* * *
As if pondering what kind of punishment to dole out, Leodore looked him over.
Anakin bit his lip.
This wasn’t good.
Still, was it a success since he left a strong first impression?
He anxiously awaited Leodore’s next move.
Not long after, Leodore spoke again.
“…Well, fine. I’ll forgive you. You’re my type.”
“…Huh?”
He grinned nonchalantly as he said it—so very Leodore.
And Anakin immediately regretted everything.
Should he be relieved at being forgiven, or worried about being labeled as “his type”?
While Anakin stood there dazed, Leodore came closer.
“You said you admired me.”
“….”
Despite being a child, he had the face and demeanor of a cold, elegant statue.
That sharp jawline would leave plenty of girls weeping.
Even in the original story, many were obsessed with the Third Prince’s looks.
Then, Leodore brushed his silver hair back, suddenly grabbed Anakin’s wrist, and tugged.
“Come with me.”
Anakin couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening.
This is seriously bad. Haha.
“I really should head back…”
Anakin looked up at him, flustered, but Leodore replied calmly.
“I’ll tell them.”
Then, to the attendants who came running after spotting Leodore, he said just one thing:
“Tell them Anakin Descartes is with me.”
That… sounds like something a kidnapper would say.
Speechless, Anakin decided to just go along for now.
The place Leodore took him was the Third Prince’s palace.
With their master returning on a whim, the servants rushed to tend to him in a flurry of activity.
“Your Highness, who is this…?”
They stared at Anakin in disbelief, then looked at Leodore, utterly confused.
“A guest from the social party that he is hosting.”
Leodore replied casually.
By he, he must mean the Crown Prince.
Calling his own older brother “he”… yeah, their relationship must be pretty bad.
In the original story, the two were known to be sworn enemies, trying to assassinate each other at times.
“I really need to go.”
“Just stay with me.”
As Anakin tried to leave, Leodore grabbed his arm in annoyance.
Anakin, fed up with being dragged around, hardened his expression.
“No. I’m not Your Highness’s possession.”
And I never will be.
“….”
Leodore’s glare turned ice-cold and dangerous, the kind that could easily accuse someone of insulting royalty.
But Anakin held his gaze, unfazed.
The attendants nearby looked pale, nervously biting their nails, when at last, Leodore spoke.
“Then I’ll go with you.”
Wait—what?
That’s not how it was supposed to go.
In the original plot, he was only supposed to show up at the party, leave a small impression on the Crown Prince, and then go home.
Later, the Crown Prince would summon him to the palace to take classes together.
So why am I going to the social party with the Third Prince?
“You’re younger than me, right? You look like a little kid.”
Looking at Anakin’s small build and short stature, Leodore tried to guess his age.
In truth, they were the same age.
But compared to others his age, Anakin was unusually small and delicate, so it wasn’t strange for Leodore to assume he was younger.
“I’m thirteen.”
“What? Don’t lie.”
“I’m just… a bit small.”
Anakin’s calm answer made Leodore pause, as if contemplating something, before asking again.
“Then you’re weak, right?”
“I guess you could say that.”
They say the gods are fair.
If they gave Anakin his sensual beauty, they took away all his talent.
He couldn’t wield a sword or use magic properly—neither of them.
“You’ve got a good amount of mana, though.”
“What? How do you know that?”
“When I grabbed your wrist earlier. I could feel it.”
He just grabbed me to drag me along… but he was assessing my mana at the same time?
Anakin stared at him in disbelief, and Leodore said:
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just… thinking I should be more careful.”
Leodore smirked like a little devil.
“Don’t worry. I haven’t done anything yet.”
Yeah. I’m really screwed here.
When they arrived at the Crown Prince’s palace where the outdoor party was being held, all eyes turned to Leodore and Anakin—or rather, to Leodore.
“What? I didn’t hear the Third Prince was attending.”
“Who cares? Two major imperial figures are here. Time to make a good impression.”
“But aren’t the Crown Prince and the Third Prince on bad terms?”
Even with people blatantly whispering around them, Anakin kept an eye on Leodore’s expression.
