Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 77. The Noblewomen and The King IV

He frowned upon her request.
"Just say it here."

"I wish I can say here, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, I can't. It's too personal. It won't take long. I just want to confirm a few things," replied Lady Belle, she didn't dare say it in front of all the people since Angel would definitely deny it.

Angel was silent, deep in thought. His brain was trying to guess what this was about. But he had no problems whatsoever with Duke Nicolin and hardly ever saw him again except at his wedding.
'Does she want to ask what happened at the party?' That was the only guess that went through his head.
"I'm only giving you 10 minutes. Is that enough?" Feeling that Lady Belle had misunderstood him, he decided to straighten it out.

"It's enough, Your Majesty," said Lady Belle, nodding slightly to show her gratitude.

"The meeting ends here. Since His Majesty will continue this conversation with Lady Belle, please leave the room," said Cley, gesturing to the door that was already open.

Swallowing their curiosity, they stood up from their chairs one by one and bowed before they left the room. Every now and then, they glanced at Angel or Lady Belle before they passed the door. Some of them didn't really leave, but stopped in front of the room with their gazes still on Angel and Lady Belle, wishing both of them started the conversation earlier. But no, their mouths were tightly shut. They didn't even look at each other. Their expressions didn't change so no one could guess what both of them were thinking.

As the last guest left, the door closed, leaving Angel, Lady Belle and Cley there.

He turned his gaze to Lady Belle.
"Tell me what do you want to talk about?"

“But…” Lady Belle's gaze pointed at Cley who had not moved from his position. As Angel had said before, since he didn't want this meeting to create new rumors, Angel asked Cley not to leave his side during the meeting. Including this private conversation.

"If you want to ask about my wedding party, just say it. Cley also knows everything that happened that day," Angel said straight to the point.

That statement confirmed that he was the one who sent Cley and Claire for her. It surprised her since she thought her guess was wrong before. Even though she didn't show it on her face, there was joy that enveloped her heart.
"Then may I ask why you sent them to me?" she said with a shy smile. Since the twins didn't send any message to her that night, she guessed Angel sent them to cheer her up.

"To protect you." Since the incident was over, he decided to say it. After all, he knew, the more he covered it up, it could lead to even bigger misunderstandings.

His answer made her turn to her. A happy smile appeared on her lips. Her eyes trembled with joy as happiness filled her heart. Wasn't that proof that she was a special woman for the king?
"The dark aura I saw above the garden. Does that belong to you?" she confirmed.

"Yes. But don't get me wrong. I did it because I didn't want the assassins to mess up my wedding. So I made sure they didn't have any chances to attack my guests," he explained. Due to respect, he did not want to say that Lady Belle was the most heartbroken of them.

Judging from his personality, it indeed made sense. But...
"Then of all people why did you only send them to me?" she said. There were a lot of delegates and important people there, yet Cley and Claire followed her throughout the party. He even went as far as using his power.

Angel was silent, trying to find the right words so he wouldn't offend her. But he couldn't find it.

Lady Belle regarded his silence because she guessed it right. Her face was starting to turn red and her heart was beating fast.
"Your Majesty... Do you have feelings---"

Before she could finish her sentence, Angel interrupted her.
"I don't have any feelings for you," he confirmed firmly. This was indeed going to hurt her heart, but this was better than giving her empty hopes or even making this misunderstanding worse.

His clear statement startled her. Her smile disappeared in an instant.

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