Chapter 59: Two Sides

While Arias didn't particularly care about the false gossip news, the other two parties involved had strong reactions.

In a luxurious suite situated in a hotel not far from the one Arias was staying in, an angry Queen Bee was seated at a fancy dining table that housed only one seat. Around her stood several lovely female attendants wearing Middle Eastern servant attire, all of whom wore concerned expressions on their faces. The cause for concern was quite obvious—Queen Bee was glaring at the headline on the tablet in her hands.

With every line she read, the angrier she became. Soon, she could no longer hold back and threw the tablet across the room, causing it to shatter against the wall.

"How dare those peasant mongrels use my name in such a way!? I am the Queen of Greater Bialya! I've had world leaders, billionaires, even conquerors, all bow at my feet for a chance to court me! Yet they dare say I would lower myself to pursue some man with only a little bit of fame and wealth? No, they even had the audacity to say I fought that sorry excuse of a princess for him!? Tell me, is this not the greatest of insults!?"

None of Queen Bee's attendants dared to answer that question. They knew all too well how unpredictable she could be when angry. If they were lucky, they would leave with only a few bruises and injuries for saying something wrong. But if unlucky…

"It is the greatest of insults, Your Highness!" a few responded in unison, as if rehearsed. One would actually be shocked at how common it was for these women to use that line.

Following their response, Queen Bee just clicked her tongue and stood up. "They've even made me lose my appetite! Tsk. Quickly, have my spokesperson address this immediately—the Queen chases no one. Leave me now."

The various attendants scurried off, leaving her to herself.

Meanwhile, Diana, the other party involved, was also vexed at the news, although much less so and for entirely different reasons. She was standing in her penthouse's living room with Steve Trevor, who lived in an apartment in the same building not far from hers and had come to pick her up to go about her daily schedule. He, of course, already knew of the rumors, but he thought Diana wouldn't care. Sadly, he was wrong…

"By Hera! What lies are these? I fought no one for a man, and if I did, the title would read 'Diana Emerges Victorious!'—not this!"

Her anger was clearly over all the wrong reasons, so Steve could only sigh.

"Just ignore it, Diana. It's not like this is the first time this has happened. Remember the rumors about you and I dating when you first came into the spotlight?" he reminded her, showing a bit of a smile as he did so.

But the ever-blunt Diana responded differently, with a slight frown. "That was entirely different. I wasn't bothered because you and I both knew we are nothing more than good friends. But what if this 'prince' misreads my intentions? I haven't even yet considered whether or not I wish to be in a relationship."

The smile on Steve's face faded as he was hit with a harsh truth. He now trailed off from the topic at hand and tried to stop her rising curiosity about Arias while boosting himself.

"It's not all that strange, you know. In our society, most successful relationships begin with two people being friends. As for Arias Markovic, he isn't even a real prince; it's just a nickname the public gave him because he splurges cash on charities like every other billionaire playboy."

Diana raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Playboy?"

There were still many concepts and terms she didn't understand, so Steve sighed as he clarified the meaning. "It's basically a wealthy, good-looking person who many naive girls admire—kind of like a prince but definitely not."

He chose not to be too biased with his words since Diana would eventually learn, and it would be bad if he set himself up for lies in the future.

After hearing his explanation, she raised her head in thought before making a declaration.

"Hmm, it all makes sense now. Good. I shall follow your society's custom then and befriend Arias Markovic. If I should choose to be in a relationship in the future, I now have one candidate with whom I'll already be friends. Thereby increasing my chances of success, as you have said. Thank you for making it all clear as always."

Steve was flabbergasted at how badly Diana misunderstood what he was trying to say. "Hold on, I think you don't get it. A playboy is bad, dangerous; he breaks hearts."

Unfortunately for Steve, his words didn't get through to her the way he wanted.

"Even better! In my mother's stories, only men who were desired and admired by many women had great accomplishments. If what you say holds true, then he and I shall become good friends and crush the hearts of enemies together!"

"Diana, I don't think you get what I'm—"

"Thank you, Steve Trevor. You are wise like my sisters back home. This must be the reason the gods guided you to Themyscira. You have the body of a man but the heart and mind of a woman, just like an Amazon. From now on, I shall call you Sister Steve!"

"…."

Steve Trevor stood there, utterly defeated, realizing that trying to reason with Diana about this was as futile as arguing with the gods themselves.