My Sweet Deceiver

Chapter 35

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“… It’s a new beginning. Advances in science and technology will make our lives more prosperous in the future.”

Standing on the podium and giving the opening speech, Elliot’s face looked much better than before.

Recently, Eliot has been living in the Palace, leaving his affairs behind.

After Elliot’s speech, colourful firecrackers exploded behind him, signalling the opening of the World’s Fair.

“Shall we go?”

It was crowded with people who came to watch the opening ceremony. Escorted by the royal knights, they opened the way for Tehez and him.

“Prince!”

“Look here!”

People shouted with arms outstretched at Dennis. 

Dennis naturally raised his hand and waved it. 

More people shouted.

“Son of a saint!”

“Throne to the Son of the Great Saint!”

Dennis smiled gracefully. Some even called Tehez’s name.

“The Crown Princess! Look here!”

Tehez greeted them by waving her hand toward those who called her.

Then the people who chanted Dennis’ name saw her and murmured. They seemed to be followers of Dennis.

“Look at that fancy hat.”

“Jewels hanging around! How extravagant!”

When they saw Tehez’s hat, which was adorned to cover the bruises on her cheek, they cursed her.

From the beginning of her marriage, there were quite a few people who hated Tehez.

It was because Dennis had an unwanted marriage with Tehez, and it was widely known.

Besides, she hasn’t been able to have children until now. Some people treated her like a royal nuisance.

Those who used to chant Dennis’ name, called Tehez.

“The Princess who can’t have children, step away!”

The moment she heard those words, Tehez’s brow furrowed slightly. But she soon smiled as if she had not heard anything.

When Dennis and Tehez entered the pavilion, the crowd was controlled. People’s shouts were cut off for a moment, and she felt disconnected from the outside world. As she entered her pavilion, Dennis looked down at her without a word.

Tehez took the lead.

“…You know it’s alright, right?”

Dennis took her hand in silence and slipped it into his arm. She felt the warmth of a big hand.

Tehez walked along with him, speaking in a low voice like a passing horse.

“We’ve got the Second Prince.”

“…Okay.”

After a moment’s pause, Dennis responded as if nothing had happened and then led her.

“Come this way.”

As they entered the centre of the exhibition hall, the first thing they saw was a giant celestial sphere.

Stars and planets were moving in a large, transparent sphere that seemed to touch the ceiling of the exhibition hall.

Tehez looked at the celestial sphere with round eyes.

“Awesome.”

“Yeah, you have eyes to see. This sphere was created by Paul Algeron and will teach visitors about astronomy during the fair.”

After looking around the central exhibition hall, Dennis and Tehez moved to the international pavilion. It was a space where neighbouring countries showcased their styles, and there was also an exhibition hall for countries with little exchange.

Tehez stopped in front of a piece of art.

“…”

Tehez stared blankly at the picture hanging in front of her.

It was a picture so large that even with both arms outstretched, it could not be held. The painting depicted a vine with a bunch of grapes on it.

As she looked at the painting, one of the guides came up to her and spoke to her.

“Do you like this piece?”

“Yes. I think it would be cool to hang it in the Palace.”

Tehez answered, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the painting.

“It would be perfect for hanging in the Princess’ Palace. This work symbolizes fertility.”

She looked at the guide with puzzled eyes.

The guide started explaining to her excitedly.

“If I can tell you with this painting, it is a work called that Herzan submitted. Herzan had not had any exchanges with Valloise in the past, but through this World’s Fair, we decided to strengthen the friendship between the two countries.”

“Okay…”

He continued to talk nonstop as he was excited to explain the work to the Princess.

“And as for why I said it suits the Princess’ Palace is because the grapes gathered together represent fertility. And the word for vine has the same sound as the Herzan language for descendants, so it means that offspring will continue to thrive.”

“I see.”

Tehez got a little tired from the nonstop talker. But she did not express it, and she nodded at the guide’s explanation.

“Thanks for the explanation.”

“If you can recognize these works at a glance, you have an excellent eye, Princess!”

The guide lifted Tehez’s mood.

Tehez withdrew from the painting and went to another pavilion. Dennis continued to stand silently to her right.

“Are you bored, Prince?”

“What about you?”

“I don’t know. I think I’ve seen everything.”

“Shall we go back?”

“Before that, there is a place for you to stop by.”

Tehez took his hand and came out. A crying child appeared before Dennis as if he had been waiting at the entrance.

Tehez naturally took hold of the child, made eye contact with her, and comforted her.

She took the child’s hand and said to Dennis.

“The child seems to be lost, so you need to find his parents. Why don’t you go to the fair support centre with the child?”

He knew that she knew he didn’t usually like children.

“You’ve made up something again.”

Tehez didn’t answer.

Dennis, who understood the silence as an answer, took the child’s hand and spoke softly.

“What’s the little gentleman’s name?”

The child answered.

“This is Joel, Prince.”

The child answered with a whimper and a steady answer.

“Joel. That’s a cool name. Follow me, I will find your mother.”

Tehez, as Dennis disappeared over there with the child, she winked at Danielle. At her glance, Danielle whispered something to the reporters. Then the reporters followed him.

It was something she had planned in advance for Dennis’ image.

Fabrice’s s*x scandal operation ended in failure. Whether it was true or not, it doesn’t matter now. Keeping it as it is would be the best way.

But Tehez was upset.

Clearly, there would be another chance to destroy Fabrice in the future.

If there were an article about Dennis helping a lost child at the World’s Fair, which had the nation’s attention, it would undoubtedly help Dennis’ approval rating, even in a small way.

