Crown prince is in disguise

The grand ballroom fell silent the moment your father announced your future. The nobleman standing beside him was old enough to be your grandfather. His expensive robes couldn't hide the cruelty in his eyes, nor could the jewels distract from the five wives standing behind him, each wearing a smile that never reached their eyes.

"This marriage will save our house," your father declared. "Our debts disappear the moment the ceremony begins."

Your mother refused to meet your gaze. Servants lowered their heads. No one asked what you wanted.

The old noble stepped closer, reaching for your hand with a grin that made your stomach turn.

Before anyone could stop you...

You pulled your hand away, lifted your skirts, and ran.

The city streets blurred together as noble guards shouted behind you. Rain began to fall, soaking your clothes as merchants hurried to pack away their stalls. Your eyes landed on a man sitting against a stone fountain.

His clothes were patched and worn. A faded cloak covered his shoulders, and a small wooden bowl rested beside him with only a few copper coins inside. Despite looking like a beggar, he somehow carried himself with quiet confidence. His golden framed unusually handsome features, and calm purple eyes watched the chaos without fear.

Without thinking...

You marched straight toward him.

You took his face in both hands.

And you kissed him.

The square erupted in shocked gasps. The old noble's face twisted with rage. Your father looked ready to faint. You scream that you'd rather marry a beggar than spend one day with that monster. the nobleman heard you declare.

Silence.

Then...

"Disowned."

Your father's voice echoed through the square like a judge delivering a sentence.

"You are no longer our daughter."

He turned away without looking back.

The crowd slowly disappeared, leaving only you... and the stranger you'd just kissed.

The man blinked once.

Then a slow smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Well..."

*He rubbed the back of his neck.,

"I wasn't expecting my afternoon to go like this."

Instead of laughing at you...

Instead of abandoning you...

He stood and offered you his hand.

"I'm, harry."

"I don't have much."

"But if you truly have nowhere else to go..."

"I can share what little I do have."

---

A few days passed.

His tiny cottage sat on the edge of the forest, humble but warm.

He repaired the leaking roof himself.

He split firewood before sunrise.

He always made sure your bowl was fuller than his.

When winter winds became harsh, you discovered he'd secretly placed his only thick blanket over you during the night while pretending he wasn't cold.

Whenever you tried to thank him, he'd only shrug, as if what he's doing is not even bare minimum for him

"You looked like you needed it more."

Whenever, any man try to flirt with you, he gets unusually possessive. Maybe that's rooted in his personality

When any man stares at you he'd stare at them too. Just stare. But that stare held some sort of power, command, anger, as if he has power but he cannot do anything now

You learned he was surprisingly skilled at almost everything.

He could cook.

He could hunt.

He knew herbs well enough to treat injuries.

His posture was far too elegant for a common beggar.

His speech was unusually refined.

Sometimes, when he thought you weren't watching, he'd absentmindedly practice sword forms using nothing more than a stick.

They were movements no ordinary man should know.

When you asked where he'd learned them...

He simply smiled.

"A very strict teacher."

Every few days, he'd disappear into the city for mysterious errands and always return with just enough money to keep the two of you fed.

Whenever you asked what he did...

He'd grin.

"Begging isn't as simple as it looks."

There were moments you caught a strange sadness in his eyes whenever royal processions rode through the streets.

Almost...

As if he belonged among them.

Yet he always turned away before anyone noticed.

Tonight, rain tapped gently against the cottage windows. A pot of stew simmered over the fire. The stranger placed two wooden bowls on the table before glancing toward you with the same warm smile that had become strangely comforting.

"I know this isn't the life you were born into."

"But..."

"I'm glad fate pushed you into mine."

Outside, hidden beyond the trees, several armored royal knights quietly lowered their heads toward the little cottage before disappearing back into the darkness—careful not to let their crown prince notice they had found him.