Crown Prince said him never marry with his fiancée.
Whatever it was, I doubted he ever tried to understand his fiancée.
Political marriages aren't easily canceled without scandals, so I crossed my arms impatiently.
"And what exactly is terrifying about your perfectly good fiancée?"
"She's a two-faced person! In front of Father and Mother she acts all obedient, but when she's alone with me she always looks at me with this angry face—like she hates me! Even Sophia saw it!"
"Sophia, is that true?"
"Father, Elena is just shy," Sophia explained. "She's afraid of doing something that would make Brother dislike her, so she's so nervous her expression stiffens."
So it was shyness. The fiancée actually liked the crown prince.
Even then, the crown prince still didn't understand, continuing his hopeless struggle.
"But back when we were in the academy, she always interfered with whatever I did. I was just talking to a female student, and she kept butting in, telling her followers to bully that girl."
Bullying a classmate was practically a guaranteed scandal. It seemed his fiancée had been blinded by love, mistaking every girl who talked to him as some seductress.
"Impossible. Elena isn't that kind of person."
"That's right, Steve. Elena is so well‑behaved—how could she possibly bully anyone?"
Both the king and queen denied it firmly. Apparently, they had an excellent impression of the fiancée.
"And besides, you graduated two years ago. Why are you only talking about this now? There's no credibility at all. You're obviously making this up."
"No, Father, it's because Sophia told me not to say anything!"
"You are bad boy, don't you push the blame onto Sophia. What exactly is it about Elena that you're so dissatisfied with? She's beautiful, kind, and intelligent—just like me."
The queen proudly listed Elena's good points, and naturally praised herself in the process. Then she smiled sweetly at the king, clearly wanting him to agree. But the king only gave her a speechless look.
"…"
"What is that expression supposed to mean? Are you saying you disagree?"
Seeing that the king didn't nod, didn't say a word, not even a grunt, the queen's face immediately darkened. She glared at him, demanding an answer.
I started worrying the queen might say something as inappropriate as she did earlier in the afternoon. The king also sensed danger—he quickly placed his hand over hers, forcing a smile as he raised his voice.
"Of course I agree. I only ever agree."
I knew the king wasn't scared of the queen—he was simply respecting her feelings, protecting his marriage, definitely not terrified of things that might happen when they shared a bed!
I couldn't help wondering if lina and I would become a couple like that someday. Meanwhile, the crown prince still clung to his last breath of protest.
"But Mother, I don't want to marry someone I don't love! I want to be like you two!"
"Hold it. I have a question."
Lina stepped up beside me, cutting off the crown prince mid‑sentence. She raised her hand toward the king, who gave her permission with a nod.
"Say."
Once she got the king's approval, Lina looked at the still‑kneeling crown prince, who was desperately clinging to his excuses.
"Your Highness, did you ever personally hear your fiancée order her followers to bully that girl?"
Good question. Maybe the followers acted on their own—showing off to gain favor from the future queen. And to avoid getting in trouble later, they might have claimed fiancée ordered it. After all, if it came from the future queen, who would dare refuse?
I'd been too caught up in the moment; thankfully lina was the calm observer who could see the bigger picture.
"No, it was something my best friend told me."
A perfect disappointment, just as expected. lina's eyes went cold, and her voice dropped.
"And why didn't you ask your fiancée directly?"
"I was afraid of her expression…"
How frightening could she possibly look to scare him into never asking? That was practically trauma.
"Did you ever try to understand her?"
"...N‑No. Never."
Even in a political marriage, shouldn't he at least make an effort to understand his future partner? How was someone like this supposed to understand the hearts of the people once he became king? Honestly, having him produce an heir quickly might be the better plan.
"And did she ever try to understand you?"
"Maybe she did…"
Before he could finish, someone unexpectedly interrupted, is the princess.
"She did! Elena always asks me about Brother's preferences. She worries she might not know what he likes anymore. And she even bakes cookies for me."
