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Episode 3: First Meeting – Chapter 9.1
King Rumein was seated in an armchair in his study, perusing through the documents stacked high in front of him.
He also had black hair.
Rumein looked every bit the kingly figure out of a storybook or fairytale, and the expression on his face was one of careful thought. The image reminded Calian of someone else.
‘It’s almost like I’m looking at Randall.’
The king’s dark blue eyes and expression were like the vast sea, and he exuded an atmosphere of pressure on the room without having to say a word. Everything in Rumein could be found in Randall.
But Rumein was also the type to stand by and watch idly.
Despite his quiet strength, he was a heartless king who pretended not to know the true causes of Freya’s and Calian’s death. That was Calian’s impression of Rumein, and his opinion had yet to change. His instincts cautioned him to be wary.
Calian shook away his thoughts as he walked towards King Rumein, afraid that his feelings would be easily read in his expressions or words.
‘I’m just going to say hello and leave. I will think of him as someone who has nothing to do with me.’
By the time he arrived in front of King Rumein, Calian had managed to school his complicated feelings into something more impassive and appeared every bit the perfect prince. He spoke in a clear voice.
Fortunately, he didn’t say, “Nice to meet you for the first time.”
“Hello, Your Highness.”
Rumein set down the papers he was looking at onto the table. Judging by the proximity of his teacup and other stacks of documents, he seemed to have been working at his seat the whole time.
With his hands now free, Rumein spared a glance at Calian before picking up another sheet.
‘—Ah?’
Calian was bewildered.
Rumein did not seem to notice, as if his reading was more important. Calian’s eyes hardened, until King Rumein finally spoke.
“Take a seat,” he said.
Despite the fact that it was inappropriate for the situation, it made Calian laugh inwardly despite his anger in the moment.
Rumein’s voice sounded similar to Franz’s. Naturally there was a slight difference, but it was what Calian would’ve imagined an older Franz to sound like.
He should’ve supposed that King Rumein’s traits were divided among his sons.
Calian sat across from him, trying to put rest to his conflicting thoughts
“Congratulations on your 38th birthday,” he said in a subdued voice.
Rumein nodded. A low tone came from behind the papers.
“Yes, thank you.”
After responding in such an emotionless way, Rumein lifted his hand to take a drink from his cup. He seemed quite exhausted.
“Are you doing well?” Rumein asked.
“Yes,” Calian answered right away without thinking. “All is well.”
“Good.” Rumein seemed to be completely unaware of Calian’s frail figure. As if he would know. Would he look at Calian or not? “If there’s anything that’s troubling you, please tell me.”
Calian’s lip curled.
‘There’s certainly one or two things that’s troubling me.’
Should he say that he found it difficult to tolerate the quiet breakfasts with his other sons? That the assassin sent by his wife was likely to come soon? Or that he might wither away and die due to an unknown disease?
That he was not actually his son?
Maybe if Calian said any of this this, Rumein might actually pay him some attention.
“All is well, I assure you.” In the end, Calian repeated his same insincere answer, and Rumein nodded.
Now he understood. Understood why it was quicker for the king to see three sons individually than seeing his three sons together at once.
It was because Rumein couldn’t act so terse with three people sitting in front of him. How much more efficient it was that he only had to briefly open his mouth while working?
‘He thinks it a waste of time to simply spend just five minutes with his son.’
Rumein was pressing his hand against the middle of his forehead.
Calian could not stop the bitterness welling up from him.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he talked to Rumein, and thought it best not to pull up those memories. Five minutes after leaving Arpia palace, he climbed onto the carriage.
“I wish I said “Nice to meet you for the first time.’”
Yan smiled quietly. He did not know what happened in the office, but he knew the way Rumein treated his sons.
Episode 3: First Meeting – Chapter 9.2
The carriage set off, and it was not long before it stopped in front of Chermil Palace. Calian stepped out of the carriage, looked around and took in a deep breath. The lake was rippling under the wind.
“There is a little time until 10 o’clock. I’ll be back later,” Yan said, reading Calian’s suffocating expression.
Calian walked the grounds alone after Yan departed. He slowly paced around the lake, then went to the rose garden, where to his surprise he found a mound of black soil. Calian tilted his head.
‘What? Who’s in the garden on a day like this?’
