Kneel Before The Villain - Chapter 120

“What are you doing? Move.”

 

The Crown Prince’s face distorted as he ordered.

His eyes gleamed with anger, seeming as if they would burst into flames at any moment.

 

“The princess doesn’t want you. I’m speaking the truth and if you’re going to hate me more, I won’t stop you either.”

 

Payne said.

 

At his words, the Crown prince hesitated for a moment.

 

If it was before, he would have cleared his way and chased after Roxana without hesitation.

 

Because he was confident that she could forgive him and go back to their previous relationship.

 

But he wasn’t sure anymore.

 

Roxana, wearing a deep red dress today, was very overbearing and beautiful.

 

It would take your breath away just by looking.

 

She had been with him for a long time, and now was a complete stranger.

 

He had neither the cause nor the right to hold on to Roxana any longer.

 

Her cold face was a reminder of mistakes he had made every time they met.

 

Bitterness filled in his throat as he remembered that she had become a stranger.

 

He believed he still had a chance to right the wrong, therefore he rejected all the marriage proposals. It wasn’t too late.

 

If no one gets in the way.

 

The Crown prince looked at Payne coldly.

 

His eyes were clear contempt and disgust.

 

The way the Crown Prince looked at Payne was so low and cold that it was hard to believe that he was looking at flesh and blood of the same bloodline.

 

He said, twitching his lips.

 

“You say she doesn’t want me? Isn’t that the same for you?” (CP)

 

Payne’s eyes shook for an instant at the Crown prince’s words, then they sank.

 

It was sad, but it was true, so he couldn’t refute his words.

 

The Crown prince took a step closer.

 

As he approached, there was a strong smell of alcohol wafting from him.

 

It hadn’t been long since the banquet had started, but it seemed that he had already drunk quite a bit.

 

Payne frowned.

 

The Crown prince stood in front of him and spoke in a small voice in a whisper.

 

“You sent gifts to the duke’s residence and they were rejected, right? Several times.”

 

The Crown prince sneered.

 

He took a step back, seeing Payne’s face harden.

 

“Have you already attached someone to keep an eye on your ex-marriage partner?” (Payne)

 

Payne’s menacing spirit would frighten the people around him, not many dare to approach.

 

However, the Crown prince only raised the corner of his lips, not in the least care.

 

“Why? Can’t I do that?”

 

“Aren’t you ashamed?”

 

The Crown prince looked down at Lady Flynn, who was still by his side.

 

Standing quietly without taking a deep breath, not wanting to upset him, she trembled when her eyes met his.

 

“Are you going to keep eavesdropping?”

 

“No. Excuse me.”

 

Lady Flynn bit her lip and left as if running away.

 

The Crown prince looked at her retreating form with a cold gaze, then faced Payne again.

 

“Roxana and I were only separated for a while. Even if she says no to me, she won’t go to you, so give up.” (CP)

 

“You don’t know what people do.”

 

Payne had always bowed before him, like a man who had no pride.

 

These days, however, he was disrespectful to the extreme.

 

Looking at Payne, who didn’t even try to hide his greed for Roxana, the Crown prince bit the tender flesh in his mouth.

 

The fishy taste spread throughout his mouth.

 

“Roxana and I know each other well, having watched each other for a long time. So even if you can fool other people’s eyes with the same shallow tricks as before, you can’t fool my own eyes.” (CP)

 

Payne imperceptibly clenched his fists.

 

It wasn’t the first time the Crown Prince scratched his nerves by using hurtful words.

 

But today, his arrogant face and confident voice were unbearably annoying.

 

“I noticed right away that Roxana didn’t care about you at all. You already know that there’s no hope, so why do you keep insisting?” (CP)

 

People looked at the two and whispered.

 

They couldn’t dare to eavesdrop on the conversations of the imperial family, but seeing the serious atmosphere, they were naturally nervous that an accident might happen at any moment.

 

“Well. We’ll find out sooner or later whether there’s a chance or not.”

 

The Crown prince narrowed his brows at Payne’s words full of hope.

 

From his point of view, Roxana seemed to have no interest in Payne.

