“His Majesty requests your presence.”
“...Tell him I will come only after I change my clothes.”
Shortly after his return to the palace, as if waiting for him, the king sent his personal servant to summon Denis.
Not even an hour had passed since his return from Neuve Chavel.
It was easy to imagine how anxious and nervous he was, fearing that the King's confidence in him had been damaged by the flood of the Ebro.
“It speeds up a lot.”
Dennis muttered to himself after the servant left.
“Silban brought me my prepared reports.”
“Okay, Your Highness.”
He had prepared all the reports before his trip, anticipating this would happen.
So much so that it just needs to be displayed.
Dennis raised the corner of his mouth coldly, then quickly took off his dusty clothes.
Inside the luxurious tea room.
Elliot and Dennis were sitting across from each other.
As usual, Elliot was holding a whiskey glass, while Dennis was holding a teacup.
Elliot drank from the full glass of whiskey and then said to him:
“You are tired of the hassle of traveling.”
“No.
Thanks to Your Majesty, I have returned safely.”
King Elliot commends Dennis for returning safely after successfully treating the flood damage.
“There was something interesting in your report.”
Elliot's expression was curious.
“Yes, Your Majesty, there is someone who provided in-kind assistance.”
“What do you want me to do to him?”
Dennis said without the slightest hesitation:
“Give him a noble title.”
“He has a title, but do you not have anything you desire?”
Denis answered, bowing his head, as if he had no desire for such a thing:
“I have nothing.
All I feel is regret that I could not further enhance Your Majesty’s reputation in Valois.”
“Oh, too much humility can be poison.”
Despite saying that, Elliot giggled, amused by what Dennis said.
“You don't have appointments this afternoon, do you?
Let's go eat.”
“I wish for nothing more, Your Majesty.”
Elliot tapped Denise on the shoulder and they walked out of the tea room together.
“Things are going as we expected, Her Highness, metal prices are falling.”
“Hmm.”
Daniel entered Therese's office with a report on market trends.
“What about Marquis Fenchetritt’s side?”
“There are no strange signs.
He seems to consider it a temporary phenomenon.”
“Good.
Contact Delphine’s boss and ask him to increase the quantity offered.”
“Yes, I will and also, the award ceremony will be held this week.”
“Vincen, that guy, is coming to the capital tomorrow too, right?”
“That's right.
He was given the title of Baron this time, in recognition of his efforts in helping those affected by the Neuve Chavelle flood.”
"This is good."
“I will arrange an opportunity for you to meet him as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.
You can leave now.”
Despite her asking him to leave, Daniel remained standing, hesitant.
“…The palace doctor will visit you in half an hour.”
"… Good."
After Danielle left, Therese got up and opened the window slightly.
The rain had been falling since yesterday, hastening the arrival of the new chapter.
The thick smell of grass crept into her nose.
The sky was completely grey.
I remembered the emptiness and pessimism in someone's eyes, the vibrant green.
She didn't like rainy days.
In fact, this type of weather was his favorite.
Therese poured coffee into an empty cup.
The coffee was lukewarm, suitable for calming the soul.
While she was calming herself down, she heard a knock on the door.
She put the teacup down smoothly and flawlessly.
“Your Highness Princess, the palace doctor has arrived.”
“To come in.”
The moment the maid and the palace doctor entered the office…
There was a perfect princess, who had erased in an instant all weak thoughts, sitting in that place.
“Your period was late by a week this month.”
The palace doctor's dry voice continued:
“How is your sleep?”
“…as is.”
“I can't increase your sleeping dose.”
“I know that very well.”
The palace doctor with sparse white hair looked at her for a moment, then began writing something in his file.
“I heard you don't exercise these days.”
“I didn't notice.”
Therese has been so busy lately that she has forgotten to exercise.
The palace doctor gave the same advice as he did last month.
This has been going on for five years.
“I advise you to exercise at least three times a week, and you know what?
After having sex with the prince, you should lie still for about 20 minutes, with a pillow under your back.”
“I know that very well.”
“Excessive stress and insomnia are not good for the health of the uterus, so limit your work.”
"Good."
“Your weight decreased this month compared to last month.
Increase the amount of food.”
“…I will do it.”
After the routine examination was over, while the palace doctor was packing up his bags and leaving the office, Thérèse, who had been sitting upright, collapsed as if she were falling apart.
Then she covered her face with her hands.
If she were a lazy princess who did nothing but consume food, she would be the ideal, desirable princess that the palace doctor wanted.
It's been five years already.
Every month you hear the same reproach under the guise of a regular checkup.
During all this time, Dennis never received the palace doctor.
Of course, as a member of the royal family, he undergoes regular checks, but he does not receive the same advice that I do.
He seemed free from taking responsibility for not having children.
Infertility is always the wife's fault alone.
Therese gritted her teeth hard.
It was a desperate move to keep herself from crying over such a trivial matter.
If she had cried whenever she was sad, she might have drowned in her own tears and died.
I once believed that difficulties make the heart stronger.
That statement was true to an extent, but...
You fool.
Even cursing herself didn't make her feel better.
The rain was still falling outside the window.
