Chapter 162: Decision
Thus, the bewitching songstress, who had captured the prince’s attention for a while, disappeared from the palace overnight. Rumors circulated, but the truth remained unknown. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Of course, the pretty woman—no, the very beautiful young man, Carli—was in the Heilon mansion.
I looked blankly at his handsome profile before asking, “Are you going to keep using Carli as your name?”
Carli smiled lightly and nodded.
“Yes, I used a different name when I was a songstress.”
“Ah, so you gave me your real name.”
Carli laughed bitterly. “Well, none of the high-ranking people were interested in my actual name.”
“Everyone is so mean…”
He replied, almost singing, “My lady is kind.”
Then praise flowed from his lips like water.
What a smooth talker. It felt awkward to hear it, so I changed the subject.
“Don’t you think it’s a waste to cut your hair?”
Carli was currently cutting his hair.
It was longer than mine, and I could guess how many years he had worked hard to grow it. Plus, it was very pretty—smooth, black hair.
“It’s a bit of a waste, but it’s okay,” Carli said as he continued cutting. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
It truly was a waste.
“Shall I make a wig out of it?”
Carli nodded. “I think it will come in handy when I have to dress up as a girl later.”
“Okay, then let’s do that.”
After Carli cut his hair and removed the heavy makeup, his face started to show a more neutral expression. Somehow, he resembled Sigren. Though Carli was thinner than Sigren, I guessed both of them inherited their features from their mother’s side.
“If Sigren were born a woman, I think he would look like Carli.”
Wait, Carli was also a man. This was very ironic. I felt bad for my insensitivity, but Carli smiled pleasantly.
“Maybe…”
Another piece of information I learned from him was that he was the same age as me.
“Let’s eat!” This was my first thought when Carli returned looking like a young man his age. When he dressed as a woman, he had to force himself to lose weight to match a woman’s size, so no one would question his appearance. Now that he was dressed as a man, he looked somewhat gaunt. Strict dieting was truly not good for the body. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Oh, you don’t like eating?”
“I like eating. Rather, because of that, I have a hard time adjusting my diet so I can dress as a woman.”
“Okay, then let’s gain back the weight you lost for now.”
Some of the information he provided was beneficial to Heilon. Feeding him good food and nourishing him was hardly a chore.
Honestly, when I looked at Carli’s bare face, I immediately understood why I felt a soft attachment to him. Certainly, it was because he resembled Sigren. There was an unwavering feeling, like I wanted to be close to him. And I realized it was because he was Sigren’s cousin—the feeling of wanting to get close to your lover’s family.
Carli hesitated. “My lady, are you… eating with me?”
“Yes, the duke is too busy right now to eat with us, so don’t feel pressured.”
Carli was a guest in Heilon, and eating together was not a problem. Besides, wouldn’t people grow closer when they eat together?
Of course, recently Abel had said in despair, “Ah… another rock has been rolled into our house.”
I eagerly ignored him.
“How are you and Carli?”
I proudly answered Sigren’s question. “We get along well.”
Sigren looked rather distraught. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Why did he look like that? I was getting along with his cousin. Wasn’t that a good thing?
Thankfully, Carli was not a difficult person to get along with. He was very polite and respectful, and he sang beautifully too.
“You don’t have to worry.”
“Fiona, you and I have different concerns.”
I suddenly became curious. “Are you close with Carli?”
“So-so.”
That was a lot worse than I thought. In fact, I had rarely seen Sigren and Carli together.
Sigren opened his mouth as if he wanted to tell me something but then closed it again. He looked at me, but I pretended not to notice.
The scandal between the prince and the young songstress quickly faded in noble society. It seemed that since the two parties were no longer seen in public, society felt the excitement had vanished. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
When someone asked about Carli, Sigren replied that he had sent him back to his show. From what I heard, the empress was resentful and had been trying to track down Carli’s whereabouts.
“How is Abel reacting?”
“Duke? He was grumbling at first, but he’s so busy that I barely see his face.”
He was that busy? He had locked himself in his office and didn’t even have time to keep grumbling at me about Carli. It seemed he was handling issues related to Paul. I felt a bit scared imagining how he would deal with it.
“As long as you’re doing well, that’s fine.” Sigren spoke casually, but I could see he was deep in thought.
I nodded, but somehow I couldn’t shake my curiosity. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
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