Chapter 45 – The Prince and the Abner Academy’s Invention
The Crown Prince of the great Taranta Empire, Tian, frowned deeply.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just as I said, Your Highness,” the attendant replied carefully. “A letter came from House Abner. It says the Duchess is currently unable to receive any visitors.”
Tian quickly took the letter.
It was short—just a few lines.
“Due to a personal matter, we are unable to receive outside guests at this time.”
He had finally found a day off—two months since the last time he could visit the Abner estate—and now they were saying he couldn’t see Annelia at all.
His chest tightened.
And then he remembered her face from the last time he saw her—
his ears instantly turned red.
That day, Annelia had looked impossibly cute.
For some reason, every time he saw her, she seemed to get prettier, sweeter, and more charming.
‘Maybe it was because she was dressed up for her birthday,’ he thought.
When they first met at the mansion, she’d worn a simple plain dress.
But on the day of her birthday party, she’d tied up her silvery hair and pinned it with a delicate ornament.
‘I should’ve given her the gift that day.’
Tian sighed and rolled the small box in his hand.
‘If it weren’t for that sly guy, Arwyn or whatever his name was…’
He could’ve handed her the gift himself, thanked her properly, and said everything he wanted to say.
In fact, the reason he’d arrived late to the party was because he’d been preparing this gift.
‘I had so much I wanted to tell her that day.’
He wanted to tell her how much she’d changed him, how much her words had meant to him.
He’d planned to give her the present officially, talk with her a bit more, and finally show her that he could be kind and thoughtful—
not awkward or distant like before.
And maybe… get a little closer.
But all of that was ruined.
He hadn’t even managed to give her the gift before he had to return to the palace.
‘All because of Arwyn Dennis.’
That fox never left Annelia’s side.
Always smiling politely, but his eyes were sharp and unreadable.
Even in front of the Crown Prince, he never once lost confidence.
Tian pressed his lips together.
‘…It’s my fault for not being strong enough yet.’
Since the last time he met Annelia, Tian had changed.
The first thing he did was punish Jacques, the attendant who had tormented him for years.
And once Jacques was gone, the rest of the Empress Karin’s spies and servants around him began to disappear as well.
When the Empress Dowager—his grandmother—learned what had been happening, everything went even smoother.
Tian remembered how she had taken his hand and said gently:
“I’m so proud of you, my dear. If you had kept hiding and enduring it, I never would have known how cruelly that woman treated you.”
And then she had said something else—something that stuck with him:
“Tian, the hardest part is always deciding to change.
Once you’re trapped, you’re the only one who can fight to free yourself.
No one else can save you if you won’t take the first step.”
It had been difficult to understand, but he’d gotten the meaning.
Because Annelia had told him something similar once.
‘If it weren’t for her…’
If he had stayed afraid—if he had kept living under Empress Karin’s shadow,
then maybe he really would’ve become what people whispered behind his back:
“The useless prince. The failed heir.”
Tian clenched his fists and suddenly stood.
“No. I’m going.”
The attendant’s eyes widened. “What? But how—?”
Outside, the sun was already setting.
Without a teleportation spell, the journey to Abner territory would take nearly a full day.
“If I leave now, I’ll get there by morning.”
“Y-yes, but still…”
“The Duchess herself told me I was welcome anytime,” Tian said firmly.
The attendant hesitated, then finally bowed and left to make preparations.
Tian turned the small gift box over in his hand again.
“Personal matters, huh…” he muttered.
It couldn’t be anything serious, right?
Surely Annelia was fine.
He nodded to himself, stood, and began getting ready to leave.
He had no idea that the night he’d left—the Abner mansion had fallen into chaos.
***
The next morning
“What? Someone’s here?”
I blinked sleepily, sitting up in bed.
Miel’s face was full of excitement. “His Highness the Crown Prince! He’s at the front gates right now!”
“The Crown Prince? You mean Prince Tian?”
Why on earth was Tian here so early in the morning?
“Ah—oh no!”
Beside her, Soya suddenly gasped and clapped both hands over her mouth.
I turned wide-eyed toward her.
Soya looked flustered and began stomping her feet.
“The—the night of the birthday party! I completely forgot because of the accident!”
“Forgot what?”
“His Highness left you a note!”
She ran to the dresser across the room, pulled open a drawer, and dug around.
Then she hurried back with something in her hands.
It was a neat little card written in careful handwriting.
***
Annelia,
I owe you a great deal.
As thanks, I’ve prepared a small gift—but I want to give it to you in person, so I’ll come back soon.
When I do, I hope… you won’t be with Lord Dennis.Happy birthday.
—Tian
A line in the middle had been hastily crossed out.
“Oh…”
I blinked, unsure whether to laugh or groan.
Then suddenly, there was a commotion downstairs—
loud footsteps, voices, and hurried movement.
The noise grew closer and closer to my room.
“Th-the young lady is still recovering—” someone protested outside.
And then the door burst open.
“Annelia! What’s all this I’ve heard?”
Tian stood there, pale and breathing hard.
“I heard there was an attack on the mansion! And you—”
He looked at me quickly—then his eyes fell on my right arm, where faint scars still showed.
“You were hurt?” he asked in a tense voice.
I waved my hands quickly.
“No, not just hurt—I almost died!”
***
“I’m serious!”
I shrugged my shoulders, and Tian looked at me like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
We were sitting at the little table in my room now, each with a cup of steaming tea—mine cocoa, his black tea.
“So, where exactly were you hurt?” he asked, still frowning.
“Well,” I began cheerfully, “first, I hit my forehead this much—”
I held up my fingers to show the size, and Tian’s expression immediately darkened.
“Then my leg here, my arm here, and my stomach too—but that was because a rib cracked!”
His eyes trembled slightly as I went on.
“And the worst one was my back!”
I turned a little in my chair and pointed dramatically.
“From here, all the way down to here!”
I spread both arms wide to show the area.
“It burned and stung so much, like—”
“Stop. Just… stop.”
I closed my mouth mid-sentence.
Tian had his face scrunched up, looking like he was in pain himself.
“You’re saying all that with a smile?”
“Well, it’s all over now, isn’t it? It’d be weird to cry about it after I’ve already healed.”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly and gave a small laugh.
“See? I’m perfectly healthy now! Right, Miel? Soya?”
I looked toward them for backup, but both maids suddenly found something fascinating on the floor.
Tian sighed, his voice heavy with frustration.
“You should’ve told me.”
Then he got up, walked over, and gently took my hand.
He turned it over, inspecting it closely.
“How did you even get medicine? You couldn’t have gotten Florentia flowers—the waiting list is endless.
If you’d come to me before going to the Academy, I could’ve—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
I smiled to myself, guessing what he’d been about to say.
He’d probably wanted to share some of the royal family’s private supply from the Imperial Palace.
But even he must’ve realized it by now—
the Empire didn’t have enough Florentia flowers, not even for its royals.
“I didn’t use Florentia flowers,” I said brightly.
Tian blinked, startled. “What?”
“We used a brand-new medicine—something invented right here, by the Abner Academy!”
Because from the very beginning, that had been my plan all along.