Calian walked towards it in curiosity then stopped, noticing Randall’s presence there.
Calian knew that caring for the rose gardens was Randall’s hobby, but at the moment the expression on his brother’s face was not one of happiness.
Randall’s servant stood behind him stone-faced as he held up the prince’s red cloak from the ground, similar to the one worn by Calian. Meanwhile, Randall was on his knees as he trimmed the bushes.
Calian smiled in amusement. Randall normally wouldn’t have dared to work on his garden dressed like this.
‘It’s King Rumein. Randall must have been shaken by him.’
The battle for the throne occurred several years after the original Calian’s death. A tragic accident occurred when the axel of the carriage carrying the king and crown prince of Tensil broke, and the carriage tumbled down a cliff. The king and the crown prince were both killed at the same time, leaving Randall as the only remaining Tensil royalty.  And so, he immediately left Kailis to succeed the throne.
‘Even without Rumein, he had little attachment to the kingdom of Kailis.’
It was an understandable decision. If Calian were in that position, he would not hesitate to leave this country as well.
“Prince Calian.”
A voice broke him from his thoughts, and he looked up and saw Randall standing and facing him. The one who spoke was Randall’s servant, who was eyeing him expectantly, and Calian realized that he had been standing in a daze.
“My apologies.”
Calian bowed towards Randall and offered his greetings.
Randall took off his gloves and handed them to his servant, then looked silently at Calian, his deep blue eyes contrasting against Calian’s gaze.
Randall didn’t scold Calian. He didn’t know why Calian was here alone.
“Alright.”
Randall left him with only a single word and headed back to Chermil Palace.
* * *
Rumein was a fair king. He treated all three of his sons equally.
The smell of liquor beside Franz certainly proved it. Calian turned his head to Franz and frowned.
‘That crazy man, drinking at this time!’
Franz’s eyes seemed even cloudier than usual.
Though Calian knew the reason for his drinking, that didn’t mean he would excuse Franz’s unsightly behavior.
It was the moment before they would go outside to meet the crowds. All Calian had to do was stand wordlessly behind the king, but he was still worried that Franz might try to do something crazy.
Fortunately, Calian did not remember a story of a Kailisian prince rioting at a ceremony outside of the royal palace, so he decided in the end that nothing would happen.
As if Franz noticed Calian looking at him, he glanced over at his younger brother. Calian frowned and Franz responded by laughing furiously, but he stoutly ignored it.
“Ten minutes ago. The event will begin soon,” an official announced to the royal family.
Calian, who was seated in a chair near the main gate, took a breath to mentally prepare himself. It may be a familiar occasion for the others, but not for him, and he couldn’t help but feel his nerves prickling underneath his skin.
The square was so packed with people that there was hardly a place to tread. Inside the square, security forces mingled among crowds, as well as knights from the first division of the Royal Guard’s First Battalion. Some knights sat in a cafe or restaurant building surrounding the square, monitoring for any suspicious movements among the people.
Soon the two large crystal displays lit up and began to project images of the empty platform. Anticipation of start of the event rose and filled the square.
“The palace doors will now open.”
At the pronouncement of those words, the main door of the palace slowly opened on both sides. People began to cheer as the Kailis crest, heavily engraved in the center of door, split in half and the door opened, revealing the palace inside.
Before long, the doors of the royal palace, normally tightly closed, were wide open. That door wouldn’t close for three days now.
“Five minutes to go.”
Kaela, the royal spokesperson, began a long speech to the crowd.
The royal family, including Calian, rose from their seats and the servants moved busily about them. Yan, too, quickly made a last minute inspection of Calian’s uniform then moved away.
“One minute.”
There was a red carpet stretching from the main gates towards the platform, with knights lined up at either side of the way. Their swords stretched high up into the sky, the clear sunlight reflecting on their sharp blades.
And then it was ten o’clock.
Rumein’s stepped forward, and the booming voice of the knights announced the procession of the royal family. The queen followed soon after, then Randall and Franz.
Calian looked behind him, and closed his eyes for a while. Then, the atmosphere surrounding him instantly changed.
Calian pulled up his back, and raised his head.
He lowered his gaze to where the people’s eyes would be, and smiled.
He was a consummate prince of Kailis.
He took his first step outside.