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Chapter 23
This Woman is Mine
2022.02.18
The masquerade at the royal palace was extraordinarily lavish, as it was held at night. At the center of the ball stood the Crown Prince. Numerous masked attendees flocked to him, eager to establish a connection.
“Your Highness, how about spending tonight with me?”
“I’ve been waiting for a night with Your Highness for a long time.”
Women adorned in elaborate masks and attire coquetted around him. Yet, the more he saw such women, the more irritated the Crown Prince became.
‘Why can’t I stop thinking about that woman?’
Crown Prince Carlos ignored the crowd pressing around him and downed his wine. Even though it was his favorite drink, it tasted strangely off.
‘Who exactly is she…?’
A noble nearby tried to intervene.
“Your Highness, you seem to be drinking more than usual. Perhaps it’s time to—no, never mind.”
Carlos’s expression darkened, and no one dared oppose him further. His head spun slightly under the influence of alcohol. Estelle Libertan… He had first seen that lowly woman at his own birthday banquet. Back then, she had been presented as a commoner substitute for a noblewoman from the Libertan family. He had paid only light attention.
“Greetings, Your Highness. I am Estelle Libertan.”
Her platinum-blonde hair tinged with soft pink radiated like angelic light. Her delicate, cute features made her seem doll-like and charming. Carlos expected that a woman of such low status would eagerly throw herself at him, even if it meant improving her standing. Every woman he had encountered until then had acted that way. Yet, her calm, deep navy eyes didn’t look at him again after the greeting. That irritated him. How dare such a lowly woman regard the Crown Prince with such disregard?
‘Was this royal banquet even supposed to allow lowborn blood to mingle?’
He had mocked her because of her status.
‘The Libertan family is impressive. To present her so proudly…’
When her navy eyes, filled with shock and fear, focused solely on him, Carlos felt a thrill. The pale woman bowed and apologized to the Crown Prince. The Libertan couple did the same.
‘She’ll probably come back later to apologize for her rudeness.’
Women, after all, feared him but sought ways to connect with him. Yet, Estelle Libertan never appeared before him again. He had intended to bestow favor if she came to apologize.
‘Daring to ignore me?’
With a scoff, Carlos spent nights with other women and attended countless banquets. The problem was that he couldn’t stop regretting that Estelle was not in his hands. The memory of her trembling eyes, tearful from shock, kept resurfacing.
‘Then I’ll just make her do as I want.’
So, Carlos contacted the Libertan family to forcibly summon Estelle. He humiliated her under the pretense of engagement.
“I shouldn’t have let her slip away like that.”
Carlos drank bitterly, trying to soothe his aching heart. The more he drank, the more vividly he remembered the time he had forced her to appear.
“Damn it.”
That face, once marked by youthful innocence, must have fully matured into a woman now.
‘She’s already been sold to the Blanchet family…’
Carlos had no hobby of obsessing over another man’s woman. He certainly didn’t revisit a woman he had once discarded.
‘Maybe I should have taken her back.’
But thinking of Estelle, who must have perished in the Blanchet household, made his chest ache.
‘Technically, she’s still alive…’
The Blanchet Duke, who had imprisoned the Libertan couple for treason, would not have spared Estelle. Marriage was just an excuse; she might be playing with him or even dead. After all, no one would care about a child of a rebellious family. Carlos clenched his fists. It was absurd, yet…
‘I can feel her absence.’
Irritated, he overturned the table. His attendants screamed, but he ignored them and walked toward the back of the masquerade. In the cool evening air, he finally saw the face he had been longing for.
‘Is this a hallucination?’
Her platinum-blonde hair with a pink tinge was hidden under a wig, and she wore a mask. Yet, her deep navy eyes—the ones that had captivated him—remained unchanged. Even in a hallucination, he couldn’t ignore it. He quickly approached, fearing she would vanish like a mirage.
“Lowborn of the Libertan family?”
Estelle had grown since the last time he saw her. Her rabbit mask obscured her face, but the flower-bud-like charm he remembered remained.
“She must be an adult now.”
As Carlos approached, Estelle stepped back slightly.
“You already know who I am. Why won’t you answer?”
“Your Highness, I believe you have the wrong person.”
It seemed this was not a hallucination but reality. But Carlos didn’t care even if this was another woman.
“Either way, it doesn’t matter.”
Feeling like Estelle was enough.
‘The real Estelle belongs to another man…’
The Blanchet Duke wouldn’t have allowed her to attend such a masquerade. But since imagination was inevitable, it was better to imagine a favorable scenario.
‘If she could still be mine…’
A sharp thrill pierced his mind. Carlos tore off his cumbersome mask and grabbed the woman’s chin to see her navy eyes clearly. They were identical.
“I’ll let you be with me tonight.”
He delighted in seeing himself reflected in her eyes.
“If you’re willing, I’ll make you my concubine.”
Estelle stiffened, frightened by his words. Her freshness and innocence stood out compared to familiar women.
“Even if you cannot be my concubine, I’ll be satisfied. I promise.”
Yet she struck his hand away. As Estelle moved back, clutching a bracelet, she whispered a name.
“…Johann.”
The whisper reached Carlos’s ears clearly. Dare she speak another man’s name in front of the Crown Prince? Infuriated, he sneered.
“You wouldn’t dare refuse the Crown Prince, would you?”
Carlos reached for her arm again, intending to drag her away.
“Whoever you are, a night with the Crown Prince is more than enough—”
“To hell with that filthy hand. Remove it.”
A dark-haired man appeared behind her, swatting Carlos’s hand away—Johann Blanchet.
“Are you alright, my wife?”
He checked on her and frowned at the Crown Prince.
“Why does this idiot keep interfering?”
The Duke pulled Estelle protectively, glaring at Carlos.
“…This woman is mine.”
Johann’s large hands tenderly brushed her hair and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to her forehead.
“No matter how much you regret it, it won’t change anything.”
Perhaps a display to prevent Carlos from taking her. Even this act of possessiveness thrilled her. Her cheeks flushed, and Johann smiled in satisfaction.
“My woman is truly beautiful.”
The Crown Prince opened his mouth to speak, but Johann interrupted.
“You no longer need to deal with him, my wife.”
Suddenly, the scenery shifted. Johann was now directly in front of her, unlike before when he had embraced her from behind.
‘Did we come to the Blanchet household?’
Yet the sound of strings from the banquet hall echoed nearby. Johann’s face shadowed slightly as he whispered sweetly, though still angry.
“What did that bastard try to do?”
“Nothing happened because you came right away.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Well… except for trying to drag me away? He probably just wanted a drink.”
Johann’s narrowed eyes darkened.
“No. He’s the one at fault.”
Suppressing something boiling within, his mouth twisted slightly. Even then, he looked magnificent.
“What wrong did my wife do?”
His long fingers caressed her earlobe. His other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. His crimson eyes, full of emotion, drew near. She held her breath and stared at him. He smiled.
“I’ll save the kisses for later.”
His lips brushed her cheek, traced her neck, and descended delicately along her collarbone. The warmth lingered where he passed. Finally, pressing a kiss to her collarbone, he met her eyes again.
“I can’t hold back anymore.”
Johann bared his teeth and bit her collarbone like a starving beast, as if to devour her in one go—wildly and aggressively.
