“Ha ha. No way. You must have heard false rumors from somewhere. If I cared about her, I would have sent Diana to you instead.”

No one wanted a seat as the companion of the monstrous Crown Prince. Everyone in the Empire knew that Gilbert had sent Ancia because he was a scumbag blinded by wealth, but he had the audacity to tell such lies.

“In addition, Diana has a problem with her personality. She has become so jealous because Ancia has been taking the lead in society these days.”

Gilbert weighed the scales in his mind for two years.

Who was more valuable, Ancia or Diana? When Diana’s marriage to the Cassil family went awry and she betrayed her father because she was so stubborn, the scale completely tilted to one side.

He took this opportunity to conclude that he would abandon Diana and improve his relationship with Ancia.

“Yesterday, she begged me to kick her sister out because she wanted to become the Crown Princess. No matter how young a child is, she went too far this time. But she didn’t reflect on herself.”

“Is that so?”

Gilbert smiled inwardly at the Crown Prince, who was still listening to his words. He was a cursed monster, so Gilbert was scared for a while, but in the end he was just a little child. A little coaxing would be enough to achieve his goal.

“Yes, I’ve been very worried because her lies. It’s all Diana’s fault that I grew apart from Ancia. So, you don’t have to listen to her words.”

Gilbert’s fear of the Crown Prince had disappeared so he quickly raised his head with arrogance and said in an imperative tone. Then, Blake asked in an unobtrusive voice.

“Did you scold my wife often?”

Gilbert wanted to say that he raised Ancia a thousand times better than Diana. But there was no one here who did not know that he had abused Ancia.

Should he let Ancia become a liar too? No, that would backfire. Furthermore, Ancia could not be touched because the Emperor as well as the Crown Prince trusted her.

“I taught her to be a good eldest daughter. It was all because I cared about my child, but people who don’t know the truth would say that I was treating her poorly. Ancia probably misunderstood me as well because she was still young and listened to what people around her said. But when she grows up, she’ll also know of her parents goodwill.”

“Misunderstanding…”

“Yes, it’s a misunderstanding. I want to take this opportunity to help me recover my relationship with my daughter. I beg your pardon, but Your Highness only has a few days left.”

“……”

The nobles would often discuss how much longer the prince would live and who would be the next prince if he died.

It was such a common topic that Gilbert used Blake’s remaining lifespan as a topic of conversation.

If he had any conscience left, Gilbert wouldn’t have said it to the little boy.

However, he did not even realize that he had made a slip of the tongue because he regarded the prince as a monster and not as a human being. He thought it was just an honest statement.

“If Your Highest leaves, who will support Ancia? If Ancia is to continue to enjoy the luxury she has now, the Bellacian family will have to gain strength. Jewels aren’t important now. I want to remind Your Highness that if you love Ancia, you should be of help to her family.”

Gilbert said what he had wanted to say. He tried to tell Ancia in person, but she refused to even write a letter, so he couldn’t.

“Furthermore, if she keeps treating her biological father like this, I’m afraid she’ll be criticized. It’ll lower her social standing.”

“You’re disgusting.”

Blake’s voice sounded dreary. Gilbert, who kept his mouth shut, was startled.

The charisma of an Emperor radiated from the boy. It was the overwhelming charisma that the Duke of Cassil’s family could never obtain.

But even so, he was cursed. No matter how long he lived, he would not be able to reach adulthood.

Looking at the black inscriptions that covered Blake’s hand, Gilbert frowned. The inside of his mask and clothes were covering such ugly inscriptions.

“Your Highness, I apologize for your displeasure. But isn’t it true that you are cursed? The Heir to the Curse cannot reach adulthood. Now that you’re ten years old, you should admit it and think about the future after you leave. How long are you going to turn away from the truth like a child?”

“I’m not going to die.”

“What?”

Gilbert’s eyes widened.

‘Did he find a way to lift the curse?’

There had been rumors among the people of the Empire that the curse of the Crown Prince would be lifted.

