The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c30
“An invitation arrived?”
What was waiting for Ryan when he returned home was a palm-sized envelope wrapped in silver foil handed by the Countess.
“Yes. It was sent to you from the Seiden County. Didn’t you hear about it in advance?”
“Well.”
Ryan tilted his head and received the postcard. And after opening it and looking inside, his face became even more puzzled.
“What does it say that you’re like that?”
“Liam says he’s holding a party to celebrate his birthday this weekend and would like me to attend.”
“Three days from now, I see.”
No matter if it’s a birthday party, the Countess tilted her head because the date the invitation arrived was subtle. In cases like this, it was common to send it two weeks in advance.
“Still, you have to go, right?”
In any case, just like the Fitzroy family, the Seiden family was also one of the traditional royalists. That’s why the two families were quite close, so the Countess’s question was natural.
“I should.”
However, Ryan still couldn’t erase the puzzled look.
“Ryan, what? Is it an invitation you don’t feel like accepting?”
“No.”
Not only was there an exchange between the families, but Liam was also someone who had been a peer friend of the prince along with Ryan since childhood.
But that was strictly at the royal palace, and in fact, the two were not very close. More accurately, it was closer to Liam and a few others not liking Ryan very much.
‘Well, it’s natural for them to be like that since I always followed the prince around like a stalker while being ignored.’
So it was even more incomprehensible. What was the ulterior motive of suddenly inviting him using his birthday as an excuse now?
“Did you meet well with the prince?”
The Countess, who noticed Ryan no longer wanted to bring up matters related to the invitation, steered the conversation in another direction.
“Yes. I met with Sir Julian too and had tea together.”
“I see. That’s a relief. Still, Ryan. Next time, make sure there’s no incident like this. No matter how close you are, making the prince wait outside is very rude.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The Countess smiled as she watched the meekly lowered head.
“You were startled earlier, right?”
“Huh? Why? What did Hendrick say?”
Ryan raised his face with a start.
“No. I tried to at least serve him tea since he deliberately came, but he said he had to meet you and left right away.”
The Countess finished with a smile instead of adding that he looked very rushed.
“Oh…”
Ryan felt a prick of conscience. His mother probably assumed that he and Hendrick had a fruitful time together.
However, in reality, it was an occasion to arrange a meeting between Hendrick and his future fiancée.
‘This is all for our family. Do you know how busy I am these days because of that? Mother, so please pray that the relationship between the two develops greatly.’
Ryan, who thought to himself, put the invitation in his bosom and said,
“Then I’ll go up.”
“Okay, go ahead. See you later at dinner.”
Ryan moved to his room, changed into comfortable clothes, and plopped down on the bed. His body felt so heavy that he didn’t even want to budge.
From the morning, he went back and forth to the dressing room twice saying he would go out, then to the crowded art gallery, arranging the meeting between Hendrick and Julian, having a meal and taking a walk with Hendrick.
Moreover, in the end, although he couldn’t meet him, he even visited Derick’s house and such.
It was natural since he moved several times more than his usual amount of activity. As he blankly looked up at the ceiling, his time with Hendrick came flooding into his mind.
If he was going to recall anyway, it would be nice to think of when he met Julian, but instead, only Hendrick’s unexpected sides he showed at the restaurant and park were drawn.
“Ack!”
This won’t do. To shake off distracting thoughts, sleep is the best after all. He quickly closed his eyes and tried to sink into slumber.
But perhaps because his body was too tired, his mind gradually became clearer instead.
“I’d rather work. Right, work!”
Ryan, who raised his sluggish body with difficulty, went and sat at his desk. And he opened a book about printing that had been focusing his interest these days.
Fortunately, he was able to concentrate quickly.
‘To see if this is possible, I need to go to a brewery, but is there one operated by the family nearby?’
As he pondered and tapped his chin with his finger, Ryan’s expression soon brightened. It was because he remembered there was a vineyard operated by the family in a nearby village not far from the capital.
Moreover, since that village was on the way to the copper mine, it seemed fine to stop by and take care of both.
Having thought of a solution, Ryan wiggled his heels under the chair. He also hummed while flipping through the book.
