CRASH!

Katherine aka the Queen of Sestia was so furious that her cheeks had grown flushed, this was the fourth antique and valuable gift that she had shattered in the past five minutes and get, it did nothing to ease her anger which had been rising like a bubbling volcano.

"How dare he! How dare that insolent wretch Ocean Ryujin!" She screeched angrily and grabbed the nearest three hundred year old vase smashing it to the ground making the sharp shards fly everywhere.

The ladies-in-waiting didn’t dare move a muscle including Rita who was stationed beside the Queen by Ocean. She had worked hard for years and gained the Golden Serpent’s trust providing Ocean with the information about her moves in advance.

Currently, the Golden Serpent was angry because of three reasons. First, was that Ocean Ryujin had somehow managed to become closer to the King, enough close to visit the palace every week on special orders and had private meeting with the King. As if he wasn’t already a big headache for her.

Second, the King had got to know about the Grileri leaves and he had the person and his family executed. The Golden Serpent had thought that it would still work since he had consumed that tea for more than six months but for some reason, he was fine! How could that be if he was being poisoned for so long?

And thirdly, the person whom she had hired to destroy Ocean Ryujin wasn’t showing any promising results after a few. Though she had met this person by chance and had kept their meetings a secret, she had no way of knowing what that person was doing. All she demanded from the Queen was a little bit of her blood but even then why wasn’t anything happening?!

There was a knock on the door and Katherine who was having loudly because of fury whipped her head looking at the doors.

Rita moved at once swiftly going over to the door and peeking out. There stood a woman outside clad in a black gown and large, black cloak, her face was covered with the black hood of her cloak.

"Who are you?" Rita asked and even the royal knights behind her seemed confused.

The woman brought her black gloves hand up and showed an envelope with the Esmertia family’s crest. She didn’t say anything and Rota frowned a little, feeling uneasy just being close to this strange woman. She took the black envelope from the woman trying to catch some distinguishing hint about this woman to report back to Ocean but there was nothing.

Rita stepped in and walked over to Katherine handing her the envelope.

Katherine looked at the envelope and then her anger seemed to have just jumped a notch as her nostrils flared.

"Send her in and you all, get out." Katherine spat.

Rita and the other two ladies-in-waiting curtsied to her before leaving the room but Rita couldn’t help sneak another glance at the woman who walked inside the room after them. The door remained open for a split moment for Rita to hear some of the Queen’s shouting.

"You! You failed, didn’t you?! You told me you could-"

The door closed and Rita couldn’t hear anything.

"That was scary."

"Ocean Ryujin sure is a bane for our existences, look how angry Her Majesty gets the moment she hears of him."

The two ladies-in-waiting sighed, complaining.

"Well, he seems to have a knack for attracting Her Majesty’s hatred." Rita commented, shrugging.

Rita then started walking making her other two look at her.

"Where are you going?" One of them asked.

"I feel a little suffocated, I’m going for a walk. I’ll see you two in some time." Rita said.

"But isn’t it cold?"

"Yes, and the paths must be slick. It’s dangerous."

Rita gave them a smile, "Thank you for worrying about me, but I like walking in snow. It’s a fantasy like feeling, don’t you think?"

The other two giggled, "Well, it is but in reality it is very cold."

"Still, it’s fine then having to hear Her Majesty suffering because of a certain someone." Rita shrugged and the other two nodded.

"Ah, same for me. I’ll go have some tea."

"Let’s have some tea and cakes together."

The other two spoke before they turned and walked the other way while Rita observed them for a moment and then walked out towards the garden.

Since her time in the palace, Rita had found several such places where she could contact Ocean efficiently. It was only recently that he had sent a message for her and the others to investigate Prince Eric’s chambers and the rooms in the vicinity. He had warned them that what they would find could be gruesome so they are to not touch it. If they found it, they should notify him immediately. But their search had wielded no results.

Rita walked through the passageway towards the garden where a tall, buff man was shoveling the snow.

Rita walked down the stone cobbled path carefully, and blew her breath over her gloved palms. She walked slowly as if careful not to slip.

The gardener was close enough now and Rita spoke, "A woman just arrived to meet her, she had the Esmertia family’s crest and she was dressed in all black. Couldn’t see her face, she must be planning something but, we were kicked out so, I didn’t get to hear much. The woman in black is our suspect for the strange things happening."

Rita spoke swiftly and the gardener kept shoveling as if he didn’t hear a thing and Rita kept walking at the same pace.

The gardener aka John, after shoveling the snow made his way back to the stables where he would put the shovel away and instantly pulled the pendant around his neck out.

The pendant was a small, coin-shaped, clear crystal which glowed ever so slightly.

"Master," John spoke and repeated word to word of what he had heard from Rita to Ocean.

"All right, keep an eye on them. And be careful." Came the quiet response and the glow of the crystal faded.

The Queen was planning something big this time and the people stationed around knew but since they were strictly told to not be reckless in gathering information even if it meant that they were late in warning Ocean they had to follow that instruction. Ocean had warned them beforehand that their lives mattered to him and even though he had stationed them in a dangerous place but it wasn’t because they were disposable, it was because he wanted to protect everyone, including them.

