TPWLM 29

Chapter 29

The fact that River was the Crown Prince was shocking enough, but now she had somehow become the person who lost a royal heirloom over a hundred years old.

‘If something this important is lost, wouldn’t that be a huge problem?’

Bada, dumbfounded, opened an AI chat window on her computer and typed a question.

“What happens if someone loses an artifact from the Bernhard royal family?”

She pressed Enter, and the cursor blinked before the answer appeared.

‘Waaaah… great question! You hit the nail on the head!

The Bernhard royal family owns an enormous collection of jewels!

Their history is so long that it’s rumored their collection rivals even the Russian royal collection at its peak of splendor!

Thus, the jewels owned by the Bernhard royal family are classified as national cultural heritage.

Currently, King Richard and Queen Beatrix hold ownership of the jewels, but that doesn’t mean they can dispose of them however they like.

You lost such precious jewels?

That could be considered negligence in the management of national cultural assets or even theft!

In short… you’re screwed!

Hey… did you happen to lose something important? Haha!

If you want, I can even tell you what kind of punishment you’d face! Just ask!’

Reading the answer, Bada let out a sharp scream.

The next morning.

Bada had not slept a wink all night and was still lying in bed.

She had spent the entire early morning reading every article she could find about Crown Prince Damien and the Bernhard royal family online.

‘So, he really was the prince among princes.’

Bernhard was located in northern France, facing England and the Dover Strait.

Historically, during the 16th-century English Reformation, some English nobles who supported Catholicism fled and conquered the kingdom.

So the language and culture were heavily influenced by England, but the region also contained elements of German and French continental culture.

‘No wonder… his way of speaking resembled the British upper class, but some of the words he used seemed unusual. That’s because he was from Bernhard.’

Now that she thought about it, he had a habit of mixing old Catholic terminology into his speech.

For example, he would say Providence instead of Destiny, or refer to a promise as a covenant.

‘Ah… that’s because of the Catholic background.’

More importantly, unlike most European royal families that were largely symbolic, the Bernhard royal family still wielded enormous political and economic power behind the scenes.

They owned royal lands amounting to 5% of the country’s territory and ran trust companies that generated massive revenue.

Damien was also about to inherit tens of trillions in wealth and titles after his sister’s recent death.

‘In short, it may look like a constitutional monarchy, but the class hierarchy is still solid.’

Those with noble titles went to certain private schools, maintained family networks for generations, and formed their own exclusive league.

Even today, they still remained a ruling elite.

Looking back, Bada could not understand how she had never suspected this.

‘Now I remember. In AP European History, we learned that the Hastings family is as historically old as Monaco’s Grimaldi family and England’s Windsor family.’

Yet Damien was someone who could never have crossed paths with her.

Moreover, the media usually portrayed him as cold or troublesome.

He was so different from River—the long-haired, surfboard-riding, charmingly smiling version she remembered.

‘…So that’s why he left without a word. Maybe he feared things would get complicated if his identity was discovered?’

Bada also learned about the scar on his neck.

When Damien was just seven, there had been a nationwide uproar when he was kidnapped by a criminal.

The abduction was carried out by extremists advocating the abolition of the monarchy.

The Crown Prince was missing and confined for 52 hours before being rescued by a special forces operation.

The kidnapper was shot on the spot, and Damien sustained a severe wound to his neck during the rescue.

Videos and photos of the incident were still online: Damien being transported by helicopter, unconscious and bleeding from the neck, and taken to the emergency room.

Watching halfway through, Bada hit pause.

It was too brutal; she couldn’t bear to watch any further.

Her heart raced as if she had experienced it herself.

‘How could anyone do that to a child?’

Now she understood why he had been so sensitive about his scar in Bali.

Traumatic childhood experiences often leave lasting psychological effects.

At the same time, one question struck her.

‘Why is such footage circulating online without any censorship? Shouldn’t this be regulated?’

While pondering this, her phone rang.

Rrrr. Rrrr.

Startled, Bada almost threw the phone in shock.

Again, the caller ID displayed “Restricted Number.”

Feeling a bad premonition, she avoided answering.

If it were really urgent, they would leave a message, she thought.

But the tone of this ring suggested that the caller was determined not to give up until she answered.

After hesitating, she finally pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear.

“Hello?”

• Miss Yoo?

A man’s voice came from the receiver. It sounded familiar.

“…Morgan?”

• Yes, this is Morgan. Why haven’t you been answering? I was worried.

“…Are you really Morgan?”

Hearing his voice, all sorts of questions swirled chaotically in her mind.

How did this all happen? How did he get her number? What did he want to talk about?

Yet she was so shocked she couldn’t speak.

Morgan said:

• Could you come down to your front door now?

“…Front door? Right now?”

Peeking through the window, Bada slightly drew back the blackout curtains and looked outside.

“Hik.”

A sleek luxury sedan, oddly out of place among the small studio apartments, was parked in front of her building.

“Is this… really my front door?”

• Yes, that’s correct.

Bada quickly dressed, put on a hat, and took the stairs down to the building entrance.

Morgan opened the door from the front seat of the car, impeccably dressed in a suit with an earpiece.

‘So Morgan is the Crown Prince’s bodyguard.’

Standing between the red villa buildings, he looked almost unreal.

He smiled faintly, eyes lighting up like he was meeting an old friend.

“Long time no see, Miss Yoo.”

“…How did you even find my place, Morgan?”

Looking at her for a moment, he said with a slightly awkward expression:

“You’ve probably guessed by now, but my real name isn’t Morgan. I’m Lancaster, the bodyguard and aide who has served His Highness for many years.”

“Ah…”

Bada let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Of course.

‘Even River sounded like a fake name at first. Why didn’t I suspect it sooner?’

The more she thought about it, the more foolish she felt.

She had been completely out of her mind in love.

But what part of it had been real, and what part had been a lie?

Had River—no, Damien—ever secretly laughed at how easily she had been fooled?

Bada swallowed her bitterness and asked:

“Did you come because of that article?”

Lancaster nodded, giving her a concerned look.

He then opened the car door, gesturing politely.

“Please get in. His Highness, the Crown Prince, is waiting.”

“Waiting? Do you mean… River, no, Prince Damien is in Korea right now?”

“You’ll understand the details once we arrive.”

Seeing her hesitate, Lancaster gave her a reassuring look.

After a moment, she finally got into the car.

‘Alright. At least I can ask why he had to leave like that.’

As Lancaster was about to close the door, Bada poked her head through the gap.

“Are you alright?”

“Um… I have a question before we go.”

Bada looked serious and hesitant. Lancaster’s expression stiffened as he nodded.

“Can I just call you Morgan? I’m so used to it…”

Smiling playfully, Bada laughed as Lancaster shook his head and closed the door.