My Sweet Deceiver - Chapter 53

When Fabrice returned to the palace and heard the news of the Duke of Briem, he shouted in amazement.

 

“Grandfather will be executed?”

 

“Ye-yes.”

 

The attendant stuttered to the words in the brutal atmosphere of Fabrice.

 

An unbelievable thing happened.

 

The Duke of Briem was the most prestigious noble in Valloise.

 

But he was to get executed for heresy!

 

What about him if his grandfather disappeared?

 

Fabrice thought, tearing his hair out.

 

The Duke of Briem said he would definitely put Fabrice on the throne.

 

He had not been recognized as the crown prince, but he couldnt believe he was being robbed of even the opportunity to be recognized

 

“Who, who did that?”

 

“Are you talking about the Duke?”

 

“Yes! You b**t*rd! That’s what I’m asking. Am I asking something else?”

 

Fabrice, angry enough, shouted and threw the things from the desk.

 

Vases and books flew away, and pieces of paper fluttered in the air.

 

“Sorry, I’m sorry. The Duchess set up a pagan altar and offered a sacrifice…”

 

“What’s wrong with her?!”

 

“So far-”

 

“What the hell were you doing in the palace while I was away? You should have found out and told me, are you out of your mind? Are you a little less productive these days? Huh?”

 

Fabrice was about to make a fuss.

 

“I’m sorry- I’m sorry. Forgive me.”

 

The attendant repeatedly bowed his head and asked for forgiveness.

 

One out of touch, he could not think of his own fault, which disappeared without a word for a whole week, and Fabrice only held on to the servant.

 

Fabrice muttered, going back and forth in the room like a madman.

 

“…What will happen to me if grandfather is executed? Then who’s putting me on the throne? Does father know about it? Hey! You.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

“Does my father know about this?”

 

“Yes, they can execute the sinner only with the approval of His Majesty the King.”

 

“Why did father allow grandfather to be executed?”

 

“So far, I don’t know…”

 

“What do you know? Stupid fool.”

 

Fabrice put on his coat and smoothed his hair in the mirror.

 

“Oh, where are you going?” asked the servant with a very timid face.

 

“Shouldn’t I go ask father what’s going on? Clean up the room until I get back.”

 

“Yes, I see. Have a nice day, Your Highness.”

 

Fabrice arranged what he had to say in his head as he went to the main palace.

 

He thought Elliot would listen to him if he told him.

 

That’s what it’s been like until now.

 

If it wasn’t decided, he would make a fuss to ensure that the crown prince’s position was made this time.

 

He asked the courtier of the main palace to inform the King that he had come.

 

But the answer that came back was a ‘No.’

 

Fabrice asked curiously.

 

“Why?”

 

“His Majesty ordered not to let anyone in for the time being.”

 

“Why?”

 

“He is not feeling well…”

 

“Then, shouldn’t he be visiting his son more?”

 

Fabrice stood before the blocked door and ordered the men to open it.

 

But the guards hesitated and did not step aside.

 

Fabrice, who was already angry, said with a red face.

 

“I guess it doesn’t matter if I fight in my father’s palace.”

 

It was an obvious threat.

 

Fabrice’s dirty temper was so famous that here was no one who didn’t know it, both inside and outside the palace.

 

When the attendant sighed and gestured, the guards reluctantly opened the door.

 

Fabrice walked proudly into Elliot’s bedroom.

 

“Father, I’m here.”

 

As usual, there was no sign of activity in the bedroom.

 

Fabrice went a little further in.

 

He saw someone lying on the bed.

 

“Father, this is Fabrice. How are you feeling…?”

 

Fabrice leaned cautiously toward the bed.

 

The person who was lying up woke up with a sniff.

 

It was Elliot, as expected.

 

He greeted Fabrice with a frown on his forehead.

 

“How did you get in here? I told you not to let anyone in.”

 

Fabrice was inwardly perplexed by his unusual appearance.

 

There have been many times before when he forced himself to open the door.

 

But whenever he did, Elliot was the one who said, ‘You must have missed me a lot.’

 

Fabrice removed the look of surprise and naturally asked about his condition.

 

“I heard you are sick… How are you feeling?”

 

“Even a child like you is worried about his father…”

 

Elliot’s voice reproaching Fabrice was hoarse, like a man with a sore throat.

 

Fabrice waved his hand and spoke with exaggeration.

 

“How can you say such a sad thing? It’s what a child should do.”

 

“So, what’s going on today?”

 

Eliot knew well that Fabrice only looked for him when there was something necessary.

 

For a brief moment, Fabrice rolled his head.

 

He wondered if he could bring up the business in this situation.

 

Would it be rejected, or would he be yelled at?

 

“Speak quickly and get out of here. I don’t even want to see your face for long.”

 

He would be kicked out if he didn’t bring it up quickly.

 

Fabrice then brought up the main point immediately without thinking further.

 

“Well, declare me the crown prince, father.”

 

“Are you talking about it now?”

 

Elliot smacked his lips as if he didn’t like it.

 

“Yes. If even my grandfather leaves, I have no one to lean on, and my position will become more unstable. Before that happens, please label me as a crown prince, father.”

 

Fabrice had a pitiful look, a must-win strategy.

 

Elliot pointed to Fabrice and said, “Don’t you have a fiancee?”

 

Fabrice, speechless, shut up.

 

What did he want with that crazy woman?

 

Eliot answered, touching his forehead as if he had a headache.

 

“Yes, it’s too late. It’s been a long time since I hesitated.”

 

Fabrice waited silently for his words.

 

“Now I have to make a decision.”

