147 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
“Thank you, Mother.”
Tan picked up the candy box and stood up, then stopped abruptly.
His gaze landed on the shoes of a man visible beneath the beaded curtain that decorated one side of the room.
“What is it, Prince?”
“Why do you always call me ‘Prince,’ Mother? You call my brother ‘son.’”
The man’s shoes, visible beneath the curtain, twitched and seemed to retreat further.
“Huhu, are you jealous of that?”
The last remaining attachment flickered in Tan’s dark eyes before quickly disappearing.
“I just feel like I’m the same as the other princes to you, Mother.”
The Queen Consort covered her mouth with her beautiful hand and laughed as if amused. But her eyes were as cold as ice.
“Prince. Just continue to live the same way. So you don’t become a nuisance to your brother. Understood?”
“Of course. ……Your Majesty.”
Tan bowed his head and turned away, whispering softly.
It seemed the Third Prince said something in a small voice, but the Queen Consort didn’t hear it.
The Queen Consort’s gaze, which had been watching his retreating figure, revealed a hint of pity, but it soon turned cold.
As soon as the Third Prince had completely left the room, Ban emerged from behind the curtain on one side of the room with a dissatisfied expression.
“Useless brat.”
The Queen Consort soothed Ban in a kind voice.
“My son, don’t be angry.”
“Mother, you should push him harder. Doesn’t that guy listen to everything you say?”
Ban turned his anger toward the Queen Consort.
As the Queen Consort looked at him in anger, she inwardly swallowed a sneer.
The Third Prince, who had just left, had been watching her every move since he was young and acted like the tongue in her mouth, but because he wasn’t the Emperor’s seed, he was her secret that must never be revealed to anyone.
So, she had brought in a poisonous plant that didn’t grow here and made it into candy. The Third Prince was slowly dying like that.
Above all, the Third Prince had been kind and not cruel since he was a child, so he wasn’t fit to be the Crown Prince.
Therefore, he couldn’t become the Crown Prince, let alone the Emperor.
He would only become a trap that would put her in danger.
On the other hand, the Second Prince, whom she had raised with great care since he was young, was the perfect material for a tyrant.
Although it was hidden from the outside world, once a month, a servant from the Second Prince’s palace was beaten to death.
Sometimes she wondered. Was her choice the right one?
But she had come too far to turn back.
The Queen Consort hid her true feelings and smiled kindly, taking Ban’s hand and patting it.
“Oh my, how much you resemble His Majesty?”
“What does that mean?”
Ban snatched his hand away and narrowed his eyes as he asked.
The Queen Consort covered her lips with her fluttering sleeves and smiled beautifully.
“Since you resemble His Majesty so much in appearance and temperament, shouldn’t the Crown Prince’s position be yours, my son?”
At those words, the frown on Ban’s face loosened.
“Don’t worry. This mother has everything planned.”
The Queen Consort smiled kindly, hiding her cold eyes.
The Second Prince had to become the Emperor, surpassing the Crown Prince, so that she could stand above this empire.
“Isn’t your birthday coming up soon, my son? Let’s hold a grand Creature Hunting Competition. If it’s a gathering where all the princes and their partners are invited, the Third Prince won’t be able to avoid bringing the woman he’s been hiding in the palace. If he continues to hide that woman in the palace, we can snatch her while the Third Prince is away, so that wouldn’t be bad either.”
“That’s a good idea, Mother.”
Only then did a satisfied smile settle on Ban’s face.
\ \ *
The guard stood five steps behind Marin, protecting her.
Tan noticed this and gestured to Marin with his chin, asking.
“How is he?”
“He seems like a good person.”
Marin said as honestly as possible.
When lying, you always have to mix in the truth to avoid getting caught. Cal couldn’t be revealed as Gerald’s man.
“Hmm. A good person, you say? Have you become that close already?”
Tan smiled brightly and stared sharply at Cal.
“No, just a feeling?”
Marin waved her hands in a flustered manner. She couldn’t arouse Tan’s suspicion even a little.
“Sweetie. If you deny it so strongly, I’ll become even more suspicious, you know?”
As the Third Prince called her sweetly, Gerald’s back stiffened.
