Young master..." Susan closed her eyes dreamily and intertwined her fingers with mine.
I smiled softly and patted her head. I could feel her soft body trembling gently and could see a small blush on her cheeks. The current expression on Susan's face was truly cute.
Well, there is no problem pampering her a bit.
Hugging her waist, I carried her body until a sofa. I then sat down and put her on my lap while smiling gently.
Susan's lips curved up and her body shrunk on my embrace. The two of us remained like that for a while, with Susan's head on my chest.
But after a while, Susan looked up to my eyes. "Y-Young master, you will not abandon me, right?"
"... Silly girl, do I look like someone who would do something like that?" I put on a wry expression.
"B-But, m-mom told me that n-nobles like to take advantage of g-girls before abandoning them..."
Seeing Susan's nervous expression, I could not avoid staring right into her eyes and burst in evil laughter. "НА НА НА
HA...!"
Susan's expression turned pitiful. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes, and her beautiful face began to turn pale.
When I saw it, I laughed even more. To be honest, it had been long since the last time I enjoyed teasing someone so much.
But when she was about to cry, I quickly stopped.
"Stop, stop! It was a joke, a joke! Of course, I'll not abandon you! How can I abandon such a cute girl?" I kissed Susan's nose and spoke sweetly beside her ear. Susan looked at me with a wronged expression before blushing again and hiding her face on my chest.
"... You bullied me..."
I could not help but laugh once more. Seriously, my sugar level shot through the roof.
After laughing for a while and teasing Susan a bit more, I finally turned serious.
"Susan, there is something I must tell you."
"Y-Young master?" Susan noticed the change in my attitude and put on a nervous face. I stared at her seriously before speaking. "Actually, I'm a prince."
"!!!" Susan's expression turned pale.
She looked at me and opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. One second later, she stood from my lap and kneeled on the ground. "Y-Your highness!"
I put on a wry smile and helped her up gently. "Get up, you don't need to do it."
"B-But, you are..."
"I told you, you don't need to do it!" I repeated, this time with more strength on my voice. Susan turned pale again and stood up quickly.
I smiled wryly on my mind. Actually, this situation showed the difference between nobles and commoners.
Due to my status, most nobles don't mind offending me if it can benefit their interests. With the support of the empress and the emperor turning his gaze away, they don't take me as someone important.
But commoners are different. They have been taught from an early age that the imperial family is above them. With the exception of a few that had the support of nobles or experience working with the imperial family, most commoners would turn pale in the face of a prince.
Due to that, although Susan knew I was a good person, she could not help but show a bit of fear after learning of my identity.
And it's one of the reasons because I don't like showing my strength excessively.
When you are too powerful, even your closest ones can not help but look at you with gazes of fear. The better ones would treat you as a god.
I lived it in many of my past lives. After knowing the extent of my power, my mother, father, siblings, and even my wives, and sons would show fear when they look at me.
Of course, not everybody would be like that, but most of them were.
And believe me, although that feeling is great at the beginning, you begin to tire of it before long.
I sighed again and looked at Susan. At least, Susan's situation was still salvageable. I was sure that with a bit of time and pampering of my part, her attitude towards me would return to normal.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you." I smiled gently and stroked her face.
Susan bit her lips and lowered her head. "N-Not, your highness. I-It's my fault."
I smiled bitterly and shook my head. "Sigh... Anyway, you are my woman now. Actually, I can't simply marry you, but I can find a way so we can be together."
Susan lifted her head and looked at me in surprise. She could not believe that I was accepting her as my woman.
When she learned I was a prince, she could not help but feel fear. After all, she had heard the rumors about the second prince, that he had slept with some girls and then killed them. She was afraid that I would kill her if I was dissatisfied.
But now, not only I was not dissatisfied, but I even told her that I would find a way so she can be beside me.
Instantly, her eyes turned moist.
"Your highness..."
"I told you, call me Claus. Let's do it, I'll speak with my aunt and recommend you as her assistant. You will have to learn some things, but it's a great opportunity for you. Besides, if you are aunt Dayana's assistant, nobody will say anything if I take you as my concubine later."
Susan looked at me with a surprised and touched expression. In the next second, she rushed towards me and hugged me tightly. I returned the hug with a wry smile and kissed her forehead.
Feeling her body trembling gently, I put more strength on my hug and wrapped her fragile body on my arms.
For some reason, I felt a bit more relaxed after that.
