My Sweet Deceiver

Chapter 6

***

「I have a problem with my business, and I’m rushing to Tolrose. Please understand that I couldn’t tell you in advance.

– Your Friend」

“He’s interfering again.”

It’s been a week since Denis left for Newb Shabel.

Tehez burned the letter from Jacques. Her assistant, Daniel, shoved the paper into the fire so that no single letter could be glimpsed.

“The Prince is… really harsh on the Princess.”

“Don’t say that.”

Watching the blazing fire, Tehez felt indescribable fatigue. Nothing has been easy for her to get to this position.

Had Hashelle not died as a candidate for the Crown Princess, her marriage to Denis would not have been ruined like this. No, she wouldn’t be here to be a princess.

‘I’ve been lucky to take the place of dead Hashelle.’

It was perhaps only natural that Denis saw her as the embodiment of slander.

Because she was the one who actually sent Amelie, who was nominated, to the scandal. It was because it was Tehez, herself, had made Remy Avery work under the order of the Marquis of Ingeliger to make sure she became the Princess. But Hashelle’s death was only a coincidence.

Who would have known that she would fall ill with an epidemic and die in vain?

Who would have known that the venerable Prince Denis was interested in Hashelle Machiaire, a native of a provincial aristocrat?

Eventually, when both candidates disappeared due to scandal and death, it was Ingeliger’s Tehez who wore the crown. The Ingeliger bloodline that Denis hates.

Sometimes Tehez felt Denis’ hatred for her was too much. Maybe it was because he didn’t get what he wanted with Hashelle Machiaire.

It was like a button switched wrong. Even though she knew it was wrong, they couldn’t start over. She might have had to ask Denis before holding hands at the wedding for the first time.

Why do you hate Ingeliger so much?

Unanswered words, unheard answers.

They all covered it up, and she just watched as time passed. It must have been a mistake in her complacency that their relationship might get better with time. Even though time doesn’t solve anything.

‘Or maybe it’s really my fault that I’m the blood of an Ingeliger.’

She flashed a mournful smile. As the night deepened, thoughts continued to flow sentimentally.

“It’s late at night, Daniel, so you too should leave the palace. By the way, did you book an appointment with Baron Barbier tomorrow?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Okay, I see. Come on, let’s go.”

Tehez left her office after organizing her remaining paperwork.

It was a night she couldn’t sleep.

***

“You are still busy, our youngest.”

“Welcome, Brother.”

Tehez sat at her office desk and greeted to welcome the guest. The meeting was held in a month because their schedules did not match.

“What brings you to my palace?”

“Oh, my God, Tehez. Let me take a breather. You’re still in a hurry.”

The man, breathing heavily as if walking hastily, took off his coat and draped it over a chair.

It was Richard, the first brother of Tehez, who works for the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Blond hair and hazel eyes like Tehez. Although he was a little shorter than Denis, he had a high reputation among women in social circles.

The women who knew him said that Richard’s charm was a gentle atmosphere and a cheek well that only beats with another cheek. He deserved to be popular because he was a handsome man in a different line from Dennis, who had a difficult atmosphere to approach.

“It’s because my brother only comes to see me when he has some business.”

“Well.”

Richard seemed to be looking back, then smiled slightly and sat down. It was a gesture to move on as usual. The corners of his eyes were lined with fine lines from the smile he always had on his face.

“Do you feel something?”

“What’s with the family, by the way, Tehez. How are you these days?”

Teherz smiled furtively at Richard’s apparent intentions and pretended not to know he was deliberately changing the subject.

“There is nothing special. How about you, brother?”

After sitting for a while without answering, he brought up the subject.

“Well… The Marquis of Benchetrit has set the course.”

“I know that you would come to me, so it’s Prince Fabrice’s side.”

“Yes.”

“What’s the possibility of it changing?”

“Not at the moment. From Fabrice’s side to the Marquis of Benchetrit-”

“He would have offered the mining rights to the Vu Mahe mine. Because that’s what the Marquis of Benchetrit wanted.”

Richard rubbed his brow and said in frustration. It was a severe and grave atmosphere that was seldom seen in him.

“There are not many cards to present here to the Marquis of Benchetrit. That’s the problem.”

“Then we have to turn the tables.”

Tehez immediately picked up the pen and started writing something.

“Is there something Mr Delphine can do for you?”

“Are you talking about the head of Rocher? Delphine of the Rocher department store?”

Richard asked the question as if it was surprising.

“Yes. He’s quick to calculate, so this letter alone will make sense. If the table is turned over, we’ll have a usable card ready, so don’t be in a hurry, brother.”

