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Chapter 14: An Unexpected Confession
“Your Highness Hernan, it’s Gatt.”
The visitor was Gatt.
“Ah, come in.”
Gatt entered the office and bowed to Hernan.
“Where is Linzel? Did she arrive safely at the ducal residence?”
“Yes. I escorted her home safely.”
“Well done.”
Gatt studied Hernan’s face.
“Your Highness, Hernan, you seem to be in good spirits.”
“Do I……?”
“Yes. Do you remember the day we fought the last civil war? You look better than when we raised the victory banner.”
“I see.”
Hernan wiped the faint smile off his face. His expression was in desperate need of resetting.
After a deep breath, Hernan’s face returned to normal.
A man with an icy aura, capable of crushing others with just a glance.
“Gatt.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I want you to find out about the Duke of Valencia, and specifically about Linzel…….”
“How specifically do you want me to learn about Linzel?”
“Well. I want to know what kind of food she likes, what kind of clothes she likes, what kind of men she likes…… what she ate yesterday.”
Gatt’s face grew serious as he listened to Hernan’s words.
“I, Your Highness. I beg your pardon, but I think you’d be better off asking Linzel about that yourself.”
“Why? Is there any problem?”
“That sort of thing is called stalking in this world.”
“…….”
Hernan’s face crumpled into a scowl. Gatt’s shoulders shook in response.
“Presumptuous,” Hernan’s shoulders trembled slightly as he spoke. “Still, there is a certain amount of truth in what you say.”
“I’m glad you’re of the same mind as me…Haha,” Gatt let out a relieved chuckle.
“But I’m a little hesitant to ask her directly.”
“In that case, you should let this be a modest inquiry.”
“I will.”
If he asked her about it directly, he might get Linzel in trouble again for his straightforwardness.
Hernan looked at the box on the table in his office. It was a gift from Linzel.
“Gatt. Bring me the gift from Linzel.”
Hernan unwrapped the box as Gatt handed it to him. Inside was a glass jar.
Hernan opened the lid of the vial.
“A fragrant oil.”
The scent of the oil was similar to the smell of Linzel.
‘You…… gave this to everyone in my family?’
Hernan’s mood abruptly dropped. He didn’t like the idea of sharing Linzel’s gift with everyone.
He should tell her nicely that she doesn’t have to give gifts to his entire family and that next time she should just get him something on her own.
I definitely will.
“And Gatt.”
” Speak, Your Highness.”
What more could he ask for? He couldn’t imagine what else Hernan would ask.
“There is a place you must visit early tomorrow morning.”
“Where is that?”
“…… Wouldn’t you know?”
Hernan asked, and Gatt was reminded of a place he’d been going to a lot lately.
“You mean …… that shop again?”
To be specific, Mont Blanc, Izekiel’s favorite shop.
Hernan nodded once.
“I’ll have to get a pair of Izekiel’s favorite pants.”
“What, pants this time?”
Hernan looked at Gatt with a serious look in his eyes, then spoke his mind in a commanding voice.
“Yes, indeed. Fetching Izekiel’s pants is a very important mission. Keep that in mind.”
The words were so commanding. Perhaps even more so than the orders he’d heard on the battlefield.
“As you wish, Your Highness!”
Even as he obeyed Hernan’s command, he thought to himself.
‘The woman you are seeing, …… Linzel, what is she like?’
He desperately hoped she was the right one.
But…….
‘For someone who regulates the attire of the innocent Highness…….’
Gatt’s eyes narrowed.
He tentatively decided that Linzel must not be a good person.
Hernan, who was so intent on procuring clothes that were not armor, was not the kind of monarch Gatt had hoped for.
***
The next day. On a sunny morning, Izekiel went to Mont Blanc out of habit.
He wanted to see the new arrivals, as well as examine his favorite clothes.
Entering the shop, he sought out Madame Annette.
“Anette. I’m back.”
Anette greeted him with a bow.
“Oh, my goodness, Your Highness Izekiel, welcome back to the shop.”
Izekiel was the shop’s VVIP. Every time he came in, the shop’s sales went through the roof. The amount of things he bought was enormous, and the things he wore were usually fashionable, and set trends through his preferences alone.
