Chapter 5

***

***

Tehez didn’t answer. Instead, she stared at Denis as if to let go of his hand. He was a more certain reality than the afterimage in her closed eyes.

“Tehez, my wife.”

Denis sang her name with a melody, even though he called her. At first glance, he seemed to be in a good mood, and at the same time, he seemed friendly. To the extent that anyone who doesn’t know him can see that he has a lot of affection for his wife, Tehez. But anyone who knew him well would know. He was now distorting their judgement.

“What did my wife do today?”

“I want to answer, but my jaw feels uncomfortable, My Prince.”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I have to make it comfortable. Right?”

Even so, his hand was still firmly pressing Tehez’s chin. Like a person who has no intention of letting go at all. Tehez stared at him. Only then, with a smile, she shook off his hand exaggeratedly. Tehez’s jaw, held in his grasp, was left with a red mark.

Denis sat down on the chair opposite her.

“I went to see Prince Julien today.”

“That can’t be the end.”

“I had a headache in the afternoon, so I rested in my bedroom.”

Denis was staring at her, his expression still unsolved in response to her answer. Tehez sighed inwardly.

“I don’t know what answer you want, Prince. Ask me what you want to hear.”

“Ah, I’d like to ask more than one thing. I don’t know what to ask first.”

Denise replied snobbishly.

“Then may I give you an answer? Right?”

“You know what I’m going to ask you?”

“Fabrice.”

Hearing Tehez’s answer, his expression did not change.

“Tehez.”

She interrupted Denis and continued.

“And why don’t you go to Newb Shabel for a while?”

“Tehez.”

“…”

“I told you I had a lot to ask. Why did you go to Hamam today?”

“I was in the bedroom with a headache.”

“Wrong, Tehez. I mean your hair. Doesn’t it look like gold? No, your hair looks like gold threads are fluttering in the sun. I can recognize my wife’s hair anywhere.”

“…”

Denis held her chin. A look on his face said, “Would you like to make an excuse?”

“I have nothing to say, Prince.”

“Who was that man?”

Tehez clasped her hands together without saying a word.

It was her mistake. 

She should have been more attentive. 

To not get noticed.

Tehez couldn’t think of a proper excuse. 

Any word would have been nothing more than an excuse for this man. Already he was suspicious of Tehez. And he hated whatever she did. Maybe he didn’t even want her to breathe with him.

What would you say to such a man?

Jacques was collecting and delivering news from outside the kingdom? 

Would she say she’s been working day and night to put him on the throne?

As Tehez’s silence grew longer, Denis said with a smile. It was a sweet voice, as if it had been pickled in honey.

“Is he a new acquaintance?”

“Ah, am I possibly interfering with my wife’s free love? I’ve seen her meet him several times in Hamam.”

No way. 

Even she had to come and go through a separate entrance rather than a place used by guests.

“Prince. He is the one who helps me with my work. With him… it’s a business relationship.”

Tehez couldn’t say anything more than this.

If she said that she had to go see Jacques in person because her husband got rid of Remy Avery. The last time Denis asked about her relationship with Remy Avery, even her clueless lies were discovered.

“Business relationship… Ever since I took away the baby boy, you seem to have just saved another boy.”

“Prince-“

“You are under pressure every day to have an heir. My wife must have gone out and met another b*stard, yes?”

“You are misunderstood, Prince.”

Tehez hastily took over his words.

“Stop it! Tehez.”

Denis shook his head and shouted.

One side of his face, reflected in the moonlight, was distorted. Denis covered his face with both hands and hid his face in the dark. Like someone who doesn’t want to show his own face. Tehez watched him with surprise. He was out of breath, and his chest was rising and falling.

The sound of grass bugs came from the terrace window, which was left open in a room where no one spoke. Neither of them said a word until the sound filled the room. Soon, Denis, who raised his head as if his emotions had subsided, stared at Tehez as if he would swallow her up.

Looking into those eyes, Tehez felt that no matter what she said, she wouldn’t be able to convince him. It was like a foreboding that came unexpectedly.

‘You misunderstood me, and I didn’t deceive you.’

‘From now on, you and I will live on parallel lines that will never meet.’

Tehez tried to turn a blind eye to her hunch and fixed her head out of the window. Like only fluttering curtains will save her. Looking down at the beautiful garden, which was no different from yesterday. She pressed down her rising emotions.

Denis, who had turned his head and looked at Tehez’s face like a stone statue, got up, pulling a chair. Unlike the first time he entered the room, dragging his feet without strength. There was a sound of rustling, cracking, and raging. It looked like he was lying on the bed.

Still, he didn’t say anything. 

She thought that Denis might fall asleep like this.

‘In the morning, you’ll treat it like nothing happened. We’ll live like this forever.’

Tehez thought as she put the glass of wine to her lips.

But then a very small sound was heard. Perhaps it was a tender voice that sounded like self-talk.

“Why don’t we… have no children?”

Denis’ question struck her like a thunderbolt. For some reason, the question sounded like water. He wouldn’t be able to cry, but in an instant, his emotions rushed into her like waves. 

