TPIHLMD - Chapter 24 < Be Carefull Of Him >



The hopes of the men, who had great aspirations to have Seliya as their wife, were shattered with just one word from Jeremy.

Clinks and sounds came from all over the banquet hall. The glasses the men were holding fell down, staining the floor dark red.

“Now then, please make sure to attend my coronation ceremony to be held in two weeks!”

Jeremy looked at the confused people with a satisfied look. He lifted one corner of his mouth and wrapped one hand around Seliya's waist. It was an act that clearly revealed that she was his woman.

Jeremy looked away from the shocked looks and drank the wine in one go. There was a stir among the panicked people.

Since the Crown Prince had said in his own words that Seliya was his mistress, the people who had been eyeing her became the dogs that chased the chickens.

This meant that he had no intention of sending Seliya out of the imperial palace.

In the banquet hall, only Seliya, his principal, had an extremely calm face.

Crown Prince Jeremy stood in front of Dietrich's mansion to escort Seliya.

- Dietrich, you should not come to the banquet hall. If you are found out, I will not be responsible for what happens next.

When he grabbed Dietrich's wrist while keeping her in check, he had expected something like this to happen.

Jeremy continued to whet his appetite as he saw her in a white mermaid dress. Just before he entered the banquet hall, he whispered to her.

“For my birthday, I will give you a very large gift.”

The result is this.

He arbitrarily gave away a gift Seliya didn't want and shouldn't have.

It is not a political office, but an ambiguous position as a government that can be abandoned whenever it gets tired.

There is no skit like this.

The Crown Prince never suffered any loss and took possession of Seliya, the object of men's envy.

Most of the men in the banquet hall drank wine one after another to relieve their burning insides.

Seliya was taken away from the Emperor, and now she has been taken away from the Crown Prince.

Even though the imperial power was weakened, they were still the imperial family. Who would dare stand against the royal family?

Their desire to have Seliya all to themself was like a chimney, but no one was willing to take her at the risk of having their head cut off.

Gabriel was watching this situation as if she was dying of laughter.

“Mom, look at that. It looks like that fox has even lured His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“It’s not wife, it’s the government. Doesn’t that mean that you will just enjoy it without giving up any power?”

“It may seem like nothing is wrong, but I guess Seliya’s deception is not true, right? She thought she was free from the Emperor, but now she falls into the hands of the Crown Prince.”

In the midst of the commotion, Gabriel was giggling and talking to Hariel.

At that time, amid the murmur of people, a cold voice cut through the air.

"Your Highness."

It was Illeon. As Illeon started walking, people automatically made way for him. Balt followed behind him with pounding footsteps.

Illeon came out through the crowd and stood in front of the podium.

He was so tall that even though he was below the podium, his eye level was roughly the same as that of the Crown Prince on top of the podium.

Jeremy's smile cracked slightly due to Illeon's sudden intrusion.

On the other hand, Illeon gave a congratulatory speech to Jeremy with a smile on his face.

“I sincerely congratulate you on your birthday, Your Highness."

“Thank you, Illeon.”

“...But.”

After stopping his words, Illeon took a close look at the banquet hall. While admiring the faces of people in various forms of confusion, his eyes stopped on Seliya.

A strange light flashed within the mysterious blue eyes. At that moment, Seliya felt goosebumps creeping all over her body.

Seliya, feeling the heavy gaze, looked at Illeon.

Illeon smiled brightly and introduced himself to Seliya.

“Nice to meet you, Lady Sely. My name is Illeon Gregrick, of the Duke Gregrick family.”

The noise of people became louder. Illeon was famous for being kind to women.

However, now that the Crown Prince had announced Seliya as his mistress, Illeon was openly revealing his crush on Seliya.

Jeremy snapped at Illeon and he wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything.

Anyway, Illeon was one of the Three Dukes, and he introduced himself to Seliya, no more and no less.

However, Jeremy instinctively sensed his unexplained anxiety. He opened his mouth, wanting to get out of this situation quickly.

“Illeon, are the introductions over?”

"Your Highness."

Illeon smiled brightly and continued speaking.

“May I speak alone with Lady Seliya?”

“..."

“It only takes a moment.”

Jeremy glanced at Balt, who was standing behind Illeon. Even though their eyes met, Balt did not offer any congratulations to Jeremy.

Unlike Illeon, whom he could communicate with, Balt was not someone he could communicate with. Just seeing him wearing a sword to the banquet hall made Balt completely insane.

