Chapter 50: The beginning of the change (unedited)
After getting away from the crown prince, Livya let go of my arm.
“My father looking for me is a lie, isn’t it?”
“Was my interference not good?”
“Nope, it was a great improvisation. Thank you for your help.”
I smiled brightly, “I’m glad it helped you.”
“Come to think of it, I was not able to introduce myself earlier. My name is Livya Priscilla.”
“My name is Fiona Heilon, Lady Priscilla.” I’ve said my name before, but I introduce myself once more as a courtesy.
“Please call me by my first name, not my last name. May I call you Lady Fiona too?” Livya said in a soft tone.
“Sure.” I was more than surprised by her friendly attitude, but it was a nice thing.
“It’s the first time I’ve met Lady Fiona in the social circle.”
I frankly answered back. “Because I’ve been in Heilon all the time… This is my first time coming to a banquet in the capital.”
“Ah, Heilon… A place that really intrigues a lot of people.” Livya smiled deeply after making a strange expression while saying those words. “Anyway, I got your help. I really want to pay you back.”
I smiled at her, “what do you mean paying back? I didn’t do it for that.”
“If you say so… Ah, my family is planning to have a small tea party soon.. Is it okay if I invite you?”
If it was a tea party hosted by Livya, it was obvious that most noble girls would be invited.
“It may be a bit weird to call that paying back, but maybe this could help Lady Fiona quickly adjust to the social circle.”
That being said, it was kind of hard to say no.
“Then… I’ll be grateful for your invitation.”
“Great, I’ll send you an official invitation to Heilon’s mansion later. Once again thank you very much.” Livya flapped her fan then moved away.
I stared blankly at Livya’s red dress for a moment, then came to my sense.
Somehow, I got to know her and developed a friendship. Although it was a bit unexpected, actually it wasn’t a bad thing, so her offers. Livya was an influential noble girl in the noble social circle. If I was invited to her tea party, definitely, it would be easier for me to fit into the capital’s noble social circle.
There was one thing that worried me. It was Livya’s position in the original plot, a villain…. But, she also was not being mean to me earlier. And speaking about what happened earlier, even at one point she was the villain in the story, I could not pretend I didn’t know what happened in front of me. Moreover, now that I thought about it more, Fiona and Livya did not even have a contact, even more so a conflict. So, it was more justified to help her…right?
Ugh…. I did it because I just felt I had to help her at that moment. I might be regretted what I did today later… oh screw it. Whether I would regret it or not, I think it was still better to do it than not. I could think about the regret when that time came.
‘Whatever happened in the future, surely there would be a way somehow.’
Those were the words that have been clinging to my mind the most recently. And strangely I slowly adopted that mindset. Especially since I had Abel on my side. Like, in today’s case, it seemed that I’ve already offended the Crown Prince. Though I planned to lay low for a while, no one knew what that crown prince would do. But the path to how to face the crown prince had existed. Abel. No matter how noble the crown prince was, he would not be able to attack me openly because of Abel.
No matter what, having Abel on my side was the best decision. Even if someone tried to approach me, I did not even have to deal with them, he could just give them a cold glance, and those people would just shut up and walk away.
I scoffed slightly while recalling that crown prince’s behavior. If this were Heilon, a person like him would have the important part of his body cut off right away.
I straightened my back and walked away, ignoring the curious glances that clung to me again.
***
The crown prince, Enoch, was deeply irritated.
‘All of them are so arrogant!’
Livya Priscilla.
She was a woman he liked from a long time ago. She was pretty and had a strong family. Wasn’t she the perfect woman to stand next to him? Furthermore, when Livya became his crown princess, the Priscilla family, which always have been neutral, would be on his side. Then, without a doubt, his position would become firmer. Even on Livya side, she would gain nothing but the good things. She would become the crown princess, which was the future empress. And those things would not happen to her just by mere luck.
At least, that was what Enoch thought.
‘How dare she keep rejecting me?!’
At first, Enoch thought Livya was just playing hard to get. So he let her behave like that. He also had fun with it. But lately, his patient began to run out. How could she keep reject him like that? It was ridiculous. He was the crown prince. He was the noblest other than the emperor in this empire!
Enoch went up to the second floor and looked down at the main ballroom on the first floor. He wanted to find Livya who cheekily rejected him and ran away.
‘Does she go back home already?’
He could not find her at all. Instead, he found another woman.
‘Did she say Fiona Heilon?’
It was a woman who rudely took Livya under his nose. Earlier, he could not see her face properly because of Livya. He could only notice her hair color.
‘Looking at it right now, she has a pretty face.’
He didn’t know if it was in the north, but in the capital, silver hair was a rare sight, and with those bright red eyes, it was even rarer. Because it was a rare combination, she drew more attention. Furthermore, with her bright white skin and stature smaller than other women stimulated protective instinct? She was quite tempting.
‘Furthermore, she looks much more obedient than Livya.’
Unlike Livya, who was pretty but always arrogant, Fiona seemed more submissive.
“She said Heilon? But i don’t remember the Duke of Heilon ever getting married. Is she an illegitimate child?”
For her family fame, she was a woman of little information. But if she was illegitimate, then even if he played with her a little bit, there would be no big trouble. Even more, he might be able to have a connection with the Heilons. Well, he liked House Priscilla, but House Heilon was also not bad to have under his control. Even if something went wrong, there was no way Duke Heilon would dare to make a fuss to him the crown prince of this empire just for an illegitimate child.
When he thought about it more, he became more intrigued by her.
“Fiona Heilon… it’s really not that bad.”
“What are you doing here?”