Chapter 855

Do I want to be the one for you?

Hearing the princess's hopeful question and sensing the atmosphere perfectly set, Li Ang's lips twitched slightly—he felt he'd been tricked again.

Though the princess's words were sincere, with not a trace of falsehood—even the Black Goat's soul vision found no flaw—upon reflection, he couldn't shake the feeling that things had accelerated too wildly.

He'd only intended to comfort her slightly, seeing she was sad, to sit with her and say a few words—but before he knew it, the situation had gone berserk.

From the moment she stood by the window, they'd held hands, then leaned shoulders, then she'd pressed into his arms; before he could even process what was happening, they were already wrapped in each other's embrace.

Though the experience wasn't unpleasant, he couldn't help feeling like… yeah… like some naive little white flower tricked into the arms of a seasoned scoundrel, and it left him unnerved.

…

"Uh… maybe you should calm down a bit more?"

Looking at his left hand, which had been grabbed at the start and now inexplicably circled the princess's waist, Li Ang gritted his teeth and bluffed:

"You're not in a stable emotional state right now—your decisions aren't rational. Why not wait a while, until…"

"I won't wait!"

Slapping his hand firmly back onto her waist, the princess stared at him, stubborn and resolute:

"You always try to run away from me. I've finally caught you once—let you slip away now, and you'll crawl into someone else's net. I'll regret it forever!"

"…"

What do you mean "crawl into someone else's net"? You're not even pretending anymore, are you?

"It's still too sudden."

Facing the queen-level angler's brutal hook pull, Li "Pouty" Ang struggled desperately:

"Don't make a decision on impulse. Love needs time—you need to get to know each other better…"

"See? You just admitted there's love between us."

"…"

"And you just said you want to spend more time with me—so you'd better keep your word~"

"…"

I shouldn't have opened my mouth!

After realizing the terrifying gap in debate skill between himself and the princess, Li Ang decisively dropped the topic and sighed helplessly:

"I already broke off our engagement…"

"A verbal breakup doesn't count."

The princess snuggled deeper into Li Ang's arms, smiling warmly in the comforting warmth around her:

"Such a big matter can't be settled with just a casual word. You need to inform your elders first."

"Then your father…"

"He listens to me now. I don't agree to the breakup."

"…"

"The few remaining elders of the Lyne family have to report military affairs to me regularly—should I ask them for you?"

"…"

No thanks—your asking will only yield one answer: refusal. Better not trouble those old men…

Shaking his head in disbelief, Li Ang tried to reason:

"Veronica, you've already succeeded in your coup. Even without Lyne family support or a seat in the Upper Council, you can stabilize the situation—why cling to this engagement?"

Hearing Li Ang's question, the princess blinked, then pinched his ribs lightly, pouting:

"You're so mean~"

"????"

"You know exactly what I'll say, yet you still ask… If you really want to hear it, then—I want you to be my Prince, even if I had none of those other things."

As Li Ang looked puzzled, the princess reached up to stroke his cheek, then sniffed, slightly disgruntled:

"Don't think I'm chasing you so hard and getting ignored all the time—there are a hundred times more people pursuing me than pursuing you. A thousand times more!"

"But they care about either my status as princess, my wealth, the people I command, the resources I control—or they're just after my looks. I know exactly what they want with one glance."

"Only you want nothing. Even with our engagement, you've never expected anything from me. Only you are completely without agenda when you're with me. If you were me, what would you choose?"

"…"

After hearing the princess's words, Li Ang's cheek twitched slightly.

The words made sense—but this déjà vu…

It felt exactly like some old-school tyrant lifting a naive girl's chin and declaring smugly: "Woman, I love you precisely because you don't care about my money."

"Of course, your most frustrating trait is also that you want nothing—even me doesn't seem to matter much to you."

Sighing in exasperation, the princess pinched Li Ang lightly, then smiled sweetly:

"But I'm confident you'll want something eventually. Yeah… just like you said—spend more time together, nurture it. I'm not in a rush~"

"…"

"By the way, since we're going to spend more time together… when are you moving in?"???

Wait, are we talking about this? How did you even steer the conversation here?

"And once you move in, we should start thinking about the wedding…"

"Stop!"

Feeling the wedding date might be settled before he knew it, Li Ang yanked his hand back, scalp prickling:

I've got things to do! The arrested lawmakers haven't been dealt with yet—I'm leaving!

"Oh~"

Watching Li Ang scramble away in flustered panic, the princess smirked triumphantly, then pressed her lips together, feigning wounded innocence:

You'd better… Huh? Wait—you arrested lawmakers?

"Yes, I arrested a few."

Seeing the topic had finally shifted, Li Ang exhaled in relief and admitted frankly:

"Joshua went to the meeting on your behalf, so I went along to oversee it."

You know, the two main proposals up for vote were critical, but I was worried about your safety, so I sped things up a bit and arrested some of the most fiercely opposed lawmakers.

At first, the princess was annoyed at hearing Li Ang had arrested lawmakers, but when she heard "worried about your safety," her heart softened instantly—the irritation vanished. She could only sigh helplessly:

"So… you didn't have them arrested during the meeting, did you?"

"No."

Li Ang shook his head:

"I had men lie in wait outside. I arrested them after they left early, furious over my forced passage of the proposals."

Arresting them after they left… that's acceptable.

Hearing this, the princess exhaled slightly, then rubbed her temple:

"To get so angry they'd leave early… the ones most fiercely opposed to me, with the worst tempers, who'd do something like that—must be Marquis Morley, Count Evans, and Countess Pavna. Did you arrest all three?"

Marquis Morley? Count Evans? Countess Pavna?

Recalling the names, Li Ang vaguely remembered.

One was the man who threw his shoe and knocked out the Finance Minister—arrested by my guards. One was the one I forced to kowtow with the 【Prince of the Thrush】 title until he fainted on his desk. The third was the one who tried to impeach me, only to be impeached himself, then dragged off along with his podium.

Even though the princess didn't attend, she knew the Council's situation inside out. These three were indeed the most aggressive opponents.

"No, I didn't arrest those three."

After confirming who they were, Li Ang shook his head:

I arrested the rest of the opposition lawmakers—everyone except those three.

The rest?

The princess frowned, puzzled:

The rest? You mean Lawmaker Brokash? Klose?

"Just the rest."

I know they're the rest—but there are still nearly sixty opposition lawmakers left. You didn't arrest them all, did you?

"…"

"????"

(￣w￣;)

o(д;)?!