Dennis narrowed his eyes. "I see what has happened,” he muttered softly.
The captain raised one hand, and his squad drew their blades.
That arrogant man will finally meet his end! Mikhail thought triumphantly.
The knights, however, betrayed his expectations and aimed their swords elsewhere.
"What is this?" he asked, ready to lose his temper because of the knights’ gall.
"How dare you insult my lord…” Dennis muttered quietly. "You must have a death wish.”
Mikhail was taken aback by the abrupt threat. How had he insulted the crown prince?
"Sir Dennis, what are you talking about all of a sudden? Your lord is His Highness the Crown Prince. I haven’t done anything to offend him!"
The commoner now stood with his back straight.
"Dennis,” he called.
It was unacceptable for commoners to refer to a noble by their first name. Smirking, Mikhail made sure not to miss his chance. "Can you see it now? Do you see how ill-mannered this—"
Dennis cut him off.
"Yes, Your Highness!" he answered, responding to the commoner’s call.
Unable to continue, Mikhail gaped at Max. This man… was the crown prince?
Jet black hair and ruby eyes. The handsome man shot him a smug smile.
"Let him go,” Max ordered.
All at once, the knights removed the blades that they had aimed at Mikhail's neck. Then, they knelt on one knee in deference to their lord. As if he deserved it, Max accepted their greeting with a haughty expression.
Was he truly the crown prince? Mikhail was disgusted.
Max approached him. "Mikhail Albert Hessen. You should be kneeling before me right now.”
Realizing he had to assume a humiliating position in front of Jubelian, Mikhail flushed red. Still, he couldn’t disrespect a member of the royal family. Sending Max a vicious glare, he slowly knelt.
Once I get the emperor's trust, he swore to himself, you will…
Just then, the crown prince used his hand to force Mikhail's head to the ground. It collided with a bang.
"You should know to bow once you’re on your knees,” the prince muttered, voice cold. "Especially now that you know who I am."
Mikhail trembled with fury and gritted his teeth. He swore to have vengeance for what this man had done.
Since he was so arrogant, I was quite satisfied to witness Mikhail learn his place. At the same time, however, I was worried. Was it okay for Max to reveal that he was the crown prince? Mikhail currently had the emperor's trust and was close with quite a few nobles, so that would mean many of the nobles would come to know what Max looked like.
Not having other people know what he looked like must have afforded him many merits... Even now, most of the nobles didn’t know his face. Suddenly exposing it, however? It felt like he was being a bit reckless. I decided to talk to him about this matter later.
Our eyes met. Max pushed Mikhail further onto the ground with his foot.
"Now, get out of my sight,” he spat. He could have said it in a way that better suited a nobleman, but he decided on hostility in the end. I sighed.
"If you try to do anything to my sister or Jubelian from now on, you will die,” he swore.
He turned to me, the darkness in his eyes shifting into a passionate light. He looked like a puppy asking for praise, so I smiled sheepishly.
I was definitely proud of him. Honestly, I was pleased by what had happened. No matter how many times I told him not to come near me, Mikhail would somehow find and torment me, so this was a relief.
Thinking Bea shared similar feelings, I turned to her. However, she simply remained where she sat, her head bowed. She didn’t say anything, so I grew worried and tried to approach her.
Before I could reach her, Max suddenly lifted me into his arms and held me like a baby.
"Where do you think you’re going?" he asked.
I was about to ask him to put me down, but then I realized everyone’s gazes were on me. They were definitely curious about how I met him since he was the crown prince.
Meanwhile, Max's guards observed the two of us with twinkling eyes. I lamented this; how embarrassing…
"It's..." I hesitated, unable to come up with a proper answer.
"From now on, you'll always stay next to me. Okay?"
I flinched when I heard that. Always stay next to him? Did that mean he didn't mind others finding out about us? He was currently trying to hide me, his weakness, from the emperor. It would be rash of him to announce his relationship with me to the public since the uprising had yet to take place.
I glanced at him to discover that he was watching me. His crimson eyes were a bit darker than usual.
"If we do that, the emperor might..." I trailed off.
He chuckled. "I’ll take care of him, so if you don't mind... I would like to make our relationship official."
I could hear the urgency and impatience in his voice. It looked like he was worried that I might refuse. I sighed softly.
"Of course,” I replied, smiling.
Max's expression instantly brightened.
"Thank you so much,” he gushed. "I’ll treat you with the love and respect you deserve."
As I watched his lovable visage, I smiled. Then, I cautiously brought up what I had been bothered by this whole time.
"Um, Max… I have something to say..." I mumbled.
He looked at me nervously. "What is it?"
I didn't want to ruin the sweet mood, but I had no choice. Being on the receiving end of everyone’s gazes at once was incredibly burdensome.
"Everyone is looking at us, and I'm embarrassed,” I said. "Could you please let me down?"
I thought he would listen to me, but what he did next made my face heat up even more.
"All of you. Shut your eyes,” he ordered.
At the sight of everyone hurriedly clenching their eyes shut, I sighed. I would have to teach him how to speak using the appropriate words in the future.
The Floyen and Elios knights had done their best to follow the crown prince's guards in the direction Max had gone. At the entrance to the basement of the arena, however, only the prince's horse remained.
"We cannot return to the arena so hastily. If we go back now, we might be going against His Highness' plans,” Dennis had said. "Everyone, please wait here. I will head to where the beast is supposed to be.”