Woman Hating Duke 51

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51 James:

I was sold to the country of Bosch at the age of five. My kingdom, Basseterre, was a newly created country that was established fifty years prior. A large vein of a scarce but valuable ore had been discovered, enhancing the country’s prosperity. But the Basseterre military was not powerful enough to ward off incumbent invaders, so by selling me to Bosch, a military powerhouse, Basseterre succeeded in warding off threats from other nations.

Because of this, Bosch received a large tribute every year. My position was nothing more than a banner to show the other countries that Bosch and Basseterre had a solid connection. My thoughts were not taken into account. Neither did I expect them to be. Conversely, it was feared that I would show talent in studies or swordsmanship, so I gave up trying to be good at anything.

I soon realised that the adults spoke about me in the shadows, and their children who overheard this began to look down on me as a fool. Soon, I began to question the purpose of my life.

Until I met Henry.

He was twelve, and he had just graduated from school as one of the top students. In the next year, he was going to enter the academy to become a knight. Moreover, he was the Queen’s nephew. I hated him at first sight; I even wanted to kill him.

At the time, I had begun killing stray cats out of boredom cursing my cruel reality.

That day we met, I had been trying to bury a cat I had just killed in the back garden to hide the evidence, when Henry found me.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped at the sound of his voice. I thought he was going to accuse me, seeing the corpse in my hands.

I knew him well because he was famous. I had thought he would try to punish me under his good sense of justice. No one would really do anything about it, I merely would be the topic of backbiting as usual. I bit my lips so hard, they began to bleed.

“Hey are you alright? You’re bleeding from your mouth. Did you like the cat that much? I suppose I should help you find somewhere to bury it.”

He pulled my hand and led me into the forest to bury the cat. He mustn’t know I was Prince Basseterre, I thought, if he did, he wouldn’t want to get involved with me. No adult will chastise me for what I had done. There was no need for my existence; I was just a decorative vase. No one cared what a vase did.

Henry found somewhere he thought was suitable: A prince should not have to dig the soil by hand, neither should a future Duke. There was no way he should want to do such an unpleasant thing. When I just stood there looking at him he said,

“Have you never done this before, James? That’s alright, I’ll do it.”

He rolled up the sleeves of his fine shirt and looked for a sturdy stick, and began to dig dexterously. I watched him in surprise.

“You know who I am.” I said

“Yes, but we’ve never spoken. I’m Henry.” He replied holding his muddy hand out to me.

I didn’t want to take the dirty hand, so I ignored him.

“Why aren’t you naming your house?”

He looked at me expressionlessly and returned to digging.

“Didn’t I say I am Henry?”

No. All the nobles boast their family names with pride. They gave their family names first, even if they never gave their given name. It was strange to see the heir to the strongest Dukedom, Magnaria, not giving his family name.

“Hey, the hole is done,” Henry announced, “put it in. Then, it can assimilate into the soil and return to this world again.”

I put the dead cat in as he asked and he covered the body with the soil. As he did this, he said to me, “Humans are the same. Family name is useless; whether you’re a noble or commoner, you will die and dry out in the soil just like this. So I’m sorry, I am not going to announce my family name. I do what I want with my own power. And you; is this fun?”

Did he realise I had killed the cat? Is that why he had taken me to the forest? If he was going to preach at me, I had no intention of listening. I did not want to hear any bossy lecturing,

“It’s fun. This is the hobby of the Prince of Basseterre from whom nothing is expected.’

Henry looked at me for a while not saying anything.

Then he replied, “You may be too addicted to your family name. Let’s find a new hobby for you. There are still two months before I have to go to the Academy; we can come here everyday and play together.”

“What do you mean, like chess? Hunting?” I asked. Wasn’t he going to preach? What was he trying to do?

“No,” he replied, “I play in the woods. It’s interesting, there is lots to see; from insects to birds. And bring your sword, I’ll teach you swordplay.”

“I will not! I will never! There is no use in waiting for me!” I protested.

Despite my protest, I played in the woods everyday with Henry from that day on. We swam in the river, went fishing, played with swords.

In this country where everyone was afraid of me, Henry was not. He smiled at me and allowed me to experience various things. I realised that Henry did not see me as a Prince; he had called me by my name from the very start. I spent the days he wasn’t with me thinking about him; my head was full of Henry. (Zuben: Henry saved Bosch from a future serial killer.)

Then I began to hear that he did not like women.

He had been harassed a lot by women when he was younger, one even tried to undress him without his consent. He had been given chocolates by another woman and she had put her hair in it. Another time, he woke up in the middle of the night to find a naked woman in bed with him. His dislike of them was decisive.

“I hate women,” he told me one day while he was roasting the fish we had caught, “just one approaching makes me feel nauseous. I really don’t know how many times I vomited from women coming close. It’s good that you’re a guy, James.”

I smiled as I ate the cooked fish, my heart pounding. It was then I realised my feelings. So I decided; I will never leave Henry’s side.

So I began to work on Henry so that he would never like women. I manipulated women into seducing Henry. With each attempt, Henry’s distaste for women accelerated, so that there came a time that if a women touched him, he hyperventilated. I wanted to ensure that he would not get married and always have time for me. (Zuben: It's guy love but just one guyyyyy)

I fantasised about Henry living in my manor with me, when he was off.

But then incident occurred: I was accused of being part of a conspiracy trying to stage a coup to overthrow Bosch. I was nineteen. Luckily, my innocence was proven. But Henry did not come to see me as often. Whenever I asked what he was up to, his replies were always vague. I didn’t remember who said it, but I was told that Henry had been told to stop associating with me, because I was of no advantage to him.

Did Henry really feel that way? No, I could not believe that. I had to believe in Henry, otherwise, I would lose my mind. For me, Henry was the only one I could not afford to lose.

Then the invitation to the ball arrived. To find a bride for the Duke Magnaria, the King was holding a ball inviting all the marriageable ladies of the kingdom.

I crushed the invitation in my fist; I absolutely must not allow this to happen.

Henry, I did not need you to tell me you love me, I just want you by my side forever. It was you who taught me what true friendship was. I need nothing but you.

On the night of the ball, I met a woman: A woman who was not interested in Henry, for the first time. And the first time Henry called a woman’s name with so much feeling, the first one he chased after; Julia.

Julia, you might be surprised, but I think I loved you from the moment I spoke to you. To me, you are the same as Henry. You did not see me was a Prince. There had been no one to shout at me or chastise me.

I confessed to you because I wanted to make you happy. But I also love Henry; I could not take his beloved woman from him.

And Julia, you told me you were my best friend. You told me you will always be on my side even if the world turned their back on me. This was what I wanted the most.

That is enough for me. 

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