CHAPTER 4

One of the maids who used to aid Jungkook was also laid off under Taehyung's orders. She had acted sweet and gentle on the surface, but after Jungkook was forced down from the Crown Prince's position, her demeanor did a complete 180 degree. She would call Jungkook ugly and hideous because of the black inscriptions on his skin and would wear an expression of abject disgust at the mere sight of him.

Taehyung's blood boiled when he thought of the maid's treachery.

Even those who pitied Jungkook were reluctant to touch him directly, thinking the curse was contagious. There was no guarantee that switching to a different maid would stop this from repeating, so Taehyung decided to help Jungkook bathe himself.

"Your Highness, from now on I'll assist you with bathing."

Jeon Jungkook: "..."

Jungkook was reading a book, and when he heard Taehyung's words, he raised his head and tried to escape.

Taehyung knew he would react this way, so he firmly held his shoulders down. "Go to the bathroom, please." He requested.

"No! What if you get infected by the curse?!" Jungkook's eyes widened twice its size.

"I won't."

"What if you become unlucky?!" To say that he was terrified is not an exaggeration. He tried to explain the situation to Taehyung, "When someone sees or touches the cursed inscriptions, either the curse will be passed on to them or the person will become unhappy."

Due to such false rumors, the bearer of the curse was not allowed to come outside and was abandoned on a southern island.

Jungkook had also been pushed down from his Crown Prince position and sent to a southern island as soon as the cursed inscriptions appeared. But thanks to the Emperor's opposition, he was able to stay in a distant palace.

"I'm not going to be unhappy. That's a false rumor, so you can ignore it." Taehyung explained to him patiently.

Jungkook asked with a pained expression, "What if it's not just a rumor?!"

Did he really believe the rumors? In the original book, the author said a person would become unhappy if they stayed next to Jungkook for long, but Taehyung didn't think so.

"I've already seen your face and held your hand."

"The inscriptions on my face are small, but the ones on my body are big!"

"It's just a false rumor. Come on, let's go!" Taehyung pulled his hand, but Jungkook didn't budge.

Due to the curse, Jungkook was weak and small. Taehyung was two years older and taller, yet there was nothing he could do when the boy stubbornly refused.

"Your Grace, come on." He tugged his hand lightly.

"No! I'm hideous!" Jungkook burst into tears. Rumors were just an excuse. He simply didn't want Taehyung to see the cursed inscriptions on his body.

At first, Taehyung thought he might feel sick because he had already seen the sentences on Jungkook's face and hands—but he was wrong. It hadn't been long since the original taehyung tried to kill himself because he was shocked by Jungkook's face. No wonder he was worried.

"Your Highness..." Taehyung called.

"You will hate me when you see it!" Jungkook cried, curling into a ball.

Taehyung squatted in front of him. "Your Highness, don't look down. Look at me." Jungkook slowly raised his head. His already red eyes were even redder. "I told you before. You're not a monster. And if you were, do you think I'd be a monster too?"

"Taehyung is different. You're so pretty!"

Taehyung felt happy to hear his husband thought he was pretty. He smiled and stroked the cursed inscriptions that covered the left side of Jungkook's face. Jungkook shivered.

"It's not hideous. Touching it doesn't make me unhappy. I've been happy every day since I married you."

Jungkook's eyes lit up, "...you are happy?"

Taehyung nodded his head once, "Yes, I'm happy you're my husband."

"Me too, me too. I'm happy to be married to Taehyung." Jungkook jumped into Taehyung's arms, and he hugged him tightly.

"Your Highness, don't say that again." Taehyung said firmly.

Jungkook nodded, "Yes."

"I'll be mad if you do."

"I won't. Don't be mad."

"Then, shall we take a bath now?"

Jungkook flinched, shaking his head.

"What is it?" Taehyung asked him seeing his denial even after so much coaxing.

Jungkook's cheek flushed, "I'm embarrassed..."

Taehyung burst into laughter at his subdued voice, "Oh my, are you embarrassed?"

"D–don't make fun of me!" Jungkook cried.

"I'm not teasing. You're really cute."

Usually, people bathe with private parts covered. The royal family and aristocrats had everything taken care of, so it was quite unusual for Jungkook to be so self-conscious.

"You're making fun of me!"

"How did you become so shy?" Taehyung asked, amusement clearly visible on his face, "Come on." Taehyung pulled Jungkook's hand lightly.

Jungkook reluctantly nodded and entered the bathroom. "Don't be scared!" He was afraid Taehyung would react to the inscriptions before he even undressed. "You can't hate me after seeing it." He said cautiously.

"I'll get really mad if you say that again." Taehyung said firmly.

Ignoring his words, Jiang still reminded him with an anxious face, "You can't leave!"

