"Hahaha... I forgot, I just realized that." I was fake laughing on the surface, but I was actually boiling inside.
He really wants to tarnish my reputation. What woman in this world would stand to see her husband hanging out with another woman, even though they had only been married for two weeks. I'm sure he was waiting for me to throw a tantrum and waiting for an opportunity to embarrass me. He must also want to show everyone that I am an abandoned woman.
I took a deep breath, trying to control my emotions.
Disappointed because Yvonne's reaction was not what she expected, Audrey finally gave up. Besides, people would notice if he cornered the Crown Princess too clearly. He didn't want to show that he was against the Crown Princess openly. It will impact his family. "Okay, then I will take my leave, Your Majesty." Audrey bowed politely towards me then returned to her position.
I nodded my head in response to Audrey's greeting.
Silently I stared at his back which was starting to move away from my sight. He must have done it on purpose, to see me lose my temper.
No.
I won't let that happen. I will not allow them to be complacent and laugh out loud at my suffering.
From the moment I got married, they must have been waiting for me to make a mistake and insult me if it actually happened.
"Your Highness, may I toast you?" A noble woman approached me again while offering me a glass of wine.
I nodded my head while taking a glass of wine that was on the table.
"Congratulations on your wedding, Your Majesty." He clinked his glass with a small smile.
I smiled back in response to his words while saying thank you.
"I think the rumors are false."
"What rumors?"
"According to rumors you are an arrogant and spoiled person, but I actually see it as the opposite. You calmly respond to their words and act maturely like a Crown Princess." Liana lowered her head while smiling shyly at me. His voice was full of sincere admiration and praise.
I cleared my throat, embarrassed by his compliment, "I think you flatter me too much."
"No. I am telling the truth, Your Majesty. I am very impressed with you."
"Then I won't hesitate. Thank you for making me happy, Miss. It's an honor to be the object of your admiration." I nodded my head while giving him a playful smile.
"Hahaha.. You are very funny, Your Majesty." Liana covered her mouth while laughing a little because of my joke.
I just smiled in response to his words.
After observing him, I felt like he wasn't my enemy. Thankfully, there were still people who wanted to be friends with me at this party. Even though I'm used to it myself, I still feel sad. Being alone in a crowd like this inevitably made me a little discouraged.
"Your Majesty, actually I also have a specific purpose for coming to your party."
After exchanging conversation with Liana for a long time, I heard her words that made me unable to frown.
"You mean?" I said confused.
"I would like to ask you for a favor. I come from the Baron Sylvester family located west of the capital. Our family rarely participates in events like this, but since you are hosting this banquet, I became interested in attending. You are from a powerful family, so I thought you could help me." Liana cleared her throat to cover her embarrassment at trying to flatter me.
"My family has a good mineral mine, but recently we just experienced a disaster. A number of workers died due to a landslide that occurred in the mineral mine, so we have huge losses. I ask that you can lend a little hand to help my family."
I was silent for a long time, and finally, with a heavy heart, I refused. "Sorry, I can't do that." I looked down feeling bad because I couldn't help him.
"Why? Aren't you Her Highness the Crown Princess? You are also Duke Philippe's favorite daughter. Why can't you help me?" Liana protested, dissatisfaction evident on her face.
I laughed bitterly at his words. Basically, I'm just an empty shell that can be thrown away at any time. My father doesn't really love me like people say. He only thought of me as a tool to achieve a higher position.
"Then what about the Crown Prince? I'm sure he can help you. Even though he hates you, I'm sure he won't ignore your request."
That's even more impossible. If he was capable enough to kill me, he probably wanted to kill me many times. I've given him too much misery, so it's even more impossible for him to want to help me.
Seeing me remain silent made Liana realize she couldn't expect anything from me.
"Okay, it turns out that my suspicions were wrong all along. You are really as cold-hearted as people say. I'll excuse you, Your Majesty." Liana left me with great disappointment.
I lowered my head towards the situation I was in. If only I had the material and strength, I would definitely lend a hand to help him. But unfortunately, that was just my wishful thinking, because I couldn't even save myself.
Just for a moment, I thought I would have friends, it turns out that was just my wishful thinking. Who wants to be friends with me with my condition like this? It's still fortunate that I didn't drag other people to suffer with me.
I'm no longer excited to be here, I'd better just leave. I also felt that my presence seemed to disturb them.
"Sorry everyone, I'm asking for a moment. I suddenly feel unwell, so I want to rest first. This is probably because I drank too much wine." I laughed a little to get rid of my awkwardness. "Because of that, we apologize for the inconvenience. Please just stay here to enjoy the party!"
"It's okay, Your Majesty. We understand. We hope you get better soon."
"Thank you. I'm really sorry." Lastly, I bowed my head again politely, to appease the invited guests if anyone was dissatisfied with me.
Without looking back, I left the party followed by the butler who also followed behind me. Actually, it's not a lie that I don't feel well. I feel like I'm going to faint if I stay here.
I shouldn't drink too much, but without realizing it, because I was drowning my sorrows with alcohol, I accidentally finished all the wine on the table.
"Is your highness really sick?"
"No, he must be lying. I saw he was fine, why did he suddenly feel unwell?"
"He must be avoiding us, for fear that we will continue to corner him. Which wife doesn't even know the whereabouts of her own husband, I think she must be embarrassed." Audrey smiled crookedly seeing me leave.
"She is so arrogant that she doesn't even want to greet us. Does she think that because she is the Crown Princess she will become Empress? Don't know, she could be removed from the position of Crown Princess at any time. If it weren't for her father's family, how could she have reached this stage."
"Yes, that's absolutely true."
"Her Highness the Crown Princess isn't even pretty, her face is ordinary. So, by what right does she have the right to be side by side with the Crown Prince."
I clenched my fists when I overheard their conversation on the way to the palace. There's no point in fighting them, because they'll definitely continue to hate me. Even if I just stood there silently, they would still think my actions were wrong. I'd better speed up my steps to leave this place.
"Your Honour."
When I arrived at the door, I saw Cherry standing in front of my bedroom door. The worried look on his face was clearly visible on his face which made me confused.
"What are you doing here, Cherry? Why don't you come inside?"
"I.. that-" Cherry stuttered and she just pointed towards my bedroom door.
"What's wrong Cherry?" I followed his gaze, furrowing my brow in confusion at his gesture.
"His Highness the Crown Prince is currently in your room." Cherry's voice sounded small but I could hear it clearly, because the atmosphere was quiet.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince?" I repeated again.
"Yes," replied Cherry, nodding her head.
"Has he been here all along?"
"Yeah, about an hour ago."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"The Crown Prince told me to do it." Cherry's head bowed, she felt guilty for not telling the Crown Princess beforehand.
"Okay, then I'll go inside."
I took a deep breath, then slowly walked towards the bedroom door.