A dark room without sunlight.
An unconscious man tied to a chair.
In front of him is a woman who stares at him with a cold, hard look, like someone assessing the value of a commodity.
She gestured with her hand, and a man came up behind her and poured cold water on the tied man.
“Shut down!”
The man shook and woke up from his nap under the weight of the cold water, raising his head.
His confused eyes gleamed between his falling, wet strands of hair.
“Where am I...?”
His voice was muffled, like someone in a deep sleep.
“Your Highness, have you regained consciousness now?”
"Princess!
What action is this?!"
As soon as he regained consciousness, Fabrice shouted at the woman standing in front of him.
It was Giselle, his would-be fiancée, who tied him up.
A number of strong men stood behind her in a threatening position.
Giselle said to him as if it did not concern him:
“Because you were not fully conscious.”
“Untie me now!
And take me back to the palace immediately.”
“Your Highness, it would be foolish to return to the palace now.”
"What do you mean?"
“Royal knights and reporters are everywhere looking for you.
We had a hard time getting you out of the palace itself.”
Giselle spoke indifferently, as if she did not care about the condition of Fabrice, who was affected by his transfer.
Fabrice tried to understand her words and moved his eyes in confusion.
Knights and journalists?
Why are they looking for him?…
Yesterday... he was at the palace of Baron Barbier, who received him...
Suddenly he noticed a strange feeling creeping up on him.
He lost his memory after falling asleep while bathing in that palace.
“Do you understand now?”
“Barbie!”
Fabrice growled angrily.
“You crazy bastard!
How dare he trick me!”
He shook his whole body and shouted like a madman.
Giselle responded to his shouting by furrowing her brow, as if it was bothering her.
When he continued to emit sharp screams, she gave a slight wave with her hand.
Two men approached from behind and stuffed Fabrice's mouth with a thick piece of cloth.
Fabrice's scream, after his mouth was closed, suddenly turned into an incomprehensible moan, like a dying cry.
"Mmm!
Mmm!"
“Your Highness, didn’t I tell you earlier?
I will make sure there are no more ‘accidents’.”
The word ‘accidents’ is pronounced with special emphasis.
“Mmm!”
“If you continue like this, I will have no choice but to do what is stated in the contract.”
She spoke in an apparently regretful tone.
“Mmm!”
Fabrice's body shook with anger.
He stared at Giselle with red eyes.
But she did not move, and ordered the servants:
“His Highness is completely wet, you need to change his clothes.
They are very dirty.”
Giselle looked at him from head to toe.
Despite being wet, Fabrice's clothes were perfectly clean.
But she looked at him as if he were dirty rubbish.
A look of pure contempt.
“Then bring him to me after he calms down.”
After giving the order, she left the room, her shoes clicking on the floor.
No sooner had the door closed than several men surrounded Fabrice menacingly.
Even if he had trained in the palace, he was naked, defenseless, and alone.
The men surrounding him were five, carrying swords and pistols at their waists.
They emit a scent of barbarism that cannot be negotiated with.
It was a feeling he was experiencing for the first time, but Fabrice understood it.
Animal fear.
The terror of the possibility of real death.
A wisp of sweat ran down Fabrice's temple.
“Your Highness, you will do no good if you resist.
We will remove the plug from your mouth.
Be calm.”
The eldest of them spoke to him, meeting his gaze.
“Mmm!”
“Can you?”
“Mmm!”
Fabrice nodded desperately.
“Open his mouth.”
Another man roughly removed the cloth from his mouth.
“S-thank you.”
Fabrice thanked him in a submissive tone.
“Guys, change the prince’s clothes.”
Two maids came forward and bowed.
“Don’t touch them, Your Highness.
Even if I don’t ask you to, you will definitely do so.”
The huge man said with a sarcastic smile.
“B-Of course, I won’t.”
The men left after hearing Fabrice's response.
But it seemed that they did not go far, but rather stood guard in front of the door.
As he changed his clothes, he ran his mind desperately.
There is not a single window in the room.
He doesn't even know where he is, or even what time it is.
Even when he tried to talk to the maids, they were completely silent.
Where are things headed?
Should he negotiate with this crazy woman, his prospective fiancée, to understand the situation?
Why are you holding me like this?
After he finished changing his clothes, the maids brought a meal.
It was nothing but bread and warm soup, but because of his hunger, Fabrice ate them greedily, forgetting his pride.
After finishing eating, Fabrice was allowed to go to the place where Giselle was.
He was taken with his arms tied by the men, like a criminal.
The palace was a maze, even the corridors were devoid of windows.
It appears to have been intentionally designed this way.
They walked right, left, then up a flight of stairs and finally through a door into a room into which Fabrice was admitted.
It appears to be a women's office.
On the desk, which showed signs of use, were various papers.
“You came faster than I expected, Your Highness.”
Giselle smiled slightly and sat him on the couch.
“You seem curious to know where you are.”
“Tell me now, princess.”
