I’ll Become the Female Lead in this Trashy Webnovel

46. I like you, too. (2)

Joshua opened the daily newspaper on the table.

Despite what happened yesterday, the public was already in uproar over Ariad’s case.

Following the incident, it was only natural that the controversy was about the qualifications  of the crown princess in  the royal family.

He couldn’t believe that this was what people were focusing on after the first women school’s opening ceremony.

He smiled as he recalled the reporters sitting behind the hall.

Joshua threw the daily newspaper in the corner and said.

“We’ll publish an article too.”

Macon, who grasped his meaning quickly, bowed his head.

* * *

Since last night, Sohee had been suffering from frequent headaches.

Even though the sun was up,she couldn’t seem to escape from her bed.

Every time she laid back down, she felt drowsy and slept again and again.

In the meantime, the dream she had horrible: the guillotine’s blade, the gray head rolling on the podium, the spurts of blood dripping everywhere and Joshua’s smile.

‘You can just live quietly. I killed you because you’re a f*cking eyesore.’

Not realizing that it was a dream, So-hee crawled on the blood-stained platform and grabbed the hem of Joshua’s black pants.

‘Joshua, come on. I like you, too.’

Despite Sohee’s confession, Joshua’s response was still the same.

Nothing seemed to have changed from the contents of her previous dream.

‘Ariad, you don’t have to blame others.’

And, so did the cold look he gave her.

‘It’s all because of you. Deon’s dead, and your parents will soon be dead———’

‘Joshua, I have to save the novel. I have to make money! I can’t die like this!’

‘———and your child’s death. It’s all your fault, Ariad Pearson.’

Soon after, the blade fell like the previous dream she had.

Soon, the dim sight blurred into darkness.

It was the end of So-hee in the novel, possessing Ariad.

Sohee sprang up at the end of the long darkness.

Her mouth was dry as if she had been thirsty for too long as cold sweat trickled down her back.

Just in time, Mary brought in a small lunch.

She put it on the table, looked at So-hee’s pale face, and asked anxiously, “Are you okay?”

“It’s okay. It’s just that I had a weird dream.”

“Shall I call His majesty?”

“No!”

Mary blinked rapidly when So-hee suddenly screamed.

To anyone’s eyes, her reaction was strange.

One corner of Sohee’s mouth raised awkwardly.

“No. I mean—— well, he’s a very busy man. It’s not that big of a deal for you to call him———”

Mary, who shook her head with a puzzled expression, approached and wiped her sweaty forehead with a handkerchief.

Then, she put down two newspapers that she had brought with her at lunch on her lap.

“This is yesterday’s, and this is today’s daily. You were on the main page, so I secretly brought it, My Lady. Look at the picture. Don’t you think it came out pretty? His Highness ordered everyone in the  palace to get rid of all the newspapers, so this was really hard to acquire.”

“Get rid of all the newspapers?”

“Yes, my lord ordered me to get rid of everything on sight.”

Why the hell?

With that short question, Sohee opened a folded daily newspaper from yesterday.

As soon as she read the contents below the picture, the question was resolved.

It was all bad stuff about Ariad Pearson.

There was even a subtle mix of truths and lies, saying that someone have heard her curse at the servants preparing for the opening ceremony.

It wasn’t surprising that the newspaper was rolling on the Empress’ investments.

“Mary, you haven’t read the content at all.”

“Oh, yes. I don’t like reading.” Mary answered brightly.

So-hee looked at her and smiled back before shifting her gaze back to the paper.

Meanwhile, the other daily newspaper was rolling on Joshua’s investment.

In the same way, Ariad’s name was written in large fonts but the content was extremely different.

To sum it up, it was roughly like this.

‘Ariad Pearson was being used. The opening ceremony was staged by a group of people conniving against the crown prince. The mysterious man who made a scene during the opening ceremony confessed that the Empress had instigated it, and the case fell into a labyrinth. Perhaps this incident represents the split of the McKinley royal family.’

The last statement seemed to imply the internal confusion among the monarchs.

The controversy regarding Ariad Pearson shifted to the division of the royal family, turning the focus to Bianca and Joshua.

The criticism directed at Ariad would now spread to both.

“In short, it’s a dog fight.”

Sohee clutched her throbbing temples.

Was she under extreme stress without her knowledge?

Her headache must have gotten worse because of the dream she had earlier.

After folding the newspaper and putting it in the corner, Mary settled the tray on her lap.

“It’s peanut and pumpkin soup. Hurry up and try it.”

Mary picked up the spoon and took it to Sohee’s mouth.

When the smell of food suddenly filled her nostrils, Sohee covered her mouth.

Vomit seemed to bubble at the back of her throat and she couldn’t hold it in for long.

“What’s wrong, My Lady?”

“Mary. Bathroom———”

“What?”

So-hee threw her blanket to the side and rushed out of bed.

As a result, the tray fell over and all the soup spilled onto the bed but she didn’t even have time to care about it.