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After the King’s speech, the party officially began, and once again, Ian found himself surrounded in chaos. While nobles continuously clung to him, so did some self-proclaimed businessmen—one of whom made a peculiar request.

“So you’re asking to be granted exclusive rights to produce barbed wire?”

“Yes, that’s correct. If you entrust it to me, I will bring immense profits to you, Prince Ian.”

“Even if I say yes, can I just do as I please? Surely someone else has already started making it?”

“That’s not the case. The whole world already knows it was you, Prince Ian, who developed barbed wire. In that context, obtaining an international patent would be quite easy.”

“Hm, let’s talk again another time.”

“Thank you! I assure you this will be a decision you won’t regret!”

Seeing the man bow and withdraw, looking visibly excited, Ian thought it indeed sounded profitable. Considering the trench warfare soon to come, barbed wire had the potential to bring him substantial gain.

‘I only made the barbed wire in a rush to survive, but it might make me some real money?’

Feeling pleased by the unexpected source of income, Ian sighed internally as another wave of people swarmed toward him. Dealing with people was exhausting, and he found himself longing for his days of obscurity.

‘This is all because of that man called Father.’

As he recalled the man who had left right after giving his speech, Ian noticed young noble ladies starting to approach and speak to him. Each was beautiful, with distinct charms. In the past, as the Ninth Prince, no one dared talk to him—yet now, as a war hero, they wouldn’t stop.

“You’re so handsome.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh my, your skin is amazing. How do you take care of it?”

“I don’t do anything special, really.”

“They say you captured an imperial battleship—could you tell us what happened?”

“I just blocked it by steering our ship in front of it and seized it.”

“There were shells flying everywhere, wasn’t that terrifying?”

“It wasn’t scary, just a bit tiring.”

“They say the ship you were on was called a miracle ship—it never got hit by a single shell. Is that true?”

“Yes, I was just lucky.”

Ian answered their questions, though his responses were curt due to his lack of conversational skill. Surprisingly, none seemed disappointed; they smiled and engaged with him warmly. He began to wonder if their families had pushed them into approaching him.

‘Do they think they’ll gain something from me?’

Though he was now known as a war hero and popular, Ian believed it was all just temporary. One or two years from now, people would forget. And he would still be the Ninth Prince.

‘Even with two of my brothers dead, I’m still only seventh in line to the throne.’

Given that reality, there seemed no reason for anyone to pursue him so persistently. Besides, he already had a fiancée—and just then, he spotted her in the crowd. He politely excused himself from the ladies.

“I’m sorry, but I already have a prior engagement.”

“Huh? Can’t you stay with us?”

“Yes, stay with us.”

“You don’t dislike us, do you?”

“It’s not that. It’s just… my fiancée came to meet me.”

As he said that, Ian’s gaze turned toward one spot. Everyone followed his eyes to where Michelle now stood—looking much more mature. Her well-groomed brown hair and light pink dress made her look lovely. Still, compared to the other young ladies, she didn’t stand out as especially beautiful.

‘But to me, she’s a good match.’

After excusing himself, Ian walked up to Michelle. She had grown quite a bit, though Ian himself had also grown and still had to look down to meet her gaze. Come to think of it, she was three years younger—so she would now be fourteen.

‘She’s grown a lot.’

Of course, he wasn’t seeing her romantically. To him, she still looked like a young girl—more like a little sister. Michelle blushed slightly under Ian’s gaze and spoke.

“It’s been a while, Prince Ian.”

“It has. Miss Michelle, have you been well?”

“Thanks to you. Thank you for bringing Father back safely.”

“I didn’t really do anything.”

“But you were with him. I’m just so glad you both returned.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Ian remembered when Michelle had once said she couldn’t understand why her father had gone to war. He wondered if she still felt that way. She was older now—maybe her views had changed.

“Do you still not understand why your father joined the war?”

“P-please don’t bring that up. I was very immature back then.”

“Is that so?”

“You said I’d understand when I grew up—and now I do. Thank you for putting it kindly back then.”

“You don’t have to thank me. But… would you care to dance?”

“Dance?”

“I need an excuse to shake off the crowd. They keep swarming me.”

Ian leaned in and whispered softly into her ear. Seeing the looks around them, Michelle seemed to finally understand what he meant and gave a small nod.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

At Michelle’s words, Ian nodded and began leading her away. Soon, he formally invited her to dance. With a slight bend of the knee and a graceful bow, he gently extended his hand.

“Beautiful lady, would you care to dance with me?”

“O-of course.”

With their hands clasped, Ian and Michelle slowly made their way to the dance floor. As the orchestra played, the two began dancing, hand in hand. Both were capable dancers to some degree.

‘I’m glad I took those lessons during school. Back then, I wondered why we even needed them.’

Having stayed in school through his second year, Ian had taken lessons in dances appropriate for formal parties. As the two moved in rhythm to the music, it was only natural that many eyes turned their way.

