My Sweet Deceiver - Chapter 81

The dazzling mansion was locked in silence. The iron gate of the mansion, which was always wide open to welcome guests, was firmly closed. A woman was sitting in a room in a bleak mansion.

 

The woman’s face in her fancy dress was hidden from view in the darkness. The woman was muttering something frantically. The sound became clearer the closer it got.

 

“…Oh, my God… It’s… This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.”

 

The bitten fingernails were dripping with blood. However, the woman kept on saying “This can’t be happening,” unknown of the blood slowly dripping from her hands.

 

Who had lived her whole life without facing and knowing any difficulties in life, Giselle’s life was turned upside down.

 

Her father was arrested by the police department, her frail mother was bedridden, and her servants, who noticed her declining fortune, had disappeared. And the woman was in a position where she could not take a step outside the mansion out of shame. It was her own disastrous downfall.

 

Thud

 

Without knocking, the door to Giselle’s room opened.

 

The person who put aside his manners and came in was a man with a great build. He was dressed like a gentleman in a coat, but the tip of a geometric tattoo was visible on the collar of his shirt. His sun-tanned face gave off an exotic aura that was not often seen in Valloise. He held up a tray of the food he had just made and said to the woman.

 

“Lady, please eat.”

 

“That’s enough. I am all right. Get out of here.”

 

Giselle refused his man’s invitation without even turning her head to look at him. But the man held the tray and did not move.

 

The man asked in a low voice.

 

“What are you starving for?”

 

“It’s because I just don’t want to eat. Leave me alone!”

 

Giselle replied angrily. But the man completely ignored the woman’s words and put the tray on the tea table. Then he crossed his arms and said in a pitiful tone.

 

“Then does starvation do you any good? I thought you were smart, but you’re not.”

 

“Anghel! Now!”

 

Anghel interrupted the woman and said, “I found someone who said they saw the Second Prince. Shouldn’t you see it for yourself? Are you going to keep going like this, skipping meals and biting your nails?”

 

It was a disrespectful tone that was different from usual, but the content contained in it pierced Giselle’s heart like a thorn. Staring at Anghel’s face, she got up and sat down at the tea table. Then she started eating.

 

While Giselle ate, Anghel stood next to her and waited for her to open her mouth. After some time had passed, Giselle, who had emptied her bowl, spoke to the man.

 

“Where is he?”

 

“If you go, you’ll understand.”

 

At Anghel’s rude reply, Giselle stuttered her words with an embarrassed face.

 

“…H-Hurry up, guide me.”

 

“Yes. All right, Lady.”

 

A mean smile hung over Anghel’s face.

 

* * *

 

Left alone in a city with no one to watch in warm weather, Fabrice wandered around as if he had met his own world.

 

Fabrice didn’t look like someone who ran away to self-reflect. For the first few days, he stayed in his mansion as if he was intimidated, but when the attendant, who always nagged him, was away, Fabrice ran amok like a dog off a leash.

 

Just in time, the attendant was in a state of distraction as he was going around to clean up the luggage that was supposed to arrive by train and went to another area by mistake.

 

In Riyol, a port city where many people come to rest due to the mild temperature throughout the year, there were quite decent hotels near the port and square. That meant that there were quite a few gambling places that Fabrice could go to. Most hotels had casino houses. Fabrice went through this as if breaking a seal.

 

Then, more and more people recognized and paid attention to his face.

 

There was a commotion over whether it was the Second Prince who was self-reflecting or not, but Fabrice, who was already intoxicated with alcohol and the atmosphere, didn’t even notice how people were looking at him. In the meantime, a man with a hat pressed down deeply was staring at him.

 

Fabrice, who was enjoying himself at the gambling hall, got up from his seat without hesitation.

 

As Fabrice stumbled and got up from his seat, someone with a hat pulled behind him followed like a shadow.

 

He lost the game a little while ago, but it wasn’t too bad because he had won a lot by spinning the slot machine.