Just then, their eyes met.
Those beautiful violet eyes had been locked onto Anakin from the start—deep and unwavering.
That kind of gaze from a thirteen-year-old?
Facing the main seme of the story as the uke felt surreal.
Much more intense and vivid than he’d imagined.
While Anakin was distracted by Leodore, another figure slowly stepped forward from the crowd of noble children.
Brilliant reddish-gold hair like sunlight, the same imperial violet eyes as Leodore, and a blindingly beautiful face.
Still young, but already bearing the aura of a ruler.
He was the one who would one day obsessively torment and try to possess Anakin…
Another one of the story’s leads, and the Crown Prince of the Lania Empire—
Kamil von Kirstan.
At the same time, Leodore’s face twisted into a scowl.
Maybe because he was fourteen, the aura he gave off was unlike that of other kids his age.
It exerted considerable pressure on the young nobles around him.
Anakin had heard he recently manifested as a dominant Alpha, which made his presence feel even more overwhelming.
Strangely enough, Leodore wasn’t the one keeping Anakin in check—instead, it was as if all of his attention was drawn to Anakin.
The moment he met Crown Prince Kamil face to face, Anakin realized—there was no escaping their interest or affection.
“So Leodore had a friend? That’s surprising.”
The prince’s gaze felt like it was crawling across Anakin’s body.
The discomfort made him instinctively step back, but Leodore moved in front of him protectively.
“Back off. We’re not here to see you.”
“That my little brother is actually interested in a social party I’m hosting? Empress Seina would be quite surprised to hear that.”
Kamil smiled thinly with his refined features, responding to Leodore with elegant leisure.
With two central figures of imperial power squaring off, it felt like things could spiral into chaos at any second. Anakin hastily spoke up to the Crown Prince.
“I greet Your Highness, Crown Prince Kamil, Star of the Empire. I am Anakin, second son of the Count of Descartes.”
When Anakin respectfully introduced himself, the prince’s expression softened into a smile.
“Your face is more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever seen. It’s blinding.”
“!”
Everyone at the party froze in shock.
No wonder—it was a blatant flirtation.
Worse, he’d said it in public, right in front of his fiancée.
Anakin clearly saw the woman with navy-blue hair—likely the Crown Prince’s fiancée—break her composure, her expression crumbling in real time.
“You crazy bastard.”
Leodore finally couldn’t take it and furrowed his handsome face, about to charge forward, but Anakin, who had already run the numbers in his head, quickly grabbed his wrist.
If things continued like this, the original story would get derailed beyond saving.
Anakin had to step in. Leodore had only come here because of him, after all.
“You flatter me, Your Highness. But if you ask me, Lady Schneider—your fiancée—looks far more beautiful.”
“…Is that so?”
“My apologies, but I’m feeling under the weather today. I’ll have to take my leave.”
“…I hope you recover quickly.”
“It’s been an honor. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the evening.”
With that, Anakin gave a swift parting bow and exited. Leodore followed after him with a dissatisfied expression.
The atmosphere of the party, once they left, was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over it.
Then it burst into murmurs and gossip about the incident.
Leodore and Anakin had escaped to a glass conservatory with a stunning view inside the Third Prince’s palace.
“Are you really feeling unwell?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Then why say you were sick? Why’d you run away?”
I mean… were we just supposed to sit there and let a royal brawl break out?
But Leodore genuinely seemed clueless about why they had to leave.
Well, he’d probably never had to run away from anything in his life.
“I don’t like fighting over nothing.”
“Why not? Watching a fight is the best entertainment.”
“It happened because I was with His Highness in the first place…”
Anakin subtly tried to hint at the situation, but Leodore just stared at him, not getting it.
“Didn’t I tell you not to go? Why go somewhere that annoying?”
“Sorry, but I was already planning to go there.”
Ignoring Anakin’s protests, Leodore began fidgeting with his fingertips.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I’m not doing anything weird.”
Anakin didn’t push further, because he had a gut feeling that if he protested again, Leodore would just grab his hand outright—or worse.
* * *
