Episode 105. The Fall of a Young Hero (1)
“His Highness Grayon drank the tea alone. I was so nervous that I couldn’t even touch my lips.”
“I did, but my lips.”
When Prince Kydel muttered so softly, I absentmindedly picked a herb leaf and froze.
I wanted to die because I gasped so loudly.
There was only one way to overcome this situation.
Pretend not to hear.
I continued to speak stubbornly.
“How could I have known that I would hear thanks from the royal family in my lifetime? How embarrassed I was.”
Prince Kydel smiled sinisterly. But I desperately ignored him.
“Does Prince Grayon often say things like thank you and love you to Your Excellency?”
“He often says things like he gives me goosebumps or that he’ll cut my throat.”
“Even to Your Excellency?”
That was an unexpected story. I guess I get scolded by Her Highness the Princess because I am me, but I never thought I would be treated like that.
But he didn’t seem to care at all.
“It takes time to learn how to understand Tagar. I understand that even if His Highness Grayon treats you roughly sometimes. He doesn’t mean you ill. Of course.”
He can think that way because he doesn’t try to kill me.
I shrugged my shoulders, grumbling to myself.
“It doesn’t matter. Will I ever see him again?”
Locard looked at Lorisha, who was speaking with a sullen face, and thought back to yesterday.
When he returned to the palace after briefly going back to Kydel to receive a report on the search for the pirate remnants from the people who had gone, Grayon was sprawled out on the balcony, drinking.
He smiled and asked, since Grayon was leaning crookedly on his chair when he was lost in thought.
“What are you thinking about?”
“A woman.”
“You mean Kalin Ankart? The one who was so cruelly rejected by Your Highness and full of resentment... Hehe.”
“Shut up.”
Locard sat down next to Grayon with a sly smile.
“I think I know what kind of woman I should marry, Locard.”
Grayon’s sudden remark caught Locard off guard.
Grayon would sometimes become sentimental. Locard had thought that today would be one of those days, but this was completely unexpected.
Grayon continued, ignoring his mood.
“I need a woman, Locard.”
“Your Highness, speak...!”
Locard was genuinely angry, but Grayon continued with a gloomy expression.
“A woman who is strong and capable enough to protect me, of course. A woman who will constantly keep me on my toes but not make me afraid. A woman who will serve me not out of obligation but out of necessity.. Of course, she must not be annoying when we’re together.”
He felt a slight chill as he listened to Grayon, but he kept his composure on the outside.
In fact, he knew it too. That his master was afraid of him and sometimes felt threatened by him.
However, he also felt tense and anxious about Grayon at times. But wasn’t that tension between an Emperor and his subjects a fate?
It wasn’t something to be improved or eliminated, but something that each had to chew and swallow.
‘There’s no way such a woman could exist in the world...’
“Like that illegitimate child.”
“...”
“More than anything, I find it interesting that she seems to know nothing about herself.”
Locard had a calm expression the whole time.
He asked plainly with that expression.
“She made you tense, Your Highness?”
“I couldn’t predict what she would say, so I became tense every time she opened her mouth. But that wasn’t unpleasant.”
Locard answered with one corner of his mouth slightly raised.
“Certainly, Lorisha is much prettier than Kalin Ankart.”
Only then did Grayon turn to him with a frown. The casual address was irritating.
“Lorisha?”
“You’re the co-star of Scandal, so you should at least call her by her first name.”
Locard laughed playfully, and Grayon turned his head sharply away from him. It was a gesture of shame for casually mentioning a woman.
“Get out. Locard.”
As soon as he left, Grayon’s face turned cold.
It was a tension that only males felt, not between lord and vassal. Locard was asserting his rights to her. Who knew it would be so irritating that Locard cared about anything else?
Locard stared blankly at Lorisha’s face, whom he had not seen in a few days, and for the first time, felt offended by her innocence. He wondered if she could shake Grayon Tagar, who had only seen the world through a rigid frame, and take care of the consequences.
He suddenly found himself envious of the pirate who had kidnapped her.
‘I wish I could wrap her up and lock her up somewhere.’
Anyway, that was a problem to focus on later. For now, he had to go around the capital and find the culprit who had committed the dirty fraud.
