My Sweet Deceiver - Chapter 57

“Tehez, didn’t you miss me?”

 

“Of course, Prince Julien. I missed you so much.”

 

“Really?”

 

The child greeted Tehez with a thin hand as if he were glad.

 

The door to the Third Prince’s Palace, which had been locked for a while due to Julien’s worsening condition, opened. It was news that his condition was improving little by little.

 

Julien said he was the first to visit his brother Fabrice, and then visited Tehez.

 

Tehez, who couldn’t turn a blind eye to the child’s search, had just split her time and came to Julien.

 

The child’s lips were cracked like a dry river bed. No matter how often you looked at him, he had a face full of sickness.

 

However, she was glad that Julien had regained his energy a little, and he told Tehez about what had happened. However, it was the stories of the courtiers he saw every day.

 

“Because I didn’t have Tehez, there was no one to read fairy tales to me.”

 

Julien pouted and said. Tehez replied with a stern look at the child’s sternness.

 

“Oh my God, Prince Julien. You can read by yourself.”

 

“You’ve been caught.”

 

Julien replied with a joyful smile.

 

Tehez also smiled and smoothened Julien’s hair. The soft hair fell over, and she saw a pale forehead.

 

“But it’s much more fun to read to someone else than to read it myself.”

 

Julien said in a dead voice.

 

“Then it’s been a while since I’ve been here, so shall I read you a fairy tale?”

 

“Yes! Tehez, please read it quickly.”

 

Julien gestured to the bookshelf. The bookshelf was full of children’s books. Tehez took one of them and placed it on her lap.

 

Then she began to read in a calm voice.

 

As usual, it was a fairy tale book featuring Julien’s favourite princess and knight. The title was <The Blind Princess>.

 

“A long time ago, a princess named Isabelle lived in a certain kingdom. Princess Isabelle had a beautiful appearance and a very kind heart. That’s why the wonderful knights of the kingdom proposed to the princess every morning… The witch of the Black Forest, jealous of the princess after seeing her, puts a curse on Isabelle. It was the curse that blinded her. This vicious curse would not be lifted unless she met her true love and kissed her.”

 

Although Julien knew everything, he was listening to Tehez as if it were the first time he had heard it.

 

Tehez turned the pages and read the fairy tale in a low voice.

 

“When she went blind, people began to turn away from Princess Isabelle. Eventually, the people sent her Princess Isabelle to an island far away across the sea. The Witch of the Black Forest giggled and enjoyed the sight. Princess Isabelle…”

 

“Please continue, Tehez.”

 

Julien, who was concentrating on Tehez’s reading, requested.

 

“Huh? Oh, so Princess Isabelle…”

 

Tehez hesitated. It was because she couldn’t even read the sentence after that.

 

‘Princess Isabelle drowned and died. So every night, there was a sad cry from the island.’

 

Because it was written that way.

 

Julien was looking up at her. Tehez glanced at him and was speechless.

 

“Princess Isabelle has met her true love, and her curse was lifted.”

 

“Wow! It’s really good. Tehez.”

 

She rejoiced as the child clapped her hands.

 

“Right?”

 

Tehez closed the children’s book and put it in the opposite corner of the bookshelf so the title could not be seen.

 

It was a children’s book for children growing up, but why did it end with such a tragic ending?

 

“Tehez, you promised me we’d go horseback riding together last time.”

 

Tehez shook her head.

 

“It is cold, my Prince. Let’s go together when you’re all better.”

 

“When?”

 

Tehez looked out the window involuntarily.

 

The wind was blowing strongly. The weather was overcast, as if it was going to snow.

 

A long, long winter in Lübern was beginning.

 

Tehez turned her head and said.

 

“It’s cold in winter, so when the weather gets better… Let’s go together next spring.”

 

Julien then rejoiced and asked again.

 

“Really? You promise, right?”

 

“Of course, it’s a promise.”

 

Tehez held Julien’s slender hand tightly.

 

Holding Julien’s hand, Tehez was slightly startled by the child’s cold body temperature. Even though the bedroom was warm like this, Julien’s hands were very cold.

 

Still, Tehez just smiled, hiding a look of surprise.

 

As Tehez stroked Julien’s hand, Julien looked dissatisfied and covered his arm with his sleeve.

 

“I hate it because my arms are so thin.”

 

“Eat a lot and get stronger in the future.”

 

Despite Tehez’s words, Julien was still holding the hem of his sleeve.

 

After talking with Julien for a while, Tehez ate with the child and returned to her palace.

 

When she returned to the palace, Dennis was waiting.

 

Tehez ran to him after a month.

 

Although she had seen him a few days ago, it seemed like she had not seen him in a long time.

 

Standing in front of Dennis, Tehez felt a little short of breath.

 

It felt like her heart was beating fast as she ran fast.

 

Seeing Tehez running into his arms, Dennis flashed his arms around her and turned her around.

 

Tehez laughed out loud involuntarily.

 

Dennis put her down and said with a smirk.

 

“Can you read me a book too?”

