It was intentionally said that he is an illegitimate child cos that would pose less risk than the identity of a royal prince while he doesn't have his guards with him.
Oh oh, then i also have a question while we're at it. The part where they're about to go to the ball, it is said that the she will be the partner for prince william, which i was shocked. And more shocked to see that it was the ml and not the prince... (im a bit dumb sorry TT)
I think it was said that she is going with the prince, not that she is his partner. She was told to go with them but not as the prince's partner but as the ML's so they could probe around and find the peeps responsible for the kidnapping.
Ah, I see. In chapter 18 (if I'm not mistaken), the male lead and the prince are mentioned in one panel, and it doesn't help that both of them can be referred to as "his highness" since they are both royals. Even though the duke is a duke, he is still royal by blood, so maybe that's what confused me in that part. I guess the story is fast-paced, which affects the translation as well, as it seems to prefer having words in the same bubble TT (ANYWAYS THANKS!)
I think the translation is making confused, especially the william part