Chapter 227. Dinner Between Sovieshu And Heinley (2)
Translator: Aura / Editor: SaWarren
“Rashta gave those orders?”
Sovieshu asked in surprise to hear from his secretary, Count Pirnu, the orders given by Rashta yesterday.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I have confirmed that she is imprisoned.”
Sovieshu smiled forcedly.
He had learned from the d.u.c.h.ess Tuania case that Rashta was not always good.
Although it was understandable that she was now cautious because of the abortive drugs incident in which the maids were involved, the orders to cut out Delise’s tongue and imprison her was frightening.
Count Pirnu asked with a frown as he wondered if Sovieshu thought the same.
“What will you do, Your Majesty?”
Sovieshu sighed, his face stiffened.
Suddenly, he remembered that Rashta had hinted to him in the past that it was the Empress who plucked the blue bird’s feathers.
Of course, she did not blame the Empress directly then, but the nuance in her words made it clear.
“… For now, it is best to do nothing. I’ll listen to her reasons personally.”
Sovieshu immediately got up and went to visit Rashta.
Rashta looked sad about Delise. Once she saw Sovieshu, she ran over and hugged him tightly.
“Your Majesty. Did you hear?”
“Yes, I heard.”
Sovieshu said comfortingly, gently placing his hands on Rashta’s shoulders.
“You must have been very surprised.”
“Yes. My belly hurts again from stress too…”
Sovieshu comforted Rashta. Once Rashta calmed down and began to smile, he asked,
“Rashta hadn’t you told me in the past that Delise received the bird returned by the Empress, and then she gave it to you?”
“That’s right.”
Rashta shuddered for a moment, but immediately replied with a dismayed look.
“At the time, Rashta thought that the deposed empress had acted alone. However, it seems that Delise was working for the deposed empress.”
Although Rashta responded immediately, Sovieshu’s uneasiness did not disappear.
After returning to his room. Eventually, he decided to just check it out for himself and placed the cage in the middle of the room.
The smart bird had become fond of Sovieshu, as it emitted its characteristic squawk as it followed his hand with its head.
Sovieshu stroked the bird’s beak and ordered an attendant to call Rashta.
‘It’s a smart bird, so it will react to whoever had mistreated it.’
He wanted to put the bird near Rashta to see how it reacted.
***
Although the wedding date was not far away, Sovieshu and Rashta still had not arrived. So I naturally a.s.sumed that they would not attend the wedding.
“Grand Duke Lilteang will probably come as a representative of the Eastern Empire.”
When I mentioned Grand Duke Lilteang, surprisingly, Heinley responded with a smile.
“That’s good too.”
“Is it good for Grand Duke Lilteang to come as a representative of the Eastern Empire?”
He didn’t want Sovieshu and Rashta to come?
When our eyes met, Heinley smiled slightly and whispered.
“Ah. There’s something I really want to do when I see him.”
“What do you want to do?”
I had no idea what he wanted to do. But Heinley didn’t respond, just smiled and sipped his tea.
However, two days before the wedding, both Rashta and Sovieshu arrived completely unexpectedly. This fact, will truly be a story about the imperial family that will be known for many years to come.
As I wondered if Heinley would be alright with them showing up, at this point, I could feel even my ladies-in-waiting silently examining my mood.
The answer came in the evening, along with surprising news.
“His Majesty Heinley?”
“Yes, His Majesty Heinley.”
Heinley invited Sovieshu to dinner alone.
“Are you sure Sovieshu didn’t call Heinley, but Heinley invited Sovieshu to dinner with him?”
I asked several times, puzzled.
Heinley and Sovieshu had been on bad terms ever since they first met.
Although it was Heinley who wanted to invite Sovieshu to the wedding, he only did it so that he would ‘witness our union’.
They were going to dinner together just the two of them…
“I’m sure, Your Majesty. I heard that he ordered all his subordinates to leave to have dinner alone with Sovieshu.”
But every time I asked her, Rose replied that she was sure.
I was truly worried, so I walked over to the window, opened it, and looked out towards the main palace.
Heinley… thinks I’ll be overwhelmed by Sovieshu’s presence.
***
Sovieshu was as curious as Navier.
‘Why did King Heinley invite me to dinner with him?’
Shortly after starting to eat, Sovieshu finally asked Heinley directly,
“Why did you call me?”
It was a short question. Heinley immediately responded with a smile.
“In a way I don’t like you, but in a way I’m grateful to you. So I wanted us to eat together at least once.”
Sovieshu frowned.
“Grateful?”
Although he had answered his question, Sovieshu could not understand it.
When Sovieshu looked at him with an expression of— ‘What are you talking about?’— Heinley explained as if it were obvious.
“Because you yourself divorced Navier. Thanks to you, we’ll soon be husband and wife.”
“!”
“Speaking man to man, I had a crush on Navier from the moment I met her.”
Sovieshu’s expression became rigid.
Heinley’s smiling face looked as sweet as sugar, but when Sovieshu saw it, he naturally clenched his fist tightly, wanting to punch him.
“Oh, thinking about it like that, it’s as if Your Majesty has arranged our marriage.”
“King Heinley…”
“I thank you again, Your Majesty. Had you not divorced Navier, I would have suffered alone, chasing her shadow.”
At Heinley’s irritating, grinning att.i.tude, Sovieshu was very upset and said sarcastically.
“Navier will realize someday how despicable you are.”
“That will not happen. Because unlike Your Majesty, she will never find anything despicable in me.”
Sovieshu clicked his tongue inside.
Why had he suddenly called me? Did he want to taunt me?
“Haha.”
Sovieshu laughed incredulously, as Heinley took his knife and fork calmly.
However, Sovieshu suddenly seemed to find it amusing, even shaking his shoulders and laughing louder, at which point Heinley stopped cutting the meat and stared at Sovieshu.
This time, Heinley frowned.
“Overconfidence creates opportunities. Seeing you now, soon enough I’ll have a chance.”
“…”
“I lost my wife to a miscalculation, but I’ll be ready to get her back at any time.”
“She doesn’t love you, Your Majesty. Nor is she an object that you can get back whenever you want.”
“Precisely because she’s not an object, the moment Navier wants to come back, I’ll be able to get her back, right?”
Smiling quietly, Sovieshu leaned toward Heinley and added,
“You have two faces, King Heinley.”
“?”
“That’s why Navier seems to trust you so much. And that’s why Navier will want to come back to me.”
This time, Heinley showed a forced smile, but Sovieshu continued speaking.
“Two-faced people like you hide many secrets.”
Smiling, Sovieshu added in a whisper.
“Like the fact that you planted Duke Elgy in the Eastern Empire.”
“!”