My Fiancée Hates Me

[Erik's Perspective]

"Would you like to return as a Prince?" I asked Garett a few days after the party.

"...I do not understand what you are talking about," Garett said defensively.

"Garett, I know everything... The Queen said that she had another child. I have reason to believe that you are my brother," I said.

"The reason being?"

"...Just a feeling," I said with a smile.

He looked disgusted for some reason.

"No need to flash me your Princely smile," Garett said coldly. "It is fine for women, but when you flash that smile in front of men, it is kind of disgusting."

This bastard...

He has always been honest, but I feel as though he has become bolder and more unrestrained ever since he got together with Arielle. It is as if someone let him off his leash. Now, he is just saying whatever he

wants.

"This is my usual smile... You are telling me it disgusts people?" I asked.

"Most people are too afraid to offend you because you are our future King," Garett said.

"Huh?"

He does not want to be King?

"If you really want to impress people, you should copy the Arielle Smile," Garett said as he mimicked Arielle's professional smile. "Slightly upturned lips and smiling eyes... Now, if you want to look at people like dirt, lift only one side and imagine that they are garbage."

"...Why do you know so much?" I asked.

"Arielle told me about her life. Facial expressions...etiquette...gestures...and many more were just a part of her upbringing. You were married to her, but did you really know her?" Garett asked with a sharp tone Arielle was always perfect in front of my eyes. I always assumed that things came easy for her. That is why I selfishly and one sidedly relied on her again...and again until she eventually broke down. "...I guess not," I said quietly.

"You should sharpen up before you become King, Your Highness," Garett said.

"Do you not want to return as a Prince or become King?" I asked.

"...That would mean forcing Arielle to come back here," Garett said with distant eyes.

Everything you do really is for her...I am jealous that he can do that with ease and Arielle accepts his help when she never wanted anything from me as if she hated being in my debt.

Just what made us so different?

I was her husband in our previous life, but I could not do anything for her.

"...Her happiness is the most important thing in the world," I said.

"I can finally agree with you on something," Garett said with a childlike smile.

I feel as though I have gained a cheeky younger sibling.

"I don't think you have the right to criticize others when your smile makes you look easy to be taken advantage of," I said.

I went to find my Father shortly afterwards.

"Prince, did you do as I asked?" Father asked.

"No, I did not, Your Majesty," I said firmly.

"Then, why are you here?" Father asked coldly.

"I found him, but he refused to come back when I asked him to. He told me that he wants to protect the person he loves...I too want to respect his wishes," I said.

Father's eyes turned slightly less crisp.

"... You have changed," Father said.

"I apologize for having disappointed you," I said as I lowered my head.

"...No, this change is actually good. I have always wondered what goes through your mind and whether you were living as Prince from having a sense of duty. You have come to respect other people's feelings and go against me to protect people you care for. Those are very important qualities of being a person who can lead others. I am proud of you, Erik," Father said with a kind smile.

I never received such words of praise until now...

The only reason I could become King despite not meeting Father's expectations was because I married Arielle whom Father deemed worthy of taking over the throne with. I was not sure what part of Arielle that Father found so praiseworthy about her when we were nearly equal in thoughts about how to run the kingdom together.

It was only until now that I realized what I was lacking...empathy.

Arielle was kind and always mindful of others. I thought that was a weakness of hers as I had been raised to only think of others as my subjects and nothing more. The line was definitive for me but not for her. I felt a need to protect her from harm, so I often cut people off from her life. That was my mistake as it only made things more difficult for her.

People criticized her, ridiculed her, and made her a mockery. I should have just worked through her troubles with her as a couple to save her the trouble. Maybe then...I could have been the one to hold her hand. In the end, she found someone else who could cure her loneliness. There are just these regrets left.

"...I did not do it by myself. I had a lot of help along the way [at least two lifetimes]," I said with a smile lacking any grace as Garett had taught me.

I soon prepared myself to leave.

"...Erik, do you mind telling me if that child is living healthy and happy now?" Father asked as he turned his back to me.

It must be in our blood. None of us cannot be fully honest with other people.

"He is healthy and very happy," I said.

I will probably continue to have an unrequited love Arielle for the the rest of my life. I would rather remain single and just announce someone I find suitable as the next King rather than wed someone else. During my wedding vows with Arielle, I had promised that I would love her and cherish her until the end of time.

I intend to do just that and support her in whatever she wants...but just as her friend from now on. In any case, I was done with marriage.

When Garett marries Arielle, she will become my Sister-in-law...from fiancée to lover, wife, Queen, and soon to be in-laws. Arielle will truly be my first in everything.

What a shame that the world's best woman will soon be taken by my brother instead...

It certainly is a strange fate.

As for Viscount Craig Corrine, his search led him to finding a young orphan blonde boy with peridot eyes. He tried to pull a wool over our eyes with an imposter. Father was not so easily tricked and saw that the boy was too young to be his son and lacked the trademark emerald green eyes as a sign of royalty. He was punished for trying to deceive Father and was stripped of his title.

It is possible that Father had suspicions of Garett being his other son more than anyone.

Was asking me to find him a test of my loyalty or character? Maybe he wanted affirmation of his suspicions?

In the end, I may never fully understand my own father.☐☐