Prince Orl or Kalin Ankart.
Locard had a deep insight into people for his age.
He knew that Prince Orl did not prefer loud methods. Of course, if necessary, he would gladly use such disgusting means, but that would be the last resort.
And he also knew that Kalin was not a woman who would retreat to that extent and brood over defeat.
“It doesn’t matter. Will I ever see him again?”
I was fiddling with a leaf of a medicinal herb, and Prince Kydel was staring at me with a subtle smile, as if he found me funny.
'The more handsome you are, the more you are miserable.'
When I came to that illogical conclusion, he asked me back.
"What if you end up seeing His Highness Grayon often?"
I shook my head.
"I have enough Tagar in my life. I just want the competition to be over soon, and I can leave the palace."
"And what if you get dragged back in?"
"Your Excellency! Do you really enjoy teasing me?"
"Yes."
"...Ha."
I got up and brushed off my skirt.
"I'm going to go and be disciplined. Your Excellency, from now on, you should always be in public. At meetings with people, at parties, in salons, wherever. Then, people will soon realize that this rumor is ridiculous."
"Are you worried about me now?"
"No...!"
I was about to say that I was joking, but I thought it would sound like I was worried.
So when I kept my mouth shut, Prince Kydel saluted me with a splendid gesture and saw me off.
When Viscount Rene entered the First Prince’s bedroom, Orl was in bed with a cold towel on his forehead. He had been suffering from a fever for several days, and his muscles were weak, making it difficult for him to move.
“Your Highness, how are you?”
“One or two days? It will get better after a few days. What is it?”
“It can wait.”
“No.”
When Orl struggled to get up, Rene handed him the letter. Orl scanned it with a pale face, his eyebrows furrowing more and more.
It was a report on the results of a play directed by Kalin. It contained various scandals about Locard Kydel and Lorisha Loire, as well as the daily log of the capital guard’s dispatches.
“Is it true that Locard was such a dirty playboy?”
“Kalin Ancart sent it, Your Highness.”
“Whatever Locard’s womanizing... Did you just say Kalin?”
As Orl’s eyes widened, Rene met his meaningful gaze.
“This is a gift from the Ancarts to Your Highness. What should we do?”
“Ha.”
Orl looked through the documents again with a smile that was either contemptuous or joyful.
“Locard came in and out of Count Loire’s office, too? Are you saying that the third messenger could be a witness to this?”
“I approached the servants of the Count, but none of them knew about it. Servants tend to say anything for a few pennies. However, I confirmed that the guards were dispatched to the city several times after receiving reports of public indecency.”
“So?”
“It was all in vain. It seems that there was no pressure from the Kydel family. They were busy concentrating on eliminating the remaining pirates.”
Orl’s eyes narrowed significantly. The rapid decline in energy due to his illness made his eyes look even more cruel.
“Slandering Kydel? That Ankart girl is really into it.”
Viscount Rene approached him and lowered his voice.
“She was just gathering rumors, Your Highness. Rumors that we could eliminate the two troublesome attendants of Their Highness the Second Prince and the Princess at the same time.”
Rene’s voice was gentle and soft.
“Even if we bring in a new attendant, will it only be those two, Your Highness? Then... the competition will be Your Highness’s.”
Orl asked suspiciously, listening to his attendant’s voice.
“Why did she contact the Viscount?”
“I have a business relationship with the Viscount Ancart... That’s not what’s important now, Your Highness. You must decide whether or not to take this opportunity. As soon as the construction of the steel mill begins, the fourth competition will resume at any time.”
“...”
Orl sat in bed, lost in thought, not knowing what kind of bribe Viscount Rene had received from the Ancarts.
But even if he had known, he would have been lost in thought. The only thing that mattered to him was the competition, neither the first nor the last.
Orl asked softly.
“What does the Viscount think?”
“I think it’s worth a try. The power of rumor is what makes people believe even without evidence. And isn’t it the fall of a young hero? No one wants to turn down such an interesting story, Your Highness.”
“Very well. I’ll leave it to you.”
“That’s a wise decision. Your Highness is the true little sun of Tagar. Please recover quickly.”
Viscount Rene bowed deeply and stepped aside. Then he headed straight to the House of Lords.
