Crown Prince

Everyone looked towards the direction of the voice. There stood an ethereal being, a person who looked like no one could touch him. His golden hair and golden eyes reflected the sunlight, glimmering like precious jewels.

His clothes were similar to what Ivan and Alex would wear on a formal occasion. He had a royal blue buttoned jacket and pants donned, complimenting his golden locks. His skin was so pale that he looked almost translucent in the sunlight.

Even if no one had seen him ever, with the unique coloring on his body, everyone knew he belonged to the imperial family.

The common folks immediately knelt down, so did Ivan, Alex and Anna. Lady Richmond was the only one standing there, smirking at how everyone was being so respectful to the crown prince but she did not need to kneel in front of him for now.

Kim Su Won, on the other hand, stood there frozen. She stared at him and forgot to blink or greet his royal highness. Oh my God! He was way more beautiful than described in the novel! How could that businesswoman fall for that third prince who did not hold a candle to even her brother? This kid was going to swoon all the ladies in the kingdom and abroad when he grew up. Her jaw almost hit the floor.

Aaron tilted his head, waiting for this impudent girl to go down on her knees, but she just stood there.

Anna immediately pulled the dazed girl by her hand, jolting her back to reality.

"G-Greetings your highness," Kim Su Won stuttered.

"Ivan Whittemore! I have heard about your sister lacking etiquette, but how could she not greet this prince?" Aaron Chadbourne crossed his arms. Those clear eyes of the girl, it felt as if they could see through him. He did not like this feeling at all. He wanted to vent out his frustration of having experienced this new weird feeling.

"I-I am sorry your highness," Ivan could only mutter this much, his head was still bowed. No one was allowed to look at his highness after all. He was also trying to win brownie points with this brand new sister of his. But he could not offend the royal prince either. He was in such a dilemma.

Kim Su Won raised her head. What the hell! Why was he scolding her brother when she was the one in the wrong? Was he also of the patriarchal mindset and would not talk to her directly?

"Your highness, I apologize for my mistake," she said, with extra emphasis on 'my', looking directly towards him.

"Hah! With your behavior, you don't seem very sorry for your actions," Katherine Richmond spoke, taking out a fan and waving it ever so slightly in a seductive way. Had she known it was the Whittemores, she would not have been this rude. After all, Ivan Whittemore was one of the eligible bachelors too.

Kim Su Won glanced at the girl and shook her head in pity. Poor girls, even at such young age, they had been taught to flaunt their budding assets and try to seduce young guys, only to secure a boring future for themselves.

How she wished females understood that their worth was much more than just a trophy wife.

Anyway, this female had crossed a line and she was not taking it.

"I am sorry, but I was talking to his highness, the crown prince. I was not made aware of you being his representative," she replied, in a harsh and cold tone, taking aback both Katherine Richmond and Aaron Chadbourne.

How could a twelve year old be so rude and straight to the point?

"Pfft," the crown prince, who had been irritated by the lady Richmond anyway, was quite delighted to hear her getting insulted. He had not experienced one before, but cat fights seemed entertaining. Ah! Two girls fighting for his attention felt way better than this girl kneeling on the ground seeing through him.

Kids could really be cruel. Katherine Richmond gnashed her teeth, especially because she could not say anything to the crown prince. He was the imperial heir, going against him would mean downfall of her family.

She gave a death glare to Kim Su Won. She could not refute. She had spoken out of turn.

"Ahem! Lady Whittemore, your apology is accepted. What are you guys doing here in this part of the town?" The mere fact that this kid had shut up this lady with one sentence left a favorable impression on the crown prince. He decided to steer the conversation in a different direction, also to show that it was a coincidence that they found each other.

Kim Su Won studied the face of the prince. It was calm and pleasing to look at. But man, what a great actor this fourteen year old was. She could really tell that he was pretending. He probably had been keeping an eye on the situation for a while now. She also spotted the carriage standing far away, almost hidden behind one of the walls.

"We were just strolling around your highness," Ivan replied. He was the representative of Whittemore house at this moment. His cover had been blown away by this prince for no reason, so he had to step up to his duty.

"Oh? Why do I see so many town folks here though? Is there some festival going on?" he randomly walked towards a fruit stall and picked up a juicy looking apple. He bit into it, relishing the sweet taste that filled his mouth.

"Your highness! You cannot…," the guard from behind immediately took the apple from the hand of the prince and threw it away.

"Why? An apple can't be possibly poisoned? How would they sell it otherwise?" the prince snarled at his guard. He was supposed to be the ultimate figure here, how did a mere guard dare to act like his guardian in the public?

There was a pin drop awkward silence on the street. The commoners did not know how to behave in this situation or what to do. They were all still kneeling on the dirty ground with their heads bowed, a few of them trembling and cursing themselves to have encountered these nobles today.

"Uncle, when we took the apple, you called us thieves. But he is doing the same. Why are you not scolding him?" one of the kids innocently 'tried' to whisper the question in the old man's ear but the awkward atmosphere became more uncomfortable.

The crown prince heard it too. He felt a rage inside himself bubbling. What the heck! He had not come here to get embarrassed. What kind of joke was this? He wanted to take away the head of the kid, a pesky little commoner kid dared to insult him too? What would his reputation be when he became the king? No, he had to get rid of all these people in front of him.

The nobles would know not to blabber about it if they wanted to keep their lives, but these town folks would gossip for sure. He had to take them all away! And erase this shameful incident from his history.

Kim Su Won wanted to laugh, the kids were too honest. It was true, he was a thief too. He should have paid first, but who would dare ask money from this imperial brat? They would probably wear it as a badge of honor that those apples were touched by the crown prince.

Aaron Chadbourne was actually quite amused by the changes in face expression this girl was going through by the second. He really wanted to know what was going on in her head, so much that he was slowly forgetting things that were making him angry.

"Hey, you can't say that. He is the crown prince of our kingdom. Everything belongs to him. He can do whatever he wants. Your highness, please forgive these kids, they have no idea about anything," the old man chided the kid in his arms and then touched his forehead on the ground. He had just gained three kids, he could not lose them now!

The old man's heart was beating fast. He could only touch his forehead on the ground aggressively and apologize profusely.

Well, it did feel good that an adult was apologizing so genuinely, he did not need to be an ass about it.

"Timothy, pay this stall owner a handsome amount since I took away an apple from here. Let's leave after that," he started walking back, occasionally glancing at the girl sitting on the floor, almost looking bored. She… she was very interesting. From the way she was dealing with these adults to the way she behaved, he had not felt this much entertained in his life before.

"Y-Your highness! Since you are in our duchy, why not visit our humble abode? Father would be delighted to meet you after so long!" Ivan gave an invitation to the departing crown prince. The capital was not far from here but the prince had traveled all the way here. If Ivan did not bring him home, his father was going to chew him out.

The crown prince's ears perked up. A small detour would not matter, right? And he could spend some time with the boys and that girl, and also be away from that Richmond girl and his own home. Sounded like an amazing plan.

"Alright, we shall go to your place then," the crown prince accepted the invitation hastily, grinning to himself as he walked back to the carriage.