The instant that Freya saw His Highness’s face, the memory of Ruth vividly flashed into her mind. She recalled the shining blonde hair and white skin, and the red lips that always called her looked the same as his. She knew it was rude, but Freya was unable to stop gawking at his face.
The eyes of her friend were light green, like fresh spring grass. But the man standing in front of her had eyes that were dark blue like the ocean. It’s not Ruth! Realizing that she stared at him for too long, she quickly lowered her head and looked at the ground.
The man carefully watched Freya, who couldn’t say the greeting correctly. There was nothing special about her. It looked like she was an errand person, which was common to see on the battlefield. The black hair, cut carelessly by someone, stuck out over her ears, and she had a messy face. But what sparked his curiosity was her gaze. The subtle eyes didn’t contain fear or charm. It was happiness that stemmed from familiarity but had then turned to disappointment, and he was intrigued as to why she looked at him like that.
Lucius approached to get a better look at the face of the suspicious lady. He was close enough to touch Freya’s body, and it looked as if he was going to butt heads with her when he leaned in. Freya’s body reacted first by the unexpected physical contact, and she immediately stepped backward, frowning deeply. He’s insane, just like the rumors say! It seemed absurd to try to headbutt someone just because they didn’t greet him properly.
Tilting his head, Lucius observed Freya as her breathing quickened. Suddenly, she turned away from Lucius’s overwhelming gaze, and something rolled down on her cheek. “Why is there blood on my face?” It must’ve dripped from the Crown Prince to her. Freya lifted her sleeve and started to wipe the blood away, feeling repulsed by the sticky liquid.
“Your Highness, you’ve returned safely,” one of the men said, smiling up at the Crown Prince.
“I have indeed,” the prince replied.
The Crown Prince’s crowd went away as Freya was washing off the blood, and Archer was breathing hard beside her, “I think I aged ten years because of you!”
Freya felt that his words were unfair. She was raised in an orphanage and had come straight here, so how was she supposed to know that her behavior was rude? “How am I supposed to know the manners of the royal family?” Freya hid her trembling legs as she yelled at him.
Archer didn’t confront her further as it seemed that he felt bad about doing so and instead instructed, “Go bring me something to eat.”
“Okay, I will,” she replied without looking at him and then walked off.
Freya lifted the wooden container and brushed her cheek with her fingertips. She automatically trembled as she remembered the dark blue eyes that had been staring at her. But it wasn’t solely fear she felt, and she said quietly, “I guess my heart beats faster if I see someone similar.”
The Morciani Empire had always been protected by knights and wizards, since ancient times. And when an heir was born in the royal family, a fitting grand wizard and knight were assigned to him. Lucius Morciani was a boy who had blonde hair and blue eyes, characteristic of the royal family. The Emperor cared so much about Lucius, who was his firstborn and immediately named him an heir. And it would be written in history as a beautiful story. Since then, the Emperor had many relationships with different women, and finally, he had a sexual relationship with the maid of The Queen. At one point, they thought it would be a one-time thing, but their relationship grew closer to the point where the Emperor would not leave the embrace of the maid, Milady, and he pleaded every day with his wife, Marian, to divorce him. But Marian refused because she wanted to protect her child.
Within a year, the maid gave birth to the son of the Emperor. “Marian, are you going to make the child a bastard because of your selfishness?” The Emperor had angrily asked. In the empire, it was impossible to divorce without both people agreeing. The Emperor, who wanted to make his lover the new queen, became furious when he couldn’t persuade Marian to leave him, and he’d then given her an ultimatum. “If you don’t sign the divorce papers, I will deprive Lucius of being an heir.”
The womanizing Emperor didn’t hesitate to threaten Marian. But because Marian’s family was powerful, he had to remove the threat. And so, the evil Emperor had Marian’s family murdered. Therefore, Lucius and his mother had no one to lean on, and he’d said, “Now, I’m the only one who can protect Lucius.”
Many subjects in the palace had pledged their loyalty to the second prince already. At this point, if she kept holding on, it was clear that both she and the child would be in danger. Marian had finally agreed, “Then prepare a document that guarantees Lucius as an heir. Leave the wizard and the knight as well.” She wanted to ensure that Lucius would be able to enjoy what was rightfully his.
Once the Emperor and Marian signed the document, Milady had then become the new queen. And this was acknowledged by the people of the empire. The son of the maid, Hart, became an official prince too.