Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18

Chapter 213: Escaping Boredom

Celebrating the prince’s birthday was just used as another excuse for noble families and prominent businessmen to be in the presence of the king and the royal family. The crown prince is a few years older than Anthony but he was still not engaged. The other nobles in attendance made sure to stand close enough to my sister and me as they whispered their malicious gossip about us just loud enough to make sure that we could hear.

“It’s a shame they had to get their daughter engaged to the son of the Vulkan family. I’m sure if she wasn’t engaged, she would be going after the crown prince right now.”

“What are you talking about? There’s no way that the king will allow his son to marry a daughter from a simple noble family.”

“That might be true. It’s too late now anyways because all they have left is that second daughter...”

That second daughter...

I guess that nobles were still kind in their choice of words because I had clearly been given worse nicknames than that. The whole political acts that were going on all around us were tiring me out and boring me.

“You look bored...” Diana said knowingly before she smiled at me.

“Is it showing that clearly on my face?” I asked with a small dry laugh.

“Of course. You’re not even bothering to hide it,” she replied.

“I guess I should step outside before my mood rubs off on you too,” I suggested.

“Sure. I’ll head over there to hang out with those girls or I’ll find Anthony somewhere...” Diana said casually.

After leaving the ballroom, I headed toward the gardens where I thought I could get a breath of fresh air and escape the stifling atmosphere of the event for a while. Since there was no role for me to really play at the event, there should be no problem if I disappeared for a while.

The garden was deserted at that time of night and that gave me the opportunity to enjoy the night breeze alone in peace. The silence save for the sound of the wind helped calm my nerves and made me hesitant to return to the party. We haven’t had our chance to greet the crown prince so I had to return even if it was just for that.

Such a hassle...

It was on my way back that I felt like someone had started following me. There were clearly sounds of someone else’s footsteps from not so far behind me. I reminded myself that I was in what must be the most secure place in the kingdom because I was in the palace. There were countless guards on duty because a party was being held. Despite telling myself all those logical arguments that supported my safety, the small hair at the back of my neck stood up in full alert.

Someone is following me.

Should I turn around to check if I’m right or should I simply run away?

Running wasn’t exactly a viable option given the heels that I had on but I did start walking faster. I hadn’t realized that the garden was so far from the ballroom and I cursed silently in my head at how endless the hallway seemed to be. I also had no idea why there were no guards stationed nearby that I could ask for help. While thinking that causing an unnecessary scene might be bad, I tried to convince myself that I should turn around to confirm my suspicion. Perhaps there was no one there or even if there was someone there, that person might be harmless.

Just as I made up my mind to turn around to check behind me, the door to one side of the hallway suddenly opened. The warm golden light from the room spilled out onto the hallway and caught my attention. A dark silhouette of a man stood in the hallway and I stopped in my tracks.

“Dahlia, here you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” a man’s voice said warmly to me.

He called me by my first name just now...

I turned and glanced over my shoulders but there was no one there in the empty hallway that I had walked down.

It must have been just my imagination...

While I was too stunned to react, the man grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the room after him. The door closed with a loud thud behind us as I continued to wonder about who had just stepped in to save me from my distressing situation. When I stared up at the face of my savior, I became too shocked to speak.

“Your...Your Highness...” I whispered when I managed to find my tongue again.

The prince must have thought that I was acting strange. I let out a soft sigh of relief before turning to offer the prince what I hoped would pass as a polite smile of appreciation. Unbeknownst to him, the prince had just saved me from a scare.

“Are you ok?” the prince asked softly.

“Yes. I...I’m fine. Thank you, Your Highness...” I said while stuttering a little.

My heart thumped so loudly in my chest that it felt like my own heartbeat was ringing in my ear. The crown prince was the last person that I expected to see. On top of that, we were not close enough for him to call me so informally by my first name. Although I’ve met the prince a couple of times before over the years, it was only in passing. Even when my parents had the rare chance to converse with him, all I did was stand to the side with a polite smile plastered on my lips like I was simply some room decoration.

Wasn’t the prince supposed to be at his birthday party in the ballroom? What is he doing here?

What does he mean when he said that he was looking for me? Was he really looking for me?

Endless questions flooded my mind but all I could do was smile in his presence.

–To be continued...

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