Back to the present, Katherine and Roger were supposed to arrive together but Roger had already went ahead with Eric alone. Katherine couldn’t shake the feeling of everything that she had worked so hard for crumbling so easily. She couldn’t let the mere bedwarmer’s son take away her son’s birthright. Even if meant destroying everyone standing in her way, she would do so.

"Mother, please don’t be so angry, it’s not good for your health." A smooth, feminine voice spoke and Katherine looked at Colette who sat in front of her.

"Tch, just who the hell is this Ocean Ryujin that everyone is idolising him so much?" Carlos sneered sitting beside Colette.

"You should control yourself too, Brother. That place is full of enemies, you’ve already lost your good reputation so, even a single slip there would be catastrophic." Colette said making him glare at her. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"What did you say? Why should I be careful? I’m the future King of this kingdom!"

Katherine who had calmed down by now spoke, "Colette is right, Carlos. You are going to be the King but as you should also know how to step back in order to get to know your enemies better. So, I hope you will maintain a calm demeanor."

Katherine’s eyes then drifted over the forest that they were now crossing, she couldn’t see it but she could feel it. There were eyes on them.

"The enemy is very sharp, and they would want you to cause some trouble so they would try to provoke you. So, don’t give them any reaction that would satisfy them."

Carlos clenched his jaw and humphed as he looked out at the darkening sky. He was the future King and yet he had to swallow his pride and let others push him around. He decided, the first thing that he would do after becoming the King is to destroy Ocean Ryujin and his empire and then mount his and all of his followers heads on the spike around his palace.

Back in the first royal carriage, Eric hadn’t expected that the King would summon him at the last minute to tell him that they were going together and without the Queen and her children.

Eric hadn’t thought that he would see this day in his life, the King who never as much as turned his eyes on him was now sitting in front of him.

He didn’t know what he should do, Roger was always the King for him and never a father. He had seen what a father was like in Duke Aurelius when he looked at Rune and Reina and when he worried about them. He had also see how King Augustine was a doting father for Arian with the way he would call him his son and say how proud he was of him.

And also in Ocean seeing how he treated Kai and Sol, that man seemed like he would spoil anyone whom he liked.

But none of such traits were visible in Roger, Eric knew being a Prince he wasn’t allowed to live a normal life, but he couldn’t even have the love of his parents, that was tragic.

"I... heard that you and the Crown Prince of Denril are quite close friends now." Roger started and Eric blinked looking at him.

"Ah, yes, Your Majesty." He responded.

Roger turned his head looking at the young man in front of him.

"Along with Young Duke Rune and some Young Masters from the good noble families, you have got some good allies for yourself." Roger said.

Eric didn’t know how to respond and Roger continued, "Even though... I hadn’t looked after you... you’ve grown up very well, Eric..."

Eric felt a knot tightening in the pit of his stomach and Roger sighed with a distant look in his eyes.

"Elise you have been so happy to see you like this." Eric flinched as he heard that.

So, Roger did remember his mother, Eric had thought that he would have forgotten about her long ago. Come to think of it, his mother never talked about him even when they met. And Roger had no idea that she was still alive.

"It’s all thanks to Your Majesty," Eric spoke formally.

Roger glanced at him observing the impassive look on his face while the swirling discontent in his eyes. He couldn’t bear to say anything more about that topic.

He simply closed his eyes for a moment and then released a huge sigh.

"... Ocean Ryujin," he started and Eric’s gaze turned to him, "is a very tricky man. No one knows what he thinks or does, but it’s a good thing if he’s on our side. Unlike the others who have greed and whose intentions are clear, he remains a mystery. I don’t know anything about his heir but if they are alike then we won’t be able to discern anything about them."

Eric listened carefully despite the fact that he had been close to both Ocean and his heir for years.

"He seems like a honorable man but we couldn’t fully trust him... So, when you become the King."

Eric’s eyes widened and Roger continued without caring that he had used the word "when" and not "if."

"Make sure you keep an eye on him, if he’s loyal to you then he would be by your side and you could rule with ease but... If he decides to betray you then..."

Eric held his tongue as he knew that even if the world would betray him Ocean Ryujin of all people wouldn’t.

"The strength in a person comes from their own will," Eric spoke and Roger looked at him, "a coward will always be a coward even if you hand him a sword and a man who has the will to fight will fight even if he has lost his limbs."

Roger looked at him for a long moment while Eric glanced out of the window, "I have learned to trust my will more than anything. I won’t live like a coward anymore so, Your Majesty need not worry about me anymore.*

Roger understood the meaning behind those words clearly but he couldn’t say anything, if Eric hated him then he earned it. He couldn’t hope to rebuild the bridges that he burned himself. Eric had never had anyone to trust and he knew that he was the reason for that. Roger had no one else to blame for having no family now, he had lost his own and the new family that he had started was all shattered.

Back in Ryujin mansion, Ocean turned his head slightly as the doors opened and the announcement of the King and Prince Eric’s arrival was made.

Ocean smirked as he didn’t come together with the Queen or her kids. This was enough to show the world where the King’s support lay.

Everyone in presence bowed as Roger and Eric walked together until they reached the center of the huge hall where Ocean and Kai stood along with Miri.

Roger noticed her and was surprised. He had known that she was attending the ball at Denril but to think that she was here at Ryujin. He couldn’t help but be wary of Ocean a bit more.

Just what was this man?