The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c84
As soon as the command was given, armed knights came rushing and pressured Ryan, swiftly tying his wrists with rope.
“What are you doing!”
Catherine protested to the royal envoy. Not only that, she bravely blocked the path in front of her brother who was surrounded by knights.
“Lady Hardy, what are you doing! Do you dare defy the royal command?”
The envoy glared at Catherine, addressing her by her husband’s surname.
“What exactly is my brother’s crime that you would forcibly restrain him like this? If you had simply told him to follow, he would have gone obediently.”
Even when the knights stared at her with stony expressions, Catherine did not back down.
“What else! The crime of disgracing the royal family.”
Contrary to her attitude, it was the envoy who flinched. And as if displeased with his own actions, he stuck out his chin like a boasting rooster and shouted.
“Disgraced the royal family? Me?”
Finally coming to his senses, Ryan jumped up. That was a felony that, in the worst case, could affect not only him but also his family.
“That’s right! On top of that, do you dare rebel against His Majesty’s orders!”
“No. Rebel? I just want to know why and am asking…”
Ryan, who was suddenly saddled with the crime of disrespect, looked at his family in bewilderment. Catherine and the Countess also seemed surprised by the envoy’s overbearing behavior, their eyes widening.
“Please don’t say such things, and if you know something, give us a hint. Why do you say Ryan committed such a crime?”
This time, the Countess asked in a soft, placating tone. The envoy snorted derisively.
“That’s for His Majesty to sift through! It’s not for me to say!”
“Still, isn’t there anything you can guess? Or any word you’ve heard…”
“Oh no, there’s nothing like that!”
Catherine, who heard her mother and the envoy’s conversation, looked dubious at the strong denial.
“What are you all doing! We’ve already been delayed too long, hurry up.”
However, instead of telling more, the envoy urged the knights. Ryan’s eyes wavered. He knows that at times like this, he needs to keep his wits sharp. But it wasn’t easy to calm his flustered heart.
“Father is coming!”
As Ryan was trying his best to stay composed and about to follow the knights, he saw two horses kicking up clouds of dust and galloping from far away.
Riding them were his father, Count Fitzroy, and his older brother Edgar.
“Ryan, wait a moment. You don’t have to go right away.”
Catherine pushed through the knights again and tightly grasped her youngest brother’s wrist. She knew from the start that she could not persuade the envoy or get anything out of him.
Nevertheless, she kept engaging him in order to wait for her father to return home. And the plan succeeded.
“What is all this commotion?”
Count Fitzroy jumped off his horse, glaring fiercely at the knights, then quickly turned his gaze to the envoy.
“Orders have come down to bring Ryan Fitzroy to the palace.”
“For what reason has His Majesty done so?”
At the words asking for the reason in succession, the envoy made an irritated face. No matter how much trust Count Fitzroy had from the king, his attitude was exceedingly arrogant.
“How many times do you intend to make me repeat the same thing!”
Clicking his tongue as if to be heard, the envoy spat out the words.
“I don’t know either. So seize him and step aside!”
“It’s already late. What if I go meet Ryan and visit His Majesty tomorrow?”
“Ha! Even though His Majesty ordered to enter the palace immediately.”
When the envoy shouted angrily, Count Fitzroy’s face hardened a little as well.
“Is my son a criminal? If he committed a crime, what are the charges?”
At that, the envoy’s face stiffened.
“What a brazen family! Not only did you dare block and insult the royal envoy who came with His Majesty’s orders, you even try to blaspheme!”
He must have been quite angry as he glared at Ryan, huffing and puffing.
“You should consider it His Majesty’s generosity that he did not order to immediately search the city inside out and catch you, considering it an escape attempt!”
In fact, the king’s order through the envoy was simply to bring Ryan to the palace. He did not specify that it had to be today, much less say anything about restraining him.
However, the envoy was a person from Count Seidon’s family, which was at odds with the Fitzroy family. He had already heard from the Seidon family that Ryan Fitzroy had been accused of the crime of insulting royalty.