“Oh, no. I’m getting advice from a sister who’s in a hurry than I am.”

Richard smirked. He cleared his throat, stretched his waist, and he looked into the air. There seemed to be words that were difficult to bring up.

“Tehez, come here and sit down.”

He pointed to the sofa across from him.

Tehez got up from her desk and sat across from Richard.

“Go ahead.”

Unlike usual, he was not ready to speak his words. He even drank bitter tea, which he did not enjoy very much.

“No, I’ve got to go. I don’t think that’s right.”

Then, he picked up the coat that he had taken off and hesitated as if to stand up.

“What makes it so difficult? Just say it comfortably.”

At Tehez’s words, Richard straightened up again, sat down, and lowered his voice.

“…Okay, I’ll just ask. Are you on good terms with the Prince?”

“You took a long time to ask me that, did you?”

Tehez snorted.

Her relationship with the Prince.

Isn’t this a story that even the children in Lubern know?

“There is nothing to say, good or bad. I have only duties and responsibilities for him.”

Tehez cut it short.

“The… the Prince has no other woman, right?”

Tehez looked at Richard.

Is her brother joking with her?

He chewed on his lips and clasped his hands tightly. At first glance, he even looked nervous.

Looking at it, she realized he wasn’t joking. Soon she, too, sat down and spoke her words.

“There are two things the Prince will never do for the deceased Queen Charlize. The first is drinking, and the second is extramarital relationships. He’s reliable in that aspect, so don’t worry.”

“Tehez. This brother doesn’t want you to get hurt. Please know that I am serious, and I mean it.”

“By the way, brother. Why are you changing the subject so much? What did you eat wrong?”

Richard soon brought it up as if he had made up his mind.

“What would you do if you were to become an obstacle to putting the Prince on the throne?”

Tehez was momentarily speechless, unable to answer. But it wasn’t that she didn’t understand the question.

“… It’ll be because of the heir.”

“Yes. It’s already been 5 years since you got married. And yet, there is no child between the two of you…”

It was a natural procedure. Even if Denis became king, if he had no successor, it was obvious that his ruling power would weaken. And if Tehez can’t be the mother of the next king, Ingeliger will not be able to exert a strong influence on the royal family.

Tehez grabbed the hem of her dress tightly.

“Besides, the Prince has no intention of taking his pick. This must also be because of Queen Charlize.”

“Tehez, you’ve done well so far. But if things go on like this…”

“Brother, you do know that I know what you mean. That’s enough.”

Tehez didn’t want to hear him, so she interrupted.

“…Okay. I’ll go back. I’ll try to talk to father well.”

Richard picked up his coat and went back to the same hasty pace he had when he came.

After Richard left, Tehez let go of the hem of her dress, which she had been clutching. She gripped it so tightly that wrinkles remained.

“I’ll try to talk to father well.”

Bah.

Tehez snorted a laugh.

Did that Marquis of Ingeliger ever listen to someone say something?

The House of Ingeliger was his domain, where the Marquis wielded omnipotent power.

Tehez covered her face with both hands and buried her head. An unbearable sense of absurdity came over her.

The indifferent words of strangers could be ignored. But not her family.

The anxiety she heard from her family brought her down. The only person in her world she recognized as her family was Richard.

Shortly after her eleventh birthday, her mother died of an illness, and darkness fell on the mansion. There was not a single person heard laughing and chatting.

It was the year Tehez entered the academy that the Marchioness began to get sick. It was a typical winter, just like any other year. With each winter coming, the Marchioness, who had a cold, had to stay in her place with frequent coughing and fever.

If they called a famous doctor in Lubern to see her, it would look like a cold to them. However, when she wanted to get better, it got worse and worse again. Eventually, the Marchioness’ cold worsened to pneumonia.

Tehez recalled her father, the Marquis of Ingeliger.

He was a person who was far from affectionate from the beginning. But after his wife died, he became more and more rigid.

He became cruel and ruthless.

And she didn’t know what kind of flow it was, but he pushed her into becoming a princess. Had she been able to say no, one less person would have suffered from a marriage of duty and responsibility.

Tehez stared blankly at the seat where her brother sat.

Richard was the only exception in her world.

He was the one who really wanted her to be happy.

She should have told shown how she lived in harmony.

Having a baby and seeing the baby growing up…

Tehez frowned.

She felt suffocated.

She blamed herself.

That it was her fault to be content with having a pretty decent marriage. Even if Denis doesn’t love her.

Duty and responsibility, a bit of camaraderie.

Isn’t it the kind of relationship between a married couple?

It was self-deception.