“His Highness Grayon drank the tea alone. I was so nervous that I couldn’t even touch my lips.”
“I did, but my lips.”
When Prince Kydel muttered so softly, I absentmindedly picked a herb leaf and froze.
I wanted to die because I gasped so loudly.
There was only one way to overcome this situation.
Pretend not to hear.
I continued to speak stubbornly.
“How could I have known that I would hear thanks from the royal family in my lifetime? How embarrassed I was.”
Prince Kydel smiled sinisterly. But I desperately ignored him.
“Does Prince Grayon often say things like thank you and love you to Your Excellency?”
“He often says things like he gives me goosebumps or that he’ll cut my throat.”
“Even to Your Excellency?”
That was an unexpected story. I guess I get scolded by Her Highness the Princess because I am me, but I never thought I would be treated like that.
But he didn’t seem to care at all.
“It takes time to learn how to understand Tagar. I understand that even if His Highness Grayon treats you roughly sometimes. He doesn’t mean you ill. Of course.”
He can think that way because he doesn’t try to kill me.
I shrugged my shoulders, grumbling to myself.
“It doesn’t matter. Will I ever see him again?”
Locard looked at Lorisha, who was speaking with a sullen face, and thought back to yesterday.
***
When he returned to the palace after briefly going back to Kydel to receive a report on the search for the pirate remnants from the people who had gone, Grayon was sprawled out on the balcony, drinking.
He smiled and asked, since Grayon was leaning crookedly on his chair when he was lost in thought.
“What are you thinking about?”
“A woman.”
“You mean Kalin Ankart? The one who was so cruelly rejected by Your Highness and full of resentment... Hehe.”
“Shut up.”
Locard sat down next to Grayon with a sly smile.
“I think I know what kind of woman I should marry, Locard.”
Grayon’s sudden remark caught Locard off guard.
Grayon would sometimes become sentimental. Locard had thought that today would be one of those days, but this was completely unexpected.
Grayon continued, ignoring his mood.
“I need a woman, Locard.”
“Your Highness, speak...!”
Locard was genuinely angry, but Grayon continued with a gloomy expression.
“A woman who is strong and capable enough to protect me, of course. A woman who will constantly keep me on my toes but not make me afraid. A woman who will serve me not out of obligation but out of necessity.. Of course, she must not be annoying when we’re together.”
He felt a slight chill as he listened to Grayon, but he kept his composure on the outside.
In fact, he knew it too. That his master was afraid of him and sometimes felt threatened by him.
However, he also felt tense and anxious about Grayon at times. But wasn’t that tension between an Emperor and his subjects a fate?
It wasn’t something to be improved or eliminated, but something that each had to chew and swallow.
‘There’s no way such a woman could exist in the world...’
“Like that illegitimate child.”
“...”
“More than anything, I find it interesting that she seems to know nothing about herself.”
Locard had a calm expression the whole time.
He asked plainly with that expression.
“She made you tense, Your Highness?”
“I couldn’t predict what she would say, so I became tense every time she opened her mouth. But that wasn’t unpleasant.”
Locard answered with one corner of his mouth slightly raised.
“Certainly, Lorisha is much prettier than Kalin Ankart.”
Only then did Grayon turn to him with a frown. The casual address was irritating.
“Lorisha?”
“You’re the co-star of Scandal, so you should at least call her by her first name.”
Locard laughed playfully, and Grayon turned his head sharply away from him. It was a gesture of shame for casually mentioning a woman.
“Get out. Locard.”
As soon as he left, Grayon’s face turned cold.
It was a tension that only males felt, not between lord and vassal. Locard was asserting his rights to her. Who knew it would be so irritating that Locard cared about anything else?
***
Locard stared blankly at Lorisha’s face, whom he had not seen in a few days, and for the first time, felt offended by her innocence. He wondered if she could shake Grayon Tagar, who had only seen the world through a rigid frame, and take care of the consequences.
He suddenly found himself envious of the pirate who had kidnapped her.
‘I wish I could wrap her up and lock her up somewhere.’
Anyway, that was a problem to focus on later. For now, he had to go around the capital and find the culprit who had committed the dirty fraud.
Prince Orl or Kalin Ankart.
