Xavier, who was usually calm, composed, and borderline unreadable, couldn't help but steal glances at Luca.
He was nervous.
Not from political tension, battlefield stress, or military confrontation—but from the fact that his wife hadn't looked up from his terminal for the past five minutes.
And then suddenly—
Ping!
His terminal lit up with a new message from Luca.
Xavier opened it immediately, heart halfway between hope and dread.
[LUCA: You're not bald, old, or ugly. Please don't listen to what they say! You're really handsome!]
Xavier blinked.
He reread it.
Then again, just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
Of all the things he expected…
No clarifications about the burden of royal status.
No questions about the succession drama.
No concerns about being married to a literal Crown Prince, considering all those attempts at his life that had been discussed.
No.
Instead, his wife had messaged him to reassure him that he wasn't bald, ugly, or old.
