Chapter 263
Chapter 263
I carefully led the teary-eyed Yanghwa to her bedroom, while Kaichen, Julius, and Duran went to the study to gather information about the situation.
Thud—
The door to Yanghwa’s bedroom closed firmly.
Sniffling and wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, she sat up as if nothing had happened.
Her crying had been so heart-wrenching, making me wonder if her acting was genuine. Seeing her blow her nose and wipe her tears, I admired the sequence of actions that had shattered even my slightest suspicions.
“… Princess, really…”
“Hmm?”
“You were amazing.”
I felt it again. Not just anyone can be a leading lady. Although Lamia seemed more like the villain today, Yanghwa’s performance was still better. Or did I interchange their roles…?
Thinking that, I let out a small laugh, and Yanghwa responded with a smile, nodding.
“I did well following your orders, right?”
Oh, no. It was I who orchestrated Yanghwa’s actions. It wasn’t Lamia or Yanghwa who were the antagonists but… me. Realizing that I had turned pure Yanghwa into this, I felt somewhat proud.
I scratched my head and said with a slightly stern expression, “You did splendidly.”
Seeing Yanghwa’s delighted expression, I couldn’t help but think of praising her as I remembered the way Maxim wagged his tail for approval.
With her sparkling eyes fixed on me, Yanghwa’s playful laughter seemed to resonate in the air as she leaped onto the sofa. Her reaction was so vivid that it would be hard not to recall my precious dog.
I watched Yanghwa with incredulous eyes. I noticed her eyes were still swollen from sobbing so much.
“Princess, come here.”
After dampening a handkerchief with water and using ice magic to make it colder, I gently pressed it against Yanghwa’s puffy eyes. She flinched at the cold sensation, her body shivering.
I pressed the handkerchief firmly against her eyes, knowing that if I left it like this, tomorrow two big bags would be hanging under her eyes.
“Are you upset?” she asked.
“Huh? Why would I be?” I answered.
“I did something… bad.”
“Umm…”
As I gently rubbed the cold compress against her eyes, Yanghwa naturally leaned back against my lap and rested her head against the back of my knees.
She was extraordinarily good at acting spoiled. Perhaps it was because she was the youngest child.
Did she realize that her actions and mannerisms revealed her upbringing in a household full of love? She would usually roll her large deer-like eyes at me and gauge my reaction, but now that I was busy with the cold compress, she fidgeted with her fingers instead.
“Do you regret it?”
“It’s not really that.”
Unexpectedly, her firm answer made my mouth twitch upward. “Why did you go to such lengths? I warned you that if you went to the party, you might encounter that kind of trouble,” I asked her.
“They offended you.”
“Offended? Well, that could happen. I did told you before that I’m disliked.”
I knew that if I continued attending parties, sooner or later, I’d clash with someone.
Lamia held significant influence in the social circle, to the extent that she could be called the leader of the elite society. According to Mimi, aside from the older matrons, Lamia and Dubonnet were considered the best in high society.
And that was thanks to Princess Exchetra’s support behind them.
With such a strong background, it wasn’t surprising that they could act so recklessly. Although Lamia was taken away, if Exchetra had wished it, she would be released even if she had truly struck Yanghwa or not.
The outcome would also depend on how Julius will handle the situation.
Well, even with Exchetra behind her, it was a bit much to say such ignorant and foolish things. Did she have no sense? Well, she certainly seemed to lack it.
“We should face things together. While it wasn’t my fight to intervene, when a friend is in trouble, I should help them,” Yanghwa suddenly said.
“What?”
“My second older brother told me that. He said that when a friend is in trouble, you should step forward and help them. Just watching and doing nothing is not something a friend should do.”
“Uh… I don’t think that’s what he meant…”
“I just didn’t want to see Dalia in trouble.”
While Yanghwa said this, she seemed to realize that her actions were wrong, as she lost her fervor.
Admittedly, her actions couldn’t be considered right. After all, she had lied about being slapped…
“I was grateful that you helped me. If I were alone, I would have just silently listened to their words,” I said.
“…”
“I’m not kind-hearted or incapable of speaking harshly to others. But…”
“I know. And…?”
“Um… that’s right. Anyway, I stayed quiet tonight because dealing with those people felt bothersome… or I should say I didn’t want to waste my time and energy… Yes… the situation felt childish to me.”
“Childish?”
I turned the handkerchief inside out. Yanghwa flinched again at the cold, but I continued the press without saying anything.
After a while, I summarized what I felt at the time and explained briefly.
Having gone through such a significant battle and knowing that more lay ahead, I didn’t want to engage in pointless arguments like that anymore.
It was tiresome, and I didn’t want to expend my energy that way. That was why I avoided answering them and just listened to their chatter.
“So, I’m really thankful to you, Your Highness. How can people live their lives just being kind all the time? Sometimes you have to do a few bad things to avoid getting hurt.”