My Sweet Deceiver - Chapter 87

At the same time, preparations for the New Year’s banquet were in full swing at the palace. They repaired the ruined palace and opened the Hall of the Sun to prepare for the New Year’s banquet. The courtiers looked bewildered. The rebels who had occupied the palace disappeared, and the previous atmosphere was restored.

Whenever the courtiers gathered in groups of three or five, they would speculate on the reason and giggle. The prevailing theory was that the rebels had returned with their tails down.

However, such speculations were rendered meaningless as negotiations were in progress in the aftermath. In the King’s bedroom, Henry and Elliot were engaged in a discreet conversation.

“Indeed, Your Majesty, you are truly wise.”

Henry praised Elliot with a sound of agreement. Once the New Year’s celebration was over, everything would be settled, so this matter was nothing significant.

Henry was staring at the paperwork stamped with the King’s seal with a satisfied face. As he looked at Henry, Elliot’s face was tinged with boredom or indifference as usual.

“New Year’s is coming soon. Your Majesty must announce a new beginning.”

Elliot simply nodded, wearing a satisfied expression. Seeing this, Henry left Elliott’s room and headed towards Dennis.

However, as Henry moved, his expression gradually became contorted. Henry didn’t feel good when he thought about Dennis.

There had been some conflicts with Elliot, but they had reached a smooth agreement. Of course, initially, Elliot had refused to accept the rebel’s conditions. But soon, when Henry mentioned that he would protect Elliot’s personal property and not hold him guilty, he finally accepted the rebel’s demand.

As long as Elliot’s wishes were met, he seemed indifferent to whatever happened to the country. He had even asked Henry in a friendly tone when would be a good time to leave Valloise. He had already prepared a place to live in Herzan.

Of course, Henry wasn’t about to let Elliot go that easily. He intended to keep him alive until he could confirm the location of the King’s secret treasury abroad. If Elliot found the treasury while they chased after the King, Henry would take care of the King and seize his vast riches.

That was why Henry was on the side of listening to whatever Elliot demanded, and Elliot was also cooperative with the rebels.

However, the difference of opinion with Dennis was seldom narrowed.

He was a delicate and sensitive Prince, like a fragile glass.

That’s how Henry evaluated Dennis.

It was hard to believe he was born to such a human being. The First Prince had a sound mind. How could the people not like him?

Henry’s complex emotions caused him to bite his tongue before turning to the aide standing nearby.

“What about the woman?”

He was referring to Tehez. The First Prince’s wife was still missing. Not a single trace of her had been found yet. He had even caught and threatened Lord Avi, the Marquis Ingeliger, but gained no substantial information. He didn’t know if Avi was pretending not to know or if he genuinely didn’t know.

The aide shook his head cautiously in response to Henry’s question.

“We still have no leads. Perhaps, uh… Could she have already died?”

“What nonsense! What are we going to do if she’s already dead?”

“Well, it’s also possible that she has already left the capital….”

It could be possible. Henry also partially agreed with that.

But she couldn’t die. She had to be alive to be of any value.

It was too early for her to die. His instincts told him she was alive. Henry sternly ordered his subordinates.

“Expand the scope of your search. You have to search all over Valloise to find her.”

Soon after, the aide nodded and bowed to Henry before disappearing.

It was a long way from the main palace to the Prince’s palace. Snow was falling again from the sky. Annoying.

However, today, the temperature seemed higher than usual, causing the falling snow to not freeze and become slushy like water. Since outdoor movement was inevitable from the main palace to the Prince’s palace, getting one’s shoes and trouser hem wet was an unavoidable inconvenience.

Henry clicked his tongue and walked nonstop.

It seemed that the slimy filth kept splashing at me. It was truly annoying. The woman had not been found, and the Prince had not yet fallen into my grasp.

Henry briefly considered confining Dennis in the nearby underground chamber in the main palace and tormenting him. But he quickly dismissed the idea.

That wouldn’t do.

Wasn’t he the one who would become the face of a new era and country in the future? He couldn’t treat a face like that carelessly.

Henry opened the door with a mean expression on his face. When the door to the Prince’s bedroom was opened, the room was dark without a single ray of light. Even though it was midday outside the palace, this room felt as dark as midnight. And there was a sudden waft of smoke.

Coughing due to the acrid smoke, Henry opened the door wide that he had just entered to let the smoke out.

Then he walked over to Dennis. Although knowing someone was approaching, and he knew who that someone was, the owner of the bedroom didn’t even turn his head. Sitting beside the bed on the tea table, Dennis quietly puffed on his pipe.

“The King has changed his mind. Shouldn’t you do it right now and leave the palace?”