After looking through a few more books, Ryan went down to the dining room at the servant’s words to eat. Since he arrived first, no other family members were seen.
While sitting on a chair and drinking water, the first to enter was Edgar.
“Did you have a good date with the prince?”
“What date? And today’s meeting was first with Sir Julian, not Hendrick.”
Ryan retorted sullenly, saying he didn’t know why everyone was making remarks that seemed to misunderstand his relationship with Hendrick these days.
“Huh? Then the prince? You made him wait outside?”
Edgar widened his eyes as if he was truly surprised. Not just anyone, but Hendrick went saying he would meet him? He knew his younger brother followed the prince around.
“I told Mom before leaving. I had no choice since the attendant came to find me when the appointment time was already approaching.”
Edgar looked at his younger brother who nonchalantly went to meet someone else leaving the prince and grinned.
“I see. Good job.”
Edgar, who always remembered Hendrick ignoring him unlike his brother. For some reason, he felt good. Of course, he also thought it would be nice if the relationship between the two developed.
‘That’s that. Ryan has suffered until now, so this much is fine, right?’
Ryan tilted his head as he saw his brother smiling like a villain.
“What’s up, Edgar? Why are you making such an unpleasant smile?”
“What did I do?”
Edgar was steadfast even under the suspicious gaze of his youngest brother.
“I thought you did well since you had fun.”
It doesn’t seem so. It was doubtful, but since he didn’t seem to have any intention of telling the truth, Ryan couldn’t persist further either.
Soon, the conversation between the two was briefly cut off as Count Fitzroy and the Countess entered the dining room.
“Ryan, I heard you went to the exhibition with the prince today and had a meal together?”
“No. What… Did rumors spread all over the palace?”
Ryan pouted his lips at Count Fitzroy’s question. Somehow, it felt like his family members were taking turns hearing about his time with Hendrick today.
“Rumors didn’t spread, and I ran into the prince while taking a walk with His Majesty around the inner palace grounds.”
“You met Hend-… no, the prince?”
Ryan, who casually called his name as usual then hurriedly changed the title to prince at his father’s rebuking gaze, made a puzzled expression.
“Yes. When His Majesty asked where he was coming from, he said he just met with you and was on his way back.”
But why were the two there at that time? And if Hendrick met them, he should have just greeted them and parted, why did he babble such things?
“When His Majesty heard that, he asked if you two meet often, and the prince said you spend time together outside quite frequently. Is that true?”
“We do meet. We just go to department stores together, see some exhibitions, and eat, that’s all.”
Thinking his father might also be mistaken, Ryan quickly spoke about today.
“Is that so? You went to department stores, saw exhibitions together, and ate too?”
But somehow, Count Fitzroy looked at him very affectionately, and his mother also had a satisfied face.
“That’s really all, so don’t misunderstand.”
No matter how much he glared and spoke, with his soft features, it wasn’t very impactful and only looked cute, so Count Fitzroy looked at his youngest with a smiling face.
“Okay. Well, the prince will handle that matter well with His Majesty, so you don’t need to worry.”
“What are you talking about?”
Why does it sound like the king and prince will separately meet and talk about him?
Ryan asked, feeling very anxious, but Count Fitzroy didn’t notice his youngest son’s state of mind.
“Hm? His Majesty said to have tea together and hear about recent happenings, so he asked the prince to come along to the central palace.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed at the news that Hendrick ended up going together with the king.
“Then the prince said he would take care of that matter since it’s because he’s been meeting you these days, so we don’t need to worry about it, that’s all.”
What the hell did Hendrick say in front of the king and his father! It didn’t seem to be just his misunderstanding that it sounded full of room for misinterpretation.
“What? Didn’t you meet with the prince only once or twice?”
Edgar also had interested eyes. Thanks to that, Ryan had to struggle explaining at the dinner table that his relationship with Hendrick wasn’t like that. That they were just friends.
The sad thing was, not a single one of his family members properly listened to his words.
‘Hendrick! What the hell are you saying and to whom!’
He tried his best not to run into him. Ryan had to change his mind again before even a day passed since he made that resolution.
He decided to rush to the palace as soon as he opened his eyes tomorrow and grab Hendrick by the collar, demanding why he said things full of misunderstanding.