* * *
Leo watched Anakin’s reaction after spitting out those words.
Anakin blinked in surprise, then asked, a bit puzzled:
“You were going to come see me?”
“No. I mean, everyone’s been talking about how you and that guy are always together.”
The gossip was already hard to deal with.
A beautiful boy favored by two powerful figures—of course people would run wild with that narrative.
“So, you were jealous?”
Anakin narrowed his eyes and smirked teasingly.
Leaning back into the soft cushions of the sofa, he asked again. Leo just let out a dry laugh.
“Anakin…”
“You were jealous, huh? Our dear prince?”
“……”
Leo’s expression went completely stiff at the second jab.
Anakin knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help teasing Leo more.
The prince was acting like a sulky kid, begging for attention.
“Pfft… Haha! Leo, that face.”
Anakin finally burst out laughing, and Leo let out a sigh as if he had given up, then dropped down beside him on the sofa.
As he did, the seat sank and Anakin lost his balance for a second—Leo’s arm wrapped around his waist to steady him.
“Ah…”
“So, are we doing this partner thing or not?”
Anakin’s soft hair brushed against Leo’s forearm.
The sweet scent of him, that gentle fragrance—Leo suddenly felt the urge to bury his face in Anakin’s neck.
Under Leo’s steady gaze, waiting for an answer, Anakin blinked twice and gave a dazed nod.
It wasn’t like he had anyone else to go with anyway.
At this point, whatever happened, happened.
“…Alright.”
Hearing that, Leo finally smiled for the first time since entering the room.
It was just a smug little smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth—but still.
Probably what he wanted all along.
Feeling like he’d been played, Anakin furrowed his brow.
Leo brushed a lock of his soft hair over his shoulder and said:
“Anakin, try making the ugliest face you can.”
The sudden request caught him off guard.
“…What?”
“Scrunch your face. As ugly as you can.”
Obedient as always, Anakin exaggerated his expression and scrunched up his face.
Leo grimaced and shook his head.
“Doesn’t matter what you do. Still cute. Just don’t.”
“……”
Anakin suddenly felt his ears burn.
‘Was being called cute always this… nice?’
Maybe being in a younger body made his mental age drop too.
The tingling in his chest and warmth rising in his body—
Most would call that fluttering.
Nothing too special, just a feeling anyone could experience… but still.
‘Maybe I should avoid looking Leo in the eye for a while.’
Anakin turned away, trying to hide his blushing ears.
The banquet hall was grand—almost excessively so.
The aged and ailing Emperor climbed the platform with the help of his attendants, but even just standing above the crowd, overlooking the attendees, he exuded a presence that made him seem like a force of nature.
The oppressive air of authority that once ruled the world was still intact, and it instantly turned the once-bustling atmosphere into a heavy silence.
The Emperor swept his gaze over the nobles bowing their heads and delivered a firm, commanding speech to mark the start of the banquet.
Mother and Father had sent word they wouldn’t attend due to affairs in the territory… but as for my brother—there was no sign of him.
Even in the original story, my brother had always ignored Anakin completely, so it wasn’t hard to guess he wouldn’t show up now either.
Even in the solemn atmosphere, the younger nobles exchanged greetings with one another.
Some introduced the partners they’d brought, trying to form social bonds.
Amid the mingling, all attention suddenly shifted to the entrance as the grand doors opened and revealed Leo and Anakin.
“Presenting His Highness, the Imperial Little Star, Leodore von Kirstan, and the second son of House Descartes, Lord Anakin!”
As expected, all eyes turned their way.
With the entire hall of nobles watching them, Anakin felt a wave of nausea rise.
Never in his life had he been the center of such attention.
Though not yet of age and therefore not officially debuting in society, this banquet was still a key event in the original story—one meant to etch Anakin’s presence into the minds of the noble class.
Naturally, it was hard not to be nervous.
“I want to gouge out every one of their eyes…”
Leo muttered with frightening calm, and Anakin glanced at him in alarm before quickly scanning the surroundings.
Fortunately, no one seemed to have heard.
The quiet buzz that followed was strangely out of place.
“Anakin!”
A girl’s cheerful voice called out. It was Lilian, beautifully dressed and smiling brightly as she approached.
At her side was Hilde, her escort for the evening.
“Your Highness, the Little Star of the Empire, it’s an honor.”
Both Lilian and Hilde offered proper greetings the moment they saw Leo, though Leo only gave a brief, uninterested nod in response.