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After leaving Aunt Dayana's house, I departed in a carriage towards my grandparents' house. Actually, I was already a bit late, after all, I was supposed to be there early in the morning.
Well, the reason I'm late was that I was playing with Susan, but I can't say that to my grandparents.
The trip to my grandparents' house was quick. They lived pretty near my aunt's house, so I reached there in less than fifteen minutes.
Once I was there, I saw my grandmother waiting for me outside.
"Claus!" She walked towards me with a concerned look and gave me a strong hug. "I heard what happened."
I hugged her back and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry about it, grandma. I have my own plans."
Grandmother continued looking at me without changing her expression. How could she not know about my situation? Although she heard my words, she thought it was nothing more than I attempting to relieve here.
I sighed inwardly. Well, it's obvious that she thinks like that.
"Come, your grandfather and aunt Sera are inside."
I nodded and followed after her.
My grandfather and grandmother are called Steven Quin and Salana D'fine respectively. They are both in their fifties, but due to them practicing a bit of mana, they look more like people in their forties.
Aunt Sera, on the other hand, is my oldest aunt. She is 36 years old this year and the mother of Andrea. As for her looks, she has the features of my mother's family, with black hair and black eyes and a curvy and well-endowed body.
When I went inside the house, I found grandfather and aunt Sera seated around a wooden table. They looked at me with grave expressions before sighing.
"You are here." My grandfather said.
I nodded respectfully. "Grandfather."
"Come sit." He said and pointed to an empty seat. "Salana, tell a servant to bring Claus lunch."
Grandmother nodded and left.
Once my grandmother was gone, grandfather moved his gaze back to me. "Claus, what are you planning to do?"
I remained silent for a while before opening my lips. "Don't worry, grandfather, I have a plan. It's just that I can't speak about it now." Besides, I still had to convince my sister of it.
My grandfather stared at me fixedly before heaving a sigh. "Your aunt and I were talking about it just now. Actually, you and Dina can simply renounce to the emperor's surname and adopt ours. If you are not princes anymore, then maybe the emperor and the empress will stop making things difficult for you."
I stared at grandfather with a surprised expression. I could not believe that he proposed something like that.
His gaze, however, was firm. He was determined to do everything in his might to protect us.
But, precisely because of that, I shook my head. "Impossible."
Grandfather and aunt looked at me. I was sure that my current expression was so firm and determined as grandfather's one.
You know that the emperor and the empress will not care about our surname. Besides, as princes, we at least have a bit of protection granted by our lineage. If we abandoned our surname, then some people we'll lose their scruples. It can even implicate the family."
When they heard my words, grandfather and aunt heaved a sigh.
"I knew you would not agree." Aunt said with a complicated expression. "After all, you and Dina are as stubborn as your mother."
I fell silent hearing it. I could feel the care and concern in their words. Despite knowing that their actions would mean going against the emperor, grandfather and aunt still suggested it.
Of course, if the emperor tries to destroy my mother's family, I will stop him, and I have the power to stop him. To them, the current situation was a dangerous crisis, but for me, it was nothing but a joke I could end anytime.
But grandfather and aunt did not know it. And despite it, they were determined to stand up for Dina and me.
In the end, blood is thicker than water, no matter what world it is.
"That damn emperor! Was ruining Silna's life not enough that he also wants to ruin yours?!"
I smiled wryly and shook my head. "Actually, I still don't understand why the emperor is like this. Was he not supposed to love mother dearly?"
Aunt's expression turned angry. "That bastard! Loved her dearly? Hah! He was nothing more than an obsessed bastard!"
Aunt, lower the voice. Are you not afraid of someone hearing you insult the emperor?
Well, I admit that he is a bastard.
Grandfather sighed sadly. A gloomy look appeared on his face while he remembered the past. He then looked at me with complicated eyes.
"Sigh. Your mother truly suffered back then. Actually, although your mother died after giving birth to you, the main responsible for her death was still the emperor." I put on a focused expression and grandfather continued speaking.
"You see, although many said that the emperor loved your mother dearly, the truth is that his love was one-sided. When he saw your mother for the first time, he instantly was obsessed with her.
"The emperor tried many methods to make Silna fall in love with him, but your mother always rejected him. Back then, your mother already had someone she loved, so she did not want become the emperor's wife.
"However, when the emperor learned about it, he was enraged. So, he secretly ordered to kill the man your mother loved."
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