My Sweet Deceiver - Chapter 60

“I don’t want it. So go back.”

 

Seeing Tehez looking up at him, he drove a wedge.

 

“…”

 

There was silence for a while.

 

Tehez asked.

 

“Are you saying you don’t want it?”

 

It was a dry voice.

 

Tehez lowered her head. She seemed to be trying not to let Dennis know what she was doing.

 

Dennis looked at Tehez’s hair and answered calmly.

 

“Yes.”

 

“All right, Prince.”

 

What came out was a light answer.

 

Nothing great.

 

Tehez removed his hand from her shoulder and lightly turned around.

 

“Wait a moment, Tehez. I will escort you to the palace.”

 

He tried to grab her hand, but naturally, Tehez slipped away.

 

It was a very natural refusal.

 

“That’s all right, Prince.”

 

Tehez turned and left with the same elegant gait as she had entered.

 

“…”

 

After she left, the meeting room became noisy again.

 

Dennis looked at the document he was reading for a moment, then threw away his glasses and touched his forehead.

 

He had a headache.

 

He nervously opened the cigar box and lit a cigar.

 

How many cigars did he smoke all night?

 

Seeing the number of cigars in the ashtray, it was clear that he smoked non-stop.

 

Watching the smoke disperse into the air, he calmed down.

 

“…”

 

None of them worked as intended.

 

Some officials refused to listen to his orders until the absent king returned. Looking at their faces, he thought they were officials from the old nobility faction.

 

Some people quickly switched to Dennis, but some nobles still supported Fabrice.

 

The nobles who supported Fabrice harboured resentment against Dennis because of Duke Briem’s ​​execution as a heretic.

 

They suspected that Dennis had dealt with the Duke of Briem. That wasn’t the only reason.

 

It wasn’t for a day or two that the old nobles talked about Dennis’ birth and ignored him. It was something that always happened.

 

People were suffering out there, dying.

 

Does it matter who gives the orders?

 

Dennis felt devastated. It felt like confirming that the life of a commoner meant only that much to the nobles.

 

And again, it felt like Dennis was reaffirming that he was of commoner blood.

 

Dennis boldly excluded officials who did not want to work, and he couldn’t waste all his time appeasing them.

 

Resolving the fire situation quickly was a more urgent problem.

 

Then, Tehez appeared at the meeting earlier, making Dennis uncomfortable.

 

He wasn’t feeling good.

 

The face of Tehez turning around…

 

Clearly, it was a face pretending to be calm.

 

There were many eyes to see, so she may have swallowed her words and went back.

 

No, he was sure of it.

 

He threw away the papers he was looking at, got up from his seat, and walked briskly. He felt like seeing her face again.

 

Tehez would not have left the palace yet.

 

“Where are you going, Your Highness?”

 

“I’m going to get some fresh air.”

 

After leaving the conference hall, he almost ran after Tehez.

 

In the distance, he could see the back of her head fluttering like threads of gold.

 

“Tehez!”

 

When he called her name, she turned around and stopped. Dennis said to Danielle, who was standing behind Tehez.

 

“I’d like you to step aside for a moment.”

 

Then Danielle disappeared from there.

 

“What are you doing, Prince?”

 

The tone was the same as usual, but Tehez did not make eye contact with him.

 

“Say it.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“What you couldn’t say before.”

 

Tehez stopped talking for a moment and was silent. Dennis waited patiently for Tehez’s words to come out of his mouth.

 

After hesitating for a while, she finally spoke her words.

 

“…Were you serious when you said ‘I don’t want it, I don’t need it’? I’m purely worried about the Prince…”

 

Dennis cut her off and shouted.

 

“I worry about you too! Worrying about everything! Why don’t you take care of yourself? Did I say I wanted that?”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

For an instant, she hardened her face. Dennis said in a low voice, suppressing her anger.

 

“It means you don’t have to risk yourself. I am enough.”

 

Tehez was also furious at Dennis’ resolute words. Normally, she would have just nodded her head and turned around.

 

However, she kept trying to burst out the things she had accumulated in the corner of her heart.

 

Worries and sorrows, broken expectations every time.

 

I’m worried about you too, she wanted to say that.

 

Tehez seemed to have a lump in her heart, clamouring to know who she was to him.

 

She said, forcing her quivering heart.

 

“Did I presumptuously do unnecessary things for the Prince? Did you feel that way?”

 

“Isn’t that all over? I told you I’d take responsibility for you from now on.”

 

Dennis seemed to be distracted by a conversation that deflected her point. It felt like they were talking in different languages.

 

“Do you not understand what I’m saying to stay safe? Why are you angry?”

 

“The Prince doesn’t know what I’m talking about.”

 

Tehez turned her head away.

 

He held Tehez’s face with both of her hands and looked her in the eyes.

 

His watery eyes shimmered anxiously like the sea before a storm.