 

The Duke cared for his daughter greatly enough to stand up to the Crown Prince.

 

If Roxana didn’t want to, he would stop the marriage at all costs.

 

It was not yet at the stage where he (CP) could feel relieved as the emperor still insisted on the marriage of Roxana and Payne, but it was truly fortunate that the duke’s prestige was high.

 

“I don’t know what you said to father (Emperor), but Roxana is not a woman that a lowly and pathetic man like you would dare to covet.” (CP)

 

“Like you deserve her more than me.” (Payne)

 

“Roxana was mine in the first place since a very long time ago. So there’s no need to discuss my qualifications.” (CP)

 

“Is that why you hurt her?” (Payne)

 

The Crown Prince’s lips closed in a straight line.

 

Payne continued calmly.

 

“I heard there was a fall in the imperial palace not too long before I returned. The princess was injured and was bedridden for weeks. And the last conversation she had was with you before the accident.”

 

Coldness passed through the Crown prince’s eyes.

 

Payne brought up the past that he (CP) had barely forgotten. The unforgettable memory.

 

His palms were damp as he recalled the image of Roxana lying on the floor, pale and motionless.

 

Her eyes closed and her body lifeless. Recalling that moment sent a chill down his spine and his heartbeat fluctuated.

 

It was enough to make him even forget the anger at the person in front of him for a moment.

 

Come to think of it, it seemed that that day was also the starting point for Roxana to begin to change.

 

If he had known such an accident would happen, he  would never have left her alone.

 

“It was said that you abandoned your fiancée to meet another woman. Because of that, the princess made an extreme choice. If Your Highness has any shame, let her go.” (Payne)

 

“What did you just say? An extreme choice?” (CP)

 

The hardened Crown prince raised his head and looked at Payne with a puzzled face, as though he didn’t understand what Payne meant.

 

“Roxana was drunk and she accidentally fell.”

 

A ray of contempt passed in Payne’s gaze at the Crown prince’s words.

 

He (Payne) knew he (CP) was a terribly selfish and cowardly person.

 

But now, the Crown prince didn’t look like he was faking with his sure words.

 

At first he thought he was evading responsibility, but now he seemed to believe it wholeheartedly.

 

Perhaps he (Payne) might have been fooled by those words had he (Payne) not investigated the matter thoroughly.

 

“Your Highness turns away from the truth and deceives yourself. Are you comfortable with that thought?”

 

The Crown prince gritted his teeth at Payne’s words that continued to scratch his nerves.

 

He clenched his jaw.

 

“Bullsh*t. What do you know when you weren’t even in the imperial palace that day?”

 

“A palace attendant who happened to be nearby saw the princess climbing the terrace railing on her own. Afterwards she threw herself down.” (Payne)

 

“Stop…” (CP)

 

“She almost died because of Your Highness and your mistress.”

 

“Did I not tell you to stop! One more word and you’ll see my wrath!”

 

The Crown prince shouted sharply, covering his ears.

 

People looked at him with astonished eyes.

 

They couldn’t help but be surprised when the dignified and elegant prince screamed with his eyes wide open like a madman.

 

On the contrary, the 2nd prince looked very calm and undisturbed.

 

How stark was the contrast of the two.

 

“The person who drove her to commit sucide is none other than Your Highness.”

 

Even blocking his ears didn’t help.

 

Payne’s quiet words made the Crown prince’s eyes widen even more.

 

He was choking as he was sinking into deep water.

 

The day ended in an accident that apparently happened while Roxana was drunk.

 

Roxana said so with her own words.

 

But he knew that the truth was not like that.

 

As Payne said, he (CP) had been fooling himself all this time.

 

His heart sank when he heard the truth he had been ignoring through someone else’s mouth.

 

It felt like waking up from a dream, but what awaited was a reality more brutal than a nightmare.

 

When he closed his eyes, time seemed to transport back to the day the accident had occurred.

 

He sided with Claire and treated Roxana coldly.

 

Her wrist held by him was very thin, and when she pulled it with a slight strain, her body fell as easily as a leaf.

 

Black makeup smudged around her eyelids, but the pair of golden eyes that looked up at him in shock were stained with hurt.

