CHAPTER 65 - CHANGE IN ATTITUDEThe Old Duke and Heath were sitting, facing Crown Prince Heinrich, who somehow looked far different today.
The man sat with an overall atmosphere that was no longer the same as before. He didn't look pressed, nor did he see them as cold as usual. Precisely after what happened yesterday, what changed the man into like this?
Unlike usual, Ezekiel was now sitting by their side. He was there because he was involved with yesterday's events. He was the Crown Prince of the Empire, and that was why he spoke on behalf of the empire and its people who were in danger last night.
"How are you two today, Your Highness Euclase, Your Highness Hyacinth?" Heath said, opening the conversation.
"Could be worse," Heinrich replied with a flat expression.
"I'm fine," replied Ezekiel.
"We are grateful that there were no casualties in last night's horrific incident," Heath said seriously.
Heinrich smirked secretly and looked at the other three men sitting in the room. Maybe if he was Heinrich from yesterday, he wouldn't have noticed the strange things that happened last night. But he was no longer just Heinrich. Today he was also Henry, the self in his previous life.
The man stared out the window without concern or nervousness while feeling ironic. In his previous life, he was also involved with the Almandine family, though in an even more dramatic way. While thinking that, Heinrich leaned his back against the back of the sofa.
"Your Grace, Young Lord," he called softly, then turned to Ezekiel, "Your Highness."
The three men looked at him with a hint of surprise in their eyes, surely seeing his change in attitude in such a contrast would make them react that way.
"I would agree that yesterday's incident was an unforeseen horrific incident, as there is no evidence to the contrary," said Heinrich lazily. He already knew that yesterday's events had been planned, by who knows who.
Was that Heath Goldlane? Heinrich asked himself. In his eyes, the most suspicious was still Heath. He couldn't guess what was on the young man's mind.
If it was Old Duke, perhaps he would be even more shocked, because Heinrich believed Old Duke only wanted to kill his younger brother. Making a risky elaborate plan like yesterday by deliberately letting his brother escape was not the style of a man like the Old Duke.
On the other hand, he still didn't know what type of person Heath was, so he suspected him.
One other possibility was that man, Liam Almandine. But Heinrich knew the man would also prefer to kill his brother even if he could come up with such a plan.
Why didn't they just kill his brother? He knew they weren't afraid of war, and wasn't his brother's escape yesterday the perfect excuse to just kill him? Heinrich had many questions in his heart yesterday. But now he knew the answers to all of them.
The Old Duke clicked his tongue in annoyance and did not answer. Ezekiel remained silent, while Heath laughed. They realized Heinrich already knew the truth.
"You want to return the prince who has become your kind to us as punishment, right?" he asked again.
The three people in the room, especially Ezekiel, were shocked at what Heinrich had said. Ezekiel just realized that was what Harriet wanted, while Heath and the Old Duke were surprised. Heinrich understood the point of view that Harriet had explained to them perfectly.
"Is this because you guys guessed that even if we were to be hostile to you, we wouldn't be able to raise the flag of war because there wouldn't be any other kingdoms to support us?" asked Heinrich. Again, he was saying what Harriet had explained to Heath and the Old Duke the other day.
By this time, Heath had clearly seen that this man had guessed everything. So he glanced at the Old Duke and saw the old man nod.
"We have two offers," said the Old Duke.
As Heinrich satisfied his annoyance and contented after revealing everything they were thinking, he listened.
"One, you can bring Prince Julian back, and we won't ask for anything," said the Old Duke. He continued, "Or two, you guys can leave Prince Julian under our protection, as we have to take responsibility for everyone turning into Lycans on this continent."
"Whichever it is, you know you can torture Julian and our family for having a monster family member, right?" Heinrich chuckled sarcastically.
"But, Your Highness, do you care?" Heath asked with a gentle smile. "You tried to save your brother because of someone else's encouragement, right?"
Heinrich raised his eyebrows high. So it was Heath who saw everything and prepared this plan?
Heath said what his sister had said the other day too, word for word, imitating it perfectly. "Perhaps you insist on saving your brother to secure your throne as King?"
Heinrich was surprised they knew, so he laughed.
"Right, right. So this is how you guys are going to make a deal with me? You're saying that I can still become king after bringing my brother home 'alive' and fulfilling my father's requirements?" the man became more and more interested and laughed amusedly.
"Your father must be a troublesome father, huh?" asked Heath, surprised at Heinrich's seemingly unperturbed attitude.
"He's troublesome, but he loves his family," Heinrich muttered. His eyes looked down, with a faint smile.
This time, everyone understood what was different between the Heinrich of yesterday and the Heinrich of today. Now, the man looked more sympathetic. Before, he was like someone who didn't care about the people around him and only wanted to achieve one pure goal, but today he seemed more like he had a… conscience.
"Don't worry about the war, or my brother, or anything," Heinrich said, wanting to end his complaints.
The man lifted his face.
"I'm not angry about what happened yesterday, really. After thinking about it today, I think yesterday's event was something I should be grateful for," he said. He felt that the return of his memories from his previous life and his younger brother's transformation into a Lycan was a good thing.
Heinrich's serious expression left everyone confused. What did this man say all of a sudden? How could those who hate monsters actually be grateful that their families became monsters?
"We will return to the West Continent like this, and we will not ask for anything from you," Heinrich said, saying something they couldn't believe. He added, "From today on, I hope we can be on good terms."
"Suppose I accept your offer. I will assume that everything that happened yesterday was a spontaneous, unplanned event, and I will not investigate further," explained Heinrich.
Heinrich felt there was no point in being the enemy of Almandine in this life.