President Baby's Bride

Chapter 2: The Little Prince

In a luxurious palace bedroom that would put Korean historical dramas to shame, Leona curled up beneath a soft blanket, gradually regaining consciousness. The air conditioning had helped ease the soreness in her neck, and small sighs of contentment escaped her lips. So comfortable...

Wait a minute—wasn't she just arrested?

Her eyelashes fluttered as the thought jolted through her mind. She opened her eyes fully, taking in her surroundings. Everything was foreign, overwhelmingly so.

The room was impossibly vast, but that wasn't even the most striking part. The opulence was beyond anything she'd seen outside of television. Compared to this, those fancy period dramas looked like amateur productions.

Was that... was that an authentic Ming Dynasty vase? And hanging on the wall—could that possibly be the original "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" scroll?

Good heavens, these couldn't be replicas, could they?

Leona had always been passionate about history, teaching herself whenever she could. She had developed quite an eye for artifacts, and now she found herself practically salivating as she stared at these priceless treasures.

Just these two pieces alone were worth more money than she could imagine—the kind of items that weren't even for sale at any price!

"If you like them, they're yours," a young, crisp voice suddenly spoke beside her, carrying an oddly cold undertone.

Operating on the instincts developed from years of poverty, Leona immediately nodded. "Yes, yes, of course!"

Never refuse a gift—only fools turn down free things! Hehe!

Wait... who just spoke?

The antiques had been so mesmerizing that Leona's reaction was delayed. She froze, then slowly turned her head. Her gaze fell upon... well, a little boy.

Indeed, it was a little boy—a shirtless one at that. His features were like a masterpiece sculpted by divine hands, each detail perfection itself.

However, there was something distinctly cold about him, like frost on a winter morning.

He seemed familiar, incredibly familiar.

Staring at him without blinking, Leona's mind raced until suddenly, a flash of recognition hit her.

This was Lucian, the only son of President Magnus of the Ville Nation. The Crown Prince himself. Both father and son were the nation's ultimate heartthrobs.

Lucian, in particular, was hailed as the most cool, most kawaii, most adorable Crown Prince in history.

That little face—it was almost criminally cute!

As Leona looked him up and down, examining him from every angle, Lucian's lips curved into a slight smile. He thought to himself: Finally, this clueless woman noticed me!

However, what happened next made him mentally stumble.

"Kawaii! My precious!" Leona exclaimed in a sugar-sweet voice, her eyes filled not with starstruck admiration but with pure maternal affection. It wasn't the usual fangirl sparkles—it was the universal motherly love that seemed to exist in every woman's DNA.

Lucian's expression froze. This... this wasn't how it was supposed to go.

"Excuse me," he said, trying to maintain his dignified air despite his small stature, "but I believe you're misunderstanding the situation."

"Oh my goodness, you even try to talk like a grown-up!" Leona cooed, her hands clasped together in delight. "That's absolutely precious!"

A vein visibly pulsed in Lucian's forehead. "I AM a grown-up! Well, mostly. I'm twelve!"

"Twelve? That's adorable!" Leona reached out to pinch his cheek, only to have her hand caught by a surprisingly strong grip.

"I am the Crown Prince," Lucian stated firmly, though the effect was somewhat diminished by his cherubic face. "And you're here because I've chosen you as my future bride."

Leona blinked several times, then burst out laughing. "Oh, you're playing pretend! How cute! Do you want to be a prince charming?"

Lucian's eye twitched. He released her hand and clapped twice sharply. Immediately, a servant entered with a tablet, which he handed to Leona.

On the screen was an official royal decree, complete with digital seals and authentication codes. It stated, in no uncertain terms, that she, Leona, had been selected as the future bride of Crown Prince Lucian.

"This... this has to be a joke," Leona stammered, her maternal instincts finally giving way to shock. "You're twelve!"

"The marriage won't take place until I'm of age," Lucian explained with surprising patience. "But the engagement needs to be official now. I saw you at the gaming center last week. Your strategic thinking, your ability to manipulate complex situations, your quick wit—they're exactly what I need in a future queen."

"But I was scamming people!" Leona protested.

"You were using available resources creatively to achieve your goals," Lucian corrected. "That's called political acumen."

"I dropped out of school!"

"You chose to pursue practical education through real-world experience."

"I'm poor!"

"You're resourceful despite limited means."

Leona stared at him, bewildered by how he could spin every negative into a positive. "But... but you're a child!"

For the first time, Lucian's composure cracked slightly. "I am NOT a child! I'm the Crown Prince! I run my own tech company! I have three doctorates!"

"Three doctorates?" Leona repeated weakly.

"Yes! In computer science, political science, and economics!" He puffed up his small chest proudly. "I started university when I was four!"

Just then, the door opened, and President Magnus entered. He was every bit as handsome as the media portrayed him, but there was an air of exhaustion about him as he looked between his son and Leona.

"I see you've met your... future bride," Magnus said carefully.

"Father!" Lucian brightened. "Please explain to her that I'm not a child!"

Magnus sighed deeply. "Lucian, you were literally jumping on your bed this morning because the chef made dinosaur-shaped pancakes."

"That's... that's different! They were very realistic dinosaurs!"

Leona couldn't help but giggle, which earned her a sharp look from Lucian.

"Stop that!" he demanded. "You're supposed to be intimidated by my power and impressed by my achievements!"

"Sorry," Leona tried to school her expression into something more serious. "It's just... you're so adorable when you're angry!"

"Father!" Lucian appealed to Magnus. "Do something!"

"What would you like me to do?" Magnus asked tiredly. "You're the one who insisted on having her arrested and brought here. You're the one who declared she would be your future bride. You're the one who said, and I quote, 'I want the funny gaming lady who tricks people!'"

Lucian's face reddened. "I did not say it like that! I said she showed remarkable strategic capabilities and would make an excellent addition to the royal family!"

"After you watched her stream for three days straight while eating candy and giggling."

"I was conducting thorough background research!"

Leona looked between father and son, her head spinning. "Um, don't I get a say in this?"

Both turned to look at her.

"No," they said in unison.

"But—"

"Oh!" Lucian suddenly brightened. "I almost forgot!" He clapped again, and another servant entered, this time leading...

"Elina!" Leona exclaimed.

Her best friend rushed forward and hugged her. "Leona! Are you okay? What's going on? Why is there a cute little boy? Why does he keep glaring at me for calling him cute?"

"I am the Crown Prince!" Lucian declared for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "And Leona is going to be my bride!"

Elina's jaw dropped. She looked at Leona, then at Lucian, then at Magnus, then back at Leona. Finally, she said what everyone was probably thinking:

"This is going to be interesting."

Magnus rubbed his temples. "That's one word for it."

Leona looked at the pouting prince, the exasperated president, and her bewildered best friend, and couldn't help but laugh. If someone had told her this morning that she'd end up engaged to a twelve-year-old genius prince who looked like a cherub but talked like a miniature politician, she would have thought they were crazy.

Then again, maybe she was the crazy one for finding this whole situation oddly endearing.

"Fine," she said finally. "I'll stay. But on one condition."

Lucian perked up. "Name it!"

"You have to let me pinch those adorable cheeks at least once a day!"

The Crown Prince's outraged shriek could probably be heard throughout the entire palace.