My Sweet Deceiver

Chapter 17

***

The Marquis of Benchetrit had yet to publicly declare his support for Fabrice. But he was quietly walking on a tightrope.

He looked back at the Princess.

She quietly picked up the cup and swirled the tea.

It was after receiving the review report of the Vu Mahe mine just in time. If it were for the income from the mines, he thought that even after his death, Sonia would be able to live without any difficulties while doing the studies she wanted to do. However, due to the sudden change in Enland, the price of cobalt stone in Vu Mahe began to fall.

The Marquis of Benchetrit was in trouble and reconsidering. If it weren’t for the Vu Mahe mine, he wouldn’t have to support the Second Prince, and he could live as neutral as he was now, serving as the centre of the Middle Eastern part of the coutinent.

Just as he was contemplating how to do this, the answer he needed came unexpectedly from the First Princess.

‘He is the son of a Baron who has been given the title this time. All he asked for was that he wanted to join Lubern, and by agreement with him, agreed to support the First Prince, as soon as he was given the title. However, he is nothing more than a noble who has earned a title commonly referred to in the aristocratic world. It is difficult for him to permeate into aristocratic society.’

‘So, he is going to get connected with my daughter, who is from an old aristocratic family, and settle down in the aristocratic community of Lubern?’

The Marquis sat down with his arms crossed.

The Princess’ words did not have much credibility, and it was because he had seen a lot of people who wanted to covet the Marquis’ wealth.

‘Yes. But of course, this doesn’t mean the Marquis would not get benefited from this.’

The Princess quietly began to persuade him.

‘Because he is the husband the Marquis is looking for his daughter.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

The Marquis replied, intending to listen to the Princess.

The Princess pointed her fingers one by one, explaining the benefits the Marquis would gain from the marriage.

‘First, Baron Merad’s wealth is overflowing, and he will not covet the fortune of the Marquis. Wasn’t that the most important thing? Second, Baron Merad is from the South, so he doesn’t have any connections in the capital, which means that Sonia doesn’t have to socialize as she does now after marriage. I mean, even if she stays in the mansion for her research work, no rumours will spread in Lubern. And lastly…’

As she spoke up to that point, the Princess smiled.

‘Lastly, this is a marriage that the Baron leans heavily on, so can’t he give the Marquis the conditions the Marquis wants? For example, a prenuptial agreement.’

A prenuptial agreement.

Those last words touched the Marquis of Benchetrit.

‘Would the Baron accept the prenuptial agreement?’

‘Feel free to suggest anything you want.’

The Princess replied readily.

‘What does the Baron gain by doing that?’

After some time, the Marquis was persuaded by the Princess’ words.

‘He’s only a Baron now. But if he sows the seeds of marriage with the Marquis’ family, the descendants will reap the fruits.’

The Marquis looked at her in silence. The Princess looked at the Marquis and smiled.

The Baron did not wish for present interests. He hoped that he would settle successfully in Lubern and that his descendants would remain in the lineage of the Marquis in the next and subsequent generations.

A person who was barely a nobleman from the South would be able to act as the ruler of the capital at once.

***

This is how Sonia and Jerome got married.

Sonia married a man she had only met three times, but she seemed to like her husband.

Jerome was still talking to people. It was the feeling of his bright and cheerful aura that had reached her.

Sonia looked affectionately at Jerome and said, “He has a good heart, and his face is more beautiful.”

“Oh, my.”

At Sonia’s honest words, Tehez also laughed.

“I said I liked him because he had a look that I liked. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done it if my father had pushed me to marry him.”

“I’m glad Baron Merad passed on something good to his son.”

“Of course. Thank you, Princess.”

“I wish you a happy life. I have to go now.”

“Thank you. I wish you peace and safety on your way home.”

Sonia greeted Tehez with her clumsy manners.

Tehez returned to the palace alone.

The rain, which had not fallen until the reception, began to fall when she got into the carriage.

Tehez opened the window of the carriage slightly.

A mist rose from the heavy rain.

She couldn’t see an inch ahead of her.

She was lost in thought as she heard the rain hitting the carriage roof. It was because she remembered what Denis had said.

To take her hands off.

Tehez stared down at her shoes. Those were the black shoes tailored for her height. The shoes she wore when she went to the poverty centre.

Such happy moments felt like a distant past.

‘Will this moment pass like that?’

Tehez closed her eyes to the sudden fatigue. While she wasn’t happy with herself, she found it funny that she said those words of happiness to the new bride at that time.

***

After having a conversation with the Marquis of Benchetrit in his office, Denis returned to his seat and noticed that Tehez had disappeared.

“Where’s the Princess?”

“Princess has returned to his palace.”

When he asked the knight, who was guarding the entrance, such an answer came back.

Denis stared at the seat where she sat. Then he stared at a couple who had just been married today.

The two were holding hands, arm in arm, smiling cheerfully.

Suddenly, it began to rain.

“Get inside now! Jerome!”

“Open the tent!”

“It’s raining too much, Master!”

