CH 16.8

“Oh, I see!”

Louie could only nod, mesmerized by Lila’s beautiful face. He didn’t notice the coldness in her eyes.

“I’ve been reflecting on the fact that when people do crazy things so earnestly, they seem pretty authentic.”

“Yeah…”

Lila said, glancing wistfully at Louie, who wasn’t listening to her.

“Well, that still doesn’t change the fact that it’s crazy.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So I’ve been trying to figure out how to react to it. What do I do when someone says something crazy to me?”

She had no intention of drinking the champagne, so she just swirled her glass. As she spun, the glass dropped.

“Akk!”

The glass soaked Louie’s pants, and his face turned bright red with embarrassment.

His hands, which would have gone straight to his pants, were shaking. Lila couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

How funny they must have seemed to themselves that they would act like this.

She thought about it, but since it wasn’t really her fault, she didn’t feel it was worth the trouble anymore.

“What can I do, I’m sorry, cousin.”

Lila remembered him threatening her with his fist. If anyone ever told her that she didn’t need to make a big deal out of what had happened, she’d tell them this.

‘It’s not your business, don’t make it easy! I’m the one who decides whether to forgive or not!’

The willfulness in her glance angered Becky.

“Miss, did you spill it on purpose? If you don’t want to listen to your cousin, you should have just said so. You’re not a child and you know what you’re doing… I’m afraid someone might see it.”

Becky’s fidgeting in the darkened room was even more noticeable.

Lila twisted her lips and turned to Louie, who was shivering.

“Why are you doing this to me. I didn’t swing my fist, nor did I steal anything.”

She could see Louie and Becky’s bodies stiffen at her words. Lila raised her champagne glass again.

She swirled it around, and Louie, blushing, stood up.

“My lady, I know you’re upset. I’ve been too mean, but he’s your cousin. We’re family, and I think this was a bit much. I’m going to give you a moment to reflect and think about what I said.”

Lila’s eyebrows rose at the word ‘reflect,’ as if she were spanking a real child, but it was too dark to see.

Becky looked like she wanted to say something more, but Louie walked away first, and she glared at Lila for a moment before walking away.

“Are they still talking?”

As soon as they were out of sight, Lila wiped them from her memory, her attention focused on Lucas, not on Louie and Becky who had just left.

She poked her head out of the corner of her eye and looked at him. She didn’t know what he was saying to the Emperor, but she couldn’t see any expression on his face.

But she could tell by his scent how low he was feeling right now.

She couldn’t remember exactly when, but she could recognize his mood by his scent.

“I wonder if Lucas does too?”

He said he could smell her scent, too, so why not?

As she watched him, almost intently, his scent became strangely familiar. It was like a creature with limbs, wrapping around her from the back.

It was a very strange sensation. But it wasn’t unpleasant or frightening. Rather, it was cozy, as if he were right there with her, despite the distance.

Lila curled up on her side, her face pressed against the back of the couch, and closed her eyes. She felt him hug her from behind, and she couldn’t help but smile.

Suddenly, another scent washed over her: the scent of Lucas holding her, competing with the scent of someone else.

Lila slowly lifted her comfortably closed eyelids.

“Lila…”

Theobald, who had given her a wistful look earlier, was standing right behind her.

Unable to understand why he was looking at her like that, Lila simply rose and made a silent bow.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

A moment ago, her greeting would have been ignored. He would have turned his head away, as if he didn’t want to see her face.

But the way he looked at her, so pleased to see her, was very strange.

Seeing the puzzled look on her face, Theobald hastened to speak.

“May I speak with you for a moment?”

The words were unexpected from the cold, authoritative man. Lila gripped the hem of her skirt tighter, sensing something was amiss.

“Who am I to disobey Your Highness?”

On the surface, it was a very obedient and polite answer, but Theobald felt it forced.

Her attitude of ‘our relationship is public, not private,’ was disheartening.

But Theobald remained mute, and instead of responding, he sat down on the couch. He had a sudden thought.

He was confused, but what about her? Assuming that she was probably being talked out of it by Lucas, not knowing where she stood, Theobald offered her a seat with a gentle smile.

“Sit.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Lila forced herself to keep a straight face at the unfamiliar Crown Prince’s demeanor.

The couches in the conservatory all formed a semicircle. Lila sat diagonally away from him in the center.

Theobald’s mouth dropped open as he watched her sit a few feet away. He’d forgotten about her for a while because of his longing for her, but then he remembered how he’d treated her in real life, unlike in the dream.

“… Why did you wear that kind of makeup?”