It seemed as if the sky, instead of someone who couldn't cry, was quietly releasing rain, non-stop all day.
“Your Highness the Princess, since today is a formal occasion after an absence, how about wearing this pink dress?”
The dress the maid brought out had a deep neckline that reached her collarbone, and was pink with small floral embroidery.
It had three layers of small lace and embellishments on the sleeves.
“This is too ornate.
We are going to the orphanage.
Bring something modest.”
“Yes, okay.”
“What do you think about this?”
“Okay, that's good.”
The dress another maid had chosen was a teal color, made of plain fabric that didn't look too showy.
Additionally, the sleeve decorations were simple, making it work-friendly.
“How about wearing these shoes?”
The shoes the maid brought were her favorite white shoes.
But she did not extend her hands to him.
The maid who noticed her mood quickly realized and offered another shoe.
“Or maybe those new shoes you recently ordered?”
It was a goatskin shoe, which she never wore after ordering it.
The general color of the shoe was black, but it featured a floral decoration embroidered with red thread on the toe of the shoe.
It was a little higher in heel than her usual favorite shoes.
She touched the front of the shoe thoughtfully.
Then I remembered who I thought of when I asked for a higher-than-usual heel.
Since it's black, it won't matter if dirt gets on it while working.
“Okay, put it on me.”
Inside the train car, silent as a grave.
Therese sat silent with her eyes closed.
While Dennis was reviewing papers, his body swayed with the tremors of the train.
They had not spoken a word to each other since boarding the train an hour ago.
“Your Highness, we will arrive in 30 minutes.”
said the train attendant who knocked politely on the door.
Therese was on her way to the opening ceremony of the orphanage located on the outskirts of the capital, Loyburn, with Dennis.
Dennis was scheduled to speak at the opening ceremony, while Therese would do volunteer work.
“Didn't you sleep well last night?”
Dennis asked without taking his eyes off the papers.
"a little."
Therese opened her mouth with difficulty.
Her voice sounded a little held back.
The reason was that she went to bed later than usual because she was upset after visiting the palace doctor.
When she woke up, her appearance wasn't much different than usual.
So I thought he wouldn't notice her condition but...
“How many hours?”
Dennis took off his glasses and put them in his coat pocket.
Therese avoided the annoying answer and shifted the conversation:
“What about you, Your Highness?”
“Me as always.”
Dennis put the papers he was reading aside.
“Come here.”
The train compartment reserved for the nobility was spacious and comfortable, with an entire carriage converted into a room.
Dennis grabbed both Therese's shoulders and sat her to his left.
Then he grabbed the back of her neck and began squeezing it with a merciless hand.
His hands were pressing hard on the back of the neck, shoulders and back without mercy, so she complained in an angry voice:
“This hurts.”
“Be patient a little.”
Fortunately, her lumbering head seemed to regain consciousness.
“Be careful when we arrive, I can't keep an eye on you all the time.”
After he said that, Dennis adjusted the collar of Therese's dress to cover the traces of his hands on the nape of her neck.
“Okay, I will.”
“Dear nobles, the construction of the orphanage we have always wished for has been completed peacefully.”
Therese sat upright and watched him stand on the platform.
Mann is fortunate to regain consciousness with Denise's help.
If she had moved her head a little, she might have appeared on the front page of the newspapers like a princess yawning at a formal event.
On the opposite side of her seat sat members of Prince Fabrice's team, and behind her sat a large number of nobles who had not yet declared their support.
Dennis's resonant voice spread to every corner of the place.
Today too, his dazzling handsomeness and attractive voice together created an even more devastating force.
The person who shines the most when standing in front of crowds.
The person who is fit for the governor's seat.
“…I will do everything in my power to ensure that there are no more hungry or sick children in Valois.
This concludes my opening remarks today.”
When he finished speaking, the nobles and ladies, regardless of their affiliation, applauded.
“The prince seems to be particularly shining today.”
“This is nothing new.”
Thérèse heard the whispers of the noble ladies.
At the same time, she also felt gazes on her, on Thérèse.
Therese pretended not to know the noble ladies' glances, straightened her shoulders and looked forward.
She couldn't care about each one individually.
She saw his picture coming down from the platform.
The natural smile on his lips, and his confident steps.
There was even a corny joke that if the heir to the throne were chosen based solely on appearance, it would, of course, be Denis.
This does not mean that Second Prince Fabrice is ugly.
On the contrary, he inherited the king's appearance and was handsome in a manly way.
But Denis's appearance was so exceptional that there was a saying that he was shaped by a master of beauty, which made comparison with him in appearance impossible.
But ironically, this handsomeness sometimes seemed to belittle his abilities.
There were also negative reviews that he succeeds in everything with beauty tricks.
If they had seen Him working with their own eyes, they would not have said such words.
Therese swallowed the words she couldn't speak.
Therefore, Denis was, indisputably, the object of the first or one-sided love of Valois society women.
And still.
Therese herself was like that too.
As a child, she secretly loved him.
She even fantasized about marrying him.
But…
“Your Highness the Princess, meals will be distributed to the children soon.
Are you going to the dining hall?”
"Good."
Therese's stream of thoughts was interrupted by someone's call.