RYL Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The man finally recognized me and, seeing how elegantly I was dressed, immediately bowed his head.

When I didn’t just walk past him and instead stopped in front of him, he looked up at me in confusion.

“Do you have something to say to me…?”

I gave him a small smile and pulled out a business card I had prepared, just in case.

“What’s this…?”

“I really enjoyed your performance. If you’re looking for a place that will truly appreciate your bass playing, go here.”

He stared blankly at the business card I handed him.

As he kept reading the name “Clina Salon,” I added,

“I think your talent is too good to be wasted in a place like this.”

I smiled again and turned around without hesitation.

No need to explain myself. Leaving him curious would make him more likely to check it out.

If it’s fate, he’ll show up at the salon.

He was just the beginning of a new idea I had.

The same boring music always played at these formal parties.
Even our salon still used that kind of music, but it wasn’t the direction I ultimately wanted to go.

I remembered the first time I fell in love with band music—
the shock, the freshness, the excitement that made my heart race.

If I could bring that feeling here, and make Clina Salon the only place where that kind of music played, I was sure it would be a huge success.

Plus, music wasn’t just for shows—it could be added to all kinds of events.

It’d be like killing two birds with one stone—or even three!

Just as I was about to head back to the ballroom, I heard a familiar voice.

“What, now you’re trying to flirt with the orchestra members too?”

I slowly turned around with a frown.
There stood Mathieu, looking strangely angry.

Flirting with the bassist?

Seriously? People see what they want to see…

But no—wasn’t my goal to completely destroy his silly misunderstandings and disappoint him?

Who the guy was didn’t matter.

“Why does it matter who I talk to?” I snapped.

Mathieu’s frown deepened.

Yeah, you hate it, don’t you? You probably think I was meeting other men behind your back while I was chasing you.

I want you to feel the same disgust I once felt toward you.
Only then will this stupid connection between us finally end.

I tried to walk past him like nothing happened—
but suddenly, he grabbed my wrist.

I frowned and looked down at his hand holding mine.

Then, in a cold voice, he asked:

“So it doesn’t matter who it is?”

Still glaring at him, I replied sharply,

“As long as it’s not you.”

I saw cracks form in his expression.

I tried to pull my wrist away, but he held on tightly.

Just then, I heard another familiar voice.

“There you are, Claire.”

Crown Prince Mikael stepped forward, the light from the ballroom behind him, smiling gently.

He looked at Mathieu and greeted him calmly.

“Oh, you’re here too.”

Mathieu’s face turned even more sour.

Mikael ignored him and turned back to me.

“I need to talk to you, Claire.”

“Right now?” I asked, clearly uncomfortable.

Mikael glanced at Mathieu still holding my wrist, then smiled sweetly.

“Yes.”

Then, Mikael placed his hand on top of Mathieu’s, which was still gripping my wrist, and said softly,

“Mind letting me borrow Claire for a bit?”

Mathieu’s grip tightened suddenly.

“Ow!” I gasped in pain.

Only then did Mathieu, surprised, let go of my wrist.

I quickly stepped back, holding my wrist, and stood behind the Crown Prince.

Mathieu opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but Mikael spoke first.

“Are you alright, Claire?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied.

Mathieu’s face stiffened again as he watched us.

“What could you possibly need to talk about that you have to take her away for?” he asked.

Mikael smiled calmly.

“Whatever it is, it’s between Claire and me. You don’t need to be involved.”

Mathieu raised an eyebrow.

“You speak like you and Claire have something going on.”

Their gazes clashed—Mathieu’s annoyed, Mikael’s relaxed.

What is going on with these two?

As I stood there, confused in the tense atmosphere, Mikael casually said,

“Well, we do have something going on.”

Mathieu’s eyes widened in shock.

Honestly, I was shocked too.
I meant to fake flirt, sure—but I didn’t expect the Crown Prince to play along!

While I stood there speechless, Mikael broke the tense air with a light laugh and added,

“Claire and I decided to become friends.”

That left both Mathieu and me totally stunned.

Still holding my hand, Mikael turned and said lightly,

“Now if you’ll excuse us.”

Only Mathieu was left behind, frozen in place.

After a moment, he snapped back to reality and ran his hand angrily through his hair.

He remembered the day I broke off the engagement and said we could “stay friends.”

“Friends, huh? So she can be friends with her ex and the Crown Prince too? With anyone she wants?”

Something about it made his insides churn.

***

On the terrace, led by the Crown Prince, I glanced awkwardly at our held hands.

He finally let go and gave me a warm smile.

I was grateful that the Crown Prince helped me get away from Mathieu,
but I couldn’t understand why he was going so far to help.

Was he really just trying to help as a friend?

That seemed unlikely. As the Crown Prince, being involved with me could stir up all kinds of rumors.
Why would he take that risk?

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked.

Mikael stared at me for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.

“Claire… are you getting close to other men on purpose…?”

Wait—did he see me with the bassist too?

Well, it wouldn’t be surprising. Everyone’s already gossiping about how I’m behaving,
and honestly, I wanted them to talk.

But then, Mikael said something I wasn’t expecting.

“It’s because of Mathieu, isn’t it?”

Although his remarks were a bit too personal for me, I maintained my composure and responded informally.

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

“You’re pretending to act carefree and flirt around to make the young duke lose interest, aren’t you?”

“That’s not true,” I said, forcing a smile and brushing it off.

Mikael looked down at me and spoke again, this time more serious.

“If that’s your plan, I think you’ve made a mistake.”

“Huh?”

What mistake?

“Being around those random guys won’t do anything except make Mathieu more annoyed.”

I blinked at him, not quite understanding.

So he kindly explained further.

“Mathieu knows very well that he’s better than all of them.”

Yeah, I knew that too. That jerk lives in his own world, convinced he’s the best.

And the sad part?
He usually is the best, which just makes him even more full of himself.

“Right now, I bet he’s still sure you’ll come crawling back to him,” Mikael said.

Thinking about the way Mathieu had acted, I couldn’t exactly deny it—and it gave me chills.

“But,” Mikael continued, “if the man you’re with is someone even better than him… then it’s a different story.”

I looked at Mikael, confused.

Was there even anyone in society more impressive than Mathieu?

As I wondered, Mikael gave me a sly smile and said,

“Why not use me instead?”