Misunderstanding

"It's good if you believe. Let's do it then!"

Huvel's slender fingers ran on the prince's collar bones. The prince felt as if all of his hair strands stood up.

"WAIT!! Wait! I did not kill your lover! So, I don't have to take his place!"

"Of course, you did not kill him by your hands. He must have told you about the spell that prevented him from revealing about me. Yet you and your men tortured and forced him to say my name! Although he was dead because of the spell, it is you that drove him to death!"

"Hmm? Spell? What spell?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say you came because Laurent pointed to me?"

"Oh, umm… sorry, it's a lie to make you become panic and reveal your secret…"

"WHAT?!! YOU DAMNED PRINCE!!"

Huvel lost his cool. He walked to the windows to cool his head. When he thought well, he realized that he jumped to conclusions all by himself without enough information. He thought Laurent betrayed him and was dead. He even revealed his magic and attacked a magician out of rage. He even tried to harm a member of the royal family to keep his secret of potion making!

He had decided to hypnotize the prince with dark magic. Once he was under the spell, he would make him go outside of the city and kill himself. He was quite sure that the King would not investigate the case since he wanted the first prince to disappear since long ago. As for the magician bodyguard, he could erase a day's worth of his memory for about a year. But since he failed to protect the prince, he would be sentenced to death as soon as he was caught.

Through his calculations, Huvel believed he could walk away freely even after killing Prince Leonard. He had already thought of all those before he took action. What he did not think of was that the prince could be lying to him.

Huvel was not much ashamed when he did indecent things to Laurent or Bellamy. However, he was utterly embarrassed for making such big mistakes because of a small misunderstanding. He took some time to cool his red face before walking back to the prince. He did not even notice the magician who was lying on the floor because of his spell and almost tripped over him.

"Ahem… Your Highness, it seems it was a misunderstanding from my side. My sincere apologies!" Huvel said with a big smile.

"Have you come to your sense?!" The prince did not want his apologies and interrupted impatiently. "Release me right n…"

"Please die for me."

"… Huh? What?"

"I can't let anyone know this embarrassing incident. So, please die for me, Your Highness!"

Huvel slowly got closer to the prince. His action was casual. His eyes were dull and emotionless. The corners of his lips were curved upward, making a smile that caused the prince to shiver.

"WAIT!! WAIT!! I came here to offer a proposal to you. At least, hear that first before you try to do anything!"

"You should have said that before I actually 'tried to do something'. Yet you provoked me first! It's too late to negotiate now."

"No! It's not late yet! I promised you that I will not tell today's incident to anyone! If you work for me, I will…"

"Work for you? Your Highness, are you an idiot? Your life is now in my hands!"

Anger swelled inside Prince Leonard's heart. Although he was not cared by his royal father, he was still a prince. No one dared to speak disrespectfully to him, let alone calling him an 'idiot'! Moreover, the offender was younger than him.

"… If you dare say 'idiot' again, …."

"Idiot! Idiot! By any chance, do you get aroused when someone berates you?"

Huvel could not help but wanted to tease the prince who suddenly became serious after being a timid for a while.

"GAHHHH!!! You are the idiot!! I don't have weird fetish like you!" The prince lost his cool and shouted like a mad man.

"You are shouting like a commoner now! Had you given up your right to the throne you could live an easy life like a commoner. Why did you have to try so hard?"

Huvel felt a little pity for the prince. He nonetheless grabbed the prince's head in his two hands to cast the 3rd-tier dark magic spell [Hypnotize]. Unlike the higher tier spell [Mind Control], [Hypnotize] could be dispelled easily, just by shaking the effected person's body strongly or by loud noises. But Huvel had to rely on that spell since he would be in trouble if the prince died in his house.

"I can't!" The prince mumbled as he lowered his head. "I must avenge my mother. I have to make my royal father regret for making my mother and me miserable…"

His ego fell to the lowest since he could do nothing but wait for his death. He no longer cared about anything and said things he could never tell anyone.

"Sigh…"

Huvel stood silently when he heard the prince's mumble. He recalled his mother who died miserably.

"Tell me your proposal again."

Huvel left the prince's side and went back to his seat.

"What?!"

"If your proposal is more beneficial to me than your death, then maybe, I'll not kill you and help you in the future."

"HA! Do you take pity on me? Who do you think I am?! Do you think I will submit to you?"

"Pity or not, this is your chance to live. Don't you want to take your revenge on the King? You have to be alive to do that."

The prince looked at Huvel with doubtful eyes.

"What are you planning now? You tried to killed me! Do you think I will believe in you now?"

"Although the time we knew each other was short, I think we have seen each other's true self. I believe I can trust you. Take my hands if you think you can trust me as well. Oh, sorry, I forgot your hands were tied!"

The prince had almost given up on life since he was sure that Huvel was serious when he said he would kill him. He could not quite understand the change of Huvel at the mention of avenging his mother. His mind was muddled.

"What does he mean by my true self?" He thought. "And what is his true self? A creepy and dangerous boy? A pervert? A potion maker? He can even cast magic spells? Hmm... Whatever! He is right. I can't achieve my goal if I die now! I have to survive first!"