I Became the Cure for the Cursed Prince - Chapter 81

“Leon…”

Lucas called his name, hips jerking helplessly, when suddenly, the sound of a cough came from outside the door.

“Ahem. Your Highness… Are you inside?”

It was Leon’s secretary, Ermon.
Leon ignored him completely, gripping Lucas’s thighs tightly and continuing what he was doing without even a pause.

“I’m sorry, but this is urgent.”

“Leon, it’s Ermon…”

“Shh. Nothing is more important than this right now.”

The message Ermon carried could have been about the Black Dragon, a royal decree from the Emperor, or vital information about Bilter.
Lucas knew they couldn’t afford to let pleasure make them miss something so important.

“You are still in your right mind, aren’t you? Then you should stop.”

Lucas forced himself to stay calm, speaking with all the strength he could muster.
At his words, Leon reluctantly pulled away and lifted his head, releasing Lucas with clear frustration in his eyes, like a child who had just been robbed of his favorite toy.

Lucas let out a shaky breath.

“Get dressed and go first. I’ll join you shortly.”

“I can’t. I need to carry you back to your room.”

Even though Lucas insisted, Leon stubbornly refused to back down.

Leon left briefly to send Ermon away.
When he returned, he carefully wiped Lucas’s body, dressed him in a fresh robe, and gently lifted him into his arms.

Lucas wanted to argue, but he was too exhausted.
He had no choice but to let Leon carry him.

Still, somewhere deep inside, Lucas was secretly relieved.
It comforted him that Leon showed so much care, and he was grateful no one else was there to witness it.

Even after being summoned by his parents, Leon remained completely calm.
With an unbothered expression, he made his way toward the audience chamber.

Noticing something unusual, Ermon cautiously spoke.

“They already know, Your Highness.”

“Good.”

“…Excuse me? I mean, they know you spent the night with Lord Lucas.”

“Exactly. Isn’t that better? If they know and still called me, it means they understand. They must also know Lucas saved my life.”

Ermon had no reply to Leon’s shameless answer.
He had always known Leon was fearless, but he worried about the Emperor’s anger.
Leon had not yet been officially crowned as the Crown Prince.
Making the Emperor angry now could be disastrous.

Sensing Ermon’s concerns, Leon lightly patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Ermon. Nothing bad will happen.”

With that, Leon pushed open the doors to the audience chamber without hesitation.

Inside, Emperor Frederick and Empress Asilia sat side by side, stiff and grim-faced.
Leon calmly walked forward and sat before them.

“Your Majesty, I apologize for the delay.”

The Emperor looked at him with disbelief.

“Apology? Do you think I summoned you here for an apology?”

“I apologize for not attending you these past few days. However—”

Before Leon could finish, a teacup flew across the room and shattered against the wall.

The Emperor, who rarely showed emotion even in front of his ministers, could not hide his fury when facing his disobedient son.

But Leon did not even blink.

“I assume you already know. Yes, as you expected, I have already imprinted with Lucas.”

“Ah…”

At his words, Empress Asilia swayed heavily, nearly collapsing into the Emperor’s arms.
If she hadn’t been sitting, she could have been seriously hurt.

“Are you alright, my Queen?”

Frederick supported her shoulders and turned a furious glare on Leon.

“You just finished your coming-of-age ceremony.
How could you even think of imprinting already?
Do you even understand what imprinting means?”

“Yes, I do.
It means engraving my mark onto my destined mate’s body, binding them to me so that no one else can ever touch them. I understand very well.”

Even faced with his father’s fury, Leon spoke without hesitation.

Frederick’s mouth opened but no words came out.
Even with Asilia leaning heavily against him, Leon showed no fear.

From childhood, once Leon set his mind on something, he never backed down.
That stubbornness had not changed even now.

Still, as a father, Frederick could not simply abandon his son.
Pressing a hand to his forehead, he spoke in a softer, weary voice.

“You have done something unforgivable to Duke Lucas.”

“I do not believe that is true.”

Leon answered quietly, but his voice carried a heavy conviction that could not be ignored.

