The protagonist - yjh - is the rightful heir to the crown, however after the death of his parents his uncle takes over the throne until he'll come of age. Which means that of course the current king and queen want to get rid of yjh in order to keep their new status.

Assassination attempts might not work on the protagonist since he's protected by plot armor, but his uncle can still try to decrease yjh's influence by ruining his reputation and cause people to stop supporting him.

It's hard to do so since he's so good at everything, but one way is to tie him to a bad family. That's how the engagement between yjh and the count's son starts. From outside there seems to be no problem, however the current king is well aware that the count is in massive debt.

It was a well kept secret only a few people knew, that in a few years the count's family will go bankrupt thanks to the bad management. And the protagonist will be more or less dragged in the mud with them. Yjh doesn't know about all that, but he suspects something

is going on since his 'guardians' wouldn't insist on the engagement for his sake. So he doesn't want it, and doesn't try to hide this fact. Says it to their faces, doesn't attend the planned dinners and outings with his fiance, etc.

For kdj who plays that role, this is the worst. His own 'family' saw the engagement as the light at the end of the tunnel. They couldn't wait to leech off the royal family's wealth, thus they were desperate to solidify this relation.

So their response to yjh's rejection? It's their son's fault for not being eloquent enough. Kdj already knew from his past life that when someone has power over him, he should keep his head low and avoid angering them further, so he silently endures the punishments.

He carefully plans his escape for later, when he won't be in the body of a young child anymore, and until then does his best to please his 'parents' by attending the meetings, even if the protagonist won't do the same most of the time.

Weeks or maybe a month passes until, during one of the rare occassions where yjh couldn't avoid having dinner together, he caught a glimpse of one of kdj's bruises. Before the latter can do anything, his wrist is grabbed and sleeve pulled up,

revealing green and purple marks all over the skinny arm. Yjh's usually emotionless face twisted in confusion and anger at the sight. Sure, he didn't particularly like kdj, but didn't hate him either. And he was after all, just in title, his fiance.

"Who did this." his voice demanded, holding the wrist a bit tighter when he felt the boy trying to get away, but still careful enough not to hurt him. Seconds passed, and with each one kdj's frustration grew. He knew that yjh is unaware of anything going on,

but the troubles created by the stubborn sunfish as well as the higher status forcing kdj to always speak politely to him was enough to have him consider going on the original villain's route. Just for a moment. He was still rational enough not to plot against the protagonist.

However the tiredness and anger at himself for being so powerless came crashing down when he heard that question, and before he could stop his own mouth, kdj blurted out a "you did". Yjh's eyes widened comically, meeting kdj's equally surprised ones.

They stared dumbly at each other for a few seconds before kdj regained composure and took advantage of the moment to yank his arm out of the other's grasp, leaving before the protagonist could say anything. It was a tiny mistake. Surely nothing would change, right?

The next time there was an arranged meeting between them, yjh uncharacteristically attended. "What did you mean last time?" he asked, this time a tad softer than before. Now kdj understood why he was there. Yjh was curious, and would again stop coming after he gets a response.

"Nothing, your highness. I apologize for my rudeness." Kdj could see the other scowl at the words, but he didn't change his response no matter how yjh inquired. 'He didn't mean anything by it, he was simply tired and answered hastily.' The protagonist will reach that conclusion-

-and drop the subject. He was sure of it. For once, kdj enjoyed coming 'home' to be greeted by fake smiles and no punishment. Two meetings went well in a row, so his 'parents' were pleased. It didn't last for long.

After two weeks, when the next outing was supposed to be held, yjh once again refused to come. What no one could've expected, however, was him showing up unannounced at the count's residence, right in the middle of kdj's punishment.

It was quite a sight to behold, kdj standing still with his arms and legs bloodied, the count looking like a deer in headlights with the whip in his hand, and one angry fourteen year old having just barged in the office.

"What is the meaning of this." yjh asked through gritted teeth, brain still registering what his eyes were looking at. The count stuttered an explanation, that he was merely educating his son, and apologized if kdj had offended him in any way.

Yjh didn't let him finish before he asked again. "Have you done this every time?" The count's mouth shut once more, not understanding the question. Kdj did. And yjh must've put two and two together too, since he looked like someone had just slapped him in the face.

The incident ended as fast as it started, yjh taking kdj's hand and leaving the mansion with him. The silence inside the carriage was deafening, kdj sneaking glances while yjh looked away, trying to mask the guilt on his face. At that moment kdj felt sorry for him. Just a bit.

After all the protagonist was still young and wasn't to blame for the illogical actions of the grown ups. So after contemplating about it, he raised his hand and placed it on top of yjh's head, petting his hair. The protagonist looked back, shocked, and kdj held back a smirk.

Perhaps this was the first time someone dared to do touch him like that. However kdj was /almost/ sure yjh won't cut off his hand. Not after everything that happened. "It wasn't your fault." Kdj hoped yjh can understand what he meant. His face was unreadable. "And thank you."

From that day, kdj's residence became the palace, right next to yjh's chamber, under the pretext of 'getting his fiance accustomed to his future home'. Unfortunately there wasn't much he could do to the count while he was still young, but there was a time for everything.

Kdj was shocked to say the least. The protagonist changed from completely uninterested to spending time together, or even starting conversation with him. It would've been normal if it was someone else, but this was yjh - an unsociable sunfish.

Guilt? Responsability? What made him act that way? Kdj wasn't sure. Even if yjh wanted to 'fix what he caused', how could he? He didn't want this engagement, so he'll eventually have to give him back to the count. Still...all kdj could do was wait for the right time to disappear.

That's how days passed, with the majority of their schedules concurrent - dining, lessons, riding or training. After more weeks, they could be seen together in their free time as well. Be it in the library or a field away from prying eyes, they became inseparable.

Bickering and talks about books became plots for the future, and they turned into the closest companions either of them could hope for. As yjh's eighteen birthday approached, the royal family became restless. The current king and queen were out of time to get rid of him,

so it was over with the subtle assassination attempts. They were going to outright use the guards, those who weren't loyal to the former king anymore, and outnumber yjh. Kdj, who knew about this from the original novel, prevented the incident by disappearing with yjh before