Chapter 2

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“Details.”

Denis tapped his fingertips on the table while listening to the report. It was a report of a fight in a social club published in the newspaper a few days ago.

“It wasn’t just a squabble of gentlemen in a social club. The police officer’s investigation is gradually revealing the inside story. This is Prince Fabrice’s s*x scandal. The suspect now identified is Xavier Belmont. Xavier recruited women from secret clubs and s*xually harassed them. And it appears that Prince Fabrice was a member of this gathering.”

“Is that all?”

Denis looked around the room. The man went on to continue.

“No, she was found not only s*xually harassed, but also sadistically tortured. Police are investigating, but they are suspicious of a connection to the recent chain of disappearances in the capital.”

“Oh, my.”

Denis said in a voice of no pity.

“What proof say that Fabrice belongs to that group?”

The man spoke with regret.

“There is no definite physical evidence yet. However, it is said that Xavier and Prince Fabrice often hung out together. After a detailed investigation, I think they will be able to reveal the link with the Second Prince.”

After the report, the man stood in front of Denis motionless.

Denis was in agony for a moment.

‘Did my brother give up the throne and finally go crazy? Or is this another trick?’

When he hung out with Fabrice as a child, he wasn’t this bad. He was reckless, but he was never okay with killing people for no reason.

In any case, the news brought by this man was a boon to him.

“Find proof that Fabrice was part of it. We’ll decide on a response later.”

“Yes, Prince.”

“Oh, and…”

Denis called the man, who was about to turn around and leave.

“Yes, Prince.”

“What is my wife doing?” 

“Madam is having a tea party with the ladies in the garden.”

“Okay. You may leave.”

The man went out, and the office was enveloped in silence. Denis picked up a cigar. He had a headache. He always had a headache thinking about this and that. But the Fabrice scandal… How far will this go?

Will it be a flame big enough to shoot down the wings of the King’s beloved Fabrice?

Denis leaned his head back and smoked a cigar. Cigar smoke filled the room before he knew it.

It was a bit complicated to explain the relationship between him and his half-brother Fabrice.

In a nutshell, they can never get close. But it was funny that they had been hanging out for a while. Denis and Fabrice both had a sense of belonging after losing their mothers when they were young.

Denis was the son of the first Queen, Charlize, and Fabrice was the son of the second Queen, Marianne.

Queen Charlize, a commoner, was imprisoned three years after Denis was born due to strong opposition from the old nobles.

Queen Marianne, a noble Duke’s maiden from the group of the old nobles, subsequently took the seat of Charlize.

So, what would you say about Denise’s relationship with Fabrice? 

However, when Denis was 9 years old, Queen Charlize died of an illness, and Queen Marianne, who came later, closed her eyes while giving birth to Julien, Fabrice’s younger brother, and the situation reversed. 

As if the two of them were the only two left in the world, they relied on each other and overcame difficult times.

However, as time passed, the situation changed. What separated them was the blood that ran through them. As Denis grew older, he resembled Queen Charlize in appearance. Fabrice, on the other hand, had grown to resemble his father, Elliot, over time.

Elliot cared more about Fabrice, who looked like him. As if he had become young again.

Born as the fifth prince, Elliot, who was struck by the momentum of his older brothers and sisters, and grew up unable to straighten his shoulders for even once, seemed to be living through Fabrice.

He generously supported Fabrice in what he wanted to do when he was young but couldn’t. He seemed to be vicariously satisfied.

In addition, it was not only for such emotional reasons that his father cared for Fabrice.

Even if Fabrice’s mother was not in the world, her family’s influence did not disappear. The Duke of Briem, who still had a strong power, supported him as being Fabrice’s maternal family.

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But Denis had nothing. Now that Queen Charlize, orphaned and born of a commoner, had disappeared, only a few emerging aristocrats had supported him.

Denis’ support among the commoners was a little higher. However, the support of the common people was not a condition that had a great influence on his seat on the throne. Conservative aristocrats despised the common blood flowing through his body. No matter how good he was.

What is the importance of blood?