As the shop’s biggest customer, Anette treated him extremely well.
“I love the new stuff that came in today; let me show you.”
Annette began to show Izekiel the new arrivals herself.
Thin clothes for the upcoming summer, blue gemstone bracelets to add a touch of coolness, and a pair of drop-shaped earrings that she had become obsessed with.
Izekiel picked out the clothes and accessories that suited his body type and ordered them in advance.
It was a bit early to order these items in spring, but a fashionista is always a season ahead.
A little too hot in the summer, a little too cold in the winter – that was Izekiel’s fashion philosophy.
After looking at all the new arrivals, Izekiel said.
“…….Ah. While I’m here, can I take my favorite pair of pants?”
Annette’s face began to darken as she was afraid to say the words.
At that moment, Izekiel felt a deep sense of foreboding.
It reminded him of the day a few days ago when someone had snatched away his favorite cloak and shirt.
“Are you telling me…… it was just Hernan again?”
Izekiel’s voice was shaking.
“I, I, Your Highness……. That, that…….”
Annette fidgeted, a bead of ugly sweat trickling down her forehead.
Izekiel had heard her, though he hadn’t heard a definitive ‘yes’ from her.
‘Hernan, you bastard……. He even took my trousers with him.’
That’s when he remembered what had happened a few days earlier. When he’d followed Hernan after dinner.
He had been staring at his trousers in a very strange way. At that time, he didn’t understand why, but now he did.
‘You must have wanted my trousers.’
Annette apologized extensively.
“You’ll probably want to punish me. I know it sounds like an excuse, but…… His Highness Izekiel has a large supply of trousers……. And I’m not in a position to disobey His Highness Hernan’s orders……. I apologize, Your Highness.”
Izekiel shook his head.
Who could refuse the command of a prince of a nation, much less a murderous one like Hernan?
It was impossible, unless you were royalty.
No, even if you were royalty, it would be difficult.
It was Hernan, not Annette the shopmaster, that Izekiel was irritated with.
He didn’t want to take it out on her.
“It’s okay, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
He added, “Don’t worry“, and gave her a faint smile. A blush fell across Annette’s cheeks as she begged for forgiveness.
“By the way, I don’t know why His Highness Hernan is so interested in fashion these days.”
Izekiel replied with a knowing look.
“I think I know why.”
Wasn’t it thanks to Linzel Valencia that Hernan, who had no knowledge of fashion at all, opened his eyes to it?
Ever since he met her, he’d been coveting Izekiel´s clothes.
When you’re interested in the opposite sex, you dress up your appearance, right?
“I guess I can sort of imagine it. It’s usually the opposite sex…… that makes you interested in clothes.”
Annette was sharp.
She wasn’t a shop madam for nothing.
Izekiel agreed with her, but that didn’t mean he wanted to confide in her about Hernan.
His younger brother might be brash, but he wasn’t so unthinking as to divulge the affairs of the palace to the Madame of the Shop.
Izekiel kept his lips sealed, and Annette, unaware of his situation, continued to chatter away.
“Oh, come to think of it, I heard something.”
“What?”
“Oh…… but I can’t tell you because it’s about someone else.”
As if on impulse, Anette clarified what she meant.
She seemed reluctant to say anything.
“Annette. Tell me what you heard.”
“It’s…… I’m not supposed to tell you.”
Izekiel deliberately curled the corners of his mouth into a pretty smile, his cheeks deeply etched with the dimples that Annette loved. Then, in an ecstatic voice, he drove a wedge of seduction.
“I’ll be keeping it to myself.”
“…….”
“Trust me.”
It was a seduction technique that would blow anyone’s mind, regardless of gender.
“Really, only you should know!”
Annette had fallen wholeheartedly for Izekiel’s seduction. She was a lost cause.
“Well, so be it. As if I’d be the one to talk,” Izekiel said, smile still in place.
“Indeed. I’m well aware that you have a big mouth.”
“So, begin to speak. My ears are open.”
The flowing dialogue eventually forced Anette to open her mouth, and her cryptic words flowed out one after another.
“His Majesty Hernan’s partner has changed.”
Hernan’s marriage partner changed?
It was an unexpected confession.