To do that, she bought a child to play in advance. She also gave press guidelines to reporters to write articles in a positive atmosphere.

“Shall we wait for the Prince for a moment?”

“Yes, Princess.”

Tehez led the attendants into another pavilion adjacent to it.

Since it was the opening day, people were busy.

“There are a lot of people.”

“It’s the First Princess!”

When the people spotted her, they pointed their fingers at her and yelled at her.

“A fool who can’t even have children!”

Perhaps the person who cursed her earlier, spoke in a more excited tone than before.

“Get away from the Prince!”

“…”

It was the second time today. Tehez felt tired for a moment.

At the beginning of her marriage, there were even rumours that she was a woman with an evil spirit.

Because of that, there were times when she did not attend official events for a while.

Tehez stared blankly at the people who spread the slander.

It would be ridiculous for her to respond one by one to people’s light puns.

She turned her head.

Tehez stopped the knights from running out to find the culprit.

“Leave it. They will say what they want to say with their mouths. How can you stop them?”

“You can’t sit idly by. Punish severely before they say anything worse.”

Yarol, who had been quietly behind, spoke softly.

At that moment, someone threw a whipped cream pie at her.

“…”

Immediately Yarol, with his sword drawn, leapt out in front of her, and the knights surrounded her, and put her on alert.

Perhaps because of the sudden tension in the atmosphere, people also buzzed and looked at Tehez.

Meanwhile, Tehez made eye contact with a man who had turned white, and he seemed to be the culprit. He excitedly tossed the pie, but it seemed he didn’t know she’d get hit.

“We’ll find the culprit right away!”

Tehez said, restraining the knights.

“Looks like his hand slipped. Let’s go back to the Palace.”

Then she wiped off the whipped cream with her handkerchief. However, the cream marks were still clearly visible.

“Princess.”

Danielle had deterred her from going back, and it meant setting an example. But Tehez put her hand on Danielle’s shoulder and shook her head.

It was an outright rejection.

“Do we have to use force on a good day like this? I have a headache. Let’s go back.”

Tehez patted her head for nothing, repeatedly asking Yarol to go back.

When she returned to the Palace, Tehez called in Ellie before she could even change her dress.

Ellie noticed why she had called her in and immediately announced Fabrice’s location.

“I have verified the source of the letter. It is a mansion on the outskirts of the capital. A congressman caught the Second Prince after confirming that he was entering the mansion where he was imprisoned later. I was going to take you to the Palace right away, but I was forced to take you to a safe place.”

“It doesn’t look like he’s dead.”

At first glance, Tehez’s words sounded like she wanted Fabrice dead.

Ellie then said cautiously.

“And it is Lady Giselle Lemac who was the owner of the mansion and the one who detained the Second Prince.”

“Hmm?”

Tehez asked, wondering if she had heard it wrong.

“We have confirmed that it is the mansion owned by Giselle Lemac, the fiancee of Fabrice.”

“Huh!”

Teherz lost words to say and only uttered exclamations. She was an unexpected person.

“And the Second Prince is in bad shape…”

“What do you mean he is in a bad condition?”

Tehez ended her sentence in doubt.

Ellie said hesitantly.

“Second Prince was out of his mind, so I couldn’t figure out the exact circumstances. But given the shape of the wound on his body… I think he has been whipped.”

“Oh my…”

Wounds the Prince’s body? That’s too with a whip?

Tehez had a throbbing headache.

“Did she notice what we took him?”

“She wouldn’t have noticed right away. But by now, she would have discovered why the Prince was there…”

Just as they found Giselle’s mansion here, Giselle will find the ones who took Fabrice to that place.

“I can’t do this. Treatment comes first for now. When the Second Prince wakes up, check the whole story.”

“Okay.”

“And if you notice anything, let me know. Then I’ll have to do something.”

“Okay, Princess.”

Ellie bowed as if she understood and went out of the room.

Tehez retreated, thinking about the new woman, Giselle. She suddenly looked down at her chest. 

She hadn’t changed her dress yet, so the cream mark on her chest was clear.

“…”

She lay face down on the desk in a sudden surge of fatigue.

Tehez had looked sideways at the culprit trying to throw something. But at that moment, she decided to get hit without avoiding something.

Sometimes a picture was more touching than a hundred words.

Today’s work will definitely be published in the newspaper.

That way, even those who were neutral or indifferent to her would feel sorry for her. If that happens, her husband Dennis will also be the subject of those sentiments.

It is said that a gangster had stabbed the first king during a state speech.

Immediately after the war of conquest, the territory increased, but the lives of the people did not improve at all. Rather, many were drafted into the war, losing their loved ones, and starving to death due to the procurement of war supplies.

When the people tried to get up with the idea that they would all die at this rate, such an incident happened.

At that time, the first king finished his speech even after being stabbed with a sword wielded by the assailant, and as a result, his approval ratings soared.

As a result, the first king recovered and remained a respected king.

So, this case will also increase Dennis’ approval rating as a result. However, the culprit wouldn’t have predicted and tossed the whipped cream pie at her.

Sympathy and compassion.

Because people sometimes make important decisions based on irrational moments of emotion, not rational judgments.

If you think about it rationally, yes. That was the perfect explanation.

“…”

There was a time when she couldn’t overcome the feelings of irrational moments when she knew she was a human being.

‘Did I do something so wrong that I had to hear a blatant swear word?’

If marrying him is wrong in itself, she will be a sinner forever.

There’s no reason not to cry. If only every problem got solved by crying.

She knew from experience that it was quicker to fix her mind at that time.

She was an adult and a Princess who had to take responsibility.

She calmly went to the powder room to change her dress.

(To be continued in the next episode)

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