Taehyung reassured him, but Jungkook kept worrying. The only one who could free the Crown Prince from the curse was Diana. Taehyung's role was to protect Jungkook until that time.

"Why aren't you answering? Taehyung, are you going to leave me?" Seeing him silent, tears welled up in Jungkook's crimson eyes.

Taehyung quickly gave him a bright smile, "No..."

It was a lie.

"Where would I go leaving my cute husband?"

Another white lie.

"Really?" Jungkook asked timidly.

"Of course. This is my home." He wiped Jungkook's tears away. "Come on, take a bath."

"Yes." Jungkook hesitated and carefully removed his clothes.

Taehyung put on his best poker face to avoid hurting him. When he removed his shirt, a small body covered in the curse sentences was revealed. He was only eight, and the inscriptions covered half his body. Jungkook noticed and held Taehyung's hand, worried he might leave or jump into the lake again.

Taehyung smiled softly, "How can you be so skinny?"

Jungkook looked at his body and muttered, "I think I look fat because my lower body is thin. I should lose weight from now on."

"Don't do that! You must eat a lot!" Taehyung cried.

Jungkook tilted his head, "Eat a lot?"

"Yes, you're still skinny." Taehyung insisted.

"I'm bigger than you though?" Jungkook glanced up and pouted. "I'll grow up soon!"

"I'm going to grow up too." Taehyung said playfully.

"I'll grow faster!" Jungkook exclaimed, determined.

Taehyung laughed at Jungkook's sudden burning desire to win. "Okay, I'll look forward to it."

Jungkook nodded his head rapidly, "Yes! Look forward to it!"

"Come on, let's get in the tub. You'll catch a cold." Taehyung led Jungkook into the bathtub.

His skin was soft, but areas with cursed inscriptions were rough. When a cursed inscription spread, it was accompanied by pain. Just how much had this young boy suffered?

When Taehyung touched the curse, Jungkook trembled, "Don't do it. What if the curse...."

"It won't." Taehyung simply agreed. He couldn't lift Jungkook's curse completely but hoped that the small power of light he possessed would ease his pain slightly. Noticing the tense atmosphere, he suddenly said, "Oh no, my husband has a big tummy."

"I don't!" Jungkook quickly denied.

Taken aback by his resistance, Taehyung was about to apologize, but seeing Jungkook puff up his cheeks, he felt like teasing him. "It's because you ate a lot! That's why your tummy is big."

"I'm not going to eat anymore!" Jungkook puffed his face.

Taehyung grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Then you'll still be smaller than me."

"Oh no!...." Jungkook's eyes widened, as if realizing something important.

Looking at his adorable expression, Taehyung shook his head with a fond look on his face, "Your Highness, I'm kidding. Your tummy isn't big. Eat a lot—that's how you'll grow."

"Yes! I'll eat a lot and grow fast!"

"Yes, grow fast." Taehyung gave a far too serious nod.

Jungkook was so thin it worried Taehyung.

Jungkook loved Korean food. He wasn't just saying it was delicious—he truly enjoyed it. He loved it so much that Taehyung enjoyed making it too. His ambitions grew further; he wanted to make a full-fledged meal. He'd build a furnace and a cauldron! There was a limit to making Korean food with only a stove and oven.

Taehyung had lived alone with his grandmother in a small town before he transmigrated. After his grandmother passed away, he came to Seoul, but a longing for the quiet countryside still remained in a corner of his heart. He still remembered picking up branches with his small hands, putting them in the furnace, cooking rice in a large cauldron, and making a bowl of soup.

He had already completed the plan for producing the cauldrons in his head. He would draw the design himself and adjust it with the blacksmith as they created the prototype. Since he already had experience building a furnace, assembling one by himself would be easy. He planned to start with two cauldrons and possibly increase them later. If anyone asked what the cauldron was or where he got the idea, he could just say that he saw it in a cookbook about the East.

_________________________________________

He wandered around the palace, looking for a location to place the cauldron. Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind him.

"Oh my god!" He turned in surprise.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you." The boy standing behind him smiled.

He was still young but tall and well-built. His face was sharp and defined, with dark, thick eyebrows and a slightly angular jawline.

Unlike Jungkook's mysterious and beautiful appearance, this boy had a handsome, defined face. However, his red eyes were full of arrogance.

Wait a minute...

Black hair. Red eyes. A scar on the neck. He instinctively knew. This boy was Richard Cassil, the male lead of 'The Beast and the Lady'.

"Richard...?" Taehyung called the name carefully, just in case he was wrong.

The boy's arrogant smile deepened. "Long time no see, Prince Taehyung"

Yes, he was right.

