The shock jolted the Prince awake.
The first thing he felt upon waking was the terrible pain in his face.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
It had not been too bad when he was first hit. Back then, he had mostly felt numb.
But now the pain had fully registered in his nerves, and it hurt so much he wanted to twist his own head off.
"My son!"
Seeing the Prince weeping and howling like a madman, the King felt both pity and irritation. His son was actually disregarding noble etiquette and bawling in public.
The King's voice quieted the Prince's sobs a little.
He struggled up from the floor and looked around, still crying.
Then he realized with a shock: hadn't he just been happily enjoying himself in the street before some lowlife hit him?
How had he suddenly ended up back in the Royal Palace?
"Father? Father!"
The moment the Prince spotted the King, his heart twisted in agony and his face burned like fire.
He scrambled toward the King on his hands and knees.
This gave the King another fright.
While the Prince had been lying down, the King had not been able to see him properly. He had only noticed that something was wrong with his face.
But now that he got a good look...
He was so hideous... no, so horribly injured!
And combined with the Prince's bizarre scrambling movements...
Good heavens, where had this freak come from?!
Frightened, the King saw the "freak" crawl up to his feet and instinctively kicked out, catching him right in the face.
The freak of a Prince let out a scream.
"Father, why did you kick me?!"
The Prince's words were muffled. Even with his eyes buried in the folds of his swollen flesh, his anguish and indignation were unmistakable.
The King