TVIOWHFW 23

The Masked Ball at the Imperial Palace was incredibly glamorous, especially since it was held at night. At the center of the masked ball stood the Crown Prince. Many masked guests flocked to get close to the Crown Prince, eager to make his acquaintance.

“Your Majesty. How about spending tonight with me?”

“I have been waiting for a night like this with you for a long time.”

Women dressed in dazzling masks played coquettishly. However, the more women showed such behavior, the more the Crown Prince’s irritation grew.

‘Why can’t I get her out of my mind?’

Prince Carlos ignored the crowd around him and sipped his wine. It was a drink he often enjoyed, but somehow it didn’t taste right tonight.

‘What is it about that woman…?’

A nobleman nearby tried to stop him.

“Your Majesty, I think you’ve had too much to drink tonight. Perhaps you should—No, never mind.”

As Carlos’s expression darkened, no one dared to intervene further. His head spun from drunkenness, and he felt dizzy. Estelle Libertan. The first time he saw that lowly woman was at his birthday banquet. Back then, she was a commoner taken in by the Libertan noble family instead of a noble lady, so he had only paid her light attention.

“Hello, Your Majesty the Crown Prince. My name is Estelle Libertan.”

Her platinum hair, tinged with a faint pink, shone like an angel’s light. Her petite, adorable features looked as if they belonged to a doll, radiating charm. Prince Carlos was certain that, even if she was of humble birth, she would rush to him to change her fate. All the women he’d seen so far had done just that. But her calm, cool blue eyes, after her greeting, didn’t look at him again. That annoyed him. He thought that lowly woman dared to look down on the Crown Prince as if he were insignificant.

‘Is this imperial banquet a place where even a lowly bloodline can intrude?’

He mocked her for her low status.

‘The Libertan family is quite prestigious. Coming here proudly…’

As the icy blue eyes of the woman reflected only his own, the Crown Prince felt a thrill run down his spine. The pale woman bowed her head and apologized to him. The same went for her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Libertan.

‘They’ll come back, probably, to apologize for tonight’s rudeness.’

Women generally feared him but were eager to find a way to get closer. But after that, Estelle Libertan never appeared before him again. He had intended to forgive her if she came to apologize for her rudeness.

‘How dare she dismiss me?’

He scoffed and spent the night as he usually did—drinking with other women and attending countless banquets. The problem was, he felt a strange regret about Estelle, who was still out of his reach. Tears that had gathered at the corner of his eyes, overwhelmed by shock, kept surfacing in his mind.

‘Then I’ll do as I please.’

So, the Crown Prince took special steps and forcibly summoned Estelle from the Libertan estate. He pretended to be engaged to her and succeeded in insulting her.

“I shouldn’t have let that woman go like that.”

Carlos drank bitter liquor to soothe his aching heart. The more intoxicated he became, the more vivid the memories of calling her out forcibly resurfaced.

“Damn it.”

Her youthful face had surely matured into a woman’s now.

‘She’s already been sold to the Blanchet family.’

Carlos had no hobby of obsessing over another man’s woman. Nor did he have the habit of reconsidering a woman he had once discarded.

“Maybe I should have rescued her.”

But thinking about Estelle, dead in the Blanchet family, made his stomach churn.

‘Technically, they say they’re keeping her alive.’

However, the Duke of Blanchet, who had even imprisoned the Libertan couple for treason, wouldn’t have kept Estelle alive. Marriage was just an excuse; they could have toyed with her or already killed her. Anyway, no one would care whether an adopted member of a treasonous family was dead or alive. Carlos clenched his fists. It was absurd, but…

‘I feel her absence.’

Suddenly, irritation surged within him, and Carlos slammed the table. His aides screamed in alarm. Ignoring their reactions, he walked toward the back of the masked ball. Amid the cool breeze, he saw the face he had been desperately waiting for.

‘Is this a hallucination?’

He was disguised with a wig of platinum hair tinged with pink, and wearing a mask. But the deep blue eyes, reminiscent of the ocean, that had captivated his gaze, remained unchanged. Even though he was starved for a woman, to be haunted by such a hallucination—what a foolish illusion.

“You…”

But Carlos couldn’t ignore that hallucination. He quickly approached, fearing she might vanish like a mirage at any moment.

“Is she a lowborn from the Libertan family?”

Estelle’s figure was more mature than in his last memory. Her face, hidden beneath a rabbit mask, was hard to see, but the innocent sweetness he’d felt back then still lingered.

“Have you just come of age?”

Every time Carlos approached, Estelle gradually retreated.

“You already know who I am. Why don’t you answer?”

“You must have mistaken me for someone else, Your Highness.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

It seemed she thought this was a hallucination, not reality. But Carlos didn’t care—even if she was someone else, it made no difference to him.

“Either way, it doesn’t matter.”

Just sensing her was enough for him.

‘Since the real Estelle has already become someone else…’

There was no way the Duke of Blanchet would have let her attend such a masked ball unless he was planning something. But since he was imagining things anyway, it was better to imagine the best case.

‘If I can still have her…’

A sharp thrill pierced his head. Carlos threw off the cumbersome mask and grasped her chin, carefully examining her deep blue eyes. It was the same woman.

“Tonight, I’ll let you stay with me, especially.”

He was pleased to see his reflection in her shimmering eyes.

“If you’re satisfied, I might even make you my concubine.”

Startled by his words, Estelle froze stiff. She radiated an innocence different from the women he was used to, a freshness that stirred something new.

