Chapter 244

Did I… really get played?

After leaving with the small gift Princess gave to Anna and rejecting the Royal Family’s offer of a carriage ride home, Leon standing by the palace gates in the night breeze felt his emotions incredibly complicated.

Tricky bad woman…

The few questions he initially raised, including large cognitive differences, both sides being very busy with work, the troubles brought by the Prince’s status, and her true desire for the Lane family rather than himself… and so on and so forth.

Even though the Princess had said a lot to him, these fundamental issues that truly decided his determination to reject this marriage seemed like none of them were resolved.

Yet despite the situation not changing at all from before, not only did he fail to break off the engagement, but she even managed to ensnare him completely, making him absentmindedly promise that he wouldn’t blame her, wouldn’t abandon her, would give her a chance, and absolutely wouldn’t be the first to mention breaking the engagement or anything like that.

If it hadn’t been for barely regaining some sanity at a crucial moment, he probably would have even set a specific wedding date right there, getting completely tied down by the cunning Princess.

But strangely, even though he knew he got played big time, just thinking about how Princess clung to him earlier, those soft words, and those eyes filled—well, at least seemingly filled—with himself, made it impossible for him to feel any anger toward her…

Men… Bah!

After inwardly cursing himself harshly for being weak, Leon couldn’t help but sigh. With a complex expression and an even more tangled heart, he descended the steps.

…

Huh… It seems Leon won’t come to break off the engagement anytime soon.

After Leon admitted his failure to end the engagement and walked down the steps, looking somewhat disheartened—but not too much—a certain fishing master observing from the balcony let out a relieved breath she’d been holding.

People who want status often value face more; offering enough respect first generally can sway their stance. People who want power are usually more pragmatic, needing immediate benefits to reach consensus;

And people who want wealth are also quite realistic, but if you present a sufficiently beautiful prospect, they might even accept empty promises. The truly difficult ones are those who seek nothing.

Fishing requires bait, but Leon didn’t want status, nor power, nor wealth. His identity as a princess was even a burden and trouble to him.

So if he had firmly insisted on breaking off the engagement no matter what, then she really would have had no way to stop him, only watching as this big fish slipped away back into the river.

Fortunately, to push Leon onto the position of Lionheart Duke, she had done extensive research beforehand and understood him well enough to barely find his weakness…

Being soft-hearted, and having a thin skin.

Even if he was determined to break off the engagement, his personality wouldn’t allow him to say cruel words, giving her room to maneuver and pull, and even allowed her to express goodwill, making it hard for him to directly refuse and stabilize the situation.

Once she revealed her bottom line, stating he was her only choice, and acted helpless and vulnerable enough to make “actively regretting the marriage” seem like a guilty choice, then based on Leon’s character, he wouldn’t be able to speak up.

I’m such a despicable woman…

Looking at Leon’s retreating back, the princess on the balcony fell silent for a while, her lustrous eyes carrying a hint of apology.

Sorry…

But even with all these ulterior motives, every word I said just now was true. Marrying you is indeed my best choice, maybe even my only choice, because only our marriage can give me the strength to change the kingdom.

If six years later I miss this chance to change the kingdom, given the current state of the kingdom, a nightmare far worse than the previous one will surely return.

Maybe it’s selfish, but I really don’t want to regret it again! Watching Leon walk further and further away until his back disappeared into the night, the princess sighed lightly, then left the balcony, returning to her desk and opening the documents she hadn’t finished reviewing yet.

On the shelf behind the princess, an old tin doll with half its cheek broken silently gazed at her working figure, revealing a strange smile tinged with resentment.

…

“The Lionheart Duke enters the Palace at night, good news for the Princess?”

“Historic private meeting, the Princess faction will seize power!”

“Beauty or power? The union of the lion and the robin!”

“Shock! The Lionheart Duke meets the Princess at night, they may marry due to pregnancy?”

“…”

Not a single one missed! Read inside 69 Book Bar!

“Those who’ve come here must already know the news.”

After tapping the newspapers on the table, which had various titles but were essentially talking about the same thing, the man in brown formal wear frowned deeply and said:

“I won’t waste words. I’ve invited everyone here to discuss one thing — What exactly do you plan to do about this stupid duke who boasts about using the entire Lane family as dowry to propose to the Princess?”

What do we want to do? Isn’t the real question what we can do?

After exchanging glances among the invited old nobles, a white-haired old baron stood up first, angrily suggesting:

“Of course, we must depose him! Among the seventeen most important departments in the Kingdom, seven are already under royal control. If the Road Administration Department and Military Department held by the Lane family also fall, then more than half the departments will be under her control! Add the Lane family’s seat as Deputy Speaker of the Upper House, and even if we team up with the Lower House, we might still not be able to match the Princess!

So we must depose him! If we let that fool stay on the duke’s throne, how will we survive in the future? Simply bowing to others?”

“But the problem is, how do we depose him? And who will do it?”

After the old baron finished speaking, another noble beside him sighed,

“After the Lane Blood Night, almost everyone qualified to stand up from the Lane family is dead, leaving only an old clan elder who used to have no real power. If we stretch it, we could add the newly elected head of the family.

But during the inheritance ceremony, the old duke’s butler had a heart attack, the remaining clan elder suffered a stroke from anger, and the newly elected head of the family was hospitalized after being slapped by the Lionheart Duke, still not recovered. The Lane family has no one left who can stand up.”

“…”

(The chapter ends)