Chapter 11.
Just a Petty Spiteful Act
Everyone was curious about what Applin von Hafen was going to say.
“I love him.”
“I married Lucent Blackcarson because I love him.”
“What……?”
“Because you love him?”
Serge (the Crown Prince) stared at Applin von Hafen with a dazed expression.
“We can’t be like we used to anymore.”
“My husband comes before Your Highness now.”
Even as she spoke to Serge (the Crown Prince), Applin von Hafen kept her eyes on Lucent Blackcarson.
He gave a slight nod, agreeing with her words.
“I’ve finally realized what true love really means.”
Serge (the Crown Prince) clenched his teeth at Applin von Hafen’s familiar words.
They were the very same words he had once said to her, now thrown back at him.
“Then yell at me.”
“Get angry, Applin.”
“I’m not angry with Your Highness.”
“Rather, I’m grateful.”
“Thanks to you, I realized the greatness of love.”
“Differences in status didn’t matter.”
“Being helplessly drawn by the powerful force of fate.”
“That was the love I never knew.”
As Applin von Hafen spoke gently to the Crown Prince, Lucent Blackcarson’s mind grew complicated.
Something felt twisted.
Why did this woman always defy his expectations?
The moment his doubt toward her turned into conviction.
Still, if the process were too easy, it wouldn’t be fun.
Watching Serge (the Crown Prince) argue mindlessly was quite entertaining.
“Are you trying to get back at me?”
“Stop trying.”
“I can forgive everything.”
“You didn’t consummate the marriage, so it’s invalid.”
“I have the generosity to embrace Applin’s mistake.”
“So stop sulking and come with me.”
Serge (the Crown Prince) suddenly grabbed Applin von Hafen’s hand and pulled her.
At that sight, Lucent Blackcarson, who had been watching silently, stopped the Crown Prince without realizing it.
Tension thickened between the three of them.
“Take your filthy hands off her!”
Seeing Lucent Blackcarson holding Applin von Hafen’s hand, Serge (the Crown Prince) shouted fiercely.
Only then did Lucent open his tightly shut mouth.
“No matter if you are the Crown Prince, I cannot overlook you treating another man’s wife so carelessly.”
“Applin was never meant to be yours in the first place.”
“Lowly trash like you are meant to pick up rotten leftovers.”
“Let go, unless you want to die.”
Lowly trash.
This was nothing more than a petty, spiteful act driven by selfish desire.
At the vile words spat out by Serge (the Crown Prince), sparks flew in Applin von Hafen’s eyes.
Her face flushed as if blood surged backward, and her breathing grew rough.
It was unbelievable that he was the Crown Prince of a nation.
Serge was the worst.
He trampled on the choice of the woman he claimed to love and the dignity of the innocent Lucent.
It was unforgivable.
Worse still, he didn’t even realize he was exposing his own miserable depths and throwing the Crown Prince’s honor into the gutter.
“Your Highness, maintain your dignity!”
Applin von Hafen shook off the tangled hands of the two men resting on hers in one swift motion and shouted.
It wasn’t only Serge (the Crown Prince) who was startled by her cry.
“If you continue to demean my husband here, we will meet in court for defamation.”
“Husband……?”
“Defamation?”
Serge (the Crown Prince) glared at Applin von Hafen with every ugly expression he could muster.
Everyone in the lobby, including Lucent Blackcarson, held their breath in shock.
“Poor Applin.”
“They said Count von Hafen was in danger, and it’s come to this……?”
“Ha……!”
Was spouting nonsense a habit, or did he simply lack a brain compared to ordinary people?
She couldn’t understand why Serge (the Crown Prince) always said such absurd things.
At that moment, as if sensing Applin’s thoughts, a dog’s bark echoed from somewhere in the villa.
At first it sounded distant.
Then it grew closer.
A large white dog came charging in and sank its teeth into Serge (the Crown Prince)’s leg.
“Kyaa!”
“Your Highness!”
The servants’ screams and Max’s shout calling for the Crown Prince tangled together as the lobby descended into chaos.