 

“Tehez, listen carefully. I don’t have time to speak at length. Not to mention outside the palace, it’s not safe even inside the palace. At dawn, there was an attempt by a mob to enter the west gate. You know what I mean?”

 

“Then-”

 

“We’re going to hunt down the ringleaders, and we’re going to put the mobsters in jail. Tehez, you said you’d be a queen, and I will be the king for you.”

 

“…”

 

“You are the reason I live every day. So your life is just as important as mine.”

 

Like before the storm, the wavering eyes did not calm down but were still wavering.

 

Even with his sweet words, Tehez couldn’t hide her confusion.

 

“You understand what I mean?”

 

“You’re not the only one worried about me. I am worried about you as well.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I have the ability and the power to help the Prince. But you rule me out every single time.”

 

There was a hint of loneliness in Tehez’s voice.

 

Dennis, despite being so sweet as if he’d do anything for her, made her miserable in moments like these.

 

I can work for you too. Isn’t it the husband and wife’s duty to solve problems together? 

 

Every time she saw Dennis, who didn’t confide in her and excluded her, Tehez felt she was not his wife. Instead, she felt like a weakling that he had to protect.

 

“Do you know how anxious I was last night?”

 

Tehez suppressed the emotions welling up inside her.

 

“Sorry. That’s my fault I couldn’t tell you beforehand.”

 

Despite his willingness to apologize, Tehez struggled to accept his apology. Her heart was already in a state of disrepair.

 

But.

 

He had to go back to the conference room immediately, but Dennis’ face looked impatient.

 

Wouldn’t this also be his wife’s duty?

 

The time would only be delayed if they continued to drag on here.

 

Tehez turned away from her heart which had already collapsed, and tried to open her mouth to answer.

 

“…I’ve heard it now, so it’s okay.”

 

Then she raised the corners of her mouth and smiled. Seeing her smile, Dennis nodded at her and smiled.

 

“Yes.”

 

Dennis tucked her hair behind her ear, probably because he thought she was in a good mood.

 

Then he dropped her hand from Tehez’s face and placed it on her waist.

 

He buried his face in Tehez’s neck and took a deep breath.

 

His heart was beating very fast. The sound of his heart reached Tehez.

 

“I think I will live because I smelled you.”

 

Dennis said in a light tone. Compared to before, it was a little relaxed expression.

 

“…You must have been unable to sleep because something suddenly happened.”

 

“Yes, without you.”

 

It was playful but friendly.

 

He put his hand on Tehez’s cheek. Tehez asked him as usual.

 

“Did you have dinner?”

 

“Yes. Don’t worry, I’m eating well. I’ll sleep well when it’s settled.”

 

“Ah, when will Your Majesty return?”

 

“It will take about a week. Because he went to the south. Until then, I have to do something.”

 

His face looked grim at first glance.

 

“Your Highness! Wait a minute!”

 

Sylvan shouted from behind and called for Dennis.

 

Then he turned around and said he needed to go to the conference hall immediately. Dennis looked at Tehez and asked.

 

“Tehez, can you go alone?”

 

“Yes. Do not worry.”

 

She stood there to see Dennis off. A smile still hung on her lips.

 

“Sorry… Be careful and get back quickly.”

 

He ran back to the palace.

 

Tehez stood and watched as she was nailed to the ground until he disappeared as a dot without looking back.

 

Looking at his back as she turned around.

 

She felt miserable.

 

As if her heart had been pierced.

 

She was only staring at his back every time.

 

Day or night, she always looked at his back.

 

Without being caught once.

 

Would things have changed if he had looked back at least once?

 

A mean person.

 

“Let’s go back.”

 

When Tehez called Danielle. Danielle, waiting on the other side, quickly jumped behind her.

 

“…”

 

The smile on her face as she walked silently, staring straight ahead, was not visible.

 

* * *

 

What Sylvan, who was wandering in front of the palace, said was unexpected.

 

“Fabrice?”

 

“Yes. After that, he said he would lead the fire and the riot control himself…”

 

“It’s a big deal.”

 

While saying that, Dennis pondered whether Fabrice had gone mad over something that had happened to him for the first time in his life.

 

Didn’t Fabrice always enjoy entertainment without paying attention to state affairs?

 

“And there’s one more thing. He said he would go to the fire scene and supervise it himself.”

 

“That’s crazy.”

 

Eventually, he got the words out of his mouth.

 

“It seems to be a move that is very conscious of the next royal authority.”

 

“I guess so. If not…”

 

There was no reason to go out.

 

“So you’re saying that Fabrice is at the meeting?”

 

“Yes. he has been ordering this and that from a while ago, but the officials are confused, contrary to the decreasing order.”

 

“Oh, no. Let’s go in and meet first. What nonsense is he talking about?”

 

(To be continued in the next episode)