My Sweet Deceiver

Chapter 31

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Sorry for the late update. There will two bonus chapters 🙂

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“I do not know. I do not know.”

Tehez grabbed it and looked at it.

“Uh-huh?”

Denis nodded lightly.

But he had a look of disbelief.

Denis put a hand on her shoulder, and with the tip of his finger, lifted a strand of hair.

A brown hair.

It was Melby’s.

Tehez snorted inwardly.

She wondered if this was done on purpose.

The smell of perfume and the hair.

He kept clinging to her side, and tucked his hair into her shoulder.

“You’re not going to say anything about this, are you?”

“Ah, you are mistaken. It is not what you think, Prince.”

“Isn’t that what?”

He looked down with his arms crossed as if to say something.

“Oh… Are you meeting the brunette priest in the temple? Can I guess who the priest is now? Hmm?”

“Prince, I…”

‘I didn’t go to the temple, and I didn’t meet a man there.’

So, where did you go, and what did you do?

Wouldn’t he ask this?

Of course, if Melby is a man, she’s a woman. But she has never been close to him.

Of course, they are close, but that doesn’t mean anything personal.

Of course, she met Melby in private, but that’s…

Tehez couldn’t understand why her head, which used to work well while planning strategies, kept getting tangled in front of Denis.

‘What am I supposed to say?’

“Tehez.”

Denis swept his hair over as if something were disturbing.

“Say it.”

Tehez looked into Denis’ deep eyes and said.

“Prince.”

“Will you trust me and forgive me no matter what I do?”

‘I wanted to ask if you would accept me as I am, even if I didn’t say anything.’

“…That is what God does. Not a person.”

“I see.”

Tehez replied calmly.

“I have sinned…”

Tehez hurried as if confessing.

“Are you saying you have sinned with that man?”

Denis’ eyes shone sharply.

“Prince, do you really think I’d have an affair with another man?”

Denis answered Tehez’s question after a while.

“If I knew that, ha…”

He ruffled his already dishevelled hair and sighed.

She couldn’t hear what he spoke.

“What?”

Tehez did not hear his answer properly, so she asked.

“I said no, Madam.”

Tehez stared at him for a moment, then lowered her head, unable to face him.

“You will find out in the newspaper soon, Prince.”

‘What all have I done for you…’

‘I have no intention of wanting to be forgiven by God.’

If there was anyone she wanted to forgive her, it was Denis alone.

That was all there was to it. He was the only person she wanted to forgive her, and the only one she wanted to be understood by.

Denis waited patiently for Tehez’s next words. But Tehez spoke no more.

“Is that it? …Okay.”

It was a tired voice, as if submerged in water.

He stood up frustrated and went to the window.

Then he turned around and said, “Tehez.”

Tehez turned and looked at his back.

“Yes, Prince.”

“It would be funny for me, a non-believer, to bring it up.”

“There is no God who wants you to sin.”

His talk about God somehow sounded like he was telling his own story.

Tehez couldn’t figure out what kind of expression Denis was making now, as his back faced her.

“And whatever happens… don’t hide it, and talk about it.”

“Okay…”

“Lastly…”

For a moment, Denis stopped her.

“I don’t want your blood sacrifices.”

Tehez answered bluntly.

“All right.”

Denis, standing by the window, came and sat in front of her.

He looked a little tired.

‘Could it be that you haven’t slept properly?’

“Have you not been able to sleep, Prince?”

“…Yes.”

“You don’t come to my room.”

“You weren’t there.”

“Ah.”

A moment of silence passed.

Denis spoke as if evoke the atmosphere.

“Let’s go to the World’s Fair next week.”

“Okay, Prince.”

“And eat all of this.”

The sandwiches were small enough to fit in one bite. However, it was more than the amount she usually ate.

Tehez let out a small sigh and answered.

“Okay, Prince.”

“Tehez, don’t you have anything else to say?”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Then?”

Denis stared at her sternly.

“Then tell me you love me.”

She was speechless for a moment. When it came to speaking, he was the most confident. More than Tehez. That was the only thing he got good at while being a Prince. Things like words and smiles that he never cared about.

But it wasn’t like he didn’t mean it.

Tehez felt like a helpless knight deprived of her weapon in front of Denis and his provocation to say ‘I love you.’

“Why can’t you say anything? You are so good at lying.”

Tehez put down the sandwich and looked at him. Denis was also looking at Tehez with observing eyes.

“Is it because it’s true?”

“Is that possible, Prince?”

Tehez opened her mouth with a trembling voice. She only hoped that the truth hidden in her would not be revealed to him.

“I love you. And you?”

“What?”

“I…”

“Well.”

Denis scratched his forehead with a puzzled look, not knowing she would ask him back. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a determined voice.

“Listen, Tehez. From the time we got married to the present.”

Waiting for the words to fall from his mouth, Tehez swallowed.

“I don’t love you.”

“This is my conclusion.”

Tehez’s heart dropped with a thud.

I don’t love you…

“Instead, I just feel responsible for you. I’ll work for you, just like you’ve been working for me. This is… kind of a reward.”

