Gaston cautiously raised his gaze, studying the prince's face. He expected him to look down on him or show some disdain, but the prince's gaze was similar to that of his manservant, carefully studying Gaston's face, yet with a hint of sadness. Why was this the second person to look at him in such a way - intensely and with a secret sorrow?

It was nerve-wracking.

The silence lasted quite a while. Finally, Prince Adam spoke:

"You... You are Belle's husband? What do you want?"

"I wanted... I wanted..." Gaston took a deep breath and blurted out. "I wanted to ask you not to take my wife away. Don't take Belle."

The prince remained silent, and the hunter took advantage of his silence, quickly reciting his prepared speech.

"You cannot take her, just because she is the most beautiful girl in town. No, you can, of course, but you shouldn't. You cannot tear someone from their family. Yes, you may say that we have no feelings, that we are like animals. But even animals cannot be separated, I know this. God or life will punish you for this, mark my words. Listen. I am not threatening you or anything of the sort, but you would be better off living near us civilly. If you start taking our wives, we will have nothing to lose. You wouldn't want to face a crowd of people with nothing to lose, would you?"

The prince still remained silent, and Gaston frowned. He did not want to anger His Highness so blatantly and added:

"You will say Belle will be better off here. But she is not like other girls. She... She is special. She cannot be bought with dresses and jewels. A luxurious environment will still be a cage for her. She will not be happy here, even if you dress her up like a doll. She... She is different. Too noble, too delicate, too ethereal to be a servant or your lover."

"I understand, I understand, " the prince cut him off and, somewhat strangely agitated, got up from his chair and walked to the window. "I did not intend to take your wife. I... When I inquired about her, I did not know she was married."

Gaston did not immediately understand what the prince said, but when he did, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"How long have you been married?" the prince suddenly asked. Gaston was surprised to notice that he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"About a month ago. Newlyweds, you could say."

The prince examined the hunter from head to toe:

"You are handsome and strong," he finally said.

"Well... What can I say," Gaston was surprised by the unexpected compliment. "I was the most enviable groom in town."

Prince Adam turned back to the window:

"So, about a month ago... So, she returned..."

"Who returned?" Gaston asked.

The prince turned to him, his face was sad yet calm.

"I was just thinking out loud about nothing. You know, it's not easy to start over. I don't want to offend anyone living nearby. I have been... Not a man in a sense, for too long. I don't want to lose everything again. Is there anything else you wanted?"

Gaston thought to argue, but then remembered Polette's words. Everything had changed, so he had to ask for damn permission to hunt in the woods that he considered his own.

"Now, what about hunting? Can everyone hunt in the forest? How much of the prey do I have to give to the castle?"

It seemed that the prince was surprised or even embarrassed by his words. He quickly spoke:

"Of course, you can hunt as before. You don't have to give anything."

"Nothing at all?"

"I am not going to feast on Belle. You and Belle. I... The town should live as before, nothing will change for the residents."

Gaston shook his head:

"No, Your Highness. Everything will change whether you like it or not. Your blood is blue, and ours is red. But thank you for allowing me to hunt as before and not taking my wife."

"You don't have to thank me for that. You can go if you're done."

The hunter bowed and left.

He stood in the corridor, trying to catch his breath. It was amazing how smoothly everything had gone. The prince turned out to be a normal person, although he was an aristocrat. Of course, he needed to be on guard, just in case this Prince Adam easily gave in to weaken his vigilance, but why would he do that when he could simply take Belle by force? And why was he so sad? What was he mourning in such luxury with such girls like that brunette and Polette?

But he still had to give up a share of the catch. It's a trick, the prince says you don't need anything, but the prince himself won't be hunting, right? And everyone wants to eat, even kings. It's better to bring him a share of the catch now, than when his knights knock on the door and take everything.

Gaston wandered the corridors for a while and finally went out into the garden. He sat by the fountain and washed his face. He had really gotten worked up.

A fair-haired boy was spinning nearby. He was also watching the hunter, just like the butler and Prince Adam himself. But the boy had a sense of wariness in his gaze.

The boy stared and stared, and it began to annoy Gaston.

"What do you want from me, kid?" he asked.

"Did you really force Belle to marry you? And don't let her come here?"

"What?"

"You said you would send her father to the madhouse if she..."

Even if the earth opened up under Gaston's feet, he would have been less surprised and scared. This little bastard knew his little dirty secret, which nobody knew except himself, Lefou, Monsieur Dark, and Belle.

"What did you say, you little rat?"

The boy, realizing that things were turning bad, dodged before Gaston could jump up and grab him with his scary hands, and ran off.

"Stop! Stop, you little bastard! I'll wring your neck!"