 

He could still vividly see her undisturbed back as she walked away with a limp after she fell.

 

He couldn’t take his eyes off the terrace that Roxana was in because he was constantly haunted by that appearance.

 

The thought of her stepping on the terrace made his heart skip a beat as the memory of that terrifying moment came back to him.

 

Roxana’s face was covered with tears as she lay on the ground that day in the cold garden.

 

He knew the truth.

 

He knew from the start.

 

He ruined everything himself.

 

As Payne said, he (CP) had only been fooling himself.

 

The truth was too much to handle.

 

If Roxana had been seriously injured that day and had left with aftereffects or died, he probably would not be able to have endured it.

 

Fortunately, she woke up shortly after and the doctor said nothing was wrong with her health.

 

But from that day on, Roxana changed, and their relationship began to spiral out of control.

 

“Your Highness continued to keep Lady Dana by your  side even after driving the princess to near death. Even though you knew it would hurt her. After that, you even ordered to kill her nanny for your lover’s sake, who continued to harm her.”

 

 

The more Payne’s words continued, the paler the crown prince’s face became.

 

Perhaps Payne was drunk, but his reaction was something fierce.

 

A bloodless white face, eyes filled with pain and regret, and trembling hands, as if he was about to collapse at any moment.

 

It was the first time the Crown Prince had such an appearance, the complete opposite of his usual arrogant self.

 

But Payne hated him more than pitied him.

 

The Crown prince had used his fiancée to get many things from her, but abandoned her and flirted with another woman.

 

Even after he foolishly drove a woman who he said he knew more than anyone to the edge of the cliff, his behavior did not change.

 

As a result of the investigation, it was too long to enumerate the actions the Crown Prince and Lady Dana had committed against the princess, and it made his heart (Payne’s) ache.

 

He (CP) chose blindingly to let his wicked lover frame the Princess over and over, humiliating and trampling on her as if nothing.

 

And now, he (CP) acted like the Princess was an irreplaceable lover and tried to hold on to a relationship that ended. How many people in the world were this shameless?

 

“Thanks to you, I have a chance with the Princess. But unlike you, I will do my best not to miss it.”

 

Payne finished his words and turned around.

 

After he left, people approached the crown prince, who remained motionless.

 

“Your Highness, you’re pale. Are you okay?”

 

Someone from a distance looked at him with a pitiful gaze.

 

A man approached and tried to help him.

 

He shook off the hand and staggered out of the banquet hall.

 

****

 

***

 

When I came out of the room, it was already dark outside.

 

I looked down with my arms hanging over the terrace railing. I got goosebumps on my arms as the leaves fluttered in the wind that was blowing just in time.

 

“If I had known it would be this cold today, I would have brought a coat.”

 

Joan, who followed soon after, said with a worried face. I was on a high place, so I could see the garden scenery at a glance.

 

“Kak!”

 

I turned around at the sound of coughing from behind, and found Joan standing there with a red nose.

 

Come to think of it, she did get a lot of wind chill as the seasons changed.

 

“Let’s go back.”

 

As I turned around and went back inside, I suddenly remembered that the second prince was nowhere to be seen.

 

His actions these days puzzled me. But it was fortunate.

 

Upon entering, the banquet hall seemed to be more noisy than before.

 

Seeing many people crowding around the entrance, it seemed that a new guest had arrived.

 

Curious, I looked over and saw a man walking slowly into the banquet hall.

 

I couldn’t believe what I saw, and my eyes went wide.

 

Soon he spotted me and raised an eyebrow.

 

My mouth opened spontaneously.

 

It was Elvin.

 

‘When did you come back?’

 

When his eyes met mine, Elvin’s smile grew even deeper.

 

He had a picturesque smile, but a very mischievous one.

 

I couldn’t help but be hardened like a stone. Today he was wearing a black and red uniform and a furry coat. At first glance, the hem of his clothes was embroidered with colorful thread. Sophisticated and complicated, it seemed so special that no one could imitate them.

 

It was not easy on people’s eyes, but my eyes were used to it. Just like the one embroidered on my dress.

 

***