Judging by their reactions, they were used to the Third Prince’s rude demeanor.
Not that they were particularly close to begin with.
“I knew you’d come, Anakin! Now that you’ve made an effort, you might be the prettiest one here.”
“You’d better steer clear of the drunks tonight.”
Seeing familiar faces made the overwhelming atmosphere of the banquet a bit more bearable.
While chatting with Lilian and Hilde, more nobles began to approach Leo, naturally drawing him into polite social interaction.
That finally gave Anakin a moment to look around the room properly.
Of all the dazzling nobles present, the ones at the center of it all were clearly the ornately dressed Crown Prince and his fiancée, Lady Evelynn Schneider.
Like a pair of figures out of a masterpiece, they glowed with brilliance, a perfect match so blinding that people couldn’t help but envy them.
Their noble grace and aura of superiority felt beyond their years, making them seem like protagonists in their own right.
If Anakin hadn’t existed, the two of them would’ve ended up together, right?
Evelynn might’ve made a fine Empress.
She was ambitious, sure, but smart and rational, too.
Of course, all of that would’ve been wiped out by Harca anyway.
As the subject of palace rumors, Anakin was swarmed by nobles coming to greet him nonstop.
He kept his composure as best he could, just like he’d always practiced, but the fatigue quickly piled up.
His stamina was weak to begin with, and now, for some reason, a chill was creeping through his body.
Leo, meanwhile, gave the approaching nobles a look of clear annoyance, though—surprisingly—he still answered them out of politeness.
“You look just as elegant and handsome as ever today, Your Highness. You remind me of His Majesty in his youth.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks.”
His face said otherwise.
That twisted expression would definitely make anyone regret complimenting him.
Watching Leo deal with nobles like an irritated cat, Anakin quietly excused himself to the terrace attached to the hall.
The moment he opened the door, a wave of cold air hit his skin.
The pressure that had been suffocating him lifted slightly, replaced by a feeling of freedom.
No wonder people kept escaping out here.
The stars glittered above in the ink-black sky.
It was cold, but the view was beautiful.
So many stars—so vivid—that it made this foreign world feel all the more real.
Click.
Just then, the terrace door opened again.
“…So this is where you were.”
A familiar face Anakin hadn’t seen in a while appeared.
It was Lewis, the sub love interest, holding a glass as he stepped out onto the terrace.
The space was curtained off—completely private.
Anakin greeted him without hesitation.
“Hey, Lewis.”
“Yeah… hi, Anakin. Listen, I think I might’ve misunderstood you because of some bad rumors.”
“Huh?”
“The way I’ve been cold to you all this time… I want to apologize for that.”
What was going on?
That Lewis—the cold and sharp-tongued Lewis—apologizing to him?
That never happened in the original story.
It was suspicious as hell, but Anakin awkwardly nodded and accepted the apology.
“It’s okay. It happens.”
“No, I was too harsh. At the time, I just couldn’t see you in a good light. You know why—because I have feelings for the Crown Prince.”
“…I’m not involved with His Highness. He came with his fiancée, didn’t he?”
“I know. I saw you two come in tonight. It was obvious—you and he aren’t a thing. And with Lady Evelynn around… there’s no place for me in his world.”
“…”
“They’re just… too perfect together, aren’t they?”
“Lewis…”
Had he finally grown up a little?
Alongside the suspicion, a quiet sympathy stirred in Anakin’s heart.
He’d seen Lewis’s painful, one-sided love unfold in the original story.
If only he’d fallen for someone other than the Crown Prince…
While that thought lingered, Lewis spoke again.
“Want some juice, Anakin? No alcohol. It’s a token of apology… and friendship.”
Anakin stared at the glass in Lewis’s hand. Lewis gave an awkward smile.
“What, worried it’s poisoned?”
He took a sip himself as if to prove it wasn’t.
Seeing him drink it with no reaction, it probably wasn’t poisoned.
After all, he drank it first—clearly to earn Anakin’s trust.
Refusing now would feel like an insult.
“I wasn’t… suspicious.”
Anakin took the offered glass and, like Lewis, took a sip.
Bitter and tart at first, then a sweet lemony aftertaste.
Not bad.
“Thanks—for trusting me.”
Lewis smiled gently, harmlessly.
There were still a dozen red flags waving in Anakin’s mind, but just this once, he didn’t want to be enemies with Lewis.
The fewer enemies, the better.
That thought lingering, Anakin wiped his lips.
* * *
