There was a fundamental difference between this rumor and the one that had spread across the country.

Emperor Phillip betrayed the Goddess so he was cursed in return. However, only a few people knew of this fact.

Most people in the Empire thought that the Goddess of Light had cursed the fallen souls or the seeds of a tyrant.

Suddenly, there was a change in the rumor.

"The Goddess of Light was angry and cursed his descendant. It was not the heir to the curse's fault. The sins of Emperor Phillip have been brought upon his descendant."

The rumors clearly stated the facts. Whoever spread this rumor knew the truth about the curse.

And in the Empire there were only a few that knew about this truth.

It was the Emperor, the High Priest and Duke Cassil.

Richard had also found out while spying on the Duke of Cassil.

In any case, out of the three men, only Tenstheon was willing to protect the Crown Prince, even at the cost of defaming the first Emperor of Asteric Empire.

'Why did the Emperor do that?'

The Emperor had changed after the Crown Prince fell into a coma.

He'd often visit Amoria Palace to spend time with the Crown Prince.

In addition, he even rewarded the Crown Prince's servants frequently. The nobles were rather silent about this recent development.

As a result of the rational Tenstheon suddenly changing his attitude, rumors spread that the Emperor seemed to have found a way to lift the curse.

The nobles and the commoners alike said the curse would be lifted soon.

Bastards.

'Did he really find a way to lift the curse?'

'No way. If there was such a way, the curse would already have been lifted.'

For many years, countless Emperors had tried to lift the curse. But in the end, they all failed.

A corner of Richard's mouth raised up.

"Maybe it's the opposite."

"What do you mean?"

"The Crown Prince only has a few days left."

Blake only had a few days left to live so Tenstheon wanted to accompany his son during his last moments.

However, as soon as the nobles found out that Tenstheon had been visiting the Crown Prince, they would begin to protest.

So, Tenstheon spread rumors that the curse would be lifted soon.

This scenario was a hundred times more reasonable.

"I'll have to hurry"

Richard said with a huge smile on his lips.

If Blake died, Ancia would become a princess and her new husband would become the Emperor.

So he had to make Ancia his as soon as possible.

***

The Festival of Light had begun.

The Festival of Light, which commemorated the day when the Goddess of Light gave her power to Phillip, lasted for fifteen days.

"Terry, get the turkey ready. I'm going to make roasted turkey."

In fact, I wanted to make roasted chicken, but when it came to creating a festive mood, turkey was the best.

"Will you be cooking today?"

"Yes. I'll make an apple pie too!"

"Your Highness, give me a chance to work too."

Chef Terry said playfully.

I used to cook often before, but ever since I found out that the food I cooked had the power of light in it, I prepared meals for Blake without skipping a day.

"Your Highness. Aren't you cooking everyday lately? Terry and I will make the turkey, so why don't you go to the square? There are so many things to see."

Melissa also urged me to go in a friendly way, seeing that I planned to stay in the palace throughout the festival period.

"I don't like crowded places."

Frankly, I wanted to go to the festival.

But I could go to the festival when Blake's curse was lifted later.

"Melissa, you can go there with Hans."

"Wh-what? Why Hans?!"

Why?

I thought that everyone in the Amoria Palace knew that they were dating.

But seeing how embarrassed she was, I realized that they were probably trying to keep it under wraps.

Well, if she didn't want to reveal it yet, I could only help her hide it.

"Terry, go out with your brother. The Festival of Light only comes once a year."

"I'm sick of festivals. In the past, whenever there was a festival going on, I thought I'd die cooking for so many customers. Even when I went home after work, it would be so noisy that I couldn't even enjoy my break time. So terrible."

Terry shook his head, recalling the time he used to work at the restaurant.

Melissa elbowed Terry on the side so he could take a hint.

"Terrible? Your Highness, you cannot believe his words, the festival is so much fun. There's a lot to see and a lot to eat. It will definitely be a good memory."

Melissa urged me to go to the festival again.

"Your Highness, you've been so busy cooking lately. How about you go out to refresh your mind?"

Something was out of the ordinary.

I had never attended any of the festivals of this world before either, but Melissa had never urged me this much.

"What's wrong Melissa?"

"Oh nothing."

Melissa waved her hand in a hurry. That made it even more suspicious.

"Tell me!"

***

After an hour of questioning, I finally heard the truth from Melissa.

Blake had asked her to take me to the festival.

He thought that I didn't want to go to the festival because of him.

So did Tenstheon. I didn't know that Tenstheon was also concerned about this.

That night, I said to Blake, "Blake, I don't like festivals."

"Why?"

"It's scary because there are so many people. I don't want to get lost."

"Get lost?"

Blake's face turned pale. He must've imagined it.

"Yes, I got lost in the square when I was young."

This was true. It wasn't my past, but it was what the original Ancia went through.

Ancia's biological father, Gilbert Bellacian, had once left her in the middle of the square and gone back alone.

He had abandoned her.

"Fortunately, thanks to the people in the square, I was able to return home safely."

When Ancia returned home, Gilbert was visibly irritated.

Even though I wasn't the one who experienced it, it was still heartbreaking to think about that day. I could only imagine how heartbreaking that day was for the original Ancia.

"Festivals must be scary..."

Of course fear and heartache were different. Ancia's memory still lingered in my mind, but that wasn't why I didn't want to go to the festival.

I didn't want to leave Blake alone.

If I went alone, I would only think of Blake and wouldn't have any fun.

But Blake would be upset if I said that, so I made up a different excuse.

"I'm sorry...I didn't know."

I stroked Blake's hair and grinned.

"What's there to be sorry about Blake?"

"But..."

"Don't you want to go to the festival?"

"No."

Was he serious?

In the original story, Blake only saw the festival once.

Jane, Blake's original maid, had begged him to come with her.

When Blake said he didn't want to, she pretended to cry.

After hearing Jane's fake sob story, Blake finally decided to go.

They snuck out of the palace together and Blake watched the festival, wearing a large mask that covered his entire face. There were many people who were uniquely dressed in the festival, so he didn't look out of place.

Blake enjoyed the festival, but the happiness didn't last long.

The maid, Jane, was a spy planted by Richard, and she had brought Blake to the festival at his command.

Jane took off Blake's mask intentionally, and then, as if they had been waiting for it, Richard's servants shouted, "The monstrous Crown Prince has appeared!"

Hearing that, the people in the square screamed and cursed at Blake.

There were many who threw stones at Blake.

Blake was deeply hurt by the incident. In addition, the Duke of Cassil also attacked Tenstheon because of this incident.

Tenstheon wanted to comfort his wounded son, but as a result of protecting him, the misunderstanding between the two deepened.