CH 8

Chapter 2. A Bet and An Oath

“Your Majesty, Duke Rubius requests for an audience.”

“I said it is noisy, even though he is a duke. I have a bad headache today, so I won’t meet him. My head hurts already, so seeing his annoying face will make me want to break his head.”

“Yes… Your Majesty has a severe headache, so I will tell him that having an audience will be difficult.”

The chamberlain lifted up his coat and went out, bowing his head to Deltinus, who was lifting his drink.

Deltinus emptied his drink at once and buried himself deeply into the sofa. The wine glass, which hung precariously between his fingers, trembled.

There were more than five empty wine bottles, each toppled over and under the sofa. He had emptied them himself, from the moment he opened his eyes until now.

‘It’s strange no matter what I thought about it. How could he touch me?’

Born with talent and a brilliant mind, Yulif showed great ability in everything, but his magic skills were unmatched among any wizard.

The brothers’ mother was terrified that the brothers, who did not get along well, would start a bloody battle for the throne. To be precise, she was afraid that the older brother, who was engrossed in his feelings of inferiority, would kill his younger brother. So their mother made Yulif take an oath. It was to relieve Deltinus’ inferiority complex.

She made him swear that he would never harm Deltinus with his magic.

With the belief that Yulif could not harm him, Deltinus thought he could show even a little bit more hostility towards Yulif.

Yulif, who had followed their mother very well, accepted the oath with obedience.

But the problem was not Yulif. Even after this extreme method, Deltinus was still anxious to kill Yulif. Even when he ascended the throne, he could not be relieved.

Yulif, who could never touch him because of his oath, had broken his finger that night.

‘Is the oath broken? The look on his face showed he wanted to kill me right away. Yet… Why did he calmly chase me away?’

Just as Deltinus’ eyelids closed, the chamberlain came back and made a low bow. Cold sweat was forming on his forehead.

“Your Majesty… Duke Rubius said he has not seen Your Majesty for several days, so he must see you today. He said he’ll wait until you are in your glory…”

“This cheeky guy. How dare he threaten me by ignoring what I said?”

Deltinus threw the glass away. A wine glass smashed against the door. Glass shards scattered all over the place, and some even got stuck in the chamberlain’s clothes.

The chamberlain did not straighten his back despite the stinging pain. When Deltinus was furious, he would do anything without hesitation. In this case, it was best to just lie flat.

“Let’s see how patient Duke Rubius is. I’ll meet him when my headache subsides, so tell him to wait outside the door. However, tell him that since he made me so angry that my headache has gotten worse, he should get down on his knees as an apology. If he doesn’t like it, he can go back to where he came from.”

Deltinus motioned for him to go out and tell Yulif what he said and then closed his eyes again. The chamberlain went out without making a sound and closed the door.

Yulif, who was standing tall in an upright position, asked what happened with his eyes.

“His Majesty is in a very bad mood. He said if you want to have a live audience then you must get down on your knees and wait.”

“I will come back in the afternoon.”

After answering bluntly, Yulif turned around.

He did not plan on kneeling to Deltinus. It wasn’t to protect his self-esteem. He was a person who valued practicality rather than his pride or cause. His primary objective now was to get Canaren out of the Imperial Palace safely. In order to achieve his goals, his pride was not important.

But, in matters related to Canaren, he would now show a lowly attitude to Deltinus. He needed to show his unwavering determination to protect her, to take her out of this place somehow, and he had to impress upon Deltinus that he was behind Canaren.

‘I won’t let you touch her, not even a single finger.’

Canaren was so hurt that she couldn’t speak. He did not want her to get hurt more than this.

In fact, he wanted her to take her out of the Imperial Palace right away.  But Yulif’s body was not normal right now.

“My blunt little brother dropped by three times a day. I came out thinking it must be urgent. Seeing that things are looking smooth, it must not be so, my brother.”

Deltinus’ very sarcastic voice turned Yulif around.

Deltinus leaned against the door in a disheveled manner, and even held a bottle of wine in his hand. It wasn’t strange to think that he was a ruffian who had been looking for alcohol since morning.

Though he had a smile on his face, he was on the verge of exploding. It was as the chamberlain had said, he was in a very bad mood.

Still, Yulif did not avoid his gaze.

“Your headache seems fine.”

“Haha, there’s a lot going on. Are you asking for my regards Yulif, do you really want that girl?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to address Canaren in a rude manner again?”

Deltinus’s expression hardened.

What was the reason? The reason why Yulif, who lived like a piece of wood all his life, was so hung up on Canaren.

For love? Canaren and Yulif met only once. Did he fall in love at first sight? It wasn’t entirely impossible, but it wasn’t a very convincing hypothesis either. It didn’t seem like he was physically coveting Canren, though. He just wanted to protect Canaren. He treated her so preciously that any viewer could feel ugly.

It was more of a pure love that did not match with Yulif, who had the nickname of the Iron-Blooded Duke.

A chill flowed between the two as they exchanged glances.

Deltinus was the first to reveal his teeth, smiling ferociously.

“I will make a suggestion. Follow me.”

******

The two headed to the cemetery where only the royal family were buried.

Passing through the acacia forest to the north of the Imperial Palace, there was a cemetery where only the immediate royal family were buried.

The emperor, who missed the empress who died first, left a will to be buried next to her.

Every time Yulif came to the Imperial Palace, he placed a conservation spell on his parents’ tombstones. The cemetery was the quietest place in the Imperial Palace, so he used to come to this place when he didn’t want to think about anything, or when he had too many thoughts in his head.

Deltinus stood in a slanted posture in front of his parents’ tombstones. On his face was an expression full of annoyance that looked ugly at first glance. He didn’t mind the way his long, dark hair was fluttering in the wind.

Having resented and hated his parents all his life, he didn’t even pay attention to this graveyard.

There was a likely reason as to why he wanted to come here.

‘He must be suspecting that there is a problem with the oath.’