A Cold-Hearted Prince Who Has Had 23 Engagements Broken off Is Manipulated by a Useless Young Lady From the Countryside - Chapter 10

At dusk, a young lady was walking hunched down a long road lined with white birch trees.

When Ophelia found out that there was no carriage, she decided to walk home without hesitation.

Born and raised in the countryside, walking long distances was a common occurrence for her. She had no sense of direction, but it was a straight road, so she would probably be fine.

As she walked, she kept thinking about Diandra.

She wondered what kind of past those two had that she didn’t know about. Maybe she was a woman she couldn’t forget.

Even so, it would be a bit much to leave her behind at the party venue.

‘You don’t need to come back’ …or so she seemed to have said.

When she realized that she was only that important, she felt sad, and her vision became distorted with tears.

A carriage passed Ophelia from behind.

The carriage was occupied by Caroline, who had followed her to secretly check on her.

She peeked through the window as they passed each other.

When she saw Ophelia walking along crying, she smiled maliciously.

‘Hmph, she’s got it in her…’

But being mean to her wasn’t going to make her feel any better.

Unsettled, she twisted her vertical curls of hair around her fingers and then undid them.

‘Because she’s always so sneaky.’

…Suddenly, she felt a strong impact.

Bump!!

Had something happened?

Caroline stuck her head out of the window of the carriage that had stopped.

“I’m sorry, my lady. One of the wheels has gotten stuck in a ditch.”

An accident had occurred.

It seemed that the carriage had fallen into a puddle caused by last night’s rain.

The driver pushed and pulled the carriage but it wouldn’t budge.

The wheels remained stuck in the mud.

Caroline was irritated inside the carriage.

A little while later, Ophelia, who had passed her earlier, passed by.

“Are you okay?”

Ophelia noticed that the wheel had gotten stuck in a dent in the mud.

She tilted her head and thought for a moment, then looked around and picked up a wooden board.

She then inserted the board diagonally under the wheel and said to the driver.

“I’ll stand on this board and put my weight on it, and at the same time, you both need to push it!”

The idea was to use the principle of leverage.

Desperate for a solution, the driver obediently followed the suggestion of the strange girl who had suddenly appeared.

“Ready, go!” Ophelia jumped onto the board.

“Hmph!” The driver pushed the carriage.

The carriage, which hadn’t even budge, moved slightly.

“One more time! Ready, go!”

Caroline was listening to this exchange in amazement from inside the carriage.

This, this child… Even though she doesn’t have her own means of transportation.

She tries to help strangers as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Without any hesitation. Without any ulterior motives.

Without any qualms about getting her dress dirty.

The movement of the stuck wheels gradually increases.

“One more time! Ready, go!”

“Mmmph!”

The violent movement caused Ophelia’s corsage to fall into the muddy water.

“One more time! Ready, go!”

The carriage suddenly became lighter and pulled out of the ditch.

“Ah! Yes!”

At the same time, the board Ophelia was standing on broke in two.

“Danger!” Caroline instinctively jumped out of the carriage to try and save Ophelia, but it was too late…

“Ahh!”

Ophelia lost her footing and was thrown into the puddle.

“Oh, Lady Caroline!”

Ophelia, who had fallen on her bottom in the mud, looked at Caroline in shock.

The muddy Ophelia was sent to the Bahnhof mansion in Caroline’s carriage.

Caroline clenched her fists and looked down.

She tried to bully her at the party… Out of petty jealousy, she used underhanded tactics to take away her transportation and leave her behind at the venue… And yet…

“S-sorry, I got in like this muddy mess.”

Ophelia was embarrassed.

“But I was in trouble because I didn’t have a carriage, so this was a big help. Thank you.”

She thanked him with a perfect smile.

‘No! It’s my fault that there’s no carriage…!’

Unable to bear the pangs of conscience, Caroline burst into tears.

“Eh? Lady Caroline?”

Ophelia was confused and didn’t understand what was going on.

‘I’m sorry! I’m sorry!’ She apologized over and over in her mind.

It’s only natural that Adonis didn’t remember her name…

She was completely inferior to this boy in terms of human dignity.

Meanwhile, at the Bahnhof mansion…

Adonis was restlessly pacing back and forth by the window.

‘Too late! Isn’t that too late to come home from?’

‘It’s a garden party, so it should end before dark.’

He had returned home earlier, but he was worried about Ophelia, who was taking so long to come back.

‘Could something have happened?’

Fascinatingly, Adonis decided to go and pick up Ophelia himself.

Then, the moment he got into the carriage,

…Ophelia returned in Caroline’s carriage.

