He had to watch all his toys being thrown away after complaining that the test was too hard just a while ago.

“You will retake the test next week. You are grounded until then, Crown Prince.”

“Yes…….”

The child’s voice was mixed with a sob.

The empress quietly bent down to hug Henry, patting his back and whispering.

“This is all for Your Highness, Crown Prince. You know mother’s heart, right?”

“Yes, mother.”

“That’s right. I believe that our Crown Prince will do well.”

Milia patted Henry and stood up from her seat.

“I will come next week.”

“Yes, mother.”

Henry mumbled, feeling downcast.

When the door closed, Henry rushed to the bed and flung himself on it.

A sobbing sound was heard for a moment and then subsided.

Nathaniel silently watched Henry.

“Dragon Lord!”

Then he met eyes with Henry, who had raised his head.

He tried to pretend to be asleep, but it was already too late.

“You really came for me, right Dragon Lord?”

Blue eyes sparkled.

Nathaniel decided to go along with Henry’s pace for now.

[Yes, I specially came to grant your wish.]

“Woah! Really granting my wish.”

Henry jumped up and down with joy.

Nathaniel asked Henry quietly, feeling guilty.

[So, what is your wish?]

“My wish is for Mama and Sister Anais to reconcile!”

Nathaniel was momentarily at a loss for words.

“We used to play a lot with Sister and Mama, but these days it’s hard to even see Sister’s face….”

Looking at Henry’s gloomy face, twiddling his fingers, Nathaniel felt a strange sensation.

He got up and patted Henry’s hand with his plump front paw.

Clear blue eyes were brimming with tears.

In the vast palace, Sister Anais was the only one who understood him.

Not knowing anything about the issues between Anais and his mother, Henry could only think they had fought.

“Can you grant my wish?”

[I cannot grant that wish.]

Henry was noticeably disappointed at Nathaniel’s response.

Seeing a face about to cry, Nathaniel quickly said.

[But I can make Anais come to see you.]

“Anais, Sister?”

[Yes. I can’t make them reconcile, but I can make her play with you.]

Henry’s face brightened at that.

Henry seemed satisfied with that, briskly wiping away tears and nodding his head.

“Thank you, Dragon Lord.”

Nathaniel raised his small body and flapped his wings.

His body didn’t return easily.

He should have returned by now.

He changed his mind about returning, thinking Jaina might be worried.

[Is it alright if I impose on you tonight?]

“Ah! Of course. But you have to pretend to be asleep if the maid comes.”

Nathaniel slowly nodded his head.

He curled his tired body into a ball and fell asleep.

(This is a time separator.)
Nathaniel’s plan to leave soon had failed spectacularly.

Because, as if knowing when he was about to sneak out, Henry opened his eyes, cried, and searched for him.

He had to repeatedly calm him down to put him back to sleep before the maids came.

‘I’m tired.’

Taking care of a child was this hard.

Nathaniel looked straight ahead as he lay in bed.

“Um, this plus this and this…….”

Henry was lying on the big bed, studying from a thick book that even adults found difficult.

Soon, after trying to write various things in his notebook, Henry collapsed on the book.

“Ugh……. it’s difficult.”

[That’s not how you do it.]

Finally, Nathaniel slowly explained the formula with magic.

Henry watched the formula splendidly written in the air, his eyes sparkling.

“It’s amazing.”

[It’s nothing.]

Nathaniel tapped Henry’s hand with his hoof.

Understanding what he meant, Henry wrote down the formula he had shown him in his notebook.

Henry, who understood it quickly again, was no ordinary pupil.

He must have been called a genius.

But in this imperial court, there was Nathaniel, who far surpassed human common sense.

He realized everything on his own without anyone telling him.

“I’m done! Thank you, Dragon Sir.”

[So, can we play now?]

“I need to review for tomorrow’s music lesson.”

With those words, Henry headed towards the piano.

Nathaniel, who had been distant from music, sat on the piano out of curiosity.

He had never heard that Henry was learning to play the piano.

After all, the royalty was not the ones who played music, but appreciated it.

“Dragon Sir, do you want to hear my piano performance? Hehehe.”

As Nathaniel nodded, Henry’s small hands moved over the keys.

At first, the simple rhythm gradually became faster and more splendid.

The rich sound filled the room.

Each note sparkled like stars and was beautiful.

Nathaniel didn’t know much about music, but he could tell that Henry’s talent was not ordinary.

“Prince!”

Suddenly, at the appearance of the Empress, Nathaniel quickly hid behind the piano.

She walked in, her face red with anger, grabbed Henry’s shoulder, and shook him hard.

“You should be studying one more letter instead of practicing this!”

“I’m, I’m sorry, Mother.”

The sparkle in Henry’s eyes was gone in an instant.

Nathaniel almost sighed.

The Empress’s nagging continued for a while.

“You’ll never beat the Crown Prince like this!”

“I don’t, want to beat my brother…….”

“Prince!”

The Empress slapped Henry’s cheek in anger.

A suffocating silence filled the room.

Soon, Henry burst into loud tears.

“Sn, sniff……. waaaaaaaah!”

“Pr, Prince, I’m sorry. It was my fault, Mother. Don’t cry. I didn’t mean to hit you…….”

The flustered Empress hugged Henry and tried somehow to stop his tears.

But Henry, his pentup grief exploding, could not stop crying easily.

Nathaniel could only watch the dismal scene.