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‘Do you want to have ‘our’ children, too? Until then, won’t you leave me?’

The desire to ask a question came up to the end of her throat.

Tehez stared piercingly at her thumbs. Her thumbs turned white in her clenched fists.

“I haven’t slept even three hours in two days. But it’s amazing how sleepy I become when I come here.”

Denis put one of his arms over his eyes, as if exhausted, said weakly.

“Tehez, I want to sleep.”

Tehez, who had been sitting motionless, got up from her chair when he said he wanted to fall asleep. 

She decided to fulfil her most important duty as a princess.

***

Sitting loosely with a whiskey glass in one hand, King Elliot looked uncomfortable.

“Fabrice, he’s still energetic. I can’t believe he’s doing this.”

“Because he’s still young.”

Denis replied sternly.

“That’s why I told him to keep the engagement period short and have a national marriage first. And he ended up at a breakup party? Stupid thing.”

The whiskey glass placed in front of Denis was still there. To ease his father’s mood, he made excuses for his brother. Elliot liked to pretend to be a friendly and harmonious family.

Even though he knows that Denis’ relationship with Fabrice was bad, it was because of him.

He had nothing to prevent from participating in the play, but he had a foul temper.

“I’m sure Fabrice learned a lot from this.”

“That’s right. He needs to learn, too.”

When Elliot put the glass of whiskey he had finished on the table, a young woman standing on one side, who seemed to have just come of age, filled the glass.

Elliot watched with a satisfied face as the woman poured him a drink and returned to her place. Denis saw this and frowned for a moment.

Denis turned his head to the other side to avoid being caught with a grimace. The tip of his jaw, which was tightly closed, trembled. 

Elliot looked very happy. 

Maybe it was because he drank his favourite whiskey or for another reason. 

Elliot, who had been looking at the woman with a satisfied face for a long time, turned to Denis.

“So you don’t have any good news? Why haven’t I heard of an heir for many years?”

Today, he seemed to be acting like an ordinary, caring and affectionate father.

“…I will bring you good news soon.”

Denis took the conversation naturally, and those were often the words that came in.

“It’s been five years since you got married, but there’s no news.”

Elliot looked at Denis with a face very worried.

“Is it possible that the Princess is infertile?”

“It’s not like that. I still have a lot of work to do…”

Denis hastily responded.

“Yes. Lots of work to do.”

Elliot grabbed the chair’s armrests where his arms were loosely draped and he made a click, click sound. It was what he did when he had something to say. 

Denis had a gut feeling that the main point that called him here today would come out.

“I think you should go to Newb Shabel this time. I was going to send Fabrice, but he’s self-contained for the time being.” 

Elliot, perhaps regretting that fact, lost his appetite.

“All right.”

Denis said without delay.

“Go, investigate the flood damage and come back. Take good care of the public as the condition will be atrocious, but the only concern is that there will be a shortage of relief supplies, so please discuss it with the Minister of Home Affairs.”

Elliot, the prepared ambassador, spoke without interruption. He tapped Denis on the shoulder as if encouragingly.

‘You’re going to send me down empty-handed with no relief supplies and use me as a curse.’

“I won’t let down Grammoir.”

Denis bowed his head politely after hiding his emotions from his face.

“You’re reliable.”

Denis bowed and left the tea room. He soon ran into Fabrice, who was about to enter the tea room in the hallway.

“Good morning, brother.”

Even though it was early in the morning, Fabrice was dressed splendidly. There must have been a time when he couldn’t even get out of bed normally, but he seemed to have been dressing up in the morning to show his father well.

Denis clicked his tongue, obviously inwardly.

“Yes.”

“You must have heard the news of my breakup with Lady Dubeau, right?”

“Just now. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Instead, I’m thinking of getting engaged to the Lady Lemac.”

Fabrice said lightly as if he was buying something on the street.

“I see. Congratulations on your engagement in advance. If you don’t have anything else to say, I’ll go.”

“Brother, are you going to Newb Shabel? I heard that nothing is okay because of the rain damage to many buildings, so please be careful.”

Fabrice smiled and waved as if to see his brother off.

“Yes.”

Denis turned his feet away without any regrets.

In the end, it was concluded that Fabrice’s s*xual scandal was a misunderstanding. 

However, it was found that Xavier Bellmont had kidnapped and tortured women, and he was imprisoned.

Xavier wept when interrogators asked if he had any conspirators. He said and confessed that he had committed the act alone.

However, the mere mention of the name together in the scandal damaged Fabrice’s reputation. For this reason, he had to be self-restraint for the time being, as well as break up his marriage with his fiancée, Yvonne Dubeau.

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“The evidence was already destroyed.”

Upon hearing the news of Fabrice’s scandal, they immediately dispatched investigative personnel, but Denis could not find conclusive evidence. 

It seemed that Fabrice had already put his hands on it.

Denis had a lot of work to do before setting off for Newb Shabel.

(To be continued in the next episode)