The Crown Prince In Hiding

Dan said those words to Zeedee before they split up for the theory exam.

And not long after they emerged, the results were announced.

Dan Burn – 80/100

Zeedee Lamb – 76/100

They’d done impressively well.

Why?

Because the last ten years of experience gave them instant insight into how absurdly easy the questions were—for them. But for the children taking the test, they were brutally hard.

“I can’t believe they asked so many questions about war.”

“That’s why we scored so well! We didn’t even have to study, especially when they started asking about our kingdom.”

“True that!”

As for the afternoon practical exam—

They barely squeaked by.

In the two months before they traveled to the human kingdoms, Fury and Freya had spent that time separately training their new bodies, syncing their minds to their physical forms as much as possible. They familiarized themselves with every movement, learned the basics of human magic, and studied human society down to the finest detail. Train. Study. Practice. Repeat.

Magic was still tough for the prince, but he managed to scrape through—just above the surface.

Freya, on the other hand, developed far better magical control than expected, and performed outstandingly.

In the end—

Both were officially accepted into Artheris Academy.

On the first day of the school year—

The neutral campus was bathed in golden sun, the grass glistening in the light.

The stress of exam day had transformed into celebration, with upperclassmen gathered to welcome the new students in droves.

First-years, clad in white-and-gold uniforms, walked in beaming. A live band played music in the central garden.

Dan leaned casually beside the statue of the legendary heroine, Casca Saint Maximin.

Suddenly, Zeedee emerged from a bush behind him.

“So? What’s the result?”

“I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”

“Good news.”

“The good news is… our class includes royalty. As in—plural.”

“Huh?”

The prince turned his head.

“Guess that makes sense for an Elite class.”

The King Class was essentially for prodigies—a gathering of royals and high-born heirs of influential families.

However, there were always a few open seats for exceptional commoners. The top scorers got in.

For a commoner, it was the highest honor—to sit beside royalty and forge powerful connections.

It practically guaranteed a golden future.

But for Dan, it wasn’t particularly good or bad news.

“What’s the bad news?”

“…You and I have to live apart—from now on.”

The student dorms behind the academy were strictly divided between male and female wings, and spaced far apart. That said, the facilities were excellent—fitting for an elite academy.

“…Apart? That’s not good…”

Dan rested his chin in his palm, clearly concerned.

“So that means I’ll have to live with… humans?”

“Looks that way. Four people per room, I think.”

Freya added helpfully.

“Only the royals get their own rooms—for security reasons, apparently.”

“So that means we have no privacy… I’m not staying in human form all day, that’s for sure.”

“Me neither.”

“……”

“Think we can ask to opt out of the dorms?”

“It’s possible. I heard something about it. We’ll have to check with admin.”

“Perfect. Then that’s our next objective.”

Zeedee followed after the prince as he stepped away from the statue of his fiancée. She glanced up at Casca’s stone face, stuck out her tongue, and rolled her eyes before walking away.

“You want to waive the dormitory privilege?”

At the housing registration desk, the administrator looked stunned by Dan Burn’s request.

It was unheard of. Normal students craved the best treatment they could get. But these two…

“You’ll still have to pay the full tuition, you know. Are you sure about this?”

Dan looked at Zeedee, then nodded back at the staff.

“All right then… Please sign here.”

Eden Garden—the sprawling park behind the academy dorms—was empty today, as most students were still celebrating their admission inside the Main Hall.

“They’re not even giving us a tuition discount… greedy bastards,” Dan grumbled.

“At least they warned us.”

“The royals don’t pay a damn thing and still get private rooms. What a load of shit. Fuck ass royals, your highness.”

“Maybe say some royals… there’s one standing pretty close by....”

“…Right, good point.”

Zeedee seemed to remember something.

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“I think they have something called… a ‘scholarship’.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not sure, but I heard they pay for everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yup.”

With a 150-million-credit debt hanging over him, the prince knew he had to cut costs. Anything that could save money—must be pursued.

“Then we need to find out how to get this scholarship—ASAP. We’ve gotta wipe that debt out. Great job, Zeedee! You did good!”

“See? I am better than Dominik!”

“Can’t say for sure… but tomorrow, we’re hunting that scholarship down.”

“So what do we do tonight?”

“Find a place to sleep. That’s priority number one.”

“We could just book another motel, like this morning.”

“But that’ll drain our funds. Think ahead, Zeedee. If we pay nightly, we’ll go broke before the month’s over. I underestimated the rental costs. I didn’t think lodging would be this expensive.”

“It’s only 10 credits a night…”

“Sure—but add that up for 10 days. Or 20. Or 30.”

“…Oh. Right. True.”

“I’ve got an idea for our sleeping arrangement… but I’ll explain in a bit.”

The two demons strolled through Eden Garden. Birds chirped, cool wind blew, and the neatly trimmed trees and white-arched bridges over running water painted a serene landscape.

“It’s beautiful…”

“Your Highness. This bridge has a name.”

Zeedee pointed to a silver plaque.

“Saint-Maximin Bridge.”

“?!”

Dan turned back to read the plaque.

This garden was constructed by alumna Casca Saint Maximin, Class of the 76th Generation, with a donation of 100,000 credits. It is dedicated to the cultivation of flora from the Five Kingdoms, and to provide a peaceful retreat for future students.

Zeedee: “Hmph.”

stare

“What? Why’re you looking at me like that? She clearly did this for clout. You know it.”

But someone else overheard—and didn’t take it well.

“You insult Miss Maximin while walking in a garden she created? You should leave.”

A tall girl with sleek, golden-blonde hair stepped forward. Her skin was pale, her face slender with high cheekbones and a perfectly straight nose. Her voice carried a crisp Russian accent.

Princess Nora Ophilis.

“Excuse me?”

Zeedee tilted her head.

“What did you just say? Sorry—I didn’t quite catch that.”

Nora gave her a frosty side-eye.

Dan’s instincts kicked in. He quickly analyzed the stranger.

She wore a golden brooch and slightly modified attire—a black inner layer that reached her neck, and black gloves over her hands.

Dan stepped in between them.

“I’m so sorry. We were just joking around—nothing serious.”

CRUNCH! Zeedee yelped as her foot got stomped.

“We truly didn’t mean anything offensive.”

CRUNCH! A second stomp. Louder yelp.

“Should I report this to the faculty?”

“We’re sorry! We were wrong!”

“Freedom of speech still requires context. You should’ve studied this place more thoroughly. If you said that in Luminous, you’d be executed.”

The moment Dan saw her face clearly, his heart thumped in his chest—overwhelmed by how beautiful she was.

Princess Nora shook her head and walked away.

“…..”

“……”

Dan turns slowly to look at Zeedee

“Don’t give me that look. I know. I messed up. Okay!?”