The princess looked genuinely happy while speaking about Fiancée. She clearly adored her future sister‑in‑law. Baking cookies for princess—she really was a good girl.
Once Lina heard princess's explanation, she nodded, then addressed the king.
"Well then, all I can say is that the crown prince is truly trash. That girl works hard for someone she likes, yet her fiancé would rather believe rumors than trust her. He doesn't even bother to investigate—he's too busy flirting with female students."
Excellent summary! Lina was amazing. Everyone silently nodded in agreement.
"I was just talking, not flirting!"
His protest changed nothing.
"I see. I will have this matter properly investigated."
"Father, you believe her?"
"Of course. If you still have any sense of remorse left, you'd better go and learn everything you can about Elena."
"Y‑Yes…"
How reluctant did he have to be to answer like that? The king didn't like it either.
"Reluctant, are you? Do you really want Karen to break your legs so you'll never leave the castle again?"
The king made it sound like I'd only been bluffing earlier. Which, yes, I had been. Breaking someone's legs would definitely give me guilt. I wasn't doing that.
"M-Mr. Karen…"
The crown prince grabbed onto the hem of my pants to beg for mercy. I hurriedly grabbed my pants before he yanked them down. I kept smacking his hand, urging him to let go.
The crown prince finally let go, and I took a few steps back to get away from him. I pulled up my pants, pointed a finger at him, and spoke in a calm tone.
"I really was about to break your legs, but then I heard that such a good girl is supposed to become the wife of a scumbag like you. Just imagining her husband paralyzed from the waist down made my heart soften. Your Highness, listen carefully—if I ever hear that you've treated her badly, start preparing your funeral."
"I-I-I… I swear I'll be good to her!"
"And another thing—if you can't control yourself and go flirting with other women again, I'll make sure you lose all the joys of being a man. Got it?"
"I got it! I got it! I won't do it again, I really won't!"
The crown prince pressed his palms together earnestly as he promised. Maybe that slap finally made him realize that I mean every word I say. And honestly, while I consider myself someone who keeps his promises, the prince hadn't actually done anything unforgivable—at most, I'd only give him injuries he could recover from.
But right after I finished talking, I realized something was contradictory, so I corrected myself.
"Wait—no, that's wrong. If you go flirting with other women, that's already treating her badly… Your Majesty, which one sounds better?"
I had already decided what to do with him, but I just wanted to tease the crown prince a little. The king seemed to notice my intention and waved casually.
"Give him the funeral. If he loses the joys of being a man, what's the point of living?"
I've never experienced it myself, but if he can't produce an heir, then yeah… life loses a lot of meaning.
"Father, no… don't…"
The king's reply made the spark leave the prince's eyes. He froze for a moment, then suddenly clung to a desperate idea as if grabbing a lifeline.
"I'll go to Elena's house right now! I'll learn more about her, I promise!"
That only made the king angrier. The prince sounded like he was doing it just to survive, not because he truly wanted to understand his fiancée.
"Don't make it sound like I'm forcing you. Getting to know Elena isn't an assignment for you—it's your duty as her fiancé."
I agreed completely, so I nodded quietly. I also noticed Lina nodding along. At that moment, princess walked up to the crown prince's side.
"Brother, don't be afraid. I'll go with you."
"Sophia…!"
The prince was so moved by his sister's words that they shared a touching sibling moment… or something like that. I stared at the floor.
"We're going…"
The prince stood up immediately, ready to leave, but I grabbed the back of his collar.
"Wait."
The thing on the floor bothered me far more than their touching family moment.
"M-Mr. Karen…? Is something wrong?"
I reached into my storage hole, pulled out a towel, tossed it to the prince, and pointed at the ground.
"Clean up your vomit before you leave. Throw the towel away afterward—you don't need to return it."
"Yes."
The crown prince started wiping the floor. And wow, he was awful at it. I really wanted to kick him out of the way. But fine… it's not like a prince has ever experienced the misery of cleaning floors. I might as well be patient.