Chapter 646: Refined Taste

Hearing this question, Diana stared at Maria with a disbelieving gaze.

One second.

Just one single second.

But in that second, Maria’s mind raced through a thousand anxious thoughts.

Was Diana going to make fun of her?

Would she say that Maria wasn’t suitable, that she was too old, too damaged by her past, too devoted to the church to even entertain such thoughts?

Would she be suspicious about why Maria was asking, wonder if there was some hidden motive behind the question?

Maria’s heart pounded, her hands growing clammy.

And then—

Diana’s lips twitched.

Her eyes crinkled at the corners.

And before Maria could process what was happening, Diana threw her head back and laughed.

"Hahahahaha!!!"

Not her usual elegant giggle. Not the polite, refined chuckle she used in social situations where she covered her mouth with her hand.

No—this was a full, unrestrained, belly-deep laugh that made her lean back in her chair and let out sounds Maria had never heard from her before.

She laughed like she had just heard the funniest joke in the entire world.

All elegance. All normalcy. All composure—gone.

And seeing this, Maria’s eyes went wide with panic.

"D-Diana?!" She exclaimed, leaning forward. "Diana, what are you doing?! Did I say something wrong? Was there anything wrong with what I said?"

"Please, tell me!"

But Diana didn’t stop.

She couldn’t stop.

Every time she tried to compose herself, every time she managed to get herself under control, she would glance at Maria’s flustered, confused expression and dissolve into laughter all over again.

She tried covering her mouth with both hands, but it was useless—the laughter escaped through her fingers, through her nose, through every pore of her body.

Maria’s face grew redder and redder.

"Come on, Diana!" She pleaded, her voice rising. "Please! Just tell me! You can’t bully me like this by laughing in my face and not telling me the reason!"

Diana kept laughing and Maria’s eye twitched.

She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks, looking for all the world like an angry little squirrel.

"You—!"

She said, her voice taking on a warning tone.

"If you keep laughing more and more, I’ll definitely get angry, okay? You don’t want to see me angry."

The image—Maria, cheeks puffed out, arms crossed, trying to look threatening while looking utterly adorable—finally broke through Diana’s laughter.

She gasped, wheezed, and slowly began to calm down.

"I-I’m sorry." Diana managed, wiping tears from her eyes. "I’m so sorry, Maria. I just—I couldn’t hold myself back."

She took a deep breath, then another.

"It’s been such a long time since I laughed that hard." She admitted, still chuckling slightly. "I’m so sorry for laughing at you."

But then a smirk crossed her face.

"But what you said was such a joke that I absolutely had to laugh. You really can’t blame me for that."

Maria’s brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you even mean, Diana?" She asked, genuinely bewildered. "I simply asked a simple question. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Diana nodded firmly. "Most definitely yes."

Maria flinched, hurt flickering across her features.

But Diana continued before she could spiral.

"If it was any other man, your question would make perfect sense." Diana explained. "Like you said, men usually prefer younger women. That’s been the norm for years and years."

"And if you were asking about anyone else, I would understand your doubt completely."

She leaned forward, her expression intense.

"But Cassius?"

She shook her head like it was ludicrous.

"Asking something like that about Cassius is absolutely the biggest joke in the world."

Maria stared at her, completely lost, while Diana threw her hands up in an exaggerated gesture, her usual elegance completely abandoned in her frustration.

"It’s like keeping a big, juicy, succulent piece of lamb right in front of a tiger that has been starving for an entire month..." She declared. "...and then asking if the tiger would be interested in eating it!"

"That’s exactly what this situation is! Doubting whether Cassius would go after someone like you?"

She laughed again, but this time it was a laugh of exasperation.

"It’s absolutely ridiculous to even think about, Maria!"

Maria was caught completely off guard by Diana’s animation.

In all their decades of friendship, she had never seen Diana like this—so frustrated, so amused, so utterly moved.

It was like watching an entirely different person.

Diana leaned forward even more, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.

"Come on, just think about it!" She insisted. "I just told you a moment ago—he prefers older women. He absolutely cherishes them. And yet here you are, asking if he would be interested in you?"

Maria shook her head, still uncertain.

"I know you said that." She admitted. "I know—I most definitely know you did. But it’s just..."

She hesitated, her gaze dropping.

"I just think Cassius would have a much more refined taste when it came to older women."

She finished quietly.

Diana blinked. "Refined taste? What do you mean by that?"

"You know...someone like you."

Maria gestured vaguely, her cheeks flushing.

"Someone who comes from a noble upbringing. Who has a well-established family. A good reputation. Someone who’s extremely educated, extremely respected all throughout the kingdom."

Her voice grew softer.

"And extremely beautiful." She added. "Like you."

Diana’s expression shifted, but Maria didn’t notice—she was too focused on her own insecurities.

"I’m the exact opposite." Maria continued, a sour look crossing her face. "I don’t have any special upbringing. I only have bad rumors about me, about my past."

She shook her head with pain in her eyes.

