Chapter 61: The Prince's Ride (Fuji's Side)

The door of the limousine shuts.

It is silent. Soundproof.

I am in the back. Kenichi-san is in the front passenger seat. We are separated by a glass partition.

It is just me.

I am still Fuji Kenji. I am wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. I smell like Aoi's house—flour and video games.

My forehead... I can still feel it.

I kissed her forehead.

What a coward.

I wanted to kiss her. On the lips.

I have wanted to do that since middle school. Since she beat me by one point and growled.

The car glides away from her normal street.

My vacation is over.

My phone buzzes. It is not Aoi. It is an internal text from Kenichi.

Kenichi: "Your Highness, please refrain from contacting the Isuzu girl. Your phone will be collected when we arrive."

My hands clench.

I text back.

Me: "She has a name."

Kenichi: "Yes, sir. That is what His Highness the Crown Prince is afraid of. This is for your own protection, Fuji-sama."

Fuji-sama. The polite fiction he uses when he pities me.

I look out the window. The suburbs blur into the city.

The call.

It was bad and good.

The bad news, Kenichi-san, I whisper to myself.

I know what it is.

His Imperial Majesty... the Emperor. My grandfather.

The Royal Physician confirmed it. It is not just pneumonia. It is worse. He is fading. He has asked for all family to return.

Even me. The disgraceful second son. The rebellious prince who ran away to live like a commoner.

My father. The Crown Prince. He hated it. He let me go eighteen months ago, thinking I would fail. Thinking I would break under poverty and come crawling back to the Palace.

I didn't.

I thrived. I learned to cook. I fixed bad plumbing. I made a rival.

I met Aoi.

And the good news.

Her Highness, Princess Akiko. My older sister. She is pregnant. Twins. The line is secure. Everyone is celebrating.

Good news. Bad news. It doesn't matter.

It is Imperial news. It means all royals must be seen. United.

My experiment in freedom is over.

My father is using my grandfather's illness to force me back into the public eye. To end my rebellion.

He is terrified of scandal.

And Isuzu Aoi... Bloody Twilight... my aggressive, wonderful, pure Aoi...

To my family, she is the biggest scandal of all.

The car slows.

We are not at my run-down apartment.

We are at the main gate of the Imperial Palace.

The guards bow. The gates open.

"We are here, Your Highness," Kenichi says over the intercom.

The car stops.

A servant opens my door.

I step out. Into the courtyard.

It is cold. Silent. Perfect.

It is nothing like Aoi's messy room.

"Your Highness."

My Royal Valet is waiting.

"Your formal attire is ready. You are expected in the Emperor's study in ten minutes."

I am Fuji Kenji. But Fuji Kenji died when the limo door shut.

I am Prince Kenji.

And I am trapped.

I look at my phone. One last time.

Her face. Her angry gaming face. I took a picture of it once.

"I'm sorry, Aoi," I whisper.

I hand the phone to Kenichi.

I walk inside the Palace.

The Ice Prince is home.