“Well, well.
Liam Crawford is as popular as ever,” Viden drawled, rolling an unlit cigar between his fingers as he watched the reporters lingering at the entrance.
“And you are as famously indiscreet as ever, Your Highness,” Liam shot back.
“I give you a compliment, and you repay me with venom.
Such a charming personality.”
“The rumors of your activities on your state visit were quite sordid.
Not to mention your using me to cover them up.”
‘Vicious bastard.’ Viden gave Liam, who seemed to know everything, a weary look before his gaze drifted to Arlen, standing forlornly in the garden.
“By the way, Miss Sermont is quite the beauty.”
“Is she?
Perhaps you’d like to take her back, then.”
“Should I?
I heard she was from the country and expected someone plain.
She’s far beyond my imagination.”
At Viden’s praise, Liam’s eyes narrowed.
Her first impression had indeed been plain, but dressed in expensive finery, she was more than just presentable—she was a spectacle.
Even now, half the men in the garden were stealing glances.
To Liam, whose eye for value was second to none, the woman was undeniably beautiful.
‘Is this how a master craftsman feels,’ he wondered, ‘presenting a perfectly cut and polished gem to the world?’
“She supposedly studied at Saint for ten years just to marry me,” Viden mused with a chuckle.
“If she lasted ten years in a place Blethen couldn’t stand for two, she must have been a rare virgin for this day and age.” His tone was flippant for a man discussing another’s wife, but Liam, long accustomed to the Crown Prince’s crassness, felt no need to reply.
At his silence, Viden’s eyes widened.
“It’s true, then?
Spill it.
Is she as pure as she looks?”
Liam paused before answering.
‘Not pure, but…’
“Simple.”
“Simple?
Not pure?”
“As if she were raised with a flock of sheep in the mountains.
She’s simple.” Her timid demeanor, like a lamb wrapped in fluffy wool, was ripe for exploitation.
She approached others with an open, desperate desire to be liked, only to offer up her wool, her meat—her very self—to the first hand that reached out, a tragic lamb to the slaughter.
“Are you sure you’re alright with this marriage?”
“What’s not to be alright with?” The woman was a product of a deal, and not a bad one.
As a partner in bed, she was exceptionally satisfying.
He had intended to perform his duties just enough to avoid rumors of a strained marriage, but Arlen had played her part surprisingly well.
A smirk touched his lips as he recalled the previous night.
He had expected some passivity, but not to that degree.
He had not meant to put in much effort, but her resistance had perversely provoked him into being uncharacteristically cruel.
“J-Just a moment—.” That damned phrase.
As if it were the only thing she knew how to say, her lips would halt him just as he was getting started, irritating him so much that he had devoured them to shut her up.
Her frantic struggles, which had initially left him cold, had become a potent aphrodisiac.
It was meant to be a perfunctory act, a mere formality, but the sight of her flushed face and heated breaths had aroused him instantly.
Her clumsy, earnest attempts to fight back, then to please him, had been an intoxicating paradox.
The wife he had acquired through a transaction was more than adequate.
Her body, ripe and eager despite her innocent face, was a surprisingly good vessel for his desires.
Her artless movements were an amusing turn-on; he would not tire of her easily.
There was much to teach her, a considerable investment of time and effort required, but it promised to be a worthwhile venture.
Having concluded his assessment, Liam neatly shook off the woman named ‘wife’ from his thoughts.
“Then you should go take care of her,” Viden said, gesturing with his chin toward the lonely figure of Arlen.
Liam’s gaze fell upon her.
She was a dazzling vision in her designer gown and brilliant jewels, yet an aura of alienation clung to her, visible even from a distance.
The fleeting glance passed over her and away.
“Why bother?” The deal was done.
He had fulfilled his obligation by marrying her.
He had no reason to give her any more of his attention.
“Liam, you sly fox.” A new voice broke in as an arm slung around Liam’s shoulders.
“Suddenly marrying a woman you claimed no interest in.
What’s the story?”
“Renfred.
You’re here too?” Liam asked, his tone flat as he regarded the grinning Miles.
“Look who’s talking.
You vanished after the wedding.
What wind blew you here tonight?” Miles flagged down a passing servant and handed a glass of whiskey to Liam.
“Somehow, it ended up that way,” Liam said with a faint smirk, taking a drag from his cigar.
“Oh, Your Highness Viden.
A pleasure to see you,” Miles said, finally acknowledging the prince.
“Marquis Renfred.” Viden flicked his cigar in greeting.
Miles glanced at Arlen and nudged Liam.
“Should you be over here, Liam?
Your wife looks pitiful.
She’s earned the hatred of every woman in Edel in one fell swoop.”
“That is not my concern,” Liam murmured coldly, feeling no need to intervene.
“Liam is heartless, isn’t he?”
“And does the ever-so-considerate Prince Viden show such mercy to the women he casts aside?”
“That’s because they talk nonsense.
The women of Edel have nothing but flowers in their heads… Oh, look over there.”
At Viden’s gesture, Liam turned to see a pack of women closing in on Arlen.
“How tedious.” He turned away completely and began to walk at a leisurely pace.
Viden watched him go, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.
He wondered if Liam could truly be so nonchalant, knowing Blethen had systematically destroyed every woman who had ever dared approach him.
‘Not my problem,’ Viden thought with a smirk, feeling like a spectator at a play.
He took a deep drag of his cigar and followed Liam.
After Liam disappeared with the Crown Prince, Arlen stood awkwardly, her feet rooted to the spot.
Every time she tried to approach a group, the women would shift away, a clear, intentional shunning.
“So shameless.
Breaking a royal engagement to seduce the Duke into marriage.”
“That’s why they call her the vixen.
No shame at all, luring another man with her tears while she was betrothed.”
Arlen was stunned by the venom from women she did not even know.
The whispers had started the moment Liam left her side, growing sharper and more cruel with every passing second.
“They say she clung to him, crying and begging him not to go on his business trip.
The Duke must have been so mortified.”
“So immature.
He must have taken pity on her, to accept her in front of all those people.”