TPOP 52

Chapter 52

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The sly voice continued.

"It's astonishing that such a man would embrace a slave, let alone Hilde's whore, and it must be of his gentleness and kindness that you were spared.”

Ever since he found out that the Crown Prince had slept with Diana, he had been speaking like that.

Diana stubbornly refused to lift her face. She would not believe it. Not one word of that despicable, filthy man's ramblings.

But a chill grew in the pit of her stomach.

Until the first day of her imprisonment, she had expected Sir Arnold to return. Diana had insisted as best she could that she hadn't done the dirty deed of selling her body.

On the second day, she waited in vain. Even if Sir Arnold didn't believe her, Felix would know. He held her in his arms and checked her every inch of her body, which no other man had ever touched.

By the third day, she felt pathetic for pinning her hopes on such a thing; after all, it was only a week ago that she had given herself up to him in devotion, and now she spent all day wondering how she could prove to him that her body  had known no other.

On the fourth day, she thought about him all day. She remembered the drunken voice that had caressed her face as she slept, whispering that she was beautiful so many times. She imagined the look on his face as she felt him with her hands when he reached his highest climax.

On the fifth day, despair began to nibble away at hope. Maybe....

Maybe it was all a lie.

His voice, his touch, the promises he made, everything.

Perhaps she believed the illusion she  had created for herself.

It was the sixth day of the month. The orchestra's melodies, which had begun in the early evening, haunted her relentlessly.

She hadn't eaten or bathed in five days. She hadn't even been able to get a sip of water with the help of the spirits, as Antoin had been watching her with narrowed eyes. She'd moistened her lips and cleaned her hair and clothes when Antoin fell asleep from sleepiness, but a body that hadn't been eaten or slept could not last long.

Besides, it was cold in the prison. Diana's lips turned blue from the chill of the stone floor.

She tried desperately to recall past experiences that had been worse than this.

When she had worked for Hilde, she had been whipped mercilessly for the slightest misbehavior with a guest. As Viscount Depierre's maid, she'd had her sight stolen by the vicious Nephrin. But she'd held on, so it was ridiculous that she should break down over something as simple as this.

Still, she was terrified.

More than being sent back to Hilde, the possibility that her master might abandon her terrified Diana. She had already given him so much....

That was when something landed on the outside of the prison bars.

Diana, crouched motionless, gasped. Antoin exclaimed in delight.

"That's her handcuff key! Are you giving it to me?"

The person who had tossed the key seemed to nod. Quickly snatching it up, Antoin bowed deeply.

"Don't worry, sir. I'll make sure that bitch never sees a ray of sunlight in the capital for the rest of her life."

The prison door swung open. Antoin rushed in, yanking the chains connecting Diana's handcuffs to the bars off the grate and placing a stinking sack over her head. He then tied a rope around her neck and tightened it so it wouldn't come off. She looked like a condemned prisoner being led to the gallows.

"Now, let's go home, sweetheart, in case you show your face, we might get in trouble."

Diana struggled against the strong hand, but it was useless. Antoin grabbed the bars and slammed down hard on Diana’s wrists.

“Don’t you let go? Let’s go quietly!”

Diana was dragged out of the cell, teetering on the edge of falling.

Her hope was gone. But she wanted to make sure of one thing.

"Does he know?"

The man behind the curtain of darkness remained silent. Diana’s voice quivered.

"Does he know that I've been waiting for him here?"

"There is nothing he does not know."

It was Arnold's voice, familiar to her even today. The knight spoke calmly.

"He may not care, but everything that happens in his realm is under his control."

I see. The words were stuck in her throat like a thorn and couldn’t come out.

The Crown Prince had sent her here even though he knew it was dangerous, and he could come here as often as he wanted. He was the one who would soon own this country, and Prince Eisen was no match for him.

And yet he had not come.

Diana muttered to herself.

"He said he would send me... to the forest."

No one answered.

Antoin smirked and snatched the chain connecting Diana's cuffs.

"Now that you heard the truth, let's go back. You have no idea how much your sisters have missed you."

Diana staggered and was dragged out of the cell. Felix's escort did not stop her as she was dragged away.

***

“The maid has left for Hilde, Your Highness.”

Why on earth should he be the bearer of such news, Hugo Christen deplored his predicament.

In the two days leading up to the banquet, Felix's mood had been in the abyss.

Two days before, he had drawn his sword to go to Prince Eisen's palace, only to be stopped by five of his ministers.

To be seen in this state would shatter the image of the Crown Prince that the Duke had created, but there was nothing he could do to make Felix feel better.

The golden envelope that Prince Eisen had presented to him at the banquet contained papers proving the identity of Diana Escalif; without needing to check the originals, his escort, Arnold, had personally infiltrated the Osprey household and confirmed their authenticity.

It was something Hugo had vaguely suspected as well. Most of the prostitutes in Hilde's brothel, known collectively as poutants, were unidentified; most of them were in the realm of the common folk, unprotected by Imperial law, and thus unable to participate in even the most basic of inquisitions. Diana Escalif's past behavior fit the bill.

Of all the famous brothels throughout Karman, Hilde's was the largest. Eisen's biological mother was also from Hilde.

She had worked there for not one or two years, but five, and the Crown Prince had slept with her. Felix's opinion of her as flawless and beautiful was shattered.

"Of course... she wouldn't have taken a man. The maid worked for Hilde until she was fifteen, and her record in the capital is clear. If all else fails, call in the Depierre’s only daughter and question her about the maid."

This was a makeshift defense, and it backfired spectacularly.

Nephrin of Depierre, who had answered the Crown Prince's summons, narrowed her eyes like a wildcat at the question about Diana.

"She's been a bad girl since she first worked for me, flirting with Duke Gaspar, who was supposed to be my fiancé, and flirting with the stable hand and the milkman, and yet she's so snooty and brazen, as if she's done nothing wrong!"

Horrified, Hugo immediately summoned all of the Depierre’s servants for questioning, and though Nephrin Depierre's testimony proved to be largely exaggerations and hatred, Felix's grim expression was unshakeable.

"The child was said to have set out for Hilde, taken by her master... I mean, by the brothel's pimp, who is her owner on paper, and I intend to do whatever it takes to keep him from running his mouth. We're going to crack down on him, too, because we don't want the Crown Prince’s name to be tarnished. I’m also going to warn that girl. If Your Highness has taken a liking to her, she must be a smart girl, so I don’t have to scare her….”

“Liking her?”

Felix, who had remained silent until now, repeated sharply.

"Who, me?"

"...I'm glad you don't...."

Was it bad to use the phrase 'have taken a liking to'? It would be the same no matter what other similar expression was used.

But then again, Hugo was a little surprised when he glanced at the Crown Prince. Felix had a look of genuine incredulity on his face.

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