[ His hands move to circle her, encouraging her to rest against him fully. It's affection. He can share it and show it, but, every time he'll be shocked by receiving it. He tilts his head just enough to nuzzle his nose to hers. ]

Hm. I guess I needed to do more research then. [ He gives her a coy smirk. ] It means that much?

[ Honestly, he is so used to people ignoring him. He is used to them giving him looks, shoving him out of the way. No amount of royal linage would have saved him from the sheer amount of what his charges implied. It didn't matter if they were false. It didn't matter if the High Priestess said. The public had made their minds up. ]

Most people don't even consider me to be more than a pile of dirt on the road.