CHAPTER 94 - SCANDAL OF THE CENTURY"What?!"
Arai furrowed her brows in confusion as she digested what she had heard from Phillip in her head for a while.
"That's right, M'lady. Madam and Young Lord Almandine went to the anonymous club together," said Sir Phillip.
"Aah, so she's determined to throw in some oil to the fire, huh…" muttered Arai, who then burst out laughing.
After she finished laughing, Arai stood up and took her mask box. She opened it and put her mask on.
"Come on, Philip! We must not be left behind," Arai tied her tiger-striped mask.
Meanwhile, on the anonymous club party floor filled with nobles, the rich and other influential people wearing masks stopped what they were doing when they saw Harriet and Liam enter the room. Even the music also stopped–
They heard many women gasping in surprise and some whispering at the sight of Harriet appearing with a tall and slender young man, with long blonde hair as in the rumours, wearing a white wolf mask at this party. Was this the 'secret lover' everyone was talking about? Did Harriet decide to 'introduce' him anonymously and admit that her side lover was real?
"Hmm," Liam tilted his head. "So you're this famous in the capital," said the man.
Harriet just smiled, slightly holding back her laughter.
"Aah, tonight's going to be really chaotic," Harriet muttered under her breath.
At the same time, a man in a blue dragon mask sat on the edge of the party floor, surprised to see their presence. "Heh, has she acknowledged her relationship with that guy now?"
Penelope Zircon was seen flying towards them with her small, fast steps. The young woman, with her unicorn mask on, lifted her face and turned to Harriet like someone ready to take all the tea.
"Oh, my, tea! Madam, you never stop surprising me!" she greeted Harriet and Liam with open arms.
Harriet shook her head tiredly, glancing at Liam who cleared his throat quietly.
"Introduce him to me, who this gentleman is, and then I will allow you to take any drinks or snacks you like," said Penelope enthusiastically.
Liam raised his hand to his chest and nodded gently. "Madam invited me here and she chose a nickname for me at this club," Liam said later.
"Sir Wolf," Harriet continued. "Sir Wolf agreed to come here with me and clear up the rumours about us," explained Harriet.
Penelope opened her mouth wide.
'Clear up', huh?
"Sir Wolf," Penelope repeated the nickname as she ushered them deeper into the party floor, toward the snack and drink table. She even opened a bottle of champagne for them herself.
"We are partners," said Harriet.
"A close partner," continued Liam.
Penelope handed Harriet a glass of champagne which Liam accepted.
"Thank you, Miss," he said.
Penelope's eyes lit up at Liam's casually blocking alcoholic drink for Harriet. While Harriet then smiled at Penelope with an apologetic expression.
"I'm not going to drink alcohol tonight," explained Harriet.
"I'm sorry," Penelope said understandingly.
But as Penelope watched Liam sipping champagne from the slim glass, she realized Harriet was glaring at Liam too. Liam turned to the two women, looking confused. "Just a sip," he said.
Harriet blinked. "Take a sip, and put the rest in there."
Harriet didn't want Liam's condition to deteriorate for any reason. She then smiled contentedly to see Liam put the glass back on the table after only taking a sip.
Penelope let out a long gasp. "Oh, my God–" feeling the overload of information and so much gossip at once. In no time after seeing how close the chemistry of this pair in front of her was, Penelope opened her fan and hid her wide-open mouth. But her almost smoky brain still wanted more.
So she asked, "You said Sir Wolf is a good father?"
Harriet raised an eyebrow behind her mask, not expecting Penelope to say that at this time in front of Liam. She didn't mean that it was Liam then, but Liam's father, Theodore Almandine–
But Harriet immediately sensed Liam's piercing golden eyes from behind his white wolf mask. For some reason, Harriet's face heated up. And when Penelope saw the fluster on Harriet's face that she couldn't hide even with her mask on, she realized that this was really serious.
Slowly, the enthusiastic smile on Penelope's face was replaced with a look of horror. Her best friend, Harriet Goldlane–
Had fallen in love with this man.
Penelope watched as Liam's hand reached for Harriet's face as she turned the other way, pulling her gently to face him. Penelope's heart skipped a beat as the man in the wolf mask stared at Harriet with a seductive gaze that was so mischievous, making not only Harriet, his target, blush, but also Penelope and the other women around them hypnotized.
"Madam said I am a good father?" the man's deep, baritone voice sounded like the thick and sweetness of exotic black honey from the south.
Ah, ah.
Her friend, Harriet had been trapped by this slender, mesmerizing young man with blonde hair–
Penelope looked away, realizing she had become the third wheel in this situation and finished her champagne from her glass in one gulp.
"Please excuse me! I can't stand this public display of affection!" she walked away, intending to continue monitoring the source of her new gossip from the other side of the party floor.
Seeing that Penelope had rejoined her gossip group which was immediately whispering excitedly on the other end, Harriet sighed helplessly. "Huh. I didn't think it would be this bad," she muttered.
"I'll get you a non-alcoholic drink," Liam found the bar and pulled Harriet into a chair near where they had been. He gave a final smile before turning away, swinging his cane and walking away toward the bar.
From where she was sitting, Harriet could see Liam getting in front of the bartender and leaning against the bar as he ordered something. Liam's movements looked so fluid and natural, it didn't look like he just got out of a wheelchair this morning. But many people realized that Harriet's gaze hadn't left Liam at all since the man left her.
This time, everyone believed that Harriet Goldlane, the gifted and snake woman, the Emperor's right-hand man and the most reliable woman in Euclase's reign, had fallen into the hands of that unknown man.
Harriet Goldlane, the heir to the title of Marchioness Goldlane, was considered daughter by the Emperor and was almost becoming the next Empress, now confirmed to be the next Duchess after giving birth to the son of her dying old husband… fell in love with an unknown man who had never appeared in the social world of nobility before.
A commoner, the rumors said.
A scandal.
Arguably the biggest scandal of the century, beating the horrendous scandal of last year when Cecilia Morganite managed to snatch Crown Prince Ezekiel from Harriet Goldlane's grasp.
And this was exactly what Harriet wanted.