The white dog relentlessly attacked Serge (the Crown Prince), who lay sprawled on the marble floor.
He screamed as if his breath might give out at any moment.
People panicked, unable to approach the dog.
Just then, Applin von Hafen sensed something strange and looked around.
At that moment, an unexpected camera flash went off.
Reporters sneaked into the villa?
It was well known that reporters constantly followed Serge (the Crown Prince)’s every move.
Still, she hadn’t expected them to brazenly intrude into the Blackcarson villa.
That was when someone decisively subdued the out-of-control situation.
“Riki!”
“That’s enough!”
At Lucent Blackcarson’s command, the ferocious dog hunting the Crown Prince immediately stopped biting, as gentle as a lamb.
“Leon!”
“Take His Highness to the hospital at once!”
“Yes, sir.”
Well-built men rushed in, lifted Serge (the Crown Prince), and hurried him into a car.
Thus, Serge’s appearance ended with him being taken to the hospital after being bitten by a dog.
The reporters chased after him, snapping photos until the very end.
“How on earth is the villa being managed?”
“Why was Riki’s leash undone?”
“And what about the reporters?”
“My apologies, Master.”
Lucent Blackcarson sternly reprimanded the villa manager.
Applin von Hafen looked back and forth between Lucent and the retreating Serge (the Crown Prince) with a dazed expression.
Lucent’s face didn’t look good either.
Still, when the dog ran wild, Lucent had been the first to shield and protect Applin.
She was grateful, yet it felt strangely deliberate.
The dog attacking as if it had been waiting for the Crown Prince to lose control, followed by the reporters’ sudden arrival.
The headline of tomorrow’s morning paper flashed vividly in her mind.
At that moment, a memory surfaced in Applin von Hafen’s thoughts.
It wasn’t a ghost.
“Lucent.”
“You said there was a beautiful but dangerous presence in the villa.”
“Was it that white dog who attacked His Highness just now?”
“Yes.”
“Normally, he’s gentle.”
“But he has an uncanny way of finding people with hostile intent.”
“Very impressive, really.”
Impressive?
Unlike moments earlier, when he had been giving sharp orders to the servants, Lucent Blackcarson now looked extremely calm.
As if he had known this would happen all along.
Did Lucent deliberately let the dog loose?
She suspected him for a brief moment, then quickly shook her head.
Lucent Blackcarson, who cared more than anyone about public attention, would never plan something this serious against the Crown Prince.
“Lucent, did you plan this terrible situation in advance?”
She felt she needed a clear answer from him to feel at ease.
Then a strange smile bloomed on his face.
Seeing it, a chill ran down Applin von Hafen’s spine.
“Would that be so wrong?”
“I endured every kind of humiliation.”
“Are you serious……?”
It was true that Lucent had been insulted with unspeakable words.
But if he had anticipated and prepared for all this, then Lucent was frightening.
“I’m joking.”
“I didn’t expect His Highness to come all the way here either.”
“And Riki is just a guard dog for the villa.”
Lucent Blackcarson pulled Applin von Hafen into his arms, patting her gently as he whispered.
“Were you very startled?”
“It’s all my fault.”
“I should’ve paid more attention to managing the villa.”
Hearing his deep self-blame, Applin von Hafen regretted doubting him, even for a moment.
They had both been overwhelmed by the sudden wedding.
Meanwhile, Lucent Blackcarson felt a surge of euphoric satisfaction.
His doubts about Applin turned into confirmation that she had made a wise choice.
I’m glad you didn’t take the Crown Prince’s hand and run away from me.
If you had, Riki would’ve hunted you instead.
Lucent gently kissed Applin von Hafen’s forehead.
Her blue-green eyes shimmered with clarity.
“Will His Highness be alright?”
“He will.”
He answered firmly.
“I hope so.”
“What if the imperial family holds you responsible?”
“They won’t.”
“What?”
As Applin von Hafen looked at him in confusion, Lucent Blackcarson took her hand and headed toward the bedroom.
For the first night they had yet to enjoy.