 

‘A decision.’

 

Fabrice noticed that the moment had come to hear the long-awaited answer.

 

He crumpled his happy expression and replied.

 

“Yes, my father.”

 

“You will be the next King. But there are conditions before that.”

 

Fabrice asked politely.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Have an heir. And I will give you the throne.”

 

“What?”

 

Fabris didn’t want to believe what he heard, so he asked again.

 

Elliot said as if frustrated with his stupid son.

 

“What’s the only thing Dennis doesn’t have? A child. Aren’t you engaged, too? So before they have it, I’m telling you to do something first!”

 

Fabrice opened his mouth wide and stared blankly at Elliot.

 

Elliot explained to Fabrice.

 

“There should be a good reason for the crown prince’s position. I’ve been putting it off for the past few years, and that’s why you must know it well.”

 

“Yes, because my father cares about me…”

 

Fabrice blurted out the end of the sentence.

 

Elliot indulged in a desire for power and tried to remain King forever. There was also Sherazad’s enticement to be immortal, but Elliot himself did not want to come down from the hard-earned throne.

 

For that reason, he dismissed the fact that he had been estranged between Fabrice and Dennis because he cared for Fabrice.

 

Elliot, however, continued the complicated past process as if Fabrice’s words were the answer.

 

“Yes, that’s right. But now you are nothing but a kite that has fallen off its strings, isn’t it? The Duke of Briem, who claimed to have a strong background, will also disappear soon. Yes?”

 

“So, if father stops grandfather from being executed…”

 

Eliot shouted, waving his hand out.

 

“Don’t even bring that up! That’s the meaning of the temple. I cannot intervene or influence the work of the temple! Don’t you know that temples and royal families are two different things?”

 

“Yes, my father.”

 

Fabrice responded reflexively, not knowing much about the dynamics of the temple and the royal family.

 

“It has already passed, and you now have to think about what’s left in front of you. Boy, look. Did you have anything better than Dennis? In appearance, personality, or education?”

 

“…”

 

Elliot smacked Fabrice with obvious facts.

 

Fabrice was unhappy because he was proud that he was better than his brother in terms of the bloodline.

 

But Dennis was better in other aspects, and he couldn’t deny it.

 

“But that’s not how a King works. It’s a much more complicated position. As long as I think nothing of it, I can always reverse the verdict over a small incident. And that’s what I did. There’s only one method left for you now. A descendant! If you stir up smoke with the problem of descendants, it will definitely become a big fire later on. The tables will turn. Then, I’ll put you on the throne. That’s the only way you’ll live. Do you get it? Get your act together!”

 

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind, father.”

 

“If you’re done, get out of here.”

 

“Yes. Take care of yourself…”

 

Elliot threw out Fabrice without hearing all his greetings.

 

Fabrice returned to the palace and quietly reflected on Elliot’s words.

 

The only place to live in…

 

Fabrice suddenly picked up a pen and started writing to someone.

 

Fabrice’s appearance, 180 degrees calmer than when he made a fuss, shook his body, saying to himself that it was like the eve of the storm.

 

***

 

A middle-aged man sat chewing his cigar, and a slightly younger-looking man tilted a teacup in front of him.

 

“It’s a big deal that Count Liddell is looking for me first.”

 

The middle-aged man coughed a couple of times embarrassingly.

 

Those who sat facing each other were Count Liddell and Count Lemac.

 

Count Liddell, who had no brains but was quick to act, immediately contacted Count Lemac. It was to ask for a private meeting.

 

Count Liddell himself was ashamed to ask for a meeting secretly.

 

He was like a sparrow with a burning tail, pretending to be a part of the old aristocratic group, looking for a connection.

 

And what he found as a connection was that he was a member of the new aristocratic sect, whom he scorned so much.

 

However, he said with a strong iron plate in his face after many years of political experience.

 

“Do we have the same goal? I mean, let’s look to the future. Let’s clear up the past.”

 

Count Lemac gave a look of incredulity.

 

“You were looking for me because you were anxious.”

 

Count Liddell, caught off guard, tried to escape with a smile.

 

But Count Lemac did not miss it and sarcastically said.

 

“I heard you failed”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Count Liddell pretended to be innocent.

 

“I heard the news that Prince Briem was going to another world while trying to send the First Prince as a treason.”

 

“…”

 

“Count, do you have anything to say?”

 

Count Lemac pushed for this moment.

 

He was never an easygoing person to let go of the humiliation he had suffered.

 

Count Liddell put down his cigar in his mouth and said.

 

“I’m sorry. I’ve made a mistake in the past. As you get older, sometimes words come out without thinking. You know that, don’t you? Even though I look so clogged up, the truth is that I am an open person. I heard that our youngest son also invested in your bank. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could live together as one now? Yes?”

 

At first glance, it was an earnest tone.

 

But Count Lemac snorted.

 

What the man had invested was a small one.

 

He seemed to want to bring up that word and make a connection somehow.

 

Count Lemac picked up his coat and stood up from his seat.

 

“Thank you for the tea, Count.”

 

“Oh, no…”

 

Count Liddell waved his hand as if embarrassed.

 

“It’s late at night, take a look. You have to be careful because you are at an age where your eyes get dark with night.”

 

Count Lemac left without looking back.

 

He muttered as soon as he got into the carriage.

 

“I can’t believe the old man came to me.”

 

Then the servant next to him asked.

 

“Did your work go well?”

 

“Sure.”

 

He smiled cheerfully.

 

“Good things may happen soon.”

 

Count Lemac had a satisfied smile.

 

(To be continued in the next episode)

***