 

‘Should I drink more with the money I won at the gambling house?’ Thinking quietly, Fabrice walked slowly towards the bar in the back alley.

 

It was late, so not many bars were open. The pub he frequented recently was at the end of this alley. In the sparsely lit alley, not a single rat was allowed to wander.

 

“Hmmm-”

 

Fabrice, who was in high spirits, walked while humming his song.

 

Suddenly, the man hiding like a shadow swung a club at his head. Fabrice fell to the floor without being able to resist once.

 

There were so many cases of drunken people collapsing in the back alleys, so even if someone fell down, they just passed by saying, “He must be very drunk.” The man who hit Fabrice on the back of the head put Fabrice on his shoulder as if he were helping him and moved him to the carriage.

 

The man who looked around saw a passerby pass by on the other side, and he said in a worried voice.

 

“Young Master. We should go to the mansion.”

 

The man and Fabrice looked by all accounts like a drunken man and a servant who supported him.

 

* * *

 

“…Water… Give me water.”

 

A burning thirst arose in his throat. Fabrice forced his eyes to open. He tried to lift his hand to touch his face, but he didn’t budge.

 

Fabrice, who came to his senses within a few hours, noticed that he was imprisoned somewhere else. Even with his hands and feet tied.

 

“Sh!t.”

 

A curse came out of his mouth.

 

He forced his eyes into focus. The objects in the room looked blurry. It was a damp, musty, enclosed room. There were no windows, so he couldn’t tell if it was day or night.

 

Fabrice thought, working his muddled brain.

 

‘Did the crazy woman come here to find me?’

 

That was the first thought he had.

 

Otherwise, who would confine him like this?

 

When Fabrice was rolling his head and grunting for a long time, the iron door in front of him opened with a strange sound. It was the sound of the door that had not been used for a long time and was not oiled.

 

‘Who came in…?’

 

“Are you awake?”

 

Fabrice had seen this man for the very first time in his life.

 

“Who are you?”

 

When a man he had never seen before spoke informally to him, Fabrice did not lose and blew the short speech away.

 

The man who came in didn’t even say a word back to him. He just simply answered.

 

“Who am I? I’m the one who kidnapped him. You’re just as stupid as I’ve heard.”

 

“What? Are you the one sent by Giselle Lemac?”

 

The man said while poking Fabrice’s shoulder and back with a long stick.

 

“I don’t know a woman of that name. If you came all the way down here, you should’ve known how to save yourself. But then it must have been a little hard to do it, isn’t it right?”

 

“You don’t know her? It’s okay, let me out!”

 

The man, whom Fabrice had apparently thought was the subordinate of Giselle Lemacheng, did not seem to know her at all.

 

‘Then who sent this man?’

 

Fabrice shook his head. If it was not that woman, the man must have kidnapped him because he needed money, so if he gives him money, he would let Fabrice go.

 

Fabrice concluded in an instant.

 

“Do you need money? If you let me go, I’ll pay you back.”

 

The man shook his head as if he didn’t need money. Then he stabbed him in the shoulder with a long stick.

 

“Then what is it?! Hurry up and release me!”

 

Fabrice shouted. Because he wasn’t in a good mood.

 

The man was treating him as if he were a piece of meat. Fabrice, who had always been treated with politeness and care wherever he went, did not like the man’s attitude. Fabrice screamed as the man twisted his body, but his whole body was tightly bound and he couldn’t budge.

 

“Why would I kidnap you if I was going to release you? Are you a decoration item?”

 

Fabrice, who had glared for some time at the man who claimed to have kidnapped him, bowed his head and replied after a few minutes of silence. At first glance, it was a desperate tone.

 

“…Look. I am the future king of this country. I’ll give you anything you want if you release me safely. What do you want? Jewel? Title? Or a woman? I can give you all three. As long as I can safely go to Lubern and become the King, it’s not difficult. Please release me.”

 

Fabrice’s attitude changed in an instant, and the man snorted.

