👑 The Prince's Heart ❤

☆The Weight of the Crown☆

(Izana's POV)

They call me the Crown Prince of Tenjiku. The golden son of a kingdom draped in spendor and whispers of eternal peace. At least, that's what the songs claim—the ministrels who visit the court, the poets who write lines immortalizing me in verses. But what none of them know is how heavy a crown truly is, even when it hasn't yet settled on your head.

I am Izana Raoul Kurokawa, son of King Raoul and Queen Elanora, heir to a throne that has been passed down for generations. A throne forged in the fires of conquest and diplomacy, a throne my father believes should be protected at all costs, even at the expense of love, of freedom—of self. He is my father and my king, and yet the distance between us grows with each passing day. I am his heir, his legacy but to him, that's all I am. Not a man with his own desires or heart, just a future king.

From the outside, my life may seem grand. The palace is a masterpiece of architecture, each stone intricately carved, each tapestry woven with care. I've been raised with the finest tutors, trained in swordsmanship, archery, diplomacy. I've met nobles from distant lands, walked through royal halls where the scent of lavender and thyme never fades.

Yet beneath all of this grandeur, I feel... hollow.

The kingdom of Tenjiku is vibrant, alive with its people. The marketplaces are crowded, the chatter of villagers echoing through cobbled streets. In the distance, past the forest that edges the palace grounds, the villages stretch far into the horizon. I watch them sometimes from my chamber window, imagining what it must be like to live among them. To be just a man, not a prince, not a future king—a man free to live and love as he chooses.

That kind of life is not for me. That is not the life I was born into.

I've tried to be the son my father desires. I've learned the intricacies of politics. I've atented meetings where nobles bicker about land and taxes. But no matter how much I immerse myself in this world, it feels foreign. As though I am playing a role, rather than being myself.

My mother, Queen Elanora, says I should follow my heart, that love is what makes a king truly great. She tells me stories of when she met my father, of how their love brought them strength. But my father—King Raoul—sees the world differently. To him, a crown is not something you wear lightly, and love is a distraction, an indulgence. He reminds me that our kingdom is surrounded by potential threats, that peace is a fragile thing. Stability, alliances, duty—that is what he insists I must focus on.

"Marry well, Izana," he says, the weight of his words a constant presence. "Marry a woman of noble birth. Secure our kingdom's future."

And so, every week, I am paraded in front of potential brides, each one more polished than the last. Daughters of dukes, countesses, and foreign royals who smile with practiced perfection, their eyes gleaming with ambition. They are beautiful, undeniably so, but they are also strangers—faces with names, but no souls I can recognize.

I want more than that. I long for a connection, something real, something that feels like it belongs to me and me alone, not something orchestrated for the sake of the crown. I want to find someone who understands me, not the prince, but Izana, the man beneath the title. Someone who can see past the fine silks and the weight of the throne.

But how can I find that here? In this gilded cage of expectation, under the constant watch of my father and the court?

The burden of duty weighs heavy on my shoulders. I've worn it for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I knew my life would never be my own. While other boys dreamed of adventure, I was taught to memorize battle strategies and royal decress. While others fell in love under the stars, I was told that my heart was not mine to give.

And so I have never truly known what it means to love. I've never had the chance. The courtiers think they know me, think they can match me with women who would make fine queens. But how can I love someone chosen for me by others? Love isn't something that can be arranged in royal halls, no matter what my father says.

My father... My relationship with him is complicated. I respect him, of course as a king and as a leader. He has kept Tenjiku strong, and I have no doubt he believes his methods are for the best. But as a father? I'm not so sure. His love is conditional, based on my afherence to the role he has assigned me. I know he wants what's best for the kingdom, but sometimes I wonder if he even knows me anymore. Does he remember who I was before I became his heir? Does he care?

I know he thinks I'm weak. He doesn't say it, but I see it in his eyes. The way he looks at me when I hesitate during a council meeting or when I ask questions about decisions that have already been made. To him, I'm soft. Too idealistic, too concerned with feelings and not enough with power.

But I am not weak. I am simply... different.

My mother is the only one who seems to understand. She tells me to be patient, that my time will come. She believes in love—real love—and she tells me that I should wait for it. She says that love is not a luxury, but a necessity. That it will guide me when the crown feels too heavy.

I want to believe her. I want to believe that somewhere, out there, there is someone for me. But the more time passes, the more I feel trapped by my duty. The more I feel the chains of responsibility tightening around me.

As I sit in my chamber now, staring out at the vast expanse of the kingdom, I wonder what my future will truly hold. Will I marry a woman I do not love, simply to secure the throne? Will I spend the rest of my life pretending smiling for the court while my heart remains hollow?

I do not want that. I cannot bear the thought of it.

There must be more to life than this. More than duty, more than politics, more than the constant weight of expectation. There must be love—true love—and I will not give up on it, no matter how impossible it seems.

I may be a prince, but I am still a man. And even a man destined to be king deserves to know love.

Yet the road ahead is uncertain. My father will never aproveitou of me marrying for love, not unless it is a marriage that benefits the kingdom. And the woman he presents to me—they are not the ones my heart longs for. I want something more, something deeper. I want to meet someone who sees me, not just the crown, not just the power, but the man I am beneath it all.

Perhaps that is foolish. Perhaps it is a dream born of naivety. But I cannot let it go.

I rise from my chair and walk to the window, looking out over the kingdom once more. Somewhere out there, among the villages and the forest, there must be someone who understands me. Someone who can help me shoulder the weight of this crown, not because of duty, but because of love.

And I will find her. I must.

Even if it means defying my father, even if it means risking everything.

Because without love, what is a king, really? Just a man sitting on a throne empty and alone.

(1337 Words)