LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 18
18
The sky gradually darkened, and twilight began to ripple.
On the carriage ride back, Charlotte was silent the entire way.
Her mind was filled with Roy’s elegant smile and his lonely figure from behind.
Reason told her that she couldn’t possibly be with a good-for-nothing scoundrel.
Yet the aching feeling in her chest wouldn’t stop her from fantasizing.
After a while, the girl resting her cheek in her hand sighed softly towards the sunset outside the window.
“If only that guy could reform his ways.”
“Huh?” Lisa’s eyes widened in surprise.
Ever since leaving the Marquis’ estate, Charlotte had never seemed as melancholic as she was now, and Lisa had not dared to disturb her with a word.
It was only then that Lisa carefully asked, “Does Your Highness not know?”
“I know, I know it all,” Charlotte closed her eyes, in utter despair.
“Uh, I meant about Master Roy reforming his ways.”
Charlotte turned her head abruptly, annoyed, and pouted, “I’ve already said I know he’s a good-for-nothing scoundrel!”
As her words fell, Charlotte suddenly realized.
“Wait, what did you just say?!”
“I sought out that rumored blonde little girl for information,” Lisa recalled the scene at the time, sighing, “Young Master Roy has turned over a new leaf.”
“Now, he neither beats the servants nor oppresses the commoners, and he takes good care of that Alice, without any improper conduct.”
At this point, Lisa couldn’t help but sigh. Although it was she who said people can change, she didn’t expect Roy to change so completely.
With Lisa’s more than thirty years of life experience, she could easily tell that Alice’s words were without falsehood.
“What do you think of him, Your Highness?”
Charlotte looked down, not responding.
If all this was true, why didn’t he tell her at the time?!
Was he afraid she wouldn’t believe it?
The image of the young man’s bitter smile appeared before Charlotte, breaking her heart.
Yes, it must be so.
Just like the protagonist in a knight’s novel, that guy was too gentle.
Believing he wasn’t worthy of her, he was content to protect her in silence.
Roy Ainsworth had never considered the possibility that she would accept him!
“What a fool.”
From noble mtl dot come
“Fool?” Lisa was puzzled.
“Turn around now, let’s go back… Never mind, I’ll go myself!”
“Your Highness?!”
Without waiting for Lisa to stop her, Charlotte pushed open the carriage door, jumped down, and in two or three moves, she untied the griffin’s restraints and mounted it.
The surging anger, joy, relief, and an indescribable tremor in her chest, she wanted to convey all of this to Roy.
She couldn’t wait a second longer.
“Your Highness, wait…!”
“Roar!”
Under the princess’s command, the golden-red griffin was no longer lazy, it suddenly spread its wings and soared into the sky.
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“Tsk, he even went through connections to requisition our family’s castle, and in the end, wasn’t he dumped by the princess?”
“That’s normal, isn’t it? How could any man catch the eye of the [Flame Lion Princess]?”
“Shh, keep it down…”
Inside Sunwind City, such idle gossip was everywhere, from the nobles to the maids, all mocking Roy’s failure.
However, Roy himself was sitting in the lord’s mansion’s lounge, leisurely popping open a bottle of champagne.
Everything was going according to plan!
Roy made no attempt to hide his disgrace, thus avoiding the folly of overcomplicating things and angering Charlotte.
To her, he was nothing more than a tedious, worthless scoundrel, no longer of any interest, right?
From now on, they would be parallel lines, and he needn’t worry about being killed because of the “Lion Flame Princess.”
Congratulations are in order, cheers to Coca-Cola.
“Master, I’m sorry, I couldn’t help you,” said the little maid beside him, not thinking the same, bowing her head in a full display of apology.
“Don’t be like that, you did well,” Roy said helplessly, ruffling the girl’s fluffy short hair.
Alice lifted her head, still unable to let go: “But, Her Highness the Princess didn’t stay for dinner.”
According to the noble etiquette of the Lionheart Kingdom, if a courtship went well, there would be a banquet. The lady’s early departure indicated dissatisfaction with the gentleman.
Men who failed to keep a lady for the banquet were often ridiculed by the entire high society.
But Roy took it easy.
After all, Charlotte had never shown a pleasant face to any courtship candidate, so he didn’t lose too much face.
“It doesn’t matter, I’m not worthy of Her Highness anyway. This courtship was just a formality.”
Roy consoled himself, then casually sipped his champagne.
Outside the window was an endless twilight, the majestic lord’s mansion bathed in the dusk, somehow looking desolate and lonely.
Until a striking crimson emerged from the end of the twilight.
“Pfft!”
Roy sprayed out his champagne on the spot.
“Why…”
Why had Charlotte Reinhardt come back?!
Riding on a gale lion griffin, glaring with her eyes, her hair exploding, she looked like a fierce god of wrath!
This was surely a quest for vengeance, wasn’t it?!
But he was sure he hadn’t angered her, had he?
Roy was utterly baffled, even wondering if there was some sort of world-enforcing power.
But before he could figure it out, the griffin had already landed below the city!
“Roy Einbroad, come out!”
A loud call echoed under the sunset.
The princess’s act of calling him by name shattered Roy’s last illusion.
Reluctantly, Roy had to steel himself and go to the front of the lord’s mansion to greet Charlotte.
The short walk felt like a march to the scaffold.
The maids, butlers, and even the nobles inside the lord’s mansion all came to the windows and doors, watching Roy’s awkwardness with a spectator’s glee.
After all, men dismissed by Her Highness the Princess are not uncommon, but it’s quite rare for one to make her turn back and scold him a second time.
“Your Highness, why have you returned?”
Charlotte ignored Roy’s pleasantries, her beautiful brows raised sternly, the princess pointed at Roy and said sharply, “Roy Ainsworth, you never intended to take this matchmaking seriously from the start, did you?! Are you looking down on me?!”
Roy was somewhat puzzled: “Since I’m not worthy of Your Highness, isn’t this matchmaking just for show?”
“So you are saying, you are looking down on me?!”
Charlotte questioned for the second time.
“Why didn’t you tell me, that you’ve turned over a new leaf?”
Roy was taken aback.
Why?
Of course, it’s because—
“Because you’re such a big fool!”
“You think I wouldn’t believe in you, that I would mock you like those guys in the castle now! You think I wouldn’t give you any chance, that I would always see you as a worthless rogue! You think you’re not worthy of me, it’s all what you think!”
Faced with Charlotte’s rebuke, Roy was somewhat bewildered.
“Isn’t that so?”