"And also..." She hesitated, then gently rubbed her belly. "I think I’m getting a little fatter down there."

"So I don’t think I can compare to you at all."

She looked up, expecting to see Diana’s reaction.

Maybe sympathy.

Maybe gentle reassurance.

Maybe even agreement.

Instead—

Her heart stopped.

Diana wasn’t laughing anymore.

She was staring.

With a grave, serious gaze that made Maria’s blood run cold.

It was the kind of look that said she had just said something wrong.

Something very, very wrong.

Just as Maria was about to ask if everything was all right, Diana moved.

She lunged forward across the desk, her hands reaching out and cupping Maria’s face, pulling her closer with surprising strength.

Maria’s eyes went wide with shock as she was drawn toward her friend, their faces now only inches apart.

Diana’s eyes burned with a serious, solemn intensity.

"Maria." She said, her voice low and firm. "Look at me. Look at me when I say this."

Maria’s heart raced. She couldn’t look away even if she wanted to.

With the most grave seriousness, as if speaking words from the very depths of her soul, Diana spoke.

"You are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my entire life."

Maria’s heart stuttered.

She wanted to reject the words, to wave them away, to deflect with a joke or a self-deprecating comment.

But Diana held her firmly, not allowing her to escape.

"I am not exaggerating right now." Diana continued, her voice fierce. "Even when I first met you—when I was at my lowest, when all I could think about was my dying daughter—for those first few seconds, all my worries disappeared. Do you know why?"

Maria shook her head slightly, trapped in Diana’s grip.

"Because I was just thinking, ’Wow. How could such a beautiful woman exist?’"

Diana’s eyes softened for just a moment.

"I was completely captivated. I couldn’t think straight."

Maria gulped while her face heated up.

"And you also have this presence about you." Diana pressed on. "A holy aura. A warmth that draws people in. I kept staring at you, and I couldn’t stop."

She leaned even closer.

"And after all these years? You’re still just as beautiful. Just as gorgeous as the first moment I saw you."

Her voice dropped to something almost dangerous.

"So don’t you dare..." She emphasized each word "...don’t you dare ever think that you’re not pretty. Don’t you dare think that for even a single second."

Maria’s eyes glistened.

"Saying something like that is absolutely ridiculous." Diana continued firmly. "So don’t you ever say anything like that again."

She slowly pulled back, releasing Maria’s face, but her intense gaze never wavered.

"And let’s not even mention the other aspects."

"Dignity and background and all that nonsense."

She scoffed, a surprisingly undignified sound from someone so elegant.

"I’ve seen so-called ’dignified’ women in my life, Maria. Women from the oldest, most prestigious families. And you know what? Most of them have nothing on you."

Maria stared, completely speechless.

Diana leaned forward again, her expression shifting to something almost disappointed—like a mother scolding a child who should know better.

"Even if you don’t come from some so-called dignified background, even if you have a few disturbing moments in your past—that doesn’t make you who you are."

"It doesn’t define your worth."

"It doesn’t determine anything about your value as a person."

Maria’s breath caught.

"Instead." Diana continued with a look of adoration and pride. "Look at what you’ve actually done."

"You started from the very bottom. Unlike me, who had everything given to her from a young age, you had nothing."

"And even through all of that—through all the burdens you had to carry, all the trauma, all the suffering—you still managed to fly high and spread your kindness and gentleness everywhere you went."

Her voice grew thick with genuine admiration.

"You rose above it all to the extent that everywhere you go, everyone knows your name. Everyone knows the deeds you’ve done."

She shook her head firmly.

"That is more than any so-called dignified being could possibly accomplish in a hundred lifetimes. After all..."

She chuckled with pride brimming through her words.

"You earned your dignity through blood, sweat, and tears."

"Through choosing kindness when you had every right to be bitter."

"Through helping others when you yourself were suffering."

"So..." She looked solemn again. "Do you understand that, Maria? Do you understand what I’m trying to say to you?"

Maria stared at her, overwhelmed.

"Or." Diana added, her tone shifting to something almost playful. "Do you want me to grab onto your cheeks this time and pull on them?"

"Because right now, you don’t really seem like my best friend. Instead, you seem like a foolish girl."

"You seem like my own daughter at the moment—someone I need to punish for saying bad things about herself."

She raised an eyebrow.

"And I really don’t mind punishing you if you keep saying things like that."

Maria reacted immediately.

"N-No!" She stammered, shaking her head rapidly. "No, no, there’s no need! I won’t say something like that again! I really won’t!"

But even as she said the words, there was hesitation in her eyes.

A flicker of doubt.

A shadow of disbelief.

She didn’t fully believe Diana’s words. Deep down, in the darkest corners of her heart, she couldn’t accept that anyone could truly see her that way.

Diana noticed.

Of course she noticed.

She sighed softly, a sound filled with understanding and sorrow.

Because she knew.

She had known for a very long time about Maria’s struggles and her life-long insecurities that stemmed from the forsaken trauma she gained from her treacherous life.