Ace Among Jokers

IV

IV

THE LIES WE TELL

I had been at the detached palace where my father left me to rot. I was panting from my run towards his palace which was incredibly far away from where I was staying. I had been wanting a gasp of air ever since I had arrived, but the atmosphere in my father's office was incredibly stifling.

My father was angry. No. He was furious. His jaw clenched and his brows furrowed as his red eyes looked down at me, burning with rage. It was the second time I had seen my father this angry. The first time was when my engagement with the Second Prince of Laedon fell through. But it was never to this extent. These days, I feel that my father's mood towards me was getting all too aggressive. He would call me once everyday just to remind me of my place despite me having clear Imperial Blood running through my veins. His Blood. Even illegitimate children are treated better than I am.

"You are a disgrace to the Ostulia Empire," he said.

I have lost count of how many times he said those words to me. Over and over again, without fail. It was as if he had nothing more to tell me. My father never failed to showcase his incredible feelings of dislike towards me. The maids in his palace whisper about our relationship. Most of them were whispers about me, and they weren't positive. They all sided with my father because they regarded my existence as a bane. And because of that, I would often receive disrespect except for when there are guests residing in the palace.

"Do not say anything inappropriate to the Prince." His stare tore through me like a million daggers passing through. It was sharp and unwavering. Sharp and full of hatred I merely nodded as a response because I know he despises hearing my voice. "If the prince hears about your situation, I will make sure to cut your tongue and cripple you."

I flinched. He was too harsh. But I'm already used to receiving threats like these and oftentimes it was from him, my own father. "Are you mute? Why won't you answer me?" He slammed his clenched fist on his desk as he stood up. I flinch at the sound of his fist's impact on his desk.

"I understand, fa-...your majesty." I almost made a mistake.

My father massages his temples and draws closer to me. Then he appeared. Ranlrein, my father's lover. He was younger and healthier than mother. But that's all there was to him. His looks were plain and average despite my father's praise about his beauty being unmatched. But not even the maids of the palace would give him a second look if not for his position as the King's beloved.

Ranlrein had untied brown hair that reached his shoulders. Freckles scattered his pale and sunken cheeks as his big brown eyes caught my momentary gaze. He leered at me and flashed me a smile. The same smile he showed me when he looked up at me in my attic window. He felt kind of different. A slimy kind of different. And I didn't like to be around him at all. "Why are you scolding the Princess, my love?"

His voice bounced off my father's office walls. And it caught his attention. My father turned around and walked towards his lover. He planted a kiss on Ranlrein's forehead and rested his hand on Ranlrein's small waist, caressing it ever so slowly. For a moment there, I thought I saw him flinch from my father's touch. But maybe it was just me.

My father gazed down at his lover, honey dripping from his eyes and heaved out a sigh. "What did the princess do for you to be this angry, your majesty?" Ranlrein asked once again, this time, throwing me a glance whilst being cradled in my father's arms. I shuddered under his gaze. There was something about him that never sat right with me.