 

“Fortunately, it seems that your head is not empty at all. But don’t you know what is going on in this country because you’re busy drinking and playing cards?”

 

The man looked at Fabrice’s haggard face and smiled round and round. As Fabrice asked what he meant, with a blank expression on his face, the man said in a light tone as if he was choosing a meal menu.

 

“Didn’t you know there was a protest in Lubern? Ah. Did the rebels invade the main palace? There were even rumours that the main palace had collapsed.”

 

“What?”

 

“Well, that’s not exactly the case. Although it is true that the rebels have entered the main palace. Now that it has happened, I wonder if the King is out of water…”

 

“More, when, again, tell me straight up…”

 

Just as Fabrice struggled to stand up and was about to shout at the man, the thick iron door opened once again, and this time a familiar face burst in.

 

The man, who had been laughed at and made fun of by Fabrice the whole time, stood up as soon as the door opened and shook his head.

 

Baron Bellmonte looked worse than before, perhaps getting old in a few months.

 

“You must be glad to see me.”

 

Baron Bellmonte’s words were spiny.

 

“Oh. Of course. Isn’t it nice to see you in Riyol like this? I don’t know what’s going on, but please release me.”

 

“Are you saying you really don’t know what’s going on?”

 

The Baron Bellmonte said, glaring at Fabrice in a piteous voice. Fabrice looked again and found blood in his eyes.

 

“Ah, ah. Of course, it is very unfortunate that Xavier, your son and my close friend, went to eternal paradise at an early age. It’s a pity.”

 

Fabrice made up his voice as if he were truly sorry.

 

‘The Baron doesn’t know I killed Xavier, does he?’

 

“You were so sorry you didn’t even attend his funeral? Even though a close friend, who had been with you for well over five years, died?”

 

“I’m so sad…”

 

“Stop talking bullsh!t!”

 

Baron Bellmonte took out a pistol from his waist and pointed it between Fabrice’s brows. His arm with the pistol was shaking.

 

“Did you think I didn’t know?”

 

“Well, that’s…”

 

“My son is dead! I’ll never see him again! You’re not enough to curse. I can’t see you live in such joys and sorrows. I will send you to my son’s side.”

 

“I, Baron!”

 

Fabrice desperately tried to appease Baron Bellmonte.

 

“Don’t, don’t do this, let’s solve it by talking, shall we? Let’s put that rough thing down.”

 

“Don’t make me laugh! Do you think I’ll let you go comfortably? I’ll kill you in pain. You should also go through the pain my son had suffered.”

 

As the Baron fluttered down his gun, the man, who had been guarding the position, soothed the Baron, put his pistol into the barrel, and supported him outside.

 

The Baron staggered as if he were about to faint.

 

The man, who soon returned alone after taking the Baron somewhere, smiled and looked at Fabrice.

 

“You must have listened to the Baron. I’m going to start doing my job.”

 

“What, what…?”

 

Fabrice trembled and looked at the man, and the man said.

 

“Now, who will be the future King? Then I’ll introduce myself, too. My name is Gabriel, and everyone calls me ‘Gaby the Torture Technician’.”

 

“…”

 

“I’ll send you to paradise slowly. Let’s not lose our energy even before we start. It’s hard for me, too. Enjoy it if you can. Hmm?”

 

The man opened the box that appeared to be a toolbox over there, took out the bizarre equipment, and put it down on the table.

 

Fabrice saw the figure and struggled and made a noise.

 

“Help! Is anyone there? There’s a man here!”

 

The man sighed, took a bottle of black liquid, came up to Fabrice and poured it into his nose and mouth. The black liquid ran into Fabrice’s nostrils and mouth. He coughed and coughed.

 

“It’s made of sleeping herbs and various herbs, but there would be nothing wrong happening to your body. You’ll fall asleep like you’re fainting. Sleep tight.”

 

“This-this…”

 

Fabrice, who was about to reply, fell asleep in an instant. The man’s smiling face was his last memory.

 

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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