"What do we do? We're short of one tent?"

"That's right."

"Isn't Miss Rose there?"

"Ah......"

The knights looked at me. They were courteous in front of me, perhaps because two knights had been fired not too long ago, however, I could see a slight frown on their faces every time they looked at me.

I lowered my head and fixed my hair. My long hair draped over my scars, covering them, but I made sure it was completely hidden again. Suddenly, someone grabbed my hand, as if saying I didn't need to cover anything.

There was only one person who would do that.

"Rose."

Blake smiled at me as he asked the knights.

"What's going on?"

"There was a small mistake."

"Mistake?"

"We're short of one tent. I'll try to find a solution."

The young knights' expressions hardened when they heard him. Adjusting the number of people meant that the number of people sharing a tent would increase. Thanks to me, their space would be reduced, so there was no way they'd feel too pleasant about it.

"No need. Rose will stay with me."

"Pardon?"

The knights and I were taken aback by his words.

"Let's go, Rose."

Blake gently embraced my shoulder, not caring about what others would think.

***

I entered Blake's tent.

It had been hours since I decided not to reveal my identity, but I still couldn't bring myself to hurt or reject him. It was the same as when I got engaged to Rakshul and even when I first met Blake.

No matter how hard I made up my mind, I just couldn't do it. I loved him too much.

"Come here."

Blake called me over to sit next to him.

I didn't think it was proper for us to sleep in the same tent. Seeing that I didn't move, Blake smiled coyly.

"What's wrong? We slept together last night too."

"!"

Hey! What if someone heard him? Just what was he implying?!

His habit of making ambiguous comments was still the same.

I did indeed sleep in Blake's bed last night, but Blake had been up working all night because of the Joanna incident so I slept alone last night.

I couldn't even refute him because I couldn't speak.

While I was racking my brains thinking of a response, Blake burst into a soft chuckle.

"Get some rest. It's wider than the knights' tent, so it won't be too uncomfortable."

It turned out to be much wider than the knights' tents that I had seen a while ago.

"I'll just watch you fall asleep, and after that I'll leave."

I ended up sitting on the bed that he led me to. Blake tucked my hair behind my ear and held my hand tightly.

"Why are you so weak?"

'I'm alright.'

"What do you mean? You're so thin."

Blake said that, but I saw that he also looked very tired since he couldn't sleep at all last night. I tugged his hands.

"You want me to sleep with you?"

I smacked his shoulder.

"Someone once taught me that couples should sleep together."

'We're not a couple!'

He smiled lightly. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Even after all that, did he still think I was Ancia?

I was going to leave soon so I couldn't admit that I was Ancia.

'I'm really not. I'm not the one you are looking for, Your Highness.'

Did he understand me? He only stared in response.

'It's not me.'

I repeated my words until he understood. Then, Blake slowly opened his mouth, studying my face carefully. He said,

"Even so, I won't let you go until I know who you are."

"......"

I got up from the bed.

'Sleep here.'

"What about you?"

I pointed at the blanket left by the knights. I couldn't take his bed.

"Come here."

But as soon as I pointed at the blanket, he pulled me onto the bed and sat me down.

"Don't worry about useless things and take a good rest."

He laid me down and got out of bed. I quickly grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

Blake stroked my hair. Was I a kid? I would've grumbled if I could speak.

I liked to take care of him, but I didn't like it when I kept getting helped by him instead.

"Come on, let's go to bed."

Blake hadn't slept a wink last night, so if I could choose, I'd want to put him to sleep instead.

But he effortlessly laid me on the bed and covered me with a blanket.

I felt really comfortable and warm and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

***

Blake's life was enveloped by endless darkness.

When he was five years old, he was cursed by the goddess, driven out of the Crown Prince's palace and banished to an old palace. He was in constant pain every day because of the curse.

He used to seek his father when he was hurting, but as time went by, the expectation that one day his father would come to rescue him also turned to dust.

He thought that he'd end up dead, in immense pain while the cursed sentences wrapped around his entire body.

He often locked himself in a room alone. The servants despised and ignored Blake, but it didn't matter to him.

He thought, since his father abandoned him, there would be no one in the world who could love a monster like him.

But there was still someone who was kind to him.

"Your Highness, let's take a walk. The weather is nice."

Melissa, Hans and Edon often spoke to him, but he felt that deep down, they despised him too. Blake wanted to be alone. He wanted to die quietly, alone in a dark room, without anyone around to see.

But Edon could be very persistent.

"If you just keep reading, you won't be able to overcome the curse."

"A walk won't lift the curse."

"Come on, let's get out! There's a full moon today. It looks very pretty."

Blake eventually left the room, giving in to Edon's stubborn persistence. The other servants looked at him like he was a bug. Blake wanted to go back to his room right away, but Edon still dragged him out of the room, not noticing anything.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

"I don't know."

"Look carefully."

"I want to go back."

He just wanted to go back to his room quickly. He hated the outside world but he was also scared of it. He only wanted to be alone.

Ignoring Edon, Blake was making his way back, when he heard a noise outside.

"Father, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

It was the voice of a little girl. Blake looked in the direction of the voice in surprise. Beyond the entrance to Amoria Palace, stood a girl. It was late at night, but her face shone brightly under the light of the full moon.

"Why did you act like that in the Imperial Palace! I even bought you a dress to catch the eyes of Count Cornwell, and yet you ran out!"

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

"Do it one more time and I'll kick you out! You should at least be able to be useful to our family!"

A man slapped the girl's cheek. The girl collapsed, unable to withstand the man's power. But she didn't scream, and only continued to beg for forgiveness.

This situation seemed very familiar.

"Edon, help that kid."

"Ah, yes."

It was the first time Blake showed an interest in others. Edon bowed his head, hiding the look of astonishment on his face.

The little girl's face continued to haunt Blake after that day.

Was it out of sympathy? No, it wasn't sympathy. He just liked the kid.

The girl's name was Ancia. She was the eldest daughter of Count Bellacian. Unfortunately, after the passing of her mother, her father remarried, and she seemed to be abused by her family.

The Count of Bellacian said that he was eager to sell her off to a rich aristocrat. Count Cornwell, was wealthy. However, his relationship with women was complicated and he was very old, so Ancia ran away after meeting him.

He tried to send his daughter to such a man and even slapped her.

Blake was still agonizing when a message came from the Imperial Palace.

Blake's marriage had been decided, and his partner was Ancia Bellacian.

'How... did the emperor know of his heart? Who told him about it?'

No, it couldn't be. Even if Edon had told the emperor about the situation that day, the emperor wouldn't have done it for him.

The emperor had abandoned him because of his curse...

When he heard the news of the wedding, Blake was quite pleased. He could save Ancia.

But soon, he became worried. What would Ancia think? Wouldn't it be worse to marry a monster compared to a rich old man?