Locard had a deep insight into people for his age.
He knew that Prince Orl did not prefer loud methods. Of course, if necessary, he would gladly use such disgusting means, but that would be the last resort.
And he also knew that Kalin was not a woman who would retreat to that extent and brood over defeat.
***
“It doesn’t matter. Will I ever see him again?”
I was fiddling with a leaf of a medicinal herb, and Prince Kydel was staring at me with a subtle smile, as if he found me funny.
'The more handsome you are, the more you are miserable.'
When I came to that illogical conclusion, he asked me back.
"What if you end up seeing His Highness Grayon often?"
I shook my head.
"I have enough Tagar in my life. I just want the competition to be over soon, and I can leave the palace."
"And what if you get dragged back in?"
"Your Excellency! Do you really enjoy teasing me?"
"Yes."
"...Ha."
I got up and brushed off my skirt.
"I'm going to go and be disciplined. Your Excellency, from now on, you should always be in public. At meetings with people, at parties, in salons, wherever. Then, people will soon realize that this rumor is ridiculous."
"Are you worried about me now?"
"No...!"
I was about to say that I was joking, but I thought it would sound like I was worried.
So when I kept my mouth shut, Prince Kydel saluted me with a splendid gesture and saw me off.
***
When Viscount Rene entered the First Prince’s bedroom, Orl was in bed with a cold towel on his forehead. He had been suffering from a fever for several days, and his muscles were weak, making it difficult for him to move.
“Your Highness, how are you?”
“One or two days? It will get better after a few days. What is it?”
“It can wait.”
“No.”
When Orl struggled to get up, Rene handed him the letter. Orl scanned it with a pale face, his eyebrows furrowing more and more.
It was a report on the results of a play directed by Kalin. It contained various scandals about Locard Kydel and Lorisha Loire, as well as the daily log of the capital guard’s dispatches.
“Is it true that Locard was such a dirty playboy?”
“Kalin Ancart sent it, Your Highness.”
“Whatever Locard’s womanizing... Did you just say Kalin?”
As Orl’s eyes widened, Rene met his meaningful gaze.
“This is a gift from the Ancarts to Your Highness. What should we do?”
“Ha.”
Orl looked through the documents again with a smile that was either contemptuous or joyful.
“Locard came in and out of Count Loire’s office, too? Are you saying that the third messenger could be a witness to this?”
“I approached the servants of the Count, but none of them knew about it. Servants tend to say anything for a few pennies. However, I confirmed that the guards were dispatched to the city several times after receiving reports of public indecency.”
“So?”
“It was all in vain. It seems that there was no pressure from the Kydel family. They were busy concentrating on eliminating the remaining pirates.”
Orl’s eyes narrowed significantly. The rapid decline in energy due to his illness made his eyes look even more cruel.
“Slandering Kydel? That Ankart girl is really into it.”
Viscount Rene approached him and lowered his voice.
“She was just gathering rumors, Your Highness. Rumors that we could eliminate the two troublesome attendants of Their Highness the Second Prince and the Princess at the same time.”
Rene’s voice was gentle and soft.
“Even if we bring in a new attendant, will it only be those two, Your Highness? Then... the competition will be Your Highness’s.”
Orl asked suspiciously, listening to his attendant’s voice.
“Why did she contact the Viscount?”
“I have a business relationship with the Viscount Ancart... That’s not what’s important now, Your Highness. You must decide whether or not to take this opportunity. As soon as the construction of the steel mill begins, the fourth competition will resume at any time.”
“...”
Orl sat in bed, lost in thought, not knowing what kind of bribe Viscount Rene had received from the Ancarts.
But even if he had known, he would have been lost in thought. The only thing that mattered to him was the competition, neither the first nor the last.
Orl asked softly.
“What does the Viscount think?”
“I think it’s worth a try. The power of rumor is what makes people believe even without evidence. And isn’t it the fall of a young hero? No one wants to turn down such an interesting story, Your Highness.”
“Very well. I’ll leave it to you.”
“That’s a wise decision. Your Highness is the true little sun of Tagar. Please recover quickly.”
Viscount Rene bowed deeply and stepped aside. Then he headed straight to the House of Lords.
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