It wouldn’t take even a second to cut that guy’s throat. His fingers were itching.
Marin and he had planned to leave quietly without causing any diplomatic problems.
But having to watch a guy flirt with the woman he loved right in front of his eyes was another kind of hell.
“Well, it’s okay, though.”
“Yes?”
“Your guard, I heard he likes men?”
Gerald maintained a blank expression.
Tan had his arms crossed behind his head, watching his reaction as if trying to gauge it.
Marin was surprised, but she didn’t turn her head to look back at Cal.
“Ah…… I see. But you shouldn’t talk about other people’s stories so carelessly. Your Highness.”
Marin gently but firmly admonished him.
“If that guard hadn’t said that, would I have put a man next to you?”
Tan chuckled and gazed at her with affectionate eyes.
There was someone by his side who would say such right things to him. He was swept up in a sense of elation he had never felt before.
Marin’s eyes widened at the Third Prince’s tone, which was tinged with a deep obsession.
Meanwhile, Gerald clenched his fists tightly. Otherwise, he felt like he would break that guy’s neck right away.
“Ah, well, that’s, um, Cal’s personal life. It’s not something Your Highness should be saying to me.”
“Cal?”
Tan repeated the guard’s name in a dissatisfied voice.
“Don’t tell me you hired him without even knowing his name?”
“What kind of name is that? It sounds like a fake one made up randomly.”
Tan’s gaze toward the guard darkened.
“You shouldn’t say things like that about a name either.”
When Marin spoke sternly, Tan’s gaze finally returned to her.
“Our Sweetie has so many things that aren’t allowed. Don’t make fun of names, don’t talk about personal lives, don’t eat candy.”
As Tan grumbled with a smile, Marin nodded with a matter-of-fact expression.
“Those are all things you shouldn’t do.”
“You’re so strict. Well, that’s what I like about you, though.”
Tan drew a pretty eye smile.
Marin awkwardly avoided his gaze and sighed inwardly.
The glare she felt from Cal behind her was so fierce that her back stung.
It wasn’t her fault, that guy kept flirting with her.
She wanted to turn around and protest, but she quietly endured it because the Third Prince was in front of her.
At that moment, a knock was heard, and the maid Bitra entered and bowed her head.
“A message has come from the Queen Consort’s palace.”
“Is that so?”
When he gestured for her to speak, Bitra continued.
“To celebrate the Second Prince’s birthday, she will be holding a Creature Hunting Competition in three days. All princes must attend with their partners.”
Tan closed his eyes and smirked.
Mother. Beloved Mother. A mother who tries to take everything from him no matter what.
Isn’t my life enough? He had finally become greedy for a woman for the first time, but did she have to take even that woman from him?
Tan slowly opened his eyes and stared at Bitra with a dry gaze.
“Bitra.”
“Yes.”
“How long has it been since you came to my palace?”
“It’s been over 15 years, Your Highness.”
Bitra replied with a kind smile.
“Has it already been that long?”
“Yes. Time really flies.”
Tan smiled brightly.
“That’s right. 15 years is enough time for you to take my side, though.”
“Yes?”
A question appeared on Bitra’s face.
“Did you really have to tell the Queen Consort everything like that?”
Tan stared at Bitra, who had a puzzled expression, and smiled brightly. But his eyes were cold.
“What do you mean…….”
“Cal, it’s a test. Would you like to cut off one of Bitra’s fingers?”
As soon as those words were spoken, Bitra’s little finger fell to the floor with a thud.
No one in that place saw how Cal moved.
“Ah!”
Bitra screamed in pain and collapsed to the floor, clutching her hand that was dripping with blood.
Marin was so surprised by the sudden situation that she covered her gaping mouth with her hand.
Tan wore a satisfied smile.
With this, it was confirmed that the guard wasn’t the Queen Consort’s person. Of course, he couldn’t trust everything.
“Passed.”
“……Your Highness, why are you doing this to me?”
Bitra covered her severed finger with the hem of her dress and asked in a resentful voice.
Tan slowly walked over and knelt on one knee in front of her.
Her brown eyes were filled with sorrow.
“Bitra. Did you think I wouldn’t know you were the Queen Consort’s person?”
Tan whispered softly in Bitra’s ear.