He thought it was a myth made up by the vulgar commoners, but was it true? If that was the case, then would Ancia become the real Empress?

“I promised Ancia I wouldn’t die.”

Gilbert burst into laughter.

“Your Highness needs to accept the reality.”

“Even if I die, Ancia won’t go back to your house.”

“Haha. What are you talking about?”

Even though he was a monster, he was still a prince.

Gilbert swallowed his words back, and Blake replied, “Do you think I’m a monster?”

“…..Pardon?”

Gilbert got goosebumps all over his body. Did he read his mind?

“I guess Count Bellacian is interested in curses.”

“It’s not like that…”

He took his hand in a hurry, and Blake continued.

“You must have heard about this then. The Curse of the Goddess is like an epidemic, so it can be passed on to others.”

“…Haha, that’s not true.”

He wanted to retract his hands, but Blake didn’t budge. It was not just a difference of strength. His hands felt as if they were being sucked into something.

“It’s not just a rumor.”

Blake’s lips went up. At that moment, a stream of light from Blake’s hand quickly hit Gilbert.

[Scared! Hot! It Hurts! Hurts!!] A chilling scream struck Gilbert along with the light.

Once the light assimilated into him, Gilbert struggled with pain and felt as if his whole body was going to burn.

He opened his mouth. However, no screams came out despite the severe pain.

Blake threw his hand away. Gilbert fell and rolled on the floor. Then, he looked at his hands. A black inscription covered Gilbert’s hand.

Blake looked down at Gilbert, who was screaming silently, with cold eyes.

“Get away from Ancia. Don’t even show your face and just get lost.”

***

I got up early in the morning and applied some ointment to Diana’s leg. It must have been uncomfortable because it was a new environment for her, but fortunately Diana fell asleep deeply.

For the first time since I transmigrated into Ancia’s body, I didn’t sleep with Blake.

I entered Blake’s room carefully.

“Ancia.”

Blake was sitting on the bed and smiled when he saw me.

“You’re already up?”

“Yes.”

I sat on the bed. I stood close to him but he looked pale.

“Why do you look so tired? You didn’t sleep?”

“It’s not that.”

“What do you mean no? You didn’t sleep, did you?”

He denied it, but it didn’t look like he had just woken up. Blake did not deny further, but the corners of his mouth raised up.

“I just can’t sleep well.”

“Your Highness…”

“Come on, take this. I went to the greenhouse and the roses were so pretty.”

Blake handed me a red rose. There were a lot of beautiful flowers in the greenhouse, but this was the first time he had picked one for me himself. Although I was happy to receive my first present from him, something felt strange.

“Thank you. It’s pretty.”

As I smelled the roses, Blake suddenly staggered.

“Your Highness!”

I ran to him in surprise.

“It’s all right… I’m just a little dizzy.”

“I’ll call your doctor!”

He took my hand.

“I don’t need them. Just stay with me.”

“But….!”

“Don’t go.”

Blake leaned on me and fell into my arms before he fell asleep. I brought him to the bed and sat next to him.

Blake fell into a long sleep and didn’t wake up. I fell asleep with him too. The white light from his hand enveloped me and put me to sleep as well.

We fell asleep for a whole day. When I woke up, I felt somewhat chilly. I felt like I had a terrible nightmare. However, the contents of the dream were not at all eerie.

“Ancia.”

The surrounding light disappeared and I heard Blake’s voice.

I reached my hand out and stroked the cheek of the little boy beside me.

When I did so, his face turned red, but there was no fever.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. I slept well.”

“Why is your face so red when you don’t have a fever?”

“You touched me….”

“…..”

He was once again driving me crazy. Always reminding me that this was the world of an R-19 novel. I was about to take my hand off, but he grabbed onto my arms.

“Wife…”

“Didn’t you hate touching?”

“I never said so.”

He smiled. I was starting to think that my little groom has become a little bit demanding, but it was probably just me, right?