Having said that, Denis looked relieved.

This is kind of a reward.

It was wrong to expect, perhaps because of his kindness.

Denis didn’t love her.

Still, the fact seemed to pierce Tehez in the heart.

She opened her mouth slowly, clearing her voice.

“…Then why are you always taking care of me?”

The sandwich brought by Denis caught her eye.

Denis, who followed her gaze, answered plainly.

“It’s like taking care of a kingfisher in a cage, Madam.”

“…You know that, in the fall, kingfishers leave for the warmer south, right?”

“Of course, I mean…”

After saying that, Denis raised his hand and took her hand. He kissed the back of her hand deeply.

“I have to feed it well, put it to sleep sleep, and make sure it doesn’t leave. That’s the duty of the owner, right?”

“Isn’t it the bird’s destiny to leave when the seasons change?”

“Since when did you become a fatalist, Madam?”

Denis picked up her last piece of sandwich and brought it to her lips.

“Wasn’t my wife a fateful pioneer?”

Tehez gently took a bit of the sandwich he gave her.

There were only bread crumbs left in the bowl he had brought.

Then she looked at him proudly.

Her God was always merciful, seemingly indifferent.

“…I don’t know the Prince.”

That was Tehez’s honest feelings.

“Really? I don’t know you either. I think we’re on the same page in that respect.”

Denis raised the corners of his lips and smiled.

It was a smile as refreshing as lemonade in midsummer.

***

The grand table was lined with food. Various dishes in large quantities were placed on the top. The splendid and magnificent dining hall seemed to have a banquet.

However, there was no sound of dishes, let alone a friendly conversation. Across the long table, only two people were sitting and eating. A middle-aged man and a young woman.

Some might find the strange stillness strange, but to the people present, it seemed quite normal.

While the middle-aged man slowly sliced the steak and drank wine, the young woman’s plate was clean.

Breaking the frozen silence, the middle-aged man said.

“It seems that the meal is finished to some extent, so why not go to my study room and talk?”

“…Alright.”

A small shoulder followed behind the large man who strode ahead of her. The intimidation that surrounded her man was weighing down on Tehez.

The heavy study door closed silently.

On top of the large fireplace was a sculpture of a beautiful deer’s head, and below it was decorated with rifles.

Every time Tehez entered the man’s room, she felt eerie. It was because the black, shiny eyes of the deer seemed to follow her. The man’s room, which boasts the best view in the mansion, was always cool and looked dry like the man.

In the middle of the room was a sofa made of high-quality buffalo leather. The man soon took out cognac and two empty glasses from the cupboard and sat down in front of her.

Even though he knew she couldn’t drink high alcohol, he, who always wanted her to kneel in front of him, always took out her share of the cup.

When she was young, she drank cognac that she couldn’t even win, but…

“I won’t drink.”

The end of Teherz’s words trembled. The man looked at her with a frown.

“Is it coming?”

“No, it’s not.”

The man kicked his tongue and poured cognac into his glass. He tapped the handle of the sofa irregularly with his fingertips. Tehez was afraid of the words that would come out of the man’s mouth after that hand stopped.

“Okay. What is the Prince doing these days?”

“It’s the same as usual.”

“I am well aware of that. There must be something only you know. Don’t you think so?”

The man turned the glass gently and faced her with the amber glowing liquid escaping into his mouth.

Tehez felt like a fish pierced by a harpoon by the man’s gaze. She did not want to appear withdrawn in front of such a man, so she straightened her posture.

The man, who had been savouring cognac for a long time as if she were not in front of him, asked in a lower voice.

“Shouldn’t you have checked whether it was possible for you to carry a child?”

He looked like a low growling beast.

“Yes? When your father asks you a question, you must answer, hmm?”

“Yes, Marquis.”

Tehez sat with his back straight, trembling.

“Or is the Prince the problem?”

“That’s not true.”

Tehran immediately responded.

The man took a sip of the remaining cognac and gave her a final warning.

“You have to do it right, daughter. This father is not very patient.”

“Yes.”

“What’s your job?”

Tehez answered right away as if she were memorizing it.

“To crown the Prince.”

“Yes, you must do your best. Get out.”

The huge man was staring at him like a mountain. Tehez had to squeeze out all her strength not to stumble as she turned around.

She did not even know in what spirit she got into the carriage.

She thought she had been trained in the words and deeds of the Marquis. Every time this happened, she couldn’t help but see herself hurt by the words of the Marquis.

Tehez exhaled heavily to calm down her bated breath.

If there is no result, she will be thrown away.

The Marquis of Ingeliger was such a man.

A man who has nothing to fear to have what he wants.

Not just a noble family, but a man who has the desire to be a member of the royal family and further wield greater power.

It was her father, Marquis of Ingeliger.

What was the look on his face when finally his daughter married the First Prince?

The Marquis smiled with full satisfaction that he had finally taken a step.

The face of a perfect predator.

Tehez still remembered that smile.

The Marquis of Ingeliger had waited over five years, and tolerated it.

Tehez barely caught her breath and sat down on a chair.