CH 92

In the suffocating silence, Richard, as always, did not care at all about the stares poking at him, maintaining an indifferent expression.

Standing on a not very high platform, he looked around the hall and said,

“Let’s start.”

As soon as those words fell, the entire hall, which had been in a vacuum, returned to life.

At the same time as the atmosphere, which had subsided, increased, those in the hall moved at the same time, regardless of who was first.

And their destination was the same.

Just like bees that swarm to honey, like butterflies that gather to flowers. Or like a moth jumping into a flame.

Everyone gathered around the imperial crown prince, Richard.

Of course, the young ladies and princesses of each kingdom or principality who had come to the empire to become the crown princess, as well as the young ladies and nobility of the empire, regardless of age or gender, hurried their steps.

However, even as they were swarming like that, they stopped at a certain distance from Richard and just hovered in place.

If they took one more step, they could get closer to him than the others.

However, no one had been able to take that step.

It was as if there was a glass wall between the people and Richard that was so transparent that it was invisible to the naked eye, but definitely existed.

Richard was looking at all of them, but none of them caught his eye.

Was there anyone who had the courage to dare to approach? And stare straight into those cool, dry, indescribable golden eyes?

While they couldn’t take their eyes off Richard, let alone look at each other, they couldn’t move forward or step back.

Cooper, who watched it from beginning to end, clicked his tongue.

“How can any of them be the crown princess if they can’t even take a single step foward?”

Iris and Catherine also nodded.

“He’s a difficult person to get close to.”

“It’s not that hard.”

Catherine reflexively shrugged her shoulders.

That overwhelming life force that had spewed out towards Lawrence.

Who did that?

It was said that when people feel unbearable fear, their limbs stiffen, the hair on their whole body stands on end, and they could not even blink.

She didn’t have the slightest desire to go through something like that herself.

No killing intent was flowing now, but if someone somehow went against his will, there was a good chance that she would witness that vicious murder again.

“Ugh, that’s scary.”

Shaking her head, Catherine crossed her arms and took a step back.

Iris patted the back of her hand with a puzzled look at Catherine’s silent sign that she didn’t even want to say hello.

Cooper let out a long sigh.

“It’s much better than facing the saint alone, but if this happens, it will become more and more difficult to have a crown princess to attend to.”

“First of all, you should get the ball rolling.”

“Oh yes.”

Cooper took a step towards Richard, crossing the tacitly drawn line.

He bowed his head with utmost respect.

“Glory to the Empire. I see Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

When Cooper came forward, the air around Richard visibly softened.

It was because Cooper requested so before he went to the podium.

“Your Highness. If no one greets you… No, they can’t. So if I step out…”

Richard did not turn a blind eye to Cooper’s earnest face, though he did not give a long explanation.

‘I did give him a lot of work to get rid of the time he can spend with Ophelia.’

Richard stared at Cooper and opened his mouth.

“Halsey.”

It was a short answer, but it was enough.

Did they say that only the first step was difficult?

As the road to Richard opened, everyone’s mouths began to open at the same time.

“I see Your Highness. I…”

“Infinite glory…”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you…”

“Your Highness.”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

All kinds of voices rang out, but Richard did not raise an eyebrow.

And two people were looking at those who behaved like that.

Ophelia and Lawrence had different facial expressions.

Lawrence put on a weary face as he found Catherine walking further and further away from the group. Then he laughed blankly.

“Oh, that one too… I told her not to do that too blatantly.”

He knew that Catherine had no interest in the crown prince himself, let alone the crown princess seat.

However, it was bad for her to step back with such a disgusted face.

After all, she was the lady of the Marquisate of Sheffield, and she has a duty to do socially.

Even if her interest in being the crown princess wasn’t as much as a chick’s tears, she would have to show her face and greet him as the daughter of Marquis Sheffield.

Letting out a sigh, Lawrence smiled at Catherine, who seemed unwilling to move, and shrugged his shoulders.

Without seeing what kind of face Ophelia was making, he spoke as lightly as before.

“Looking at that, no one can touch the crown princess no matter who she is. Because His Highness the Crown Prince will be by her side.”