“Even if you don’t become my concubine, you’ll be satisfied. That’s a promise.”

But she slapped his hand away and recoiled. As she moved back, she fidgeted with her bracelet and muttered a single name.

“…John.”

That murmur reached Carlos’s ears with perfect clarity. Daring to mention another man’s name? Especially right in front of the Crown Prince himself? Inside, seething with rage, Carlos sneered at Estelle.

“You wouldn’t dare reject the Crown Prince, would you?”

He reached out again, grabbing her arm, intending to drag her away this time.

“Whether you are anyone, a night with the Crown Prince is too much to ask—”

Somewhere beyond, in a place untouched by anyone’s interference, a man with black hair suddenly appeared behind her, pushing Carlos’s hand away. It was John Blanchet.

“Madam, are you alright?”

He looked at his wife, then scowled at the Crown Prince.

“Why is that strange thing twisting around on its own?”

The Duke of Blanchet, holding Estelle as if she belonged to him, glared at Carlos.

“That’s my wife.”

~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~

Suddenly, the Crown Prince who appeared had no intention of listening to me. I had no choice but to call out John’s name.

“…John.”

Since John said that calling his name would activate the magic on the bracelet, I spoke cautiously, not wanting to provoke the Crown Prince. But inwardly, I desperately called out his name in my mind.

‘John! John! If it’s dangerous, you said you’d come!’

At that moment, someone suddenly wrapped their arms around me from behind.

“That dirty hand, take it away.”

The scent of musk, deep and enveloping, along with strong, steady arms around me—though rough, they didn’t hurt. It was John. His hand, clutching my body, radiated a terrifying intensity. Perhaps because of the person in front of us, the darkness in his eyes deepened, causing my skin to crawl as his touch sent shivers through me.

“Estelle, are you okay?”

I nodded with teary eyes and glared at the Crown Prince. John’s hostile gaze naturally shifted to him as well.

“Why is that strange thing twisting around on its own?”

His low, haunting voice echoed.

“That’s my wife, too.”

The opponent was the Crown Prince. No matter how infamous he was as a royal brat, he was not someone to be underestimated.

‘But it’s strange.’

From the moment John embraced me, my anxiety vanished, replaced by relief. Somehow, I felt that John would handle everything. His gaze turned to my wrist. I had pushed away the Crown Prince, but only my wrist was slightly swollen. When John saw that, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

“Did that bastard do something to you?”

His cold voice was not loud but cut sharply into my ears.

“Tell me, wife.”

He looked ready to tear apart the Crown Prince at any moment.

“I’ll make him pay for whatever he did.”

His jaw clenched as if grinding his teeth, and the corners of his mouth twitched faintly.

‘Revenge.’

That word felt utterly strange to me, so I shook my head quickly.

“Nothing happened. I just want to go home now.”

“Alright. Let’s go back.”

John softened his tone and gently coaxed me.

“There’s no need to worry about those messed-up things.”

“Why won’t you reject me?”

The Crown Prince, staggering as if he had just woken from heavy drinking, asked through clenched teeth.

“Do you even know what that ‘author’ is? If you knew the truth, you’d see who the real opponent you should be challenging is.”

“Let’s go, Duke.”

I grabbed John’s hand before the situation worsened further.

“Anyway, she’s not even truly married to you—”

“Are you regretful that I abandoned her so easily?”

John’s gaze turned toward the Crown Prince.

“Sorry, but this woman is mine.”

John affectionately stroked my hair with his large hand, then slowly pressed his lips to my forehead—firmly.

“No matter how much you regret it, it won’t change anything.”

Perhaps his show of possession was a way to prevent the Crown Prince from taking me away. But even that act, rather than being unpleasant, sparked a strange thrill in me, driven by John’s fierce jealousy. When my cheeks flushed pink, John smiled in satisfaction.

“My woman is truly beautiful.”

Just as the Crown Prince’s voice was about to rise…

“Your wife doesn’t have to deal with that disgusting thing anymore.”

With those words, the scenery suddenly shifted before my eyes. Unlike just moments ago, when I was held from behind, John was standing right in front of me.

‘Is this the Duke of Blanchet’s estate?’

But I could hear the sound of string instruments from the banquet hall nearby. It seemed to be in a different part of the palace. A strange shadow crossed John’s face as he whispered sweetly, still simmering with anger.

“What kind of trick did that bastard try?”

“Thanks to you coming right away, nothing happened.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Hmm… except for him trying to drag me away? Maybe I shouldn’t have asked for some drinks.”

John’s tired eyes twisted into a slight grimace.

“No. It was all that bastard’s fault.”

His lips twitch slightly, as if suppressing something boiling inside. But even that expression was stunning, like a painting.

“How could my wife be at fault?”

His long fingers gently caressed my earlobe. His other hand, wrapped around my waist, slowly pulled us closer. His crimson, emotion-swollen eyes approached my face. I stopped breathing and stared at him. He smirked.

“I’ll save the kisses for later.”

His lips, pressed to my cheek, descended along my delicate neck, gradually moving downward. His soft, hot lips lightly settled along my collarbone. Every place he touched seemed to ignite like a burn. Finally, after planting a kiss on one side of my collarbone, he looked into my eyes again.

“I can’t stand this anymore.”

John bived and bit into my collarbone, as if a hungry beast, intent on devouring me completely, leaving no piece untouched. Ruthlessly.

~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~

Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉

Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

~~~Next Chapter~~~

Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.

See you then!!