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Prologue
[Royal Times / Breaking News]
Exclusive scoop! Prince Damian spotted in a secret rendezvous in Bali with a Korean woman.
…The royal family remains “silent” on the romance rumor, while the internet is “buzzing.”
Recently, the Crown Prince of Bernhardt was seen dating a mysterious woman in Bali, causing a sensation.
Damian Alexander Hastings (29) is first in line to the throne of Bernhardt, a constitutional monarchy in Europe, and had been keeping a low profile in official events after a recent death in the royal family.
Currently, photos of the Crown Prince hugging the woman on the terrace of a luxury villa are rapidly spreading online.
The hedonistic atmosphere of Bali and the heavily secured private villa… what happened inside is left to the imagination.
Prince Damian’s escapade? Who is this woman?
The prince, who has never publicly dated before, has drawn unprecedented attention for this scandal.
Who exactly is this woman?
Investigations revealed that she is Bada Yuba (27) from South Korea, who graduated from a university in the U.S. and worked at an investment bank in Seoul until earlier this year.
A friend said, “She has striking looks and a proactive personality. I heard she’s been going through some financial difficulties recently.”
The engagement ring on her hand?
The royal family remains silent… rumors intensify.
So far, the royal family has made no official statement.
Moreover, because Bada is wearing a ring on her left ring finger in the photos, speculation has arisen that she might be the official fiancée.
A jewelry appraiser explained, “The ring features a 14-carat heart-shaped sapphire, and the band is engraved with the Hastings family’s symbol, the white rose. It’s a royal heirloom made in 1792, not something given to a casual fling.”
A high-ranking source commented, “If this rumor about a woman of unclear background is true, it’s highly regrettable.”
Suspicion toward H.R.H. (His Royal Highness) keeps growing!
We hope to hear the Crown Prince’s side as soon as possible.
Written by Sarah Miller, royal affairs reporter.
The Korean translation of this article is provided by “The Fact Focus.”
When the news broke, Bada was spending a typical evening in her small studio apartment in Shindaebang-dong.
She sat at her desk, revising her résumé for a new job, but today she couldn’t focus.
She took off her blue-light glasses and rubbed her forehead.
‘Why am I acting so unlike myself?’
It had been about a month since returning from Bali.
But when she closed her eyes, the face of a certain man she met there still vividly appeared.
Eyes as blue as the ocean, glowing under the shade of palm trees.
The faint smell of sunscreen from his neck.
And their first kiss in the rain-soaked swimming pool.
To be honest, she knew very little about him beyond the fact that his name was “River Grant.”
He had hidden his work and contact information, as if he were obsessively private.
At first, she thought it was reasonable.
After all, to him, she might have just been a fleeting encounter during a trip. Someone who might one day be called “the woman he spent a night with in Bali” at a drunken gathering, rather than by her name.
It was just a summer fling.
Yet, despite that resolution, their relationship deepened rapidly.
They spent nearly a month together in a luxury villa, entangling themselves like wild beasts.
On the beach, on the king-size bed covered in Egyptian cotton sheets, and in the swimming pool.
She fell asleep in his arms and woke up facing his face.
Bada liked everything about him.
His thick eyebrows, the way his lips curled when he joked, his playful tenderness, and even the large scar on his neck.
She had thought perhaps he loved her too.
After all, in those ocean-blue eyes, she seemed utterly adorable.
Such innocent delusions persisted… until “that incident” happened.
Bada let out a bitter laugh.
It felt as if her heart had been scorched black by the equatorial sun and reduced to ashes.
As if cursed by a mischievous demon.
She shook her head.
‘It’s all pointless. We don’t even know each other’s contact information, so there’s no chance of meeting again.’
The trip was over, and he was never really hers.
It was time to return to reality.
Bada dipped a fork into her dinner of rose tteokbokki and put it in her mouth.
‘Forget him. He might as well be dead.’
Just as she tried to push away these thoughts while chewing, a message from Caroline, a friend since her U.S. study days, blinked on her laptop screen.
Caroline:
…Wha—what the hell?
Caroline:
Isn’t that you in the photo?
Caroline:
How can you go on a date with Prince Charming and not say a word to me, you traitor!
Bada:
What article?
Caroline:
This article!
Bada, puzzled, clicked the link Caroline had sent.
Scrolling down, her hand froze on a photo.
‘What is this? Who took this?’
The man in the photo was River. And the woman next to him was indeed herself.
But what? European Crown Prince? Engagement?
Nothing made sense.
‘Who is Damian?’
Suddenly, her fingertips went cold and her throat tightened.
Images of his suspicious traits flashed before her eyes—unclear identity, excessively aristocratic speech and mannerisms, and wealth that shone even when he tried to hide it.
Bada had secretly wondered if he might be a secret agent out of a movie like 007 or Mission Impossible.
She recalled what he had said when she asked about his identity:
“…I’m on official duty. Beyond that, it’s a little difficult to explain.”
‘So that duty wasn’t national intelligence, but as the Crown Prince?’
Her spine tingled, palms sweaty.
It felt like the tteokbokki she just ate was lodged in her chest.
“Could this be some kind of misunderstanding?”
Trembling, Bada searched for the Crown Prince of Bernhardt online.
Soon, his profile appeared.
The Crown Prince Damien of Bernhardt, Duke of Wexley
Damian Alexander Hastings is the eldest son of King Richard III and Queen Beatrix, first in line to the throne. His official title is Duke of Wexley.
Frozen in place, she couldn’t even move a finger.
A trillion-won heir. Hobbies: horseback riding and polo. Nickname: the problem prince.
Reading his unreal profile, she looked at the photo and laughed nervously.
‘It’s River.’
If River had long hair in her memory, in the photo it was neatly slicked back, but it was clearly the same person.
“This can’t be happening…”
It felt like time and space were twisting before her eyes.
‘So River was an alias? How could he deceive me so perfectly… But why?’
Anger, betrayal, and confusion swirled in her chest.
She raised a cola can to her lips with shaking hands, then set it down again.
At that moment, Caroline’s message blinked on the screen again.
Caroline:
Hey, Miss Cinderella. Why aren’t you replying?
Caroline:
By the way… are you really going to become a Crown Princess?
‘Crown Princess? That’s ridiculous…’
She had no idea what was happening.
Maybe this was all a dream.
Pinching her cheeks to see if she was awake, the phone suddenly rang.
Rrrrrr. Rrrrrr.
The ringtone cut through the silence, and Bada screamed.
On the phone screen, the call was from <Restricted Number>.
