Reincarnated As My Husband's Mistress-Chapter 91: [] The cruelty of jealousy

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Doris felt her heart turn to stone, even without Blie or Epero present. While everyone else was laughing, chatting, and dancing in the ballroom, her mood was as dreary as a swamp.

"Instead of alcohol, shall we toast?"

Bardenaldo's friendly gesture of raising a teacup instead of a wineglass, with an innocent expression, appeared to Doris as nothing more than a hypocritical act.

"You've quite taken a liking to my lady-in-waiting, haven't you? This is why I can't take my eyes off the prince for even a moment."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard that my lady-in-waiting has become your advisor. How come I didn't know anything about it?"

"Ah, that's what you're referring to. It's a recent development. Who would have thought that Epero would return so suddenly?"

"Oh, is that so?"

Doris opened her mouth as if to shout but managed to shut it tightly as the music gradually faded. If only that damned Prince Epero hadn't returned, she would have summoned the crown prince to her palace and smashed a few vases. Just as she had kept her mouth shut about the Duke's rebellion, the Duke of Castagna would frequently leave his estate to visit the crown prince's palace in return for preventing Epero's return. Although she hadn't been able to keep Epero contained for long, appointing Blie as an advisor and making that decision without consulting her was a whole different matter.

"You don't seem to remember how much time we've spent together in those few days."

"I've been so busy dealing with the aftermath of the Duke's involvement."

Doris clenched her trembling fists and tried to suppress her anger. She had transferred some of the Duke's authority to the Duke of Castagna and had also made arrangements for several of the Duke's former retainers. It was to prevent any remaining forces of the Duke's house from harboring any ulterior motives. Of course, the Duke's retainers were either vassals of the Marquis of Winstor, the crown prince's grandmother, or central figures of the old pro-crown prince faction, so any 'ulterior motives' they might have would be minor.

"Who will become the leader of the pro-crown prince faction."

It was becoming increasingly clear that the Duke of Castagna was at the forefront. For instance, the Duke of Castagna would invite them to meetings in the capital and preside over them. The crown prince would silently follow the Duke, and the remaining forces of the pro-crown prince faction would tacitly acknowledge the Duke of Castagna. Blie had been removed, and today was the long-awaited day for her union with Bardenaldo. In other words, today was supposed to be a very happy day for Doris.

"I'm sorry about Epero's matter."

Despite it being a welcome party for his brother, Bardenaldo expressed his regret without hesitation.

"The Empress seems to be impressed by the crown prince's consideration after seeing this welcome party. You're quite heartless."

"It's a different matter from caring for my younger brother."

Meaning, it's a real pain that your father can't do his job properly.

"Countess Akacia is also a different matter to me."

"She happens to say she's taking a break from serving the Queen. Who else can I trust in this palace? Since she's a person of the Queen's, I trust her. And since she's a young and beautiful noblewoman, I thought it would be better to have people gossiping about her in a different way rather than politically about Epero."

"Whether you consulted me or not is a separate issue."

Doris replied without yielding.

"It was a friction that wouldn't have occurred if Epero hadn't returned, so how about we just let this go?"

No. If you had only consulted me, I wouldn't be this angry. Doris turned her head, suppressing the anger that felt like it would burst her head. She knew that suggesting they let it go was the most rebellious thing Bardenaldo could do. But what about this anger? The woman who should have been completely discarded and never shown her face near Roardnes was right in front of her eyes. And she was even getting along with people she shouldn't be associating with. She was hogging all of Roardnes' attention and the gazes of those who followed him! Nora was standing a few steps away, listening to the conversation between the crown prince and his wife, looking uneasy. Doris could see Nora vigorously scratching a hangnail with her neatly manicured index finger.

'Something's going to happen.'

When Nora did that, with her lips curled up in awareness of her surroundings but her eyes wide open and silently suppressing her anger, it always meant something was about to go down.

****

"Your Highness... Your Highness!"

The gentle but firm grip that pulled her arm wasn't painful, but it was rough. His broad back was tense, whether from anger or tension, Adrien didn't know. Surprised by this side of Roardnes that she had never seen before, she was pulled along involuntarily. As soon as they entered a secluded corridor, Roardnes stopped his rapid pace.

"What did you talk about?"

Adrien hesitated for a moment. Should she share the conversation she had with Epero with Roardnes? Shouldn't she wait until she was more certain? If she told him everything, including Epero's rudeness, he might get angry and say he would smash her head in before even listening to the details, given his temperament.

"Even if it seems like there's no one around, there might be someone listening. Let's talk about it later, when we're alone in a quiet place."

