Shallo boldly took Bella’s small hand and walked away.
He left behind a humiliated and furious Roy.
Roy could not understand it. Rage surged through his brain, and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to tear Shallo into a thousand pieces.
But he didn’t dare. He knew that in a head-on confrontation, even 100 versions of himself would just be sent to their deaths against Shallo.
‘Bastard! Damn it!’
‘Why would Bella accept that man’s invitation?!’
‘He must have used some underhanded means to blackmail her!’
‘Bella is my queen…’
The more Roy thought about it, the more his blood boiled. This was no longer just a simple matter of being cuckolded; it was the fact that it was happening in front of everyone.
Many nobles from the Eastern Territory were watching Roy. Since he was their leader, his humiliation reflected poorly on them as well, and they all stepped back a few paces.
To the other young nobles, this display was utterly pathetic.
‘Everyone, just go to hell!’
Roy had nearly lost his mind. He felt he had to find Bella right now and demand an explanation.
Sensing that Roy was losing his composure, Simon approached from behind. “Prince Roy…”
Slap!
Roy slapped Simon across the face.
Couldn’t the man see he was angry? A punching bag had just presented himself. Roy couldn’t hit others, but he could certainly discipline his own lackey.
“Get out of here! I don’t want to see you right now.”
“Prince Roy, please listen to me first. Can you calm down?”
Roy’s lip twitched, but the curses he wanted to scream stayed behind his teeth. He had wanted to yell that the cuckold’s hat wasn’t on Simon’s head, so it was easy for him to talk.
But if he said that, the dignity of the Kalishi imperial family would be completely discarded, not to mention what his followers would think.
Simon didn’t care about the slap. Instead, a malicious glint grew in his eyes. “Prince Roy, I’ve been thinking about why Lady Bella would approach that beast Shallo.”
Roy calmed down and took a deep breath. “You’d better have a good explanation, or you can prepare to die when we return.”
“Shallo is a purely lecherous man. Lady Bella must be using a honey trap to lure him in, trying to get him to stand on your side.”
Roy thought it over. It did seem plausible. Bella didn’t know Shallo at all—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they had only met tonight.
Bella belonged to the Eastern noble faction, and Shallo had just finished dancing with Kressia. Bella was essentially stealing the Princess’s man.
Not just the Princess; if the First Prince, Grees, learned that Shallo was involved with Roy’s people, he would likely become suspicious as well.
It all made sense.
The only thing that left Roy dissatisfied was that his candidate for fiancée had to act as a temptress to dance with him.
No matter how he looked at it, he felt like a clown with a target on his back.
Shallo paid no mind to the resentful Roy, but Bella squeezed his hand.
“What is it?” Shallo asked, curious.
“Don’t you want to get back at him?”
Bella was, of course, referring to the Second Prince, Roy.
“Why would I bother? To me, he’s nothing more than a clown.”
Bella knew what Shallo was like deep down; he was simply maintaining his persona as an aloof noble.
“Do you really not want to annoy him?”
Bella flashed a mischievous smile, meeting Shallo’s gaze. Shallo looked back at her with a knowing expression.
An alliance between a bad man and a bad woman was formed just like that.
Shallo turned his head and called out to Roy.
“Prince Roy, since the young nobles of the Eastern Territory look to you as their leader, I should let you know. I’m going to borrow Lady Bella for a while. Don’t worry, I’ll treat her very well and try my best not to hurt her.”
Having said that, Shallo lifted Bella’s hand, their fingers still interlaced, and gave it an intimate kiss.
Prince Roy felt a surge of rage hit his heart, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
‘Damn it!’
Roy’s mind was beginning to fracture. Beside him, his loyal dog Simon whispered, “Don’t worry, Prince Roy. This is the last time he’ll be able to act so smug.”
“My father’s death squad and two Fourth-tier mages are outside waiting for your command. Since Shallo came today, it’s impossible for him to walk back alive.”
Waiters rushed over to clean the blood from the floor, while a maid supported Prince Roy.
“That bastard Shallo… he must die today!”
……
On the other side of the room, Shallo was leading Bella to dance in the center of the floor once again.
As a rising star among the youth, eyes followed Shallo wherever he went.
To dance with two of the empire’s most famous beauties in succession gave him an incredible amount of prestige.
In a corner, Vivian watched the scene.
‘How did this guy manage to get the favor of these noble ladies?’
While Vivian was lost in thought, several young male nobles approached her.
“Beautiful lady, I haven’t seen you before. Which noble family do you belong to?”
Vivian replied gracefully, “I am not a noble of the Kalishi Empire. I am merely a passing traveler, invited here by the First Prince.”
Vivian had come to this banquet purely to pay Shallo back his money. However, seeing as Shallo was quite busy, she decided to find something to eat instead.
She had to admit, the food here was quite good.
“Then, may I invite you for a dance?”
“No thank you, I don’t know how to dance.”
Vivian rejected him flatly. She had no interest in those who were only drawn to her looks.
If anything, the fact that they could find her even when she was hiding in a corner made her suspicious of their intentions.
After her blunt refusal, she immediately walked away.
Next time, she decided she would hide right in the middle of a crowd of noble ladies.
As she moved, she collided with Florine, who had the same idea. Unprepared, Vivian fell right onto her backside.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry.” Florine reached out a hand.
Vivian rubbed her sore behind and stood up on her own. “It’s fine…”
“It’s you.”
Florine recognized Vivian. She was the lady they had met at the opera house, the one Shallo said wasn’t a local.
“Ah… hello. We did meet once before.” Vivian remembered her as Shallo’s companion.
However, Vivian immediately became confused. She started counting on her fingers.
The girl in front of her was Shallo’s companion, and the one who danced with Shallo earlier was the Princess. Then who was he dancing with now?
Were the rumors about the Heart-Stealing Marquis actually true?
Vivian realized she had to re-evaluate whether Shallo was fit to join the Aetherlan Church.
She didn’t want the first believer she invited to have such an improper private life. Although Vivian knew that some nobles played around quite a bit, she could not accept it!
This was a matter of principle. As a proxy of justice and the chosen of the God of Light, she could not tolerate any stains on the people she associated with!
On an impulse, Vivian asked, “Who exactly are you to Shallo Moonyue?”
“What?!”
Florine was equally shocked. Had Shallo managed to win over this foreign lady behind her back too?
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