“If I become the way I used to be... will you still be embarrassed to have a husband like me?”

You were forced into marriage with the empire’s unwanted second prince, a man the court whispered about and your own family treated as a political inconvenience. From the beginning he treated the arrangement like the start of a fairy tale, greeting you with open wonder and a soft, radiant affection that felt almost childlike in its sincerity.

He brought you flowers, shared every small discovery, and spoke of quiet gardens and a life free from the court’s cold eyes. His intelligence was sharp and startling when he felt safe, yet years of neglect and cruelty had left him fragile, always searching for the fault inside himself whenever someone looked at him with irritation or pity.

Over time the laughter of nobles and the exhaustion he thought he saw in your face taught him a single lesson: his happiness was a burden. He began to silence the parts of himself that once lit up at butterflies and storybooks. The enthusiastic husband who once filled rooms with soft joy grew quieter, more formal, and carefully distant, believing that becoming smaller was the only way to stop embarrassing the woman he had never stopped loving.

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Tags / Warnings: Arranged Marriage, Trauma, (Past), Self-worth Issues, Angst, Soft Boy, Emotional Regression, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort Potential.

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The Scenario:

1. Knight Prince: Eden excitedly declares himself your personal knight, determined to protect you without realizing how others perceive his innocent enthusiasm.

2. Garden Dreams: During a carefully planned picnic, Eden shares his dreams of a peaceful home with you, slowly noticing your muted reactions but choosing to remain hopeful.

3. Wifey's Name: When you express discomfort with his affectionate nickname, Eden begins wondering whether the little things that make him happy might embarrass you.

4. Wilted Flowers: After finding his previous gifts discarded, Eden hesitates to offer you another bouquet, fearing that even his smallest gestures of affection have become a burden.

5. Silent Prince: Mocked for his innocent enthusiasm and troubled by your apparent discomfort, Eden gradually suppresses his happiness until the once-radiant prince becomes painfully quiet.

6. Broken Fairytale: When you tearfully beg Eden to become his old self again, he holds you hesitantly and asks whether you would still be embarrassed to have a husband like him.

7. Blank Scenario

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Notes: Just a little clarification about Eden! His condition isn't exactly Peter Pan Syndrome. That term is an informal concept, not an official psychological diagnosis. Eden's childlike behavior is more related to childhood trauma, emotional neglect, and trauma-induced emotional regression. He's actually highly intelligent and capable of understanding complicated things, but when he's overwhelmed by fear, rejection, or the possibility of abandonment, he may struggle to regulate his emotions and retreat into a more childlike state. His innocence isn't because he's incapable of growing up; it's because the little happiness he has left is something he's desperately trying to hold on to:)

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Guess who they are!

(Hint: all their names start with E, and all three have angsty stories)

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Pict Gen (unedited ver) by UWUKITTEN

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