The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c80
It was nice to have a leisurely breakfast with Ryan, but arguing with him again about going to the palace for work was unpleasant.
‘It seems like he just likes bickering with me like this.’
Hendrick looked at Ryan suspiciously, who had finally followed him to the entrance of the mansion to see him off.
“What?”
Even the innocent eyes looking up at him reminded him of the cat that used to softly follow him when he went to the central palace, making the corners of his lips want to curve.
“What will you do while I’m gone?”
Hendrick asked in a deliberately indifferent tone.
“I’ll take a walk, then take a short nap, have lunch, read a book, and then skim through the report on typographic printing that arrived yesterday, something like that?”
“…I see.”
He didn’t know why he felt so unsettled by the plan to spend a fulfilling day even without him.
“Well then, go and make a lot of money.”
He quietly looked at the face that was pleasantly waving without knowing his heart. To be precise, at the lips that were slightly raised at the corners as if amused.
“Make money, you say. I don’t get paid a salary.”
“Can’t you take a joke? You’re always needlessly serious.”
The puffed-up cheeks that looked as if they were pouting appeared soft. Unable to resist the temptation, Hendrick gave in.
Smack.
In an instant, their lips met and parted.
“What?”
He kissed the lips that opened as if dumbfounded once more lightly and pulled away.
“Huh…”
“I’ll be back.”
Hendrick, who grinned at Ryan who was looking up at him with round eyes, finally mounted his horse in a good mood. Having to be apart from Ryan every day wasn’t very appealing.
Still, he thought it would be okay if he could experience such pleasant moments day by day. Even as he headed to the palace with the knights, the smile still didn’t disappear from Hendrick’s face.
“It seems you have something good going on. Would you mind sharing it with me?”
The king looked at him intently and asked. Then the prince’s expression quickly returned to normal.
“There’s no such thing.”
“Oh my, oh my. You don’t have to try so hard not to show it. Seeing how Count Fitzroy has a bright complexion these days, it seems to be because you’re there.”
“Not at all.”
Even at the subtle probing, Hendrick didn’t budge. Rather, he skillfully turned the conversation to another topic.
“Please take a look at this.”
The king’s gaze shifted to the paper that came in front of him.
“What is it?”
“Do you know about Hydrian?”
“Of course, it’s a very elegant and brilliant red flower. But why is that?”
“It seems that Hydrian extract is circulating illegally among nobles and commoners recently.”
At those words, the king’s hand moved. The playfulness completely disappeared from his eyes that scanned the contents, unlike a moment ago.
“How come there hasn’t been a single report about it spreading like this?”
“It seems to be because the deals are being made secretly.”
“Hmm… They even have a cultivation site and are doing this. With this scale, there must be a force leading it, but there’s no data on that.”
The report Hendrick delivered to the king was missing the list separately compiled by the attending physician.
“For now, we’ll have to send someone to the suspicious areas first. Who should I send…?”
The king stroked his chin as if deep in thought. He had to quietly send a trusted subordinate.
“No. You go and check this out yourself.”
“You mean me?”
The king immediately noticed that Hendrick was reluctant to do it.
“Why? You really don’t want to go anywhere leaving Ryan alone?”
The king, who threw out the joke, added again.
“It’s best not to have too many people involved in such matters. If unnecessary information leaks out, they can erase their traces right away.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“I’m not telling you to go for several days, just to go and come back in a day. Tsk tsk. Decide by tomorrow.”
The king backed down, perhaps knowing that he didn’t want to leave Ryan’s side even for a day. Of course, Hendrick had no desire to follow even that.
“I understand.”
Anyway, there was no point in saying he didn’t like it here, as he couldn’t win against the king with words, so he obediently bowed his head.
After finishing his conversation with the king and heading to his own palace, Hendrick encountered an unexpected being at the entrance.
“Kiki?”
The round eyes looked up intently as if knowing he was calling him. Reminding him of Ryan before coming to the palace, Hendrick smiled again.
“Did you know I was here?”
Then this time, he rubbed his small head against his ankle, showing affection. He bent his upper body and gently stroked the soft crown of his head.
Then this time, he twitched his whisker-like mustache and rubbed his cheek. For a moment, he thought of Ryan, who had pressed his face against his hand when he touched his cheek one night.
“You two really resemble each other.”
Speaking with a laugh in his voice, Hendrick picked up the cat. The small body didn’t run away, happy to see him after a long time, and just wagged its tail obediently.