Richard was the second son of the Emperor's brother, Duke Mingyue. Since Jungkook, the Crown Prince, was cursed and not expected to live long, Duke Mingyue's sons were considered candidates for the throne. However, Richard was far from inheriting it. His mother was a lowly slave. Moreover, Richard was not born with silver hair, a symbol of the Imperial family. The black hair he inherited from his mother was also one of his insecurities.

After Emperor Deahyung passed away, his younger brother Jeon Jimin would depose Jungkook and ascend the throne. Richard was the one who contributed the most to that outcome.

He was the best among the duke's three sons, but he was not recognized because of his mother's blood. Carrying the ambition to become Emperor, he stepped on his enemies one by one and eventually ascended to the throne. At the end of the novel, he used Diana to get rid of Jungkook.

This time, Taehyung would stop those events. Emperor Deahyung would not die suddenly, and Jungkook would not be ousted. Jungkook was happy as he was. Once the curse was lifted, he would become the next Emperor without any problems. There would be no room for Richard to intervene.

"What can I do for you?" He asked calmly, though suspicion filled his heart.

Why would the male lead come to see him? Richard never did anything that did not benefit him. In the original story, he approached Diana because she was valuable—she had lifted Jungkook's curse. Taehyung, as the Crown Prince in place of Jungkook was useless to him.

"You made quite a scene as soon as you got married." Richard stated.

"A scene?"

"I heard you fired many of the palace's servants."

"Ah..." Taehyung understood. Richard must have planted a spy among the servants Taehyung had fired.

Richard was only fourteen, yet he had already planted a spy. Taehyung already knew from the book. The maid who usually aided Jungkook had originally been Richard's. What surprised him was that Richard had come face-to-face with him personally. Richard was usually cautious and never appeared until the very last minute. By showing up immediately, he practically admitted that he had planted a spy in the Crown Prince's palace.

"So?" Taehyung raised an eyebrow.

Richard frowned, "You acted rashly. That's unlike you."

"What do you mean?"

"The Marquis Hamel family is trusted by the Emperor. Imprisoning the eldest son was impudent. His Majesty personally selected the other courtiers. Dismissing them so easily was wrong." Richard said as if there was not evil intention hidden behind his words.

Of course, you would say that—they were all your spies.

Taehyung smiled faintly, hiding his irritation. "People he cannot trust have no place here."

"If you want loyalty, you need generosity." Richard said, "You won't get that by firing people so easily."

"That's rude. This has nothing to do with you." Taehyung said calmly, "If you have no business here, you should leave."

Richard smiled haughtily. "Are you sulking?"

Taehyung blinked, "Pardon?"

"Are you upset because I didn't accept your feelings?" Richard asked, "You like me, don't you?"

So, the real Taehyung had liked Richard.

"I didn't reject you because I wanted to," Richard continued softly. "I'm the son of a slave. How could I accept you under the Emperor's command?"

He looked genuinely sorrowful—like a tragic hero.

If Taehyung hadn't known better, he might have believed him. 'So this is how you toyed with omega?' Taehyung thought coldly.

"Taehyung you understand me, right? You like me."

"What?" Taehyung snapped. "Jeon Rechard you delusional? Who would like you?"

Richard's smile froze.

Taehyung continued, "And how dare you speak like that to the Crown Prince? Are you insulting the Imperial family?"

Richard reached for Taehyung's hand awkwardly. Before Taehyung could pull away, someone else grabbed Richard's wrist.

Taehyung was surprised seeing Jungkook standing near him. "Your Highness..."

Jungkook glared at Richard. "Taehyung said he hates it."

Richard stiffened, then forced a smile. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. Master Taehyung and I—"

"He is the Crown Prince," Jungkook interrupted.

Richard bowed stiffly. "Forgive me, Your Highness."

"If you disrespect the Crown Prince again, you will not be forgiven." Jungkook said firmly.

"Yes, Your Highness." Richard retreated, pale and sweating.

Jungkook gently tugged Taehyung's hand. "Don't look."

"What?"

"Don't look at him..." He tugged his hand again.

"I won't," Taehyung said firmly. "He's not even a man—he's a dog."

"Dog?" Jungkook tilted his head in confusion.

"He's a total son of a bitch. He said I like him. He must be crazy." Taehyung was infuriated.

"...Don't you like him? Richard is very popular...?" Jungkook asked carefully.

"Oh, I hate that sort of guy. I like cute guys like you instead." Taehyung said grinning.

"Hehe." Jungkook smiled brightly, rubbing his white cheeks on his hands.

"What kind of guys do you like?" Taehyung suddenly asked out of curiosity.

Jungkook stared at him for a second and then simply said, "Taehyung."

"I mean, which type do you prefer?"

"I like Taehyung. All I need is Taehyung!" Jungkook jumped into his arms and hugged him.

He smiled and returned his hug. "You are all I need too..."

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