Chapter 210 Kicked an Iron Plate
The man looked at her coldly, as if her body was no different from a piece of wood.
Young Princess Kirenya felt both ashamed and angry. She was about to say that since Duke Skoda had already seen her naked body, he might as well go ahead and enjoy its pleasures. Those words were shameful and vulgar—she had swallowed her pride to learn them from prostitutes to seduce men. But Duke Skoda waited for a long time before finally saying one word.
"Dirty."
That single word made her feel completely worthless, and it seemed to pull her back to that night in the old church. Those filthy men pressed down on her body, the thick layers of grime on their skin making her want to vomit. But Princess Kirenya couldn't break free from her restraints. One after another, they planted their seeds inside her body. Finally, the church door burst open, and the Duke rushed in with his knights. She couldn't remember if she had seen the Duke's expression then, but perhaps it was the same as this moment.
He was so disgusted by her, so resistant to her.
Later, Kirenya was taken back by people from the palace. Her dear father the King locked her up and eventually forced her to marry a mediocre man.
Kirenya was filled with hatred. She even wished Skoda and Sophia would both die.
So when she learned that the previous king was hesitating about sending supplies, Princess Kirenya directly arranged for some assassins to add small obstacles to the supply convoy. Each one was subtle, but they could cause delays. She waited and waited, and finally heard the news that Duke Skoda had died because treatment came too late.
Princess Kirenya burst out laughing right then and there.
Of course, she had deliberately sent that invitation to Sophia, and she had guessed that Sophia would absolutely not come.
Sophia had refused to meet her at the old church before, so how could she obediently run to the banquet now and endure her slander and provocation?
But their daughter was different. The girl had Sophia's beauty and Skoda's stubborn streak—unbreakable, and you'd only hurt yourself trying.
Anne stared at Princess Kirenya and continued calmly, "I know you want to see me humiliated, hoping I'll swallow all the shame and slander you've thrown at me. But you're going to be disappointed, Princess Kirenya. I haven't done anything shameful, and I won't hide away crying just because of a few random accusations. I am the current head of the Virlet family, the commander of the Ivy Knights personally appointed by His Majesty. Wherever I go, I will never bow down to anyone."
"As for you, Princess, no matter how much you hate me, you can't ignore my status as a duke. So you could only have the Titan family attract everyone's attention and shift the blame onto me. But you miscalculated one thing—I was never some poor woman they abandoned. I was the one who asked His Majesty to approve my divorce. I was the one who abandoned Holden and the Titan family. And I was the one who went to the battlefield alone to earn military honors and continue the glory of the Virlet family."
"To those who mocked and ridiculed me before, including Princess Kirenya, I hope you can learn to watch your tongues. Otherwise, I don't mind showing you what it means to be the Duke of Virlet, and I certainly don't mind letting you experience what kind of force the Ivy Knights under my command really is."
The room fell completely silent. Everyone was shocked by Anne's words.
Many people slowly came to their senses. That's right—Anne was a genuine duke who controlled a powerful force like the Ivy Knights. How much skill and courage would it take to provoke her!
Besides, what Princess Kirenya had done was already questionable. People only went along with her because of her status. Now hearing Anne boldly challenge her, they felt incredibly satisfied.
After all these years, Princess Kirenya had finally hit a brick wall!
Selyma had long since thrown her earlier doubts and displeasure to the back of her mind. Right now, she just thought Anne looked incredibly cool standing in front of Princess Kirenya, speaking so confidently and fiercely!
This attitude and tone was exactly the type of woman she used to dislike most. After all, such strong-willed women were hard to deal with. But seeing Anne do this, Selyma actually found her slightly more agreeable.
Of course, just slightly.
Suddenly, she heard applause. Selyma turned to look and saw Friedel standing there, looking at Anne with approval in her eyes. "Well said."
With Friedel taking the lead, the applause grew from a sparse few claps to everyone applauding.
"Truly worthy of the Virlet family. I was shortsighted before."
"My apologies, Duke Virlet. I offer you my most sincere respect."
Some people were also discussing among themselves, "Such an excellent woman—where did the Titan family get the nerve to offend her to this extent?"
"I heard it was for that former first female knight commander of the empire, I think her name was Candy. They coveted that female knight commander's military achievements, so they didn't know how to cherish the duke's daughter."
"That's the one who was... oh my, at the Eastern battlefield. The Titan family must be dying of regret now, right?"
"I heard that not only did the couple get no military honors from the Eastern battlefield, but His Majesty even ordered all of Candy's military achievements to be erased. I've been trying to find out why for ages, but couldn't."
"The reason doesn't matter. The point is that woman will never have another chance. Now Duke Virlet's husband can inherit a title, she herself has earned military honors, and she controls such a large knight order. If my sons hadn't just gotten married, I'd really want to send them to Duke Virlet for her to choose from!"
"You know what, my sister actually wants me to introduce her son to Duke Virlet. Such a wonderful woman—beautiful, able to compete with others on the battlefield for military honors without falling behind, and looking at how sharp-minded she is, she'll only get better and better."
Princess Kirenya, hearing this, looked somewhat angrily in the direction of the gossip. "A divorced woman, and you're all so eager to fawn over her?"
"I think His Majesty requiring her to find a suitable husband within three months is because she's so sharp-tongued and difficult, afraid that with her status as a divorcee, she won't be able to find a man at all!"
The noble ladies around turned to look at Princess Kirenya, their expressions uniformly complex.
This princess still didn't seem to understand one thing—in the face of profit and power, whether someone was divorced or not didn't matter at all. What mattered was the value a marriage could bring to both families.