ANTAGONIST

"NERO, let Rufus handle this," Nikolai said firmly. "I won't allow you to go to Hazelden when you can't even keep your emotions in check."

He couldn't scold his son and say that he was only acting that way because of Dahlia– not in front of Rufus who was the father of Nero's fiancée.

Hanna wasn't officially the Crown Princess yet.

However, he wasn't that thick-skinned to mention another girl that his son fancied right in front of Rufus.

"Your Royal Highness, I believe His Majesty is right," Rufus said to Nero politely. "Let me and my knights handle the fight in the Hazelden Kingdom."

"Father, Duke Quinzel, my gut feeling is telling me I need to be there," Nero insisted, his eyes returning to their original color while looking straight at Rufus. "Moreover, I believe it's better if Your Grace would stay here in the Royal Palace as Father's shield."

He knitted his eyebrows in confusion.