The man frowned, unable to understand what was happening.
[Why is this impostor so calm in her claim that she is Adaline Bertrand?]
[As if she needs to be accused of cheating...]
[No, not even that. As if she wants to be branded a fraud.]
“So you think so, huh? Is this woman, who has no proof of her identity, a fake?”
“Uh...What?” - he muttered, clearly confused.
“Then Duke Blanchard and Saint Genevieve, who claim that she is Adaline Bertrand, are also frauds. And Prince Edwin is just a pathetic victim, deceived by these two."
“W-what? Wait, when did I say that?!” - his voice broke.
[Although such thoughts were spinning in his head, hearing them out loud, and even from someone else’s lips, was a completely different matter.] The realization of what had been said made him shiver.
[Did he really just question the integrity of the duke and the saint?]
The alcoholic fog instantly dissipated.
“The Bertrand family are a bunch of naive simpletons who believed in a ridiculous deception. Everyone seems to have eyes in the back of their heads.”
“A-ah...” he exhaled, retreating.
Adaline, on the contrary, smiled dazzlingly.
“It’s true, isn’t it?”
The crowd no longer tried to pretend to be indifferent; everyone watched the scene with keen interest.
[With so many witnesses it was difficult to get away.]
The man, realizing that he had just nearly called the duke and the saint swindlers, flushed and shouted:
“When did I say that?!” I said, you are an impostor!”
"Who cares." - Adaline responded with the same light tone.
“Huge!”
He darted his eyes around in search of support, but there was none.
The situation got out of control.
Adaline, watching his face distort with fear and confusion, felt as if an accumulated weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
[It was...pleasant.]
[Lloyd always called her passion for provocation a "bad habit."]
[But isn't answering a challenge just a sport?]
[And, sport is known to be good for health.]
Five years ago, Adplin was constantly the target of attacks.
[Shane is a bright figure, a hero, attracted attention to himself, and everyone who was next to him became targets of envy.]
Even when she tried to distance herself, nothing changed.
[This only strengthened her confidence: being the main character’s bride is a dubious “happiness.”]
[Realizing that passivity only made her more vulnerable, Adaline learned to find pleasure in returning blows.]
She was about to end this conversation, when suddenly the man, seeing her calm smile, rose up:
“Witch! Are you kidding me?!”
He raised his hand, his fingers trembling.
Adalyn froze for a moment.
[Get slapped and use it as an excuse to retreat into the shadows...why not?]
[This could delay the wedding.]
[A man who easily raises his hand against a woman is a candidate for a broken path in life.]
[A slap in the face in exchange for a ruined reputation is a perfectly reasonable deal.]
She had already resigned herself and closed her eyes...
...but someone suddenly pulled her into his arms.
[If it's Genevieve, great. If it's Patrick or Jeff, you won't envy them.]
[Edwin? No, it's unlikely. He's not the one to come to the defense.]
But suddenly a bad feeling crept into my chest.
[No...it can't be...]
With a thud, the man fell to the ground, gasping in pain. The one who managed to both hug Adaline and kick him turned out to be...Shane.
“AH...mmm!”
Adaline tried to scream, but an arm wrapped around her shoulders immediately softly covered her mouth.
[Crap. It looked like he knew she would try to escape.]
This only made her angrier.
She squirmed, trying to escape, but Shane's grip was unyielding.
"Shay..."
“What are you doing?” - his voice was cold as ice.
A cold that sent chills down my spine.