Cinderella's Fate | 🤍 seongjoong 🤍

Chapter 34

Hongjoong's POV 

    The very next day, there was news about the ball all over the nation. Headlines upon headlines about the first dance, the fugitive 'princess' and the sudden disappearance of the prince.

    There were interviews from the participating guests telling their side of the story. They were bystanders, but each and every story had the same outline: receiving courage to follow their loved one. A few pictures, taken from photographers that had been able to sneak in, were blurred due to the rush of getting pictures before the guards could have got a hold of them. The picture showed the last few moments where the prince chased after the "prince 'ss" running away to the exit.

    The news outlet had named the incident as "The damsel in distress", as the main pictures were plastered on every billboard.

The pretty woman in black began speaking:

"However, the public view was unexpected. News outlets reported positive reviews about the whole fiasco. The percentage of couples had increased since last year and the expectation of marriage was 11% higher. People had felt that the complete storyline resembled Cinderella and had taken the opportunity to use the incident as a blessing for their marriage: a happily ever after.

Some had taken the same courage the prince had to confess to their cherished one, resulting in a new name holiday: the Confession day!

Was the mysterious gentleman a cupid in disguise or a criminal on the run?"

    The screen went black, and I leaned back into the chair with exhaustion. Hands behind the back of my head, legs spread wide. Trying to get into a relaxed position in the suit I was wearing.

    My stress was running high, and it didn't help that I was currently in my office, looking at the ceiling instead of solving the current problems.

    I let my eyes drift around the room: a small sofa for the guest, the TV, below it an assortment of books on shelves, next to it. On the right side, there was a fake plant and that was all. Behind and above me was a picture of my family stuck on the wall, with my older brother. He was already married and had to move into his wife's country since I preferred to stay here. We visited him a few times, and his wife was truly his soulmate. I had never seen him this happy.

    A sigh escaped my lips as I brought my attention back to my desk. My laptop, in sleep mode, my cup of iced Americano on the side, by now half empty , and eaten croissant crumbs on a small plate.

The door squeaked and footsteps followed.

"How is the investigation going?"

Another sigh escaped.

"No clue. The guards, who followed the madame, have yet to come back to the palace and the madame won't elaborate on the crimes", taking a deep breath to continue, "only repeating her motives for the protection of the royal family."

    Jongho hummed at the statement and then went on to put a pack of files sealed. I looked down at the documents before examining his face. No change and was given a nod instead. I was hesitant, but still went for it.

    The files showed the numbers of each department of the country , and it specifically highlighted the security team including palace guard, police, security and so on.

   The numbers that reflecting into my eyes didn't make sense. There was no decrease in the number of security officials in any of the departments listed to assist the case. An easy example is: if the woman has asked the police for assistance, the police will register the number of their total force given out for support. But there was no decrease.