“How can you be so certain? Do you even realize how much damage it does to the body to break an imprint?”

Leon lifted his head, meeting the Emperor’s gaze firmly.
He wasn’t openly disrespectful, but his attitude was unmistakably resolute.

“Forgive my boldness, Your Majesty, but I have no intention of breaking my imprint with Lucas. You once told me yourself that, to be officially crowned as Crown Prince, I would need a mate. Lucas is the one who defeated the Black Dragon and saved both me and the Theian Empire. He is the perfect match for a Crown Prince.”

“What did you just say?”

The Emperor’s face twisted in a scowl, and the Empress stared at her son with a vacant, stunned expression.
It pained Leon to see his parents like this, but he knew he had to stand firm now.

“I meant exactly what I said. Surely you would not strip me of the opportunity to make someone who embodies both loyalty and virtue — and who saved my life — my consort, would you?”

It was the Emperor himself who had once taught Leon that a ruler must earn trust by rewarding loyalty and punishing betrayal.

Now, Leon was simply using the Emperor’s own teachings against him.

There was no room for argument.
It was true that Lucas had risked his life to save Leon, and Leon’s quick evacuation of the citizens had been a great act of leadership during the crisis with Bilter.

“But Leon…”

“I understand your concerns, truly. But as I said before, Lucas’s curse—”

“That is not the issue.
What we are concerned about is your future heir.”

At the mention of an heir, Leon’s shoulders stiffened slightly.
They shouldn’t know Lucas’s secondary gender yet.
Leon hesitated for a moment but quickly composed himself.

“Isn’t the matter of heirs something only the gods can decide?
Lucas has the bloodline and the constitution suitable for producing heirs. I don’t see any reason for concern.”

The Emperor once again found himself at a loss for words.
Leon had thought this through far more than he expected.
At this point, no argument could sway him.

Pushing further would only backfire.

It was better to give Leon space for now.

Frederick, looking tired, waved his hand dismissively as if telling him to leave.

Leon bowed politely and exited the audience chamber.

He had cleared the first hurdle in securing Lucas as his mate, but he still couldn’t let down his guard.

If they were going to have a wedding, Leon wanted Lucas to be welcomed and celebrated — not just by the court, but by the entire nation.

“I have no choice.
I need to take another approach.”

Leon quickened his steps toward his study.

That night, Leon carefully drafted a statement to be released in tomorrow’s newspapers.
After finishing it, he immediately summoned Exer.

It wasn’t long before Exer arrived, slightly out of breath, his face glowing with excitement.

Leon smiled warmly at him.

“Exer, you did a remarkable job. Thanks to you, we were able to evacuate the citizens safely from the monster’s attack.”

“I only carried out your orders, Your Highness.
It was my duty as your loyal knight.”

“I will never forget what you did.
But now, I have one more task for you.
You are the only one I can trust with this.”

Leon handed Exer the document he had just written.

“Distribute this to all the newspapers — as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Without even asking what the document contained, Exer saluted and left swiftly.

After he left, Ermon came in almost immediately.

Leon, realizing how much official work he had neglected, threw himself into catching up with the mountain of paperwork.

It was nearly sunset when he finally managed to clear most of it.

But even then, Ermon didn’t leave.
He stood awkwardly, looking like he had something important to say.

Leon narrowed his eyes slightly and asked,

“Stop staring and just say it already.”

“There’s still a very important matter, Your Highness.”

Ermon’s face was contorted with frustration.
He looked almost like a lover sulking after being ignored.

Leon smirked and asked,

“What is it?”

“You are truly too much, Your Highness.
Do you know how much effort I put into preparing your coming-of-age ceremony?”

Ermon’s voice cracked slightly with emotion, and he paused for a moment to collect himself.

“So… do you want me to comfort you?”

“That’s not it!”

Frustrated, Ermon pulled out the document sitting at the bottom of the pile and slapped it on top.

It was the paperwork for rescheduling the coming-of-age ceremony that had been ruined.

“And why haven’t you even signed this yet?”

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