Henry conciliated with an unexpectedly friendly tone. Dennis, who had been sitting still, slowly turned his head. It looked like he was acting, like a theatre actor. It was a theatrical gesture that drew people’s attention. Henry’s gaze naturally followed the man.

In the dimly lit room, the eyes shone like emeralds. In the dim glow, nothing was reflected in those deep green eyes. The light through the slightly open door accentuated the man’s facial features. The stark contrast of light and shadow dramatically emphasised his jawline. Like a painting or a statue.

The slightly unkempt hair that hadn’t been properly groomed, the loose shirt, and the forlorn expression on a face that the goddess of beauty herself must have sculpted combined to give him the appearance of a legendary spirit that tormented people.

His slightly emaciated face, probably from not eating properly, made him look sharp and dangerous. But that precariousness did not obscure his beauty at all. On the contrary, it heightened his quiet atmosphere.

Henry took Dennis’s cigar and put it out in the ashtray.

“Do you think we will send you away if you act like this?”

Pressing his words tightly as if threatening, Henry spat them out one by one. It was out of hope that the man would be somewhat intimidated. When the eyes that seemed like they would never hold anything were robbed of the pipe, he turned to look at Henry.

Dennis was looking at him now.

Henry felt a bit of joy as he looked at the shiny eyes without life.

“The New Year’s celebration will be held in a few days. You need to appear in public.”

The Prince had no answer. Of course, if he answered, he would say no. But Henry felt content just to elicit a response from him.

“Please have a meal and rest, Your Highness. Then you can leave. Leave this room.”

“I am alive.”

After a while, the man opened his mouth in a suppressed voice. His voice sounded like it hadn’t spoken for a long time, like the bottom of a dried-up river. But even so, his voice wasn’t weak. It sounded firm, like the roots of a tree that could withstand a typhoon.

“…”

“Because I believe that my wife is still alive somewhere. Don’t think you can hold me on a leash.”

He was always polite and had put aside his characteristic respectability, which he carried around like a tag. With his big eyes, he looked at Henry as if he were going to kill him. And just like Henry had threatened him, Dennis also chewed on his words one by one.

“And the day that woman dies, I’ll die too.”

“Yes. I’m sure you will.”

Henry turned and came out of the Prince’s palace. The Prince’s obsession with his wife was considerable. He made up his mind.

Rather than tormenting the woman for a long time, wouldn’t it be better to keep the Prince captive? It was a good idea. Once the woman was captured, the Prince would fall into his clutches.

Henry laughed with satisfaction.

* * *

Looking at the closed door in front of him, Dennis raised his arm to cover his eyes. Soon, immersed in the darkness, he tried to pick up his cigar as usual. But his trembling fingertips dropped the cigar. To meet Tehez again, he had to energise himself, but his weak heart seemed to keep breaking.

Hadn’t he already become immune to pain after losing his mother? But his fragile heart seemed to be shattering again. He thought he was immune to pain.

He sighed.

Knock

A knock was heard outside the door. It felt like only a few minutes had passed since Henry left, and now that irritating rebel was back again. Dennis didn’t respond.

Ignoring his silence, the door opened.

Why bother knocking when you’re going to open it anyway?

Dennis sat still, pretending to be asleep, with his eyes covered. He actually wished the person would leave, thinking it would be better if they thought he was sleeping.

However, the person who had entered with lighter footsteps than before stood a few steps before Dennis was sitting. Shining shoes came into his field of view. The rebel he met earlier was clearly wearing thick boots. Curious, Dennis lowered his arm.

Then the other person spoke in a familiar voice.

“Your Highness.”

As Dennis recognised the familiar voice, he looked up.

“How…?”

Dennis, who finally recognised who was standing before him, jumped up from his seat. He greeted Olivier, his old friend, with a staggering stance.

“You should have been doing well… What in the world is this?”

After saying so, Olivier looked at Dennis’s face and sighed deeply. Then he walked to the window, pulled the curtains open, and opened the window. He couldn’t tell how long it had been since seeing sunlight. Seeing the sunlight after such a long time made Dennis feel unfamiliar.

The stagnant air in the room was released, and the cold winter air came through the window. Olivier sat across from him at the tea table.

“I hear you are going on a hunger strike? I asked them to let me in for a minute.”

Dennis’ face was mixed with something strange, unsure whether it was sadness or joy. Olivier tossed the words lightly, like he was joking.

“Still, you must be glad to see your close friend.”

“You…”

“Aren’t you curious what news I came with?”

“What news?”

“News about Lady Tehez.”

Dennis’ eyes widened in surprise.

(To be continued in the next episode)

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