 

He seemed to have heard that she had gone to Julien’s palace.

 

“Why not?”

 

Saying that, Tehez smiled a little.

 

Dennis grabbed Tehez’s hand and led her somewhere.

 

It was neither her bedroom nor his palace.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“You’ll find out when we reach.”

 

He didn’t seem to let her know until they arrived.

 

The two ran through her palace and headed towards the main palace.

 

They arrived at the garden of light, right next to the main palace.

 

“Here is…”

 

The garden was difficult to enter because it was Elliot’s territory, the main palace’s owner.

 

Dennis said with a childish laugh.

 

“It’s an ownerless garden, so let’s occupy it for a while.”

 

Tehez counted the time. At this time, Eliot always went to the warm south to spend the winter and returned to Lübern by spring. It seemed that the time had already come.

 

“Alright.”

 

Tehez sat down naturally in the chair Dennis had taken out.

 

Then she looked at the ceiling. The warm sun was shining down from the ceiling of the glass greenhouse. There was a cold wind blowing outside, but the temperature in the glass greenhouse was constant, so it felt warm.

 

The tea table was served as Tehez sat down.

 

“What we talked about last time.”

 

Dennis said, holding up a teacup.

 

“Yes, but what…?”

 

She answered reflexively, asking him.

 

“My wife, have you already forgotten?”

 

He had a stern expression on his face.

 

Teherz replied in an unconvinced voice.

 

“Yes…?”

 

Tehez couldn’t fathom what he was saying, so she thought for a moment about what she had forgotten.

 

“I said we should drink tea more often in the future.”

 

She put her hand on her forehead with an exaggerated gesture.

 

“Ah.”

 

“Ah?”

 

He imitated her.

 

Tehez said in a bewildered voice.

 

“Yes. That’s it. I know it’s just a joke…”

 

“You have no expectations of your husband, wife. Maybe that’s the husband’s fault?”

 

“No, I…”

 

Tehez muffled her speech. Dennis was not wrong. When she hesitated, Dennis answered with a firm voice.

 

“You still can’t answer. You must punish your husband harshly.”

 

Tehez looked into his eyes with a puzzled expression.

 

His sparkling eyes were full of playfulness.

 

As she panicked, he knelt down on her knees in front of her in looked up at Tehez.

 

The lowered eye level at once was strange.

 

Embarrassed, Tehez tried to wake him up, startled.

 

“Stand up, Prince!”

 

“Tehez, I have to be punished. That way, I won’t do anything bad again.”

 

“What do you mean…?”

 

“Now, what punishment will my wife give me? I’m really looking forward to it.”

 

Dennis’ tone was full of joy.

 

“…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“What punishment do you want?”

 

“Well…”

 

Dennis thought.

 

He didn’t look like a submissive loser on his knees. No matter what he did, he always looked like an elegant ruler.

 

“Kiss me.”

 

“Is that a punishment, Prince?”

 

“That’s the punishment now. Kiss me.”

 

“…”

 

She didn’t move.

 

She stayed still, and he spoke.

 

“You have to punish me.”

 

She can hear the hem of the dress grazing on the floor.

 

Tehez took Dennis’s hand.

 

She placed her lips on his hand’s back and lifted it.

 

It’s like a gentleman’s greeting when he meets a lady.

 

It was a kiss, not even children would do.

 

No, it was rather a bump between the lips and the back of the hand. You can never call it a kiss.

 

“…”

 

At once, the greenhouse was filled with silence.

 

“Ah, I think I know.”

 

Dennis got up and sat across from her, and he said absurdly.

 

“Is it like a curse? Can’t kiss in bright light? Unless it’s like that.”

 

“Prince, shut that mouth….”

 

“Huh? What’s wrong with my mouth?”

 

“They will hear everything.”

 

“Who?”

 

Tehez blinked.

 

It was not close, but the courtiers were practising nearby.

 

“Ah, my wife, for whom prestige and dignity are important. If you keep doing that, I want to bother you more.”

 

“Don’t do that, please.”

 

Tehez dissuaded Dennis.

 

“Then, give me a good scolding.”

 

It suddenly turned out the other way around. The one to be punished, rather, was demanding punishment.

 

“All right, well, let’s do the rest this evening.”

 

With a fresh face, he immediately changed the subject and gestured.

 

Then the courtier put something down from behind.

 

“Tehez, would you like to play checkers?”

 

It was a checkerboard that looked luxurious at first glance. The delicately crafted words looked very good.

 

“You know the rules, right? Have you ever played it?”

 

“Yes, I did it at the academy.”

 

“With whom?”

 

“Sasha and I have-”

 

“That b*st**d.”

 

“What?”

 

Dennis whispered in a low voice, but Tehez didn’t hear what he said.

 

“No, there are people who can’t tell where to put it. Shall we make a bet?”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Give the winner a wish.”

 

Seeing Dennis confident expression on his face, Tehez wanted to defeat him.

 

“Alright, let’s make a bet.”

 

(To be continued in the next episode)