In the swirl of gazes filled with various emotions, the party was reaching its peak. And eventually, the evening came to an end. In the end, Ian still hadn’t seen Armin at the party.

September 10th.

Ian had come to Rodliss High School today. After taking a few days of rest, he thought of the school and contacted them. When he asked about his attendance status, he was relieved to hear that his presence would be acknowledged during the war period.

However, now that the war was over, that was no longer the case. In other words, he would have to continue attending school for the remaining few months. It was a bit troublesome, but he thought, wouldn’t a few months be manageable?

He had already missed most of his third year, and over half of his fourth year was gone. So attending for just a few more months and graduating would be beneficial to him. Of course, the school probably allowed this because he had become a war hero.

“Then, please go ahead. We’ll wait here for you.”

His chauffeur and bodyguards bowed respectfully. From their appearance, Ian could feel just how much his status had changed. In the past, he had only one driver and one guard. Now, there were three guards assigned to him.

‘Who knows how long that will last.’

Thinking that, Ian took a moment to observe the familiar sight of Rodliss High School. True to its prestige, the buildings were large and had ivy creeping along their aged stone walls, adding a sense of living history. As he walked, Ian suddenly realized he didn’t remember which class he was in.

‘And I need to go to a fourth-year classroom… but where was it again?’

Even after two years of attendance, he hadn’t been to the fourth-year section, so he had no idea where to go. As he looked around, he noticed someone approaching. The moment he turned, he saw Armin, his neatly trimmed dark blue hair unmistakable, calling to him in a voice full of emotion.

“Prince Ian!”

“Armin, you still haven’t grown.”

“Huh? Why would you say that right now?! And I’ve grown a lot, okay?”

“Really?”

Armin still stood a head shorter than Ian. It must have looked that way because Ian himself had grown.

“It’s just that you got taller.”

“Maybe so.”

“…You haven’t changed, Prince.”

“Why would I change?”

“Well, now you’re the hero of the kingdom.”

“Ah, hero this and hero that—I cringe every time I hear it.”

Armin felt strangely reassured hearing Ian say that so genuinely. In this changed reality, he had worried Ian might have forgotten about him. Maybe Ian’s personality had changed, too. But seeing him now—he was the same as always.

“You really haven’t changed, Prince Ian.”

“What do you mean I haven’t changed?”

“Just… everything. Anyway, you don’t know which class you’re in, right? The teacher asked me to guide you, so I was waiting.”

“Of course it’s you. Always so thorough.”

“Of course! I’m your first subordinate, after all!”

Armin said it with pride, and Ian smiled faintly and nodded, gesturing that they should go. Armin took the lead and began guiding him. On the way, students they passed greeted Ian enthusiastically.

They were incredibly polite, and Ian couldn’t help but feel annoyed at how much his reality had changed. Even at school now, things were going to be exhausting.

“They’re not going to greet me like this every day, are they?”

“You find it annoying, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

Knowing Ian well, Armin just shrugged as if to say there was nothing he could do. And honestly, there wasn’t. How could you stop students from constantly approaching? Ian realized he just had to accept it.

“Here we are—Class 4-3. Let’s go in together.”

“Together? Are you in the same class?”

“Yep! We’ve always been in the same class. Isn’t that fate?”

“Fate, my foot. Let’s just get inside already.”

Being in the same class was fortunate. Still, there were too many eyes on him even in the hallway. Wanting to avoid them, Ian pushed Armin to open the door quickly. As the door opened, he stepped in—and was immediately met with countless stares.

‘All familiar faces.’

Having attended for two years, most of the faces were recognizable. But unlike before, they now greeted him with friendly expressions and approached him.

“Welcome back, Prince Ian!”

“You must’ve been through a lot!”

“We heard all about your achievements—amazing!”

“Prince Ian, are you hurt anywhere?”

A flood of comments poured in. Ian couldn’t help but laugh internally. They used to treat him like he was invisible. Now, they were completely different. He wondered if they even remembered how they had treated him during those two years.

‘Still, I probably shouldn’t act cold—for the sake of my image.’

He replied to them, though only with formal responses. Because of this, Armin was pushed off to the side. Seeing that, Ian even felt a bit envious—maybe Armin’s position was better.

It felt like that was the spot he himself should be in. After what felt like a storm had passed, he was finally able to sit down at what he assumed was his desk. It looked hastily prepared—probably because his return had been so sudden.

‘Will I be able to adapt well?’

While thinking that, he greeted his new homeroom teacher for the first time. From that point on, his school life resumed—similar, yet different from before. Eyes followed him everywhere, and students kept starting conversations.

Because of that, Ian and Armin had to flee to the beach as soon as class ended. But even that routine was soon disrupted—once word spread that Prince Ian was frequenting the beach, people began to crowd there too, making it impossible to go anymore.