“I’m back. Oh, Adonis, are you going out now?”

“…No, no.” He felt a little guilty.

However, as soon as he saw Ophelia get off the carriage, his face changed color.

Ophelia had looked so beautiful when she left, but now she was covered in mud.

What’s more, she had scratches all over her body.

“You… what did you do to Ophelia!?”

He turned to Caroline and yelled at her in a very angry tone.

“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Caroline was crying and trembling with her head down.

“I’m asking you what you did!”

Adonis’ anger did not subside.

“Lady Caroline sent me back after I’d been left behind.”

Ophelia glared at Adonis, the one who’d left her behind.

‘But you disappeared with Diandra right away!’

Caroline’s cries got louder.

“It’s not that. I… I was mean to Lady Ophelia. I was the one who forced her to return the Bahnhof family’s carriage. I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Caroline honestly confessed to Ophelia.

“Eh?”

Ophelia, who had no idea about this, blinked her eyes.

Caroline was crying like a waterfall and sniffling.

“Lady Caroline,” Ophelia said shyly.

“I grew up in the countryside, so I’m used to walking, so it’s fine. So I hope you’ll continue to be friendly with me.”

Caroline cried even more. And then she hugged the muddy Ophelia.

Lady Nicola, who noticed the commotion outside, secretly watched what was going on.

Seeing Ophelia’s battered state, she realized that some kind of conflict had occurred. And seeing Caroline hugging her and crying, she realized that Ophelia was the one who won.

He had been worried that she might be bullied by the noble ladies. But he never expected that she would establish a place for herself on her own, and on her first day.

‘Not at all like a loser’

Looking at Ophelia’s profile, who was covered in mud but still standing tall and dignified,

‘This girl… maybe she’s even more amazing than we thought’ he smiled with satisfaction.

Even after seeing Ophelia and Caroline reconcile right in front of his eyes, Adonis’ anger still did not subside.

He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t help but feel angry.

‘She was so…beautiful when she left. Damn it!’

Looking more closely, he noticed that there was a tea stain on Ophelia’s dress.

“Was it you, Lady Adeline, who pretended to have an accident and spilled tea on my dress?”

“Sniff… I’m Caroline. Sniff. But the tea stains… I wasn’t… Sniff”

“Uh. Sorry about the tea and food stains… I was.”

Ophelia apologized awkwardly.

“…”

Adonis was taken aback.

‘That’s right, she was that kind of person…’

And so Ophelia’s social debut came to a safe’?’ end.

That night, after Mia and Demi had washed the mud off of Ophelia, she was relaxing in her room drinking tea when there was a knock on the door.

“Hey, can I just say something?” It was Adonis.

“How are your injuries? Let me see.”

He frowned when he saw the scrapes on Ophelia’s arms when she fell.

“You’re a woman, don’t get scars on your body, you piece of shit.”

He pinched Ophelia’s cheek.

“You’ll end up with no one to marry you… well, I’ll take you, so that’s okay.”

Adonis laughed.

“What?”

He was joking. His heart leapt.

“Sorry… it was my fault for leaving before you.”

Adonis hung his head after hearing how he ended up covered in mud.

“It’s fine now. I ended up making some good friends. Well, if I had to say, I was a little hurt when I found out you’d disappeared with Lady Diandra.”

“…? Wait, what are you talking about?”

“I said it’s fine now. I’m not going to worry about it.”

“Hey, wait!”

As she tried to turn her back on Adonis, he grabbed her arm.

“I told you it’s fine now!” Ophelia raised her voice, which was unusual for her.

She didn’t want to think about Diandra. Because she wanted to forget the intimate scene she saw of the two of them today.

Diandra’s lustrous beauty was burned into her memory.

The sight of the two of them chatting happily.

Remembering it made her heart ache.

Grabbing Ophelia’s arm with one hand, Adonis pushed her against the wall and placed the other hand on the wall.

“…That’s not good.”

“…”

Their eyes met.

“I didn’t run away with Diandra… I wouldn’t leave you there… I would never do that.”

“…”

‘Huh. Why am I making these excuses? What on earth am I trying to do?’

He grabbed her arm in the heat of the moment, but he was at a loss for words. But for some reason, he didn’t want Ophelia to misunderstand his relationship with Diandra.

“…Ahem. I mean, Viscount Adeline’s daughter tricked me and I ended up going home first.”

In a panic, he let go of her hand and stammered out an excuse.

“…I’m not Adeline, I’m Caroline.”

Pretending not to notice the “something” that had definitely existed between the two of them for a moment, they continued to joke around as usual and chat about trivial things.