“Do I take after my father?” Kael pictured the face of his father, Emperor Copper, who was probably furiously waiting for his son to return, so that he could depart on a trip with Empress Selleria.

Tough and charismatic in her youth, the current empress of Perkan strayed far from what was perceived to be a typical noblewoman. She was by far the most difficult person to approach in the social world. Yet, this very woman was the one with whom the current emperor, Copper, fell in love with at first sight.

“Love…” The crown prince’s heart, which hadn’t been shaken once in the 25 years of his life, pounded erratically. Even as he struggled to maintain a serious composure befitting of a crown prince, he couldn’t hide the smile that crept onto his face.

* * *

The journey from the Theorin kingdom’s Voltern region to the Perkan empire was long and arduous, with the heavy snowfall slowing down their progress. It took almost two months to reach the imperial province of Renslat, which effectively ruined the scheduled plan to arrive before the new year.

To recognize their efforts, a weeklong sabbatical was granted for everyone to recuperate from the journey once they finally reached the imperial palace. It was a much needed break—especially for Kael. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to properly rest as he was constantly plagued with thoughts of Irene. Even the final night of his leave proved no different—unable to get a wink of sleep, he returned to his duties looking haggard.

“It’s severe,” Kael muttered.

“I beg your pardon? Are you sick?” Wellen asked, tilting his head.

Wellen, the second son of Marquis Charis and Kael’s trusted aide, had just walked into the crown prince’s office and found Kael seated at his desk. The crown prince wore a frown on his face and seemed startled by the scribbles he’d made in a luxurious notebook.

“It’s nothing,” Kael answered gently, as he moved to cover the notebook. There was a strange urgency in his elegant gestures.

Wellen squinted suspiciously and glanced at Kael, before his eyes moved to the notebook. Despite Kael’s efforts, the notebook hadn’t been properly concealed. To his surprise, Wellen found a title scrawled in fancy calligraphy up top, followed by a list of rather cringeworthy contents.

What I want to do when I have a wife:

1. Tell her that she’s beautiful every day.

2. Tell her that I love her every day.

3. Go out and eat something delicious together.

4. Secretly escape the imperial palace and go on a trip together.

5. Buy lots of pretty and nice things for her.

‘A list of things he wants to do when he has a wife?’ The more Wellen dwelled on it, the more he wondered what could’ve possibly happened to Kael. This wasn’t normal behavior for the crown prince, and Wellen gradually became seized with alarm. ‘Has His Highness… lost his marbles?’ Nonetheless, Wellen fought down the urge to question Kael—this wasn’t the time to react sensitively. There were more pressing matters at hand.

“Did you bring it?” Kael asked.

“Before that, please take a look at this.”

Kael ignored the piece of paper Wellen held out and nonchalantly replied, “Oh, this?”

“Why is Your Highness reacting like that? Did Your Highness just say, ‘Oh, this?’ Please look at it here. It says: Before I return from this trip, if you do not choose a person to marry…”

“Oh, about that… Isn’t it that they think we’re in a relationship, and that you’re considered to be my wife?

“Was Your Highness already aware of this? And you purposefully chose to ignore it?”

“Hmm… It certainly sounds like my mother, who advocates for free love. She’s very open-minded in that sense.” With an apathetic look, Kael carelessly pushed away the empress’s letter with the tip of his finger.

Seeing the crown prince’s reaction, Wellen felt his blood pressure rise and he resisted the urge to thump his chest in an attempt to relieve his stress. He felt stuffy, as if all the outlets to his body had been clogged with no option of release. “Please just accept Della,” Wellen pleaded with a heavy sigh.