Theobald couldn’t help but ask, thinking that if she hadn’t been wearing that weird makeup, he wouldn’t have treated her so harshly.

Why did you act differently in my dreams?

“I’m sure you already know from the rumors, I’m sure…”

“You wanted to find true love, do you mean the rumors are true?”

“Yes, it is.”

Lila broke out in a cold sweat, not from Theobald’s intense gaze, but from his scent, which wafted menacingly.

What in the world was this scent, that she could smell the Crown Prince’s scent so strongly when she’d never smelled it before?

Lila, who had thought that she had strayed from her original path, that she was going to live her life from now on, felt her heart beat rapidly.

Contrary to her thoughts, her body was responding to him.

“Isn’t true love supposed to be about showing your true self, not faking it? How can you think that a relationship is true if you’ve been hiding behind a false face?”

Theobald rose from his seat, his voice ambiguous between reprimanding and pleading.

He, the Crown Prince himself, came to sit by Lila’s side.

As he drew near, a scent so different from Lucas’s seemed to envelop her.

It was a strong scent, like Lucas’s, but it was repulsive. Lila clamped her hand over her nose.

She could feel it with her whole body, but the only thing she could do was shut off her sense of smell.

The scent of something other than Lucas’s disoriented her. His scent was insistent, as if it were trying to pull her away, suffocating her.

Suddenly, she remembered the conversation she’d heard in her dream. Heinrich’s words to Theobald…

[She had said that when she was close to the Crown Prince, his sweet scent made it hard for her to stay awake.]

The words brought Lila to her senses. Like the original Lila, she felt strongly that she shouldn’t be controlled by the Crown Prince.

“Your Highness, I…”

‘I don’t think so,’ she wanted to say, but she couldn’t open her mouth.

Lucas’s scent washed over her like a tidal wave. The corners of her mouth twitched as she wondered if Theobald had caught his scent as well.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward, and Theobald slowly turned his head.

Lucas, who had apparently finished speaking with the Emperor, was now near them, his murderous eyes fixed on Theobald.

“Wife.”

The low, gravelly voice made Lila’s shoulders stiffen. It sounded reprimanding, and she felt a pang of resentment.

Her lips pouted, her eyes narrowed, and she turned to Lucas.

“Lucas…”

At her call, Lucas lurched forward and grabbed her hand. He pulled her to her feet.

When he met her rounded, confused eyes, his hardened features softened slightly.

“I didn’t realize you were here.”

Lucas glanced down at Theobald, and sat casually with his arm around Lila’s waist.

His words were polite, but he couldn’t hide the look in his eyes. The look in Lucas’s eyes directed at the prince was eerie.

The mere scent of him on Lila was enough to make him want to kill.

Lucas’s scent washed over her. Theobald’s eyes turned menacing as he noticed Lucas’s scent washing over Lila.

He couldn’t tell exactly what was happening, but it was unpleasant. The richness of his scent was gone in an instant, and it was embarrassing.

“It is impolite of you to interrupt me in the middle of a conversation, Duke.”

“This is my private seat, and my wife was making herself comfortable.”

Theobald chewed his lip at Lucas’s words. He couldn’t think of anything to say in response to the mention of his wife.

If only he’d realized it sooner, things would have been different. Theobald’s scent wafted nervously at his mistake, as if he were about to explode in frustration.

As Lila stood by Lucas’ side, the tension in her expression softened, and Theobald saw with his own eyes that she was no longer as tense as she had been when they were alone.

Why is this different, why is this not like the dream?

A wave of frustration washed over him at the disparity between his dream and reality. Theobald spoke up, his face full of displeasure.

“You wife-to-be, to be exact. You haven’t even gotten married yet. And I don’t think you should be so oppressive to her. Lila has a right to choose, isn’t that why we made the law in the first place?”

Not willing to lose, Theobald protested, looking sarcastically at Lucas. During the premarital cohabitation period, if you don’t like your partner, you can break off the engagement at any time.

Lucas was deeply offended. He’s done his research on how he had treated Lila, and he could see why she had the need to cover her face.

A calm voice cut between the two men as they locked eyes.

“As for the Duke oppressing me, I think that’s a misunderstanding, Your Highness.”

Lucas wasn’t the only one who cringed at Theobald’s words. Lila found the Crown Prince’s demeanor abhorrent.

His brazen interruption now was not only incomprehensible, but uncomfortable and offensive.

“If this is not oppression, then I don’t know what is.”

Theobald’s mood sank even lower as he realized that Lila was taking Lucas’s side.

“If you call that oppression, then I must have lived under a worse oppression.”

Theobald’s expression hardened at the low, soothing tone of her voice.