Chapter 23

The rumors Wellan heard the moment he entered the palace were shocking, and he immediately headed straight towards Ravello instead of the crown prince’s office, which was located in the main palace, Isolé.

“I heard something happened last night,” Wellen began.

“Oh, Sir Wellen, about that…” Zeckley, an attendant, stammered in embarrassment. “I-I certainly heard a voice demanding that clothes be taken off…”

“And?”

“He emerged from the room shortly thereafter.”

“Did he look very uncomfortable?”

“He did.”

An awkward silence fell between the two, as the men exchanged glances and nodded. After a moment, Wellen asked, “Where’s His Highness now?”

“He’s still in the room. I think he fell into a deep sleep.”

After Wellen made his way to the room where Kael was resting, he swallowed nervously as he prepared his heart. Then, with a polite knock, he entered the room and said, “Your Highness, it’s Wellen.”

Seated at the tea table, Kael, who’d had difficulty sleeping from the excitement from the night, still appeared handsome, albeit a little rough. He was surrounded by piles of romance novels strewn across the table. It was clear he hadn’t slept until morning.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” Wellen greeted again.

Without looking up at Wellen, Kael added honey to his steaming cup of tea and remarked, “You’ve deviated from your morning routine to come visit me here.”

“I need to see Your Highness early in order to finish my work quickly, given all the extra work as a result of the war.”

“Don’t lie through your teeth,” Kael retorted. He deliberately dropped the teaspoon, which clattered against the saucer. Lowering his gaze, he lifted the cup of tea and inhaled the sweet scent of honey wafting from the fragrant tea. After savoring the scent, he began to sip the sweetened tea.

“I’m not sure I understand, Your Highness,” Wellen said.

“What’re you curious about?” Kael asked in disgust, as he kept his gaze fixed on the auburn-hued tea. He didn’t want to be confronted by Wellen’s cunning behavior and was put off by his aide’s voice. Placing the teacup back on the saucer, he began to tap the table.

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know, especially when it’s all your fault.”

“What did I do? I only told the servant that the crown prince wanted to see Irene M. Voltern. Oh, I might’ve mentioned that you appointed her.”

The moment Irene’s name came out of Wellen’s mouth, Kale’s eyes turned ferocious. He’d already been burning with a sense of possessiveness, and it was unpleasant to hear her name uttered by another man. After a moment, he asked, “And exactly when did I appoint her?”

“You specifically pointed her out when you reviewed that list,” Wellen replied, as he squared his shoulders and slightly puffed out his chest. The unremorseful smile on his face starkly contrasted his tone of voice, which seemed to suggest he was a victim who’d been unfairly framed.

“I must be too lenient with you all. All of you are conspirators!” Kael growled.

“In general, words are passed on and misunderstandings may arise as the message gets passed between people. Nonetheless, I apologize. I should’ve exercised more care. I made a mistake.” When Kael fixed a scary gaze on Wellen, he quickly admitted his mistake, lowered his head, and bit his lip. Still, privately he thought he’d done nothing wrong. ‘Since he didn’t let her go, he must’ve had a good time, right? Then, why’s he in such a bad mood… Oh!’ As if he’d had an epiphany, Wellen lifted his head to look at Kael and asked, “Did you finish in 3 seconds?”

Caught off guard by Wellen’s indelicate question, Kael immediately spat out the mouthful of tea he’d just sipped and choked loudly at Wellen’s indelicate question. His aide casually picked up a napkin from the table and wiped Kael’s face.

“Your Highness has only ever read books about it and this probably was your first time. At first, it’ll be like that. Don’t blame yourself too much. That’s why I suggested you gain some practice beforehand,” Wellen chimed.