About Your Pride and My Prejudice

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Alan said coldly.

“It seems that you haven’t heard what  I told your father the other day.”

“If that’s the case, it went in one ear and out the other[1]. I thought he was bothering you again.” 

She knows it well. The beautiful brow was waving like a wave.

“I can’t believe you’re suddenly dating while you’re so busy trying to settle down in Lunoa. Also with the Sourne woman? I’m sure you didn’t mean to believe it either.”

“Oh my. It’s true.”

At Alan’s dry response, Marcella laughed and scoffed. Then, a large turquoise earring hanging from the ear reflected the light and glistened.

“You may not know, but I already sent someone to the kingdom to find out. That there is not a single woman in a prestigious family who can be suspected as your lover.”

“You are diligent too.”

Alan managed to resist ignoring her and wanting to leave. Therefore, he did not hide his sarcastic attitude. Although he had already politely refused several times, it is already too much for him to keep this much courtesy towards Marcela Riemann.

“So she wouldn’t be a decent woman, and you wouldn’t have a serious relationship with an unnamed woman who isn’t beneficial.”

“It’s frustrating that you don’t believe it. Since she’s not an aristocrat, she’s not too concerned with names and positions.”

“So you’re telling me to believe in the existence of a woman I’ve never seen before? Why don’t you just say you’re a gay or an impotent?”

“Ha.”

Alan scoffed. He hated this stupid class the most. An idiot trying to provoke. The fact that she believes in her father’s power and commits shameful acts, or that she is ignorant of her own lack of culture, is just stupid.

Then I have no choice but to tell her in more detail.

“I’m glad I hid her. She’s such a delicate woman.”

“…….”

Marcela’s gaze on him, who had an indifferent gaze on her, was sweet. There really is a woman who is secretly dating this cold man? Then why can’t I?

She added with a flushed look.

“Tell me if you really have a woman, Alan. Why did you fall in love with her?”

“Of course…..”

Alan had a beautiful smile on his lips. The pale eyes were still icy, but the smile was provocative enough to be called obscene.

“Isn’t femininity noble and elegant? I am a man, after all.”

“…….”

“Isn’t it more of sexual desire than for a family or status?”

Marcela, who blushed at the blunt remark that returned her provocation, bit her lips, but Alan remained smiling.

Yes, this isn’t the worst yet. If it goes out nicely like this.

But Marcela Riemann’s heart was once again poisoned. Alan Leopold, whom she thought was totally driven by interests, fell in love because she was just a woman?

He is no different from ordinary men.

“Alan.”

Marcela’s interest in Alan grew hotter, let alone cooler. It’s easier to talk if it’s just femininity, not status or background. The woman’s brown eyes narrowed sharply.

“I think I’ve explained enough—”

“Wait a minute.”

Then Marcela suddenly hugged the man in front of her. Then she touched his waist with an explicit touch and held him against her voluptuous body.

“I was stupid, Alan. I was focusing only on you as a businessman……. But of course, I love you as a man as well.”

“……Miss Riemann.”

Alan narrowed his brows nervously. The woman who pushed him stubbornly was just a role.

He recited a small curse through his teeth.

“I don’t want to hurt you, so let go.”

“Leave it to me. You can’t even compare me to the Sourne girls…….”

Despite Alan’s cool warning, Marcela stretched out her arms. Black hair curled gently between her fingers and the brilliant jewels in her hands.

Soon as she pulled Alan’s face and poked her lips out, Alan couldn’t bear it anymore and pushed her away.

“Ah!”

As Marcela was tossed upon the cold stone floor, the dazzling hem of her robe fluttered, creating a small sandstorm. Alan’s eyes looking down at it didn’t contain any emotion.

“Obviously I warned you. Are you not aware that you are a lady?”

“This….. How dare you insult me ​​like this!”

“I think it was generous enough compared to Miss Riemann’s impertinence. I hope we never meet again.”

“…….”

Marcela trembled as she lay face down. Even if he looked at a leaf of grass by the roadside, it wouldn’t be as insensitive as this. This was the first time she experienced this kind of humiliation.

She had always got what she wanted. The deep sense of contempt that boiled in her heart only made her want the beautiful man in front of her more.

“Today, get that woman sorted as soon as you get back.”

Alan clicked his tongue irritably as Marcela said with an evil voice.

“That’s enough of your indecent behavior. Unless you want to shame the family name.”

“Take care of her and be my lover from tomorrow onwards. Otherwise, I’ll tell my father and stop you from establishing yourself in the Principality. By any means.”

“Ha.”

Could it be any uglier? Alan sat down with a light sigh in front of her, who couldn’t stand up because she seemed to have sprained her ankle.

“Is this what you mean by being an aristocrat, Miss Marcela Riemann?”

