"...."

Was she being sarcastic?

Never in my wildest imagination would I have dreamed that I would hear someone say that being 13 was old.

I was left speechless, so I folded my arms and looked at her.

Let's see how far she'd go.

The Viscountess didn't pay attention to my reaction and pushed her daughter to the front.

"Sharon, don't you want to congratulate the Crown Prince?"

"Yes!"

Sharon smiled broadly and rushed towards Blake to hold his hand.

"Your Highness, congratulations! I heard everyone say that you're a monster so I was scared at first, but you look very beautiful in person. I was scared for nothing."

"Lady Sharon..."

No matter how young she was, this was just too much.

I was going to have a word to her, but before I could say anything, Blake shook her hands off.

"Let me go."

"Your Highness, I'm sorry. My child is still young."

Viscountess Perion made a hasty apology, but Blake's irritation was clear on his face and he rubbed his hands on a handkerchief.

"Who gave you permission to touch me?"

"But I like you."

"You're saying that to a married man? Did you not receive any education? I don't want to see you, so get out of here."

Blake said to the crying Sharon.

Viscountess Perion followed her crying daughter out without saying anything.

I was surprised too.

I had never seen Blake being this angry.

"Blake, are you upset?"

"Yes, they looked down on my wife. I don't want to see them again."

He had never even gotten angry even when he heard people call him a monster. I hugged him.

"You know, there will be a lot of girls like Sharon who like you now."

"I'm already married."

"Blake, you're the Crown Prince. There will be a lot of people who want a position next to you, even if it is as a concubine."

Besides, it wasn't uncommon for the Crown Princess to change.

Since they hadn't registered their marriage yet, the Crown Princess position could change anytime, depending on the Crown Prince or a political calculation.

Of course, Blake wouldn't betray me.

"I don't want that. I only want Ancia."

"Really? There are a lot of girls who are much prettier than me."

"Ancia's the prettiest."

"Tsk, you can't change your mind, okay?"

"I won't. I only like you."

Blake said without hesitation.

I trusted Blake too. I smiled and ruffled his hair, when suddenly, I heard someone screaming.

[Save me! Save me! I'm scared!]

I turned around in astonishment.

"Ancia, what's wrong?"

"Didn't you hear the sound just now?"

"No?"

What was it?

I looked around, but I didn't see anything suspicious.

"I must've misheard it."

***

Tenstheon was probably busy everyday, uncovering the Cassil family's sins and punishing the nobles that supported the Cassils.

However, he still didn't forget to visit Amoria palace and practice sword fighting with Blake despite his heavy workload.

"Let's call it a day."

Tenstheon hugged the exhausted Blake,

Blake naturally wrapped his hands around Tenstheon's neck.

"You're not pushing me away now."

"Anyway, you're going to continue to do it even if I push you away."

"Do you want me to carry you back?"

"Yes, my legs hurt."

Tenstheon smiled at his son acting childish.

If Ancia showed up, he'd beg Tenstheon to put him down.

Blake wanted to look mature in front of Ancia.

But when Ancia wasn't there, he would act childishly in front of Tenstheon.

Just like now. Edon approached them while Blake was still in Tenstheon's arms.

"Is Your Highness done with the training?"

"Yes, he seems to be improving these days thanks to your training."

"No, His Highness is already very talented. I haven't done much."

"No! Edon is a good teacher."

Edon looked at Blake gratefully and Blake smiled in response.

"But Your Majesty, is it okay for you to come here everyday? I heard that you're very busy..."

Blake had heard about the Cassils' incident, so he asked Tenstheon.

"It's alright. Collin is taking care of it."

"Um, is Sir Collin okay?"

"Don't worry. I pay him a lot of money."

"Wouldn't he have no time to spend the money even if he is paid a lot of it?"

Blake had met Collin occasionally because he would visit the Crown Prince's palace sometimes.

Blake recalled Collin's dark circles deepening with every visit.

"You're right."

"Hehe."

"....."

Edon was silent as he listened to the father and son's conversation.

Collin was a noble. He was handsome and smart and even paid a high salary.

But at the moment, Edon only felt pity for Collin.

Collin would probably be overworked by the Emperor all his life.

Indeed, it was not so good to be so talented.

Putting aside his pity for the overworked Collin, Edon looked at the father and son smiling at each other.

It was fortunate that the relationship between the two got better. If it weren't for Ancia, even if the curse had been lifted, it wouldn't be easy for their relationship to recover.

"Why don't you hang out with kids your age before the ball? It would be helpful to build friendships."

"Well..."

Blake's response to my friendly advice was rather lukewarm.

"Edon, what do you know about kids my age?"

"Haha, what do I know? If I think about my days in the academy, all the kids were a little rough. They'd run about with a sword in their hands all day and no one was as cute as you. Oh my, I'm sorry."

Edon remembered that Blake wanted to look mature so he quickly apologized.

"Yes, I'm cute."

Blake responded rather indifferently. He always heard from Ancia that he was cute, so it had become ingrained in his mind.

There used to be times when he thought of himself as a monster before, but not anymore.

Rather, he accepted the fact that he was cute.

Now, he had no complexes about his appearance.

That's why he was glad that the curse had been lifted.

Tenstheon smiled warmly at Blake, seeing that he now had confidence in himself.

It was all thanks to Ancia that Blake was able to grow into this confident man.

"Your Majesty, will you invite some of the children to the palace?"

"I guess so."

"Well..."

Tenstheon smiled and dropped Blake off when he saw Ancia coming over from a distance.

As soon as Tenstheon put Blake on the ground, he ran to Ancia.

"Ancia!"

"Blake, did you enjoy the training today?"

"Yes!"

"Wow, really? That's great!"

"I will catch a dragon for Ancia later!"

"Hey it's dangerous! Don't do it."

"Nothing is dangerous."

Blake bluffed in front of Ancia. Tenstheon looked at the interaction between his son and daughter-in-law with a smile.

"Oh, the designers will come soon."

"Did they have to come?"

"Why not? You don't want to meet them?"

"I'm just embarrassed because a lot of people will be looking at me."

"Well, the designers do have a lot of subordinates to make it convenient because you need to try a lot of clothes and shoes."

"I want to be alone with Ancia...there will be too many people."

Tenstheon was confused when he saw Blake acting shy and cute in front of Ancia.

"Edon."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Does the Crown Prince always act like this in front of Ancia?"

Edon was puzzled, unable to understand his question.

"Doesn't Blake want to look mature in front of Ancia?"

"Yes, he does."

"So why is he acting like that?"

Tenstheon looked at Blake who was still acting cute in front of Ancia.

Only then did Edon understand Tenstheon's question and burst out laughing.

"He's doing that to make himself look better."

"He won't look mature acting that way."

"But Ancia likes that cute side of Blake. He wanted to act mature in front of Ancia, but he would rather please Ancia more with his cute side."

"I see..."

"Haha, isn't that what love is all about?"