During his immature puberty, he wanted to get all the dirty blood out of his body, so he made a commotion of self-harm. Of course, it was all in the past. The scar under the tattoo on his left chest was like a flower that reminded him of his bloodline.

The time when he was close, like a best friend with Fabrice, though it was only a few years ago, felt like a long time. It would have been nice if they had made a decision sooner, but their father was miffed and did not support either of them. 

Meanwhile, Fabrice’s relationship with Denis has drifted out of control.

Everything would have been resolved if the Second Prince, whom the King cherished, Fabrice, was appointed as the Crown Prince. There was a principle of priority for the firstborn, but it was not a principle that was necessarily followed. 

Wasn’t Elliot the fifth prince, too? 

In addition, the Duke of Briem was making a daily request to seal Fabrice as Crown Prince.

Denis was at a loss to understand his father’s true intentions. Rather, if his father had crowned Fabrice, Denis would have been able to leave the palace without any regrets.

As such pointless time continued, Denis lost even the reason why he should be the King. At first, he just wanted revenge on the nobles who despised him. But the meaning became increasingly obscure, and emptiness seemed to corrode him.

It was lethargic and meaningless.

Denis pressed down on his temples. If only he could stop thinking. He rose from his chair in frustration and went to the end of his office room. When he opened the closed window slightly, a gust of wind and a high, clear sound of laughter came in through the window.

Tehez Ingeliger.

Standing on the edge of his room, the corner of the garden caught his eye. He wouldn’t even dream of seeing the garden from this room. He wouldn’t even let a strand of his hair enter the garden if he knew. 

He could see the round back of her head waving as if woven with gold thread. Beneath the small back of the head was a dazzling water-coloured dress.

‘My wife must be in a good mood today.’

It looked like she was sitting with people he didn’t know and talking about something pleasant. Her laughter was constantly heard. Denis leaned crookedly against the wall, puffed cigar smoke, and kept looking at her head.

The youngest daughter of the Marquis of Ingeliger and the most honourable woman in the Kingdom of Valloise. If his mother, Queen Charlize, was alive, she wouldn’t have the title of the most honourable woman.

But it has been more than twenty years since she left the world, and Queen Marianne, who came after her, also succeeded her. Undoubtedly, she must have been the most honourable woman in the Valloise.

Noble blood.

Denis remembered the word as if he slurped poison. Denis despised the blood-obsessed aristocrats. In addition, Ingeliger did not scatter her innocent blood to maintain the noble blood.

His mother, Queen Charlize, was also one of Ingeliger’s victims.

Denis’ situation was ridiculous. 

He had a national marriage with the daughter of a family he despised, and they met every day. Isn’t he the unlucky Prince who didn’t even have the power to refuse an unwanted marriage?

When they recommended her, he thought it would be good if it wasn’t an Ingeliger out of the three candidates. Other than that, he didn’t care who took the seat next to him. But Ingeliger seemed to have decided that Denis was interested in another candidate. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had to deal with it so hastily. 

Denis was disgusted with his wife’s bloodline again. He was sure that she wasn’t the only one to judge. She must have been surrounded and touched by her father’s breath, the Marquis. Tehez’s father, Marquis Ingeliger, was also famous for his dirty tricks in the capital.

Denis thought that the Marquis Ingeliger would have attached a woman to him because he was after something. Denis didn’t even know what was going on. Well, he was just pretending not to know.

He thought he would be unrecognizable if he pretended to be submissive only on the surface, and pretended to obey.

It was ridiculous to talk about reason and responsibility with a glistening look of greed. It was a myth. In addition, it was funny that he interfered in the royal affairs.

His smart wife wouldn’t know that, but look at her elegant demeanour…

There was nothing more disgusting about her pretending not to know anything, nor her graceful gestures and behaviour that didn’t deviate even an inch from her lady-like appearance. Denis suddenly felt nauseous. He put out the fire by rubbing the cigar.

Did she feel the gaze? 

Tehez looked at Denis’ side. 

It felt like their eyes met. 

As if her bright smile was a lie, she had no emotion in her gaze after a moment’s pause.

Dennis closed the window roughly and strode out of the office. 

His chest felt tight. 

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It was time for fresh air.

(To be continued in the next episode)

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