“…….”

“It’s amazing.”

When Alan wasn’t agitated, Marcela was rather nervous. Does he think it’s a joke? But her words were by no means absurd.

Brigadier General Riemann is not a noble person in the first place, and his daughter is a petulant person.

Now that he’s retired, he is so laid back that it’s routine for him to act as a fraternity gatekeeper or spawn a gossip street, so he could threaten Alan’s position here in Lunoa if she asked.

“Why? Do you think I can’t do it because I love you? Then, you are wrong. There’s nothing I can’t do to have you.”

She quickly hoped that Alan’s cool eyes and noble lips would ask her for forgiveness and beg her with tears and hoped for him to collapse. That scene was bound to be beautiful.

How can she see it? What he fears the most.….

“……Railway.”

Marcela remembered the word and smiled insidiously in an unladylike manner..

“Your charitable work is supported at the national level, and your trade is your personal domain, so there is no sanction. But what about the railroad?”

Even in the Kingdom of Sourne, the railroad business has not yet taken shape. The sketches of this great transport revolution were first embodied in the Principality of Lunoa. It was thanks to the perfect combination of environment and conditions.

The arrival of a world in which trains loaded with not only people but also cargo, and livestock would pass between the capital and the border area in an instant was about to arrive. A new era will be ushered in. 

Therefore, it was only natural that investment in the railway business was the hottest topic in Lunoa society.

It was not long before Alan Leopold came to the Principality that he had been on the list of railroad investors— curated over the years, and now his investment contracts were on the verge of being counted. 

If he successfully accumulates wealth and consolidates his name in Lunoa with investments in the railway business, everything will be fine after that.

That was the point that Marcela was digging into.

“You’re a foreigner after all. What if high-ranking officials and important figures of the Principality come together to decide on restrictions on foreign investment?”

Marcela’s father, Brigadier General Riemann, was a war hero and cousin of the princess, a senior nobleman of Lunoa, and his brother was Archbishop Hessen, a member of the Senate. 

No matter how much Leopold was protected by the Sourne royal family, he could not overcome Riemann’s influence in the Principality of Lunoa.

In the Principality of Lunoa, where the aristocracy is still evident, unlike the Sourne kingdom, Alan is only a young newcomer to the business world. He was even a foreigner.

“I know, your performance here means a lot to you. And that you are a tough man who don’t know how to run away.”

“…….”

“So come to me at this point, Alan. If you say you’re going to abandon her and become my man, I’ll take everything that happened today as if it never happened.”

No matter how much her desire to have him soared to its peak, she did not expect to attempt such a petty threat against a stranger herself. 

It was a cruel and brutal precipitation that really had no way for him to confront. Marcela looked up at Alan with a thrill of guilt and expectations.

But Alan Leopold was cold-blooded as if he saw an ant, even his contempt towards her was a luxury.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“You’re an outstanding businessman. You know what’s good and what’s bad. Just swallow your pride.”

As Marcela whispered, Alan sprang up. She scanned his beautiful body slowly from the tip of his toe with fervent eyes. When her gaze finally stopped at his eye-catching jewel-like eyes, the woman opened her mouth with an ecstatic look.

“Come on, Alan. Now get me up.”

But the man just laughed silently, with a strange face that no one had ever seen before

“I can’t help this cursed businessman’s temperament. I am now pursuing my own interests thoroughly.”

Leaving the poor fallen woman alone, Alan turned around without hesitation. Then a shrill voice flew behind him.

“……I don’t understand you! I’m sure you’ll regret what happened today!”

I don’t understand myself either.

The man sighed with a pale face. But he did not look back or slow down. Instead of returning to the social club where the party waited, he hurried towards the carriage with the black lion pattern on it.

It was the moment when Alan Leopold, who lived only for the fulfillment of his long-standing plan, made the first mistake.

* * *

Deep in the night, the butler and servants rushed out to greet their owner in the carriage that appeared suddenly like a moon shadow.

“Young master!”

The somewhat disorganized appearance of the owner made the butler William feel faint.

“What the…!”

After getting out of the carriage, Alan walked past the servants and headed for the main building. The posture was straight as usual and the constant stride did not seem drunk, but the strange atmosphere around him was indeed rare.

The butler, who was following his master’s footsteps, carefully opened his mouth.

“…… Let’s get the bath ready.”

“No.”

It was on the terrace of the main building where Alan stopped walking. Soft hair with the same color as the night sky fluttered lightly in the gentle breeze. He opened his closed eyes, leaning against the semicircular railing and taking a short breath.

“In the separate house.”

“If it’s the separate house….”

The gleaming moonlight shone behind his back.

“Call her.”

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[1] heard but disregarded or quickly forgotten.