Even in moments like this, Hendrick’s mind recalled the warm and sweet omega who had been in his arms.
‘I should finish everything before lunch and go back.’
There was a lot of work piled up from being away for a long time, and there were quite a few guests waiting to meet the prince. But thinking of Ryan being alone, he didn’t want to stay at the palace any longer.
‘He’ll be surprised if I go back in time for a meal without contacting him in advance.’
He might glare at me, asking why I came back so soon. But he would still give up his seat and try to take care of me, pretending not to.
Hendrick, who was in a good mood just imagining the time he would spend with Ryan, gently stroked the cat as he walked, then suddenly looked far away.
“If you go straight this way, you’ll reach the place where you met Ryan. Did you know that?”
The cat looked up at him intently. Hendrick’s eyes crinkled again as if that was an answer. He didn’t know that he had been smiling more these days. Rather, a passing attendant made a startled expression at the sight, then quickly bowed his head and pretended not to.
“Shall we go near there?”
When he was very young, Hendrick used to go there secretly. He was curious, and it was okay to release pheromones freely since no one came there.
‘That’s also where I first sensed Ryan’s pheromones.’
Come to think of it, couldn’t that be called a fateful connection? If he told this story to Ryan someday, he might be amazed.
Hendrick, who had been walking for a while thinking about this and that, slowed his steps and turned his head. It was because he sensed another presence in the quiet forest.
‘There were people who came first.’
His sensitive hearing soon figured out which direction they were in as well.
‘What should I do?’
At this rate, there was a high probability of encountering them soon. Of course, there was no need to avoid them. Even if they met, the other party would be more surprised and show courtesy.
“Are you sure you gave it to …?”
“…Because… At that time, Ryan…”
Then, at the familiar name that came out of the intermittent familiar voice, his steps stopped involuntarily.
“Why do you think I went out for a few months under the pretext of a trip? It was because I was worried that there might be a problem with that.”
“Are you saying that Ryan definitely used it on the prince at the coming-of-age ceremony?”
“That’s what I’m saying. But why are you asking about that?”
“You don’t need to know. More importantly, are you sure no one else knows besides you?”
“Of course. Why would I blab about such a thing to anyone? Hey, honestly, I was a bit uncomfortable too. You said it was okay, so I gave it.”
As the distance got closer, the conversation became more distinct.
“I told you it’s what everyone’s doing these days, right? I said it wouldn’t be a big problem anyway.”
“I guess you’re right.”
When he spoke strongly, the other party quickly agreed and moved on, as if thinking that was the case. Hendrick found the simplicity of falling for such words absurd, but apart from that,
“I heard that the two of them have gotten close lately, that’s why.”
The content of the conversation and the people having the conversation were not unfamiliar.
‘One is Derek Watson and the other is Liam Seiden.’
It was an unexpected combination.
‘Were those two close?’
He didn’t know about their friendship, but he noticed that Liam had used Derek to scheme something.
“Aha, come to think of it, when I heard from my father, it seemed that Ryan and the prince’s relationship had gotten quite good. Thanks to that, I was also a bit relieved and came back.”
That too, about him and Ryan. Hendrick’s eyes turned cold. He could reveal himself right away and question Liam.
But before that, finding out what kind of things he was doing was the priority.
“Hmph! That’s because the prince is being deceived.”
At those words, Liam snorted.
“Deceived?”
“There’s something like that.”
“What, you keep saying something unsettling and then stopping. Tell me a bit, will you?”
“You don’t need to be curious.”
Even as he grumbled, Derek didn’t ask further questions. Hendrick quietly watched them pass by. He did step into the space between the trees, but still, if one looked carefully, it was enough to see him.
However, neither Derek nor Liam seemed to think that someone might be there, and they didn’t look back. Thanks to that, the conversation they were having was entirely conveyed to Hendrick.
“Let me ask one more thing.”
“What?”
“Do you know Viscount Delain?”
“Huh? Who’s that?”
At that question, Derek made an expression as if it was the first time he heard of it. On the contrary, Hendrick narrowed his eyes. Derek might not know, but he knew.
Because Julian’s surname was Delain.
“You don’t know?”
“Well… It’s a name I don’t remember.”
“Hmph, then I guess he’s someone Ryan is secretly meeting without you knowing.”
“What? Someone Ryan is meeting?”
Whether Derek was surprised or not, Liam smiled crookedly without even paying attention. His eyes had a sinister glint.
“Yeah, they looked very friendly. Like a couple.”