“What could it be?
The King’s safe house and the Duke of Priem are looking for you and the capital is crowded with journalists.
As soon as you step outside this palace, you will fall into their hands.”
“Then hand me over to the Knights of the Royal Palace.”
"impossible."
Giselle responded with a categorical refusal, and Fabrice couldn't help but show a questioning expression.
Isn't that the end of the matter once you hand it over to them?
Fabrice tried to persuade Giselle with desperate concern:
“Dad won’t punish me, princess.
He’s just worried about my safety.”
Giselle listened to him with an expression that suggested she could only hear him.
Fabrice's fingertips trembled when he saw the woman's harsh expression.
He continued to speak desperately:
“After a few months of seclusion, the atmosphere will calm down and I will beg my father to ensure that rumors do not spread... right?”
“That's why I say: impossible.”
Giselle forcefully refused.
“Why…?”
“Your Highness, the problem is that you will not be punished.”
Giselle cut him off and added her words, smiling charmingly.
Fabrice read the madness in her gaze.
A wisp of sweat ran down his back.
“Whoever makes a mistake should be punished, only then can he correct it, right?
There is only a week left until our engagement party.”
Giselle tapped her neat fingernails on the arm of the sofa, making a sound: click, click.
Fabrice even ignored the fact that she was sitting in the top seat, and focused on her words.
“But if you continue to make scandals, what can I and my family do?
What can we count on to get you released?”
"I…!"
Fabrice tried to object.
But she rejected his words without mercy:
“So, we can't release you.”
"but…!"
Fabrice raised his voice to object.
But she continued talking without moving:
“Didn’t I tell you before?
My family does not participate in losing deals.”
Those were her words when they first met.
Of course, he ignored it at the time.
“Spend this week at the safe house.
I will release you on the day of the engagement party and from now on, if you make a mistake, you will be punished.
Understood, Your Highness?”
“A-what punishment?”
“Well?
It depends on my mood.”
Giselle's smile was so refreshing.
He felt like he was seeing her for the first time.
Underestimating her because she was young was a huge mistake.
“Okay, let's start the day off lightly?”
She got up from the couch and took out a small box from the desk drawer.
He felt like he shouldn't know what was inside.
Giselle opened the box carefully, as if it were something precious.
Inside a wooden box that looked expensive, there was a whip coiled like a snake.
“W-What are you going to do with this…?”
Fabrice's face turned pale before he realized what was about to happen to him.
“Each His Highness the Prince to the room.”
She was smiling brightly while holding the whip in her hand.
Dennis was sitting in his office smoking a cigar and thinking.
Concern was evident on his statue-like face.
Silbang was sitting next to him, examining the papers.
"What do I do…?"
Dennis had been like this for hours.
Fabrice assault scandal.
It is not compared to the previous Xavier scandal, as this evidence is conclusive.
A photo of him lying in bed was published on the front page of the newspaper.
With titles full of scandalous and explicit expressions.
This was the result of what Therese said a few days ago: “You will soon find out when you read the newspaper, Your Highness.”
He went out to plan this.
Denis abandoned the hideous fantasies about the brown-haired bastard and Therese.
But he's still upset.
Regardless of Fabrice's case, the reason is his feelings for Thérèse.
He wants her to live comfortably.
Just inside the palace, like a bird in a cage.
But she disappoints his expectations every time.
Dennis thought about his feelings for her.
When he only remembers Thérèse, he feels like a stranger.
Just when he remembers her, he feels a tingling sensation in his chest.
Is it because of guilt?
Dennis thought so.
While Denis was immersed in thoughts about Thérèse, Fares entered his quiet office and told him:
“Your Highness, we did not find the second prince after searching.”
“Social clubs, bars and casinos have been searched, haven't they?”
“Yes.
And also the empty houses in the capital...”
There seemed to be no significant results, so the knight stuttered at the end of his words.
“Okay, you can go.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
"Where did he go?
Did he fly to the sky?
Or did he hide underground?"
Silbang was reviewing the list of nobles in the capital close to Fabrice, ruling out possible places where he might be hiding.
"I don't know."
Dennis replied, puffing out cigar smoke.
The strange thing about this incident is that Fabrice himself, the person responsible for the case, did not appear.
If he had appeared quickly and admitted the truth, or denied it and claimed fabrication, it would have been better.
But after the incident, whether he hid in fear or got into trouble, Fabrice remained hidden from view.
The king sent knights to search for him even outside the capital, but he did not appear.
The longer this situation lasted, the more the king would suffer.
He wants to install his beloved son on the throne without hindrance, but the son unconsciously raises scandals.
Should Fabrice's disappearance be announced?
Or hide it?
Or should it be claimed that it is a lie?
Or the truth?
The king will be very puzzled.
Rather, let us leave the king aside.
Dennis could only calmly observe the situation.
Daily, newspapers put Fabrice's story on the front page, and citizens demand an explanation from the monarchy.
The atmosphere is not normal.