It was something anyone would say, but no answer came back.

At that, Lawrence took his gaze away from Richard, turning to Ophelia, then hesitated.

She was obviously expressionless, but for a moment, he felt a chill run down his back.

Was it because the expressionless face was unfamiliar because he had always seen her smile or talk politely? That occurred to him. 

Lawrence examined Ophelia in a little more detail, as it had not been long since he almost had measles due to an absurd misunderstanding.

However, no matter how carefully he observed her, it just deepened the conviction that she was never expressionless.

He spoke directly to Ophelia to confirm what he was thinking, so as not to repeat the previous mistake.

“The competition for the position of crown princess is enormous.”

“Yes.”

It was a calm and short answer, but the moment Lawrence tried to say something else…

“It’s really a mess.”

The voice was too cold even for herself to hear, so Ophelia, startled by herself, covered her mouth with one of her hands.

It was clear that the people surrounding Richard were a mess, fighting fiercely and struggling with power, but there was no need to say it out loud.

Indeed.

In an instant, spikes sprouted in her insides and stabbed her whole body.

Those mean words glided over the tip of her tongue, and she could hardly bear the corners of her mouth.

It was a feeling that had suddenly come to her before, now turning her inside out.

Ophelia tried her best to suppress it, which was now becoming more and more clear, and the more she pushed down the emotion, the more her presence faded.

At one point, her eyes met Richard’s.

Even though Lawrence, who was right beside her, was looking at her, she killed her presence so much that he didn’t feel her presence, like a midday ghost.

Richard found Ophelia.

He always did.

Anytime, anywhere, whatever she did.

His eyes always followed her.

And she too…

Ophelia opened her mouth, but she couldn’t say anything.

And Lawrence laughed bitterly when he realized that although Ophelia was by his side, her eyes did not see him at all.

‘His Highness the Crown Prince and Lady Bolsheik.’

‘I thought His Highness cared for her too much, but it seems that was not the case.’

‘Well, I got dumped before I even confessed.’

Lawrence did not love Ophelia ardently or fall in love with her at first sight, she was the first person in his life that he liked romantically.

Even if he was rejected, he wanted to leave at least the last memories of her.

If a person refused a big request, he or she would be generous to a relatively small request.

Since she rejected the marriage proposal, she might allow a dance.

It was an excellent calculation by Lawrence Sheffield.

“Lady Bolsheik.”

“Yes.”

“I want to send you a marriage proposal.”

It was so out of the blue that she instantly thought it was a joke that crossed the line too much.

However, Lawrence’s voice that followed was so serious that it was almost impossible to laugh.

“Before I officially send it, I ask for permission from the lady.”

Ophelia’s eyes, which had been staring at Richard, turned to Lawrence.

She looked at him anew, who resembled Catherine.

The day she first met him, she thought that he was a ‘first-class groom’.

However, that thought was more like a middle-aged woman who said ‘Oh, that’s true’ to a young man in the neighborhood.

She had never seen him as a marriage partner or as a man.

“Give up on Sheffield.”

Even if Richard hadn’t warned her so much, she wouldn’t have thought of love or romance with Lawrence.

‘First of all, the impression of being Catherine’s older brother is so strong that though we haven’t even met a few times, he feels like family…’

Perhaps she was still misunderstanding something, so Ophelia asked to confirm.

“Isn’t that already over?”

Lawrence shook his head at Ophelia, who didn’t even hide her suspicion from her eyes.

“No. My terrible misunderstanding is over, but I was serious about proposing to you.”

“Then I’m sorry. I won’t accept it.”

Ophelia didn’t bother to mention the marriage proposal, but her voice was so firm that even a monkey could tell that it was a complete refusal.

Then Lawrence let out a short sigh and shrugged.

The corner of his mouth was lifted in the same way as when he dealt with Catherine.

Ame: Ophelia is jealous? Jealousy is normally bad but it’s good for r/s development! And Lawrence, I humbly suggest for your skills to be better used in the crown prince’s aides’ office ^o^ 

Dea: Oh Lawrence, everytime i think he’s in the clear, he finds new ways of endangering his own life…