the kind of man to engage in such underhanded tactics. Sure, I didn’t think he’d confront things head-on in a brutish way, but…”

“…”

“Still, he’s a man, isn’t he? I didn’t expect him to stoop to childish schemes just to bring down a woman threatening his wife. Truly surprising.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I like to keep at least one loose-lipped person around. Not someone I trust or use as my underling, of course. Anyway, that person told me something interesting.”

Lawrence spoke with a smirk, as if savoring an amusing fact.

“They said the only lady of the Oppreese Marquis had an affair years ago with a theater actor from Travis. Apparently, it got serious enough that she had a child. Some say the child was secretly adopted out by the Marquis, while others claim there was a miscarriage.”

“…”

“Relax your face.”

Lawrence chuckled, amused. Lara looked at him before lowering her gaze.

The Prince spread that rumor?