In an instant, the garden was filled with water. It rained as the reception was coming to an end. Eventually, the wedding ended in smoke without opening the tent. By this time, the weather in Lubern was nothing more than a wild foal.

A lady with the umbrella, people running indoors, a man hiding under the tree, servants wandering around looking for their owners.

Denis stood blank like a lost child.

“Prince.”

Dennis did not answer.

Deep in thought, he didn’t hear even after being called a couple of times.

Sylvan shook his arm slightly to wake him up.

“Prince, your clothes are wet. We should better go back now.”

“Yes, we should.”

Like an ebb, a mist of water rose in the garden where people were gone. Small belongings such as fans and ribbons, finished plates, garbage, and flower decorations were mixed together.

He felt the starkness that he couldn’t think of as a space where people stayed until a while ago.

It looked like ruins.

Only then did Denis return to the carriage with the wet clothes clinging to his body. The carriage that he rode with was taken back by Tehez, so he took the carriage lent by the Marquis of Benchetrit.

Sylvan had a servant bring an umbrella. But it was no use because Denis’ clothes were already soaked. Instead, Sylvan wrapped Denis’ body with the blanket that was in the carriage.

Perhaps the best carriage was lent by the Marquis, the carriage was spacious and comfortable. But Denis just seemed to be in deep agony.

Sylvan watched him and talked to him.

“Prince, what did you say to the Princess earlier?”

“What?”

“When you danced together. Since then, it looked like she had been feeling under the weather.”

“Why is Sylvan worried about my wife?”

Denis’ tone was sharp.

“That’s not it.”

Denise said quietly.

“I told her to take her hands off. From my work.”

He couldn’t say anything because he was speechless for a moment.

“Why did you do that? The Princess’ ploy is useful to the Prince. It helps.”

Denise smiled as he looked at Sylvan with a pale face wet from the rain.

“Did I have an aide who had the right to ask me why? I didn’t know.”

“It’s over the top. I’m sorry.”

Denis turned his head. Sylvan also bowed his head and said nothing.

The heavy rain was still pouring as they got off the wagon. The servant came out with an umbrella to greet him.

“How have you been, Your Highness?”

Denis strode into the palace.

“Would you like to soak in warm water first? If you stay like this, you’ll catch a cold.”

“I’ll do that.”

His voice was visibly hoarse. In addition, his lips looked pale as well.

Recognizing that Denis was in a bad mood, the attendant quickly went to order the bathwater.

***

Plip, plop

Water drops condensed on the ceiling and made a sound. Denis’ bathroom was so damp that nothing could be seen in the front. Denis was immersed in water, recalling his last meeting with Richard.

‘What brings you here?’

As soon as Richard sat down, Denis asked.

‘I’m here to say hello.’

Richard slowly put down the cup and looked at Denis.

‘Looks like we were supposed to say hello.’

‘Of course, I’m Tehez’s older brother.’

Without losing a word, Richard grinned while replying to Denis.

‘State your business first. I don’t have much time.’

‘Divorce Tehez, please.’

‘Huh. When did you push me for it and now asking for a divorce?’

Dennis raised his eyebrows.

‘The Marquis of Ingeliger will not leave Tehez alone. Please divorce her first.’

Richard, who called his own father, The Marquis of Ingeliger, had a stern look on his face.

‘Well, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. She is safer under my protection.’

But Richard shook his head.

‘You must be well aware that the child has not spared any effort in vain to put the Prince on the throne. The more you splash water at Tehez, the more she can’t get out of this mud fight.’

And he continued to speak in pain.

‘And the Marquis… the Marquis is a man who does what he says he will. Now that man is silent. Silently waiting for Tehez to give birth to a descendant, but if there is still no news, she will be kicked out.’

‘That’s-’

‘I mean, if there’s no child, she’ll be removed. You know what I mean by removal, and if it is that person’s way.’

Denis looked at Richard without saying a word.

‘Before that person’s patience runs out, you should rather cut him off. That would be the only way to save Tehez.’

The memory ended there.

Divorce was something Denis had never thought of.

If he had to kill her, he would have killed her, but he didn’t mean to let her out of the cage. She even interfered with what he was doing to show that he could ascend to the throne on his own, but he left most of it knowingly.

It would be more correct to say that he didn’t pay attention.

She was well aware that she was forcing herself to do something that was not even her temperament. Even though she looked strong on the outside, in reality, she was weak.

The evidence that she suffered from insomnia must be the proof.

She liked to sit still, drink her tea, and look down on the garden. She also liked the forest.

He remembered that she had spent her entire day in the woods, when they had previously gone to the East for a trip.

Denis wanted to define his feelings for her.

He selected the name tags he could put on one by one.

‘Is it a sense of homogeneity?’

He thought she and he had a lot in common. Things like losing their mother when they were young, liking quiet things, or suffering from insomnia.

‘Or is it compassion?’

He thought it might be compassion.

It didn’t make sense to have compassion for someone you hate.

But it was true that there had been quite a few times when the woman he thought about looked pitiful.

Plip, plop