Rather than focusing on Epero's rudeness, Adrien replied calmly, intending to convey only the essential points later. However, Roardnes simply listened to her reply without any change in expression, then let out a chuckle. It was more like a sneer, and Adrien stared blankly at his lips.

"When is that?"

Taken aback by his mocking reply, Adrien gathered her scattered thoughts.

"First... I have to carry out my assigned duties for a few days. You know."

"...How many times am I to you?"

Adrien was speechless for a moment. A surge of emotion welled up inside her. When Epero asked her why she was distinguishing between enemies and allies and what her goal was, Adrien had unconsciously looked at Roardnes. What she wanted was a future. A future she could build with Roardnes. Even though she was living in the present to avenge the past, now that she had a healthy body, she wanted to dream of a more human future. If only she could. If only she could. If she had to choose between knowing the truth and dying, or living by covering up the truth, she would choose the former. She felt that she couldn't move forward without completely erasing her foolish past.

"Ah, that matter. Work is important."

"..."

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"I'm your friend, too. You don't use a perfectly good friend, and you keep making new friends, so I'm angry."

Roardnes' self-deprecating voice, mixed with a deep sneer, sank deep into the stillness. Adrien thought that it felt more like a monologue directed at himself rather than at her.

"Am I your 'friend'?"

"...Of course."

Her heart ached.

Adrien forced a smile and replied with a trembling voice.

"Of course, Your Highness also said that you were my best friend..."

"Then why do you have so many secrets from a best friend?"

Was he asking this because she hadn't told him properly about her conversation with Epero? The atmosphere was drastically different from usual, and Adrien hurriedly replied.

"I told Prince Epero that I noticed he called me, so I said I wanted to be friends."

Thinking about it, she realized that asking Epero to come was something she hadn't discussed with Roardnes.

"How much closer do you plan to get?"

"As much as necessary."

Roardnes was silent for a moment at her reply.

"...Can't I be enough? No, if you hadn't brought Epero in in the first place, it wouldn't have been difficult for you to ask me, and you could have become the advisor to His Highness the Crown Prince."

"I needed a reason."

"Can't you just create a reason? Why do you have to bring in someone else and make things so difficult for yourself?"

His voice was calm and low, devoid of excitement. Yet, Adrien couldn't shake the feeling that Roardnes was angry.

"It's not that difficult. I decided to do it because I thought I could."

"...Is it so hard to rely on me?"

Ah, so that was it. Adrien relaxed her stiff neck and gently clasped her hands together, letting go of the dress. He was right. It would have been easier if she had asked him. But Adrien had decided that it was better to be by the crown prince's side out of necessity rather than because he had asked her. That way, if the plan went awry...

"Are you worried that something might happen to me if the plan goes wrong?"

"..."

At her silent affirmation, Roardnes roughly ran his hand across his cheek. His face was pale, but his neck was flushed.

"Am I not trustworthy enough for you? Are we really friends? You trust and rely on everyone else, even use them, but you don't do that with me."

"Your Highness."

"That drives me crazy, Adrien."

Faced with his cold words, Adrien couldn't reply.

"The fact that I'm still just 'Anne' to you."

Seeing his wounded, red-rimmed eyes, Adrien couldn't utter a sound.

"It's like I can't even be a proper friend to you."

Roardnes knew. Blaming Adrien wouldn't solve anything. But hadn't he endured enough? A woman who had shared her heart with him, then married another man and loved him. She had been diving headfirst to discover the truth, regardless of the consequences. But in the process, he felt completely excluded.

"Friend, fine. Knowing the truth is good too. It doesn't matter how things turn out between us, it's good that we're friends now. But... today is a bit difficult."

"Your Highness."

"I just... I think I need to say this."

Roardnes approached her and grabbed her shoulders, bowing his head. Seeing his sturdy shoulders trembling, Adrien couldn't reply. Tears didn't fall, but his body shook as if he were crying. Adrien was held captive by him. And after an endless silence, finally, Roardnes' voice came.

"I'm jealous."

"!"

"Damn those bastards... I'm sorry, I hate swearing, but just bear with me today. All I wanted was to get rid of those bastards. My heart was burning, and even though I knew you weren't interested in them at all, I was going crazy with thirst. I'm sorry. For saying such ugly things."

"Your Highness."

"Yeah, I know. I don't deserve to say this either. Even though we're just friends, I'm saying things beyond that, and the moment I do, I'm scared of how I might hurt you."

He muttered as if chewing his words. His voice was filled with deep self-loathing.

"I didn't know. That I was like that. That's why I couldn't bear to see you with another man before, and I ended up not being able to come near the capital and just wandered around the borderlands, shedding blood."

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