My Sweet Deceiver

Chapter 14

***

On the day of the conferment ceremony.

The momentum of the summer heat in Lubern did not stop.

Still, it was a sunny day, and the ceremony was going to go on without any problems.

“The weather is hot.”

Tehez said a little to herself.

She couldn’t sleep properly because of the hot and humid weather, and her mind was dizzy.

Tehez was inherently vulnerable to cold and heat. It may be because she grew up to be precious, but she was born weaker than others.

“You have a bad complexion.”

The maid looked at her through the mirror and said worriedly.

“Make it look lively.”

Tehez had her eyes half-closed.

She felt the brush smeared with fine powder brush against her skin.

“What should I do with the hair?”

“Put them up together.”

“Would you like the ribbon decoration you ordered last time?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll take it out if you wait a minute.”

Tehez could hear the steps of the maid going to the cabinet.

Another maid sitting next to her began to rouge her cheeks in red.

As the soft brush brushed against her skin, Tehez’s eyes closed by themselves.

The flickering eyelids were extremely heavy.

‘Should I close my eyes for a second?’

Then someone came up to her and put a glass of cold juice near her mouth.

“Hmm? It’s orange. Would you please give me some coffee?”

Tehez knew it was handed to her by the maid beside her.

“You didn’t even eat breakfast, Madam.”

But it was not a maid.

A voice that would never be heard at this time, in this place.

Denis, it was him.

Tehez opened her eyes.

He was perfectly dressed. He was wearing a black coat embroidered in gold, a tie green like the colour of his eyes, and black trousers with plaids.

In addition, his shiny blue and black hair was neatly combed back, revealing his handsome forehead. It was a look that was difficult to see because he usually didn’t put his hair back well.

He was always beautiful, but it was hard to take your eyes off his appearance in this attire as if he were the God of beauty.

Tehez made a pleasant yet cold voice to greet him.

“You’re here?”

Denis answered, “Drink it.”

He still held the glass of juice to her lips.

Tehez looked at the glass and took it with both hands. The juice squeezed out of the oranges was sweet and cold, and her drooping body felt refreshed as the fresh juice spread in her mouth.

“Thank you.”

Tehez hesitated.

“Okay.”

Denis handed the glass to the maid when Tehez had finished drinking.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

Denis asked again.

“…I have no appetite.”

“Why?”

Tehez didn’t answer.

‘Should I say it?’

He genuinely didn’t seem to know from the bottom of his heart.

At wedding ceremonies, Denis’ birthday banquets, New Year’s banquets, and on occasions like harvest festivals, she never used to eat anything since morning. She wondered if she should let him know that whenever she went out in front of people, she could never eat due to nervousness.

Well, he wouldn’t want to know.

Tehez recalled something which she didn’t want to recall.

After her marriage, it must have been her first banquet with Denis. Due to the pressure and burden of her first event as a Princess, she had not been able to properly eat her meal the day before. She also had trouble sleeping for a few days, so she wasn’t feeling well.

She barely woke up after a nap, picked up a few pieces of fruit for dinner, and forced herself to swallow it.

She couldn’t even remember in what spirit she ended the party. In that state, she came back to the room after the banquet ended and just threw up all day.

Even though she drank a thin, mild soup, she only ended up throwing up more, and in the end, only stomach juices came out of her mouth.

So, when she was sick, where was he and what was he doing?

Dennis did not look for her as usual.

Still, perhaps, his servants would have told him the story.

‘Did you really not know?’

Would he have pretended not to know, or wouldn’t he have wanted to know?

He only came to her in the middle of the night, just as she was getting herself together.

Like a thief who broke into her bedroom at night. He didn’t ask her anything even after she had lost weight after a few days.

‘You just didn’t say anything.’

As soon as he saw her, he poured kisses on her pale, flaky lips that resulted from not eating properly.

He held her until dawn.

After that, she suffered from severe aches for over a week.

‘Do you even want to know this?’

As the memory suddenly came to mind, Tehez frowned.

All she needed was an easy and quick medicine to relieve her insomnia.

Even though he knew she treated herself this way.

‘Do you want me?’

‘Or just my body?’

Of course…

Denis didn’t ask again, as if he had accepted her silence as an answer.

He didn’t even recommend eating properly.

There was nothing to say.

Tehez looked through the mirror at Denis sitting on the sofa behind her.

Maybe he didn’t sleep well last night either, as he looked dark under his eyes.

“Princess, the ribbon is here-”

When the maid, who had just returned fetching the ribbon, found Denis, she bowed her head to give her respect. Denis waved his hand as if it was fine and got up from the sofa.

“I’m going out for a while, so please take care of the Princess.”

“Yes, Prince.”

As the maids greeted them with courtesy, Denis shook his head once and left the room at a quick pace.

“The Prince must have known that Princess did not eat.”

The maid who was applying rouge on Tehez’s face said.

“No way. Prince and I have meals separately. How would he know?”

“But…”

The maid hesitated. Then the other maid answered.

“Maybe he asked Miss Danielle?”

Danielle had been away from Tehez for a while on other duties, so she couldn’t ask her directly.

“It could be!”

The maids clashed with each other, saying that it was correct.

One of the maids hit the nail.

“If not, would the Prince come all the way to the Princess with a glass of juice?”

Tehez looked at the mirror slowly.

A woman with a stiff expression in the mirror could be seen.

Tehez kept looking into the seat where Denis sat.

‘If only I could take a look inside him, even just once.’

‘If you could let me just once, I’d really appreciate it.’

“Your dress is gorgeous, Princess.”

“Thank you.”

After getting dressed up, the maids looked at Tehez with proud expressions on their faces.

She looked better than usual, perhaps because of the makeup, as she ordered to make her look lively. Although she couldn’t sleep well.

Tehez carefully inspected her face several times in the mirror. The face wasn’t supposed to show any tiredness. The Marquis of Ingeliger must have returned from the border, so she had to look perfect.

Marquis of Ingeliger.

Now that he’s back, she has to brace herself.

***

The conferment ceremony was held at the Hall of the Moon, the second-largest banquet hall in Bellyu Palace, the main palace. In the Hall of the Sun, the largest banquet hall, only significant events such as the coronation of kings and triumphal ceremonies were held for generations, so it was held in the largest hall.

Tehez thought that Denis, with Vincent’s help during the flood relief, put a lot of effort into this awarding ceremony.

Hot weather, brightly lit candles for decoration and bustling people. The tension made Tehez feel her mind drifting away.

Tehez clasped her hands tightly and smiled naturally.

After years of doing it, it was now an elegant smile that had been trained and refined.

As she smiled, she heard the clicks and flashes of the cameras.

The ceremony began, and the titles of those who contributed to the settlement of flood damage and those who contributed to the dispute over the border with Honun were awarded.

“Congratulations, I’ll have to call you Baron Merad.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to the Princess.”

“No way. It’s a reward that the Baron gets for the generosity in difficult times.”

Immediately after the conferment ceremony was over.

Vincent Merad and his son Jerome Merad came to Tehez’s palace. It was to say thank you.

Tehez greeted the guests without changing the sweat-soaked dress.

Baron Merad had a bright smile she had never seen before. At the same time, he looked relieved, as if he had finished the task of his life.

Tehez put down the teacup and said.

“This is just the beginning, Baron, isn’t it?”

“Of course, Princess.”

His son Jerome accepted Tehez’s words. The young man’s face was brimming with determination.

“Well, let’s put in a proposal to the Marquis of Benchetrit.”