So it was only natural to treat him as a criminal. He decided to use this opportunity to further pressure the Fitzroy family.
“Must he go today? Then I understand. It can’t be helped. I’ll have to accompany him.”
To the envoy, even those words sounded like they were belittling him.
“This won’t do. You all, move quickly!”
At the even harsher attitude than before, the knights began to move hesitantly while glancing at Count Fitzroy.
“Ryan, where is the prince?”
The Countess, who had been watching Ryan being dragged away by them, ran over and asked urgently as if she had remembered something.
“He went to take care of a problem that arose at the mine in my stead.”
Ryan’s figure surrounded by the knights was not visible, and only his voice filled with anxiety was conveyed. The Countess wanted to somehow see her son’s face, but it was difficult because of the knights threatening her with their gleaming armor.
“The mine?”
Why on earth did the prince go there, leaving Ryan alone who is not just by himself? He had said he would always stay by his omega’s side and take care of him.
The Countess found it hard to quell the resentment that unknowingly rose toward Hendrik.
“Was there not a recently developed copper mine? There was a bit of trouble there, but we had no one to go right away, so the prince stepped up.”
However, Count Fitzroy’s answer in return immediately changed her expression.
“The prince went to handle a problem that occurred at the mine?”
“That’s right. He did not want to leave Ryan alone, but given the circumstances, he said he would hurry back as much as possible, and now this happens.”
“Then contact the prince right away! Quickly!”
The Countess’s gaze turned back to Ryan. Before she knew it, the knights were trying to put her son in a gloomy carriage.
Even if the prince hurried, it would be difficult for him to arrive from the mine by today. The Countess bit her lip hard, then released it and hastily moved her steps to approach the carriage.
“Ryan!”
The Countess held the hand of her son who was sitting in the carriage with a gloomy face. Then she spoke in a small voice so only Ryan could hear.
“No matter what His Majesty asks you, you must answer that you don’t know.”
Unable to understand the meaning of her words, Ryan tried to look at his mother. But the Countess clasped his hand tightly to stop him and continued.
“From now on, you need to keep in mind that everything you say can be used against you. Under no circumstances should you give any answer other than not knowing. Understand?”
Then, before her son could answer, she took a couple steps back. Ryan bit his lip as he watched his mother trying to stay calm.
If she was saying such things, the situation might be more serious than he anticipated. Then what should he say when he meets the king?
‘The crime of insulting the royal family… I struggled so much to deviate from the original work!’
He was upset that all his efforts seemed to have been in vain. In any case, he needed to think about why the king was looking for him now.
‘Is it because I hid that I’m getting married?’
He should confess that it wasn’t true. Then he would be reprimanded for lying to Hendrik, but at least he could avoid being accused of insulting the king. But to be dragged away as a criminal for the crime of insulting royalty just for that reason…
‘It couldn’t be that my pregnancy was found out, right?’
If so, the situation would become even more serious. Since he said the child wasn’t Hendrik’s, and now he was in a situation where he was trying to marry him.
For a moment, his gentle eyes wavered unsteadily.
“It’s alright, Ryan. It will be nothing. You know how much His Majesty dotes on you, right?”
Seeing his state, the Countess smiled as if to reassure him.
“Still, it would be best for the prince to come and explain to His Majesty. So you just listen well and behave. Understand?”
It was a bit different from the whispered words, but the meaning was clear.
Absolutely do not make the situation unfavorable.
Ryan nodded, still with a tense expression.
“Please step back now. I need to close the carriage door.”
The knight who had been waiting until then pulled the Countess back. This much consideration was given because they were a family that had the king’s trust.
Until the carriage door closed, Ryan’s gaze lingered long on his mother who clasped her hands tightly. And when the surroundings became quiet as if cut off from the world, he squeezed his eyes shut then opened them.
‘They say if you go into the tiger’s den, you just need to keep your wits sharp, right?’
Trying his best to calm his heart, Ryan unconsciously stroked his belly gently.