He sent an invitation to the banquet because they were the backbone of Abelon, but he did not know that he would really come. This is because the three Dukes did not even attend the Emperor's funeral.

Despite this, the Three Dukes did not receive any criticism. Because they came from a family that contributed to founding the country, they were like symbols of Abelon.

Thanks to the personal steps of two of the three Dukes, the dignity of the imperial family, which had fallen to the ground, was revived. So Jeremy couldn't treat it any more rudely.

If he weren't allowed to even exchange a few words, people would point at him.

Jeremy wasn't afraid of pointing fingers, but he was afraid of the Dukes turning their backs.

Since he declared Seliya to be his mistress anyway, she won't be able to escape from his grasp just by having a few words with Illeon.

Jeremy removed his hands that were wrapped around Seliya's waist at his unwilling expression.

“Well, if the Duke wants, so be it.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

After getting permission, Illeon bent down and held out his hand to Seliya.

“Lady Shelly.”

Seliya held Illeon's outstretched hand. Contrary to his gentle expression, the man's hands were extremely cold.

Illeon left the banquet hall with Seliya.

Balt grinned at Jeremy, who was staring at Seliya's back and said something that didn't even belong to him.

“Your Highness, I hope you have a pleasant banquet.”

***

Illeon left the banquet hall and entered the maze garden. The sky where the banquet was ripe had already darkened.

Illeon seemed to know the geography of the imperial palace very well, and he followed the moonlight deep into the garden.

“Lady Shelly.”

Only when they reached the very back of the garden did Illeon let go of Seliya's hand.

His long, dark silver hair sparkled in the moonlight. Illeon said politely, placing his hand on his chest.

“You were embarrassed that I suddenly wanted to talk to you, right? The situation seems difficult.”

“...”

“You became His Highness the Crown Prince’s mistress not long after you were caught up in the suspicion of assassinating His Majesty the Emperor. Did Lady Seliya agree to this?”

Seliya clearly remembered what Dietrich had said to her. As Dietrich said, is this man in front of him his real enemy?

Was killing the Emperor really a useless act?

Would it be a good idea to use this ability now that no one is watching?

When Seliya said nothing, Illeon closed his eyes and smiled.

“You don’t have to be so careful. I just wanted to talk to you to save you.”

“Why are you trying to save me?”

In response to Seliya's question, Illeon smiled, putting his sleeve to her mouth.

“What if my heart comes from sympathy and compassion?”

“...I just don’t understand why you would show me favors just for that reason.”

Seliya sneered. She looked up at Illeon with a look on her face that said she was sick of it.

“Your Excellency, what do you want to do with me?”

“Ah, hahahaha!”

Illeon burst into laughter at Seliya’s words. He laughed so loudly that Seliya, who spoke to him, became embarrassed.

Illeon said, wiping away the tears from his eyes with his sleeve.

“I value having confidence in myself, Lady Shelly.”

“... If not, why on earth would you save me? No matter how much I think about it, there’s no reason for you to save me.”

“I’m very generous with what interests me.”

“What is it about me that caught the Duke’s interest?”

His sticky gaze, like a swamp, fell on Seliya. However, the way he looked at Seliya was quite different from the way other men looked.

Rather than a lustful look, it was a look closer to observation, discovering something interesting.

“Lady Shelly.”

Just by hearing her name called, Seliya felt a chill go down her spine.

He may seem gentle on the outside, but Seliya, at least, has decided that he is not a gentleman at all.

“I know very well that you were the one who assassinated the Emperor. You went into the Emperor’s bedroom and stabbed him in the neck with a dagger, killing him, right?”

Illeon said with confidence. His eyes stayed persistently on Seliya's red lips.

"It's okay. Because I don’t mean to criticize you.”

Seliya tried to see through Illeon's true intentions, but he was very good at hiding his true feelings, so there were no gaps.

“Are you saying this to exploit my weakness?”

“It can’t be. What can I do about Lady Seliya’s weakness?”

“Otherwise, why are you telling me this?”

“Lady Shelly.”

Illeon whispered softly into Seliya’s ear.

“Did Dietrich tell you to be wary of me?”

Even Seliya, who was not embarrassed, couldn't help but be surprised this time. Illeon grinned as he looked at Seliya's wide-eyed expression.

“As expected.”

“...What is it, you?”

“Watch out for him. I wanted to tell you this.”

Illeon gently kissed the back of Seliya's hand and lifted his head.

“If you take it easy, every last bit of your flesh will be bitten off.”


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