Rebel

"May I have your first dance, my lord?" Rowan's question made every eyes look at him and Jerome, the man he's asking a dance with.

"Who is he to be offered Rowan a dance?!" Rohesia Osboorne whispered to herself as she stared at the scene with jealous eyes.

She was one of Rowan's admirers but only because he's handsome and he's the prince. His status would surely make her rich and famous that's why she was aiming to be the crown princess.

She was also the one who mistreated Henry in the streets the first time Jerome met the old man.

However, she was not the only one who was thinking the same thing. Some of the others are thinking, 'Why would the Prince pick a born commoner for his first dance when he never asked anyone else before?'

It didn't help that Jerome is a man, which was insulting for some ladies who made effort to be eye-catching for the prince.

Meanwhile, the said nobleman was on the edge. He can't decline since it'll make him look like as if he was rude and arrogant but accepting it would cause the spotlight to be on him.

He could imagine it already, the headlines with his name and face on the front paper, 'Newly Blessed Noble and A Born Commoner Jerome Wright, Asked for A Dance by The Crown Prince!!'.

Though, the situation would also benefit him greatly since he'll be be well-known even from this scene that Rowan made.

It might cause some rumors that he only accepted the dance to be closer to the prince but that's a rumor that he could ignore in the near future.

Eventually, Jerome smiled politely and accepted the crown prince's offer, "It's an honor." He said and placed his hand on top of Rowan's waiting one.

Everyone watched them as the crown prince escorted him at the center of the ballroom.

There were envious eyes, observing one and a very furious one. Jerome assumed it was the King, who knew that making a scene would only make it worse and also knew that it would only satisfy Rowan if he incited a reaction from him.

As the music started and as the pair positioned at the center of the ballroom, the red haired man looked down at the shorter with a smile, which somehow annoyed Jerome.

"Care to explain why you asked me to dance out of all the ladies in this room, your highness?" The black haired man asked, keeping up with the prince's moves.

"Can't I pick the most beautiful person here?" Rowan kept his smile while Jerome looked away with an eyeroll, his ears were getting red from the sudden flirtatious remark.

"That's nonsense. I know what you're doing." Jerome huffed and he happened to catch a glimpse of the king glaring at them.

"Oh? Care to enlighten me?"

The noble man looked up at the taller, "You're using me to rebel against your father again."

Rowan was amused by how perceptive the latter is and he chuckled, "Perceptive, but with this knowledge. Why are you still indulging with my eccentric actions? As what they call it."

"Well, I could say that I could benefit from this exchange as well."

The red haired man's mind began to run some ideas, something that would make his father furious once again. The prince smiled at the shorter, "Why, that's convenient."

"From what I remember, you hate being approached with hidden intentions." Jerome was a bit confused, he did remember that fact from the novel but it was also common knowledge among the nobles.

"I was the one who approached you, remember?" Rowan chuckled again making the latter sigh softly, a bit annoyed at how unpredictable the man is.

The red haired man pulled the shorter closer by his waist, "You seemed angry at me, why's that Princess?" He asked with a smile.

Jerome hitched a breath and looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows and pink-tinted cheeks, "I..."

He didn't know that he was obvious in showing his annoyance towards the prince, "I'm not mad at you."

"Oh? Then why were you avoiding me?

"I am not."

"Really? During Hardwicke's arrest, you won't even show me your face. I had to investigate your whereabouts myself just to give you presents." Jerome gasped when Rowan suddenly flipped him on his back as they danced, enjoying how he could easily move the shorter as he pleased.

"In the auction, you acted as if you didn't even know me."

"And you were about to act as if you never met me on the day that you were blessed, even though I helped you out, I bet if I didn't insist on coming with you, you wouldn't even accept me in your manor."

The black haired man was quite annoyed by how persistent and perceptive the prince was but he guess that it was a main character trait.

"I'm a nobody, your highness. A born commoner, you don't need to know me." Jerome excused.

"I apologize for the rudeness but that's a load of nonsense. I don't care about status. You already intrigued me. Why did you go after Hardwicke? Why did you give me the diamond mine? Why did you want to be a noble? You make me curious."

The noble man was flustered by how Rowan was pulling him closer to his body, "That..."

"Are you not going to answer still?" The red haired man tilted his head and leaned closer to Jerome's ear, making the shorter shudder.

Jerome felt nervous because it was as if Rowan knew what he was doing, it was as if he knew that the black haired man wasn't just a born commoner but someone who always has something up his sleeves.

The red haired man received no answer from the shorter who only looked away with a frown, his cheeks red and warm. It was a sight that the prince like seeing, he doesn't understand why but he simply took it as a want to tease the latter.

Soon, the music ended but Rowan wasn't discouraged, he will get his answers in the future, he was already planning in his head how to do so.

The prince smiled at Jerome and bowed to him once the song stopped, he took his hand and kissed it, leaving the black haired man in shock.

"May I have my answers soon, Princess."

He said before leaving, the ballroom was silent not until the music played again.

The nobleman felt gazes on him, so he just smiled politely before going on his way. He ignored the whispers everywhere, mixed with the fine tune of trumpets and violin.

Meanwhile, King Roysce practically dragged his son to a private waiting room, "What was that all about?!"

"When I told you to at least take someone for a dance I didn't mean a born commoner and much more a man!"

Rowan just chuckled at his father's temper as he sat on the couch, "Relax. It's not like I asked him for his hand in marriage. Not yet at least."

"A-A hand in..." The old man sighed in disbelief, holding the bridge of his nose.

"What is it that you want to do this time? Do you really have to always cause some trouble? You're to be a king! Stop being childish!"

The prince looked at his father, "If you see my actions as trouble, then I guess you have a troublesome judgement, Father."

Roysce frowned at his son's words but he just watched him stood up, "I do know that Lord Jerome is a man and a born commoner, so what does gender and status have to do with dancing?"

"You all are acting as if I kissed him." Rowan chuckled, thinking about that makes him wonder how everyone would react.

"Don't you dare." The King glared at him, "Those Bertros ruined you, I can't believe they gave you such ideas which are not tolerated by the—"

"By the what, Father? By all your judgemental eyes? Reids didn't do anything but wake me up from this biased judgement towards noble people against commoners. In fact, as a King, shouldn't you be seeing everyone with fair judgement? People are suffering down there! Yet here you are, feeding those pigs even more!" Rowan looked disgusted, he hated how his father talks badly about his friend.

The reason why the Bertros Family was banished from the castle wasn't because of a fake stealing jewelry incident, it was because Roysce thinks that they are a bad influence to Rowan.

The family was once close to the Royal Family, even Wyeth Tashe, the king's advisor was a second cousin of the Bertros Head. Hence, the reason why they were trusted to guide Rowan through noblehood.

However, Roysce didn't like how Rowan was woken to the idea that he has freedom and that the commoners matters.

"Don't you speak against the King." The old man scowled at his son.

The crown prince scoffed at that, "You're the king only when it's convenient yet you never even once became a father." He said before leaving his father.