Prince Arthir and Prince Cyris were forbidden to fight for the next few days due to recovering, which they thought was preposterous. They were completely fine after a day of resting, but Arthir chose to keep quiet, unlike Cyris who voiced his complaints.
"I want to fight him!"
"Your father says no."
"But-"
"He says no!" Cohlin raised his voice.
Arthir just watches Cohlin scold Cyris in bed as he sipped herbal tea. He smiles at the maid with ginger hair beside him. She was called Selena and she was assigned to be Arthir's personal maid for his stay. "This herbal tea is lovely."
"Thank you, your highness." Selena replies with a smile of her own. Arthir was easy to talk to and there was this sense of openness with him, yet still refined and firm.
"Hey." Arthir hears Cyris call him heatedly.
"I gave you my name, did I not?" Arthir says, sipping his tea.
"When my father lifts the ban, we will battle again."
"Gladly."
After resting, Cyris got up and made his way to his Father's office. He knocks on the door and informs his father of his presence. He finds his father drowning in paperwork, so he had to go around his desk to talk to him.
"Cyris, what do you need?"
"Father, when can we fight again?"
The Emperor sighed. "No."
"That does not answer my question."
"Cyris, no. You can't fight him again."
"When will I be able to? You can't restrict us forever. He also wishes to fight me."
"Cyris...Let's make a deal."
"A deal?" Cyris tilted his head, his face unsatisfied.
The Emperor nods. "You can fight him again, after spending time with him."
"...What?" Cyris looked confused now. "Spend time with him? In what way?"
"Take him out right now!" The Emperor ordered.
So that's what father meant by spending time.
"Understood father, I will be swift with my work."
"Don't kill him!"
"Tsk."
"Take him out as in take him out on a date!" The Emperor sighs in exasperation.
"A date? How am I going to take him out on a calendar? Or do you mean the fruit?"
The Emperor was going to destroy his desk with his bare fist at this rate. What went wrong when he raised this child? What went wrong?
"Cyris, please treat Prince Arthir well." The Emperor said solemnly. "According to several sources, Prince Arthir wasn't treated fairly by his own country. To tell you the truth, he was sold to us."
"..." The Emperor gains a reaction from his son, his surprise not missed.
Then a question popped up in Cyris's mind. If his own country doesn't even appreciate him, why he is so insistent on going back?
"Now go and walk him around our city. I'm sure he would love to go out." The Emperor says, "But don't tell him that I told you to ask him on a date, alright?"
"Alright?" Cyris was still confused, but did as his father told him. He makes his way to the other side of the palace where Arthir resides. He finds Arthir with his maid taking a stroll and looking at the holograms that showcased famous faces of warriors and heroes. Unexpectedly, he dropped his classy and sophisticated front and examined the faces with childlike excitement.
"Hey."
And Arthir's face suddenly changed. "Hey to you as well, your highness."
"Come with me. I'm taking you out on a date to the city."
Arthir's eyes widened slightly, he looked terrified with a mix of pure bewilderment. "Were you...told to do this?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you that."
"..."
"What?"
"Pfft! Hahaha!" Arthir erupted into great laughter, holding his stomach. It was Cyris's turn to be puzzled. What was so funny? Arthir wiped the tears that formed on the corners of his eyes and nodded. "Then I accept your invitation. I would love to see what your Empire is like."
Cyris grumbles. "Get changed then."
"Let's return to your room, your highness. I will prepare a set of clothes for you to wear."
"Thank you Selena, a moment then please." Arthir nods at Cyris before leaving to his room with Selena. Cyris runs off to his own room to change. A few minutes passed by and Arthir returned wearing more casual clothes, which were a brown trench coat with a white undershirt and a pair of black pants. Cyris also returns to the same spot wearing a leather jacket with black undershirt and jeans.
"Follow me."
"Hm."
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the City with the use of a vehicle.
"Oh, so lively..." Arthir comments, there were so many people out and about. The pair walked around the city silently, Arthir examining anything that caught his attention in awe. Suddenly, a little boy bumped into Cyris.
"What the-"
"Prince Cyris?" Arthir looked down to see the little boy staring up at Cyris.
"..."
"WAAAAH!!!" The child bursts into tears, catching everyone's attention. Cyris froze, not knowing what to do.
"Prince Cyris, don't look at him like that." Arthir scolded and scooped the crying child into his arms. Arthir rubs the child's back soothingly and whispers comforting words to coax the child. "It's alright, shh...I know he looks scary, but he won't hurt you. It's okay, everything's okay..."
"What's wrong with how I look at him?" Cyris asked, left eye twitching.
Arthir bounces the child on his hip as he explained. "You look like a villain to this child. Ah, shh, it's okay..."
Arthir's attention easily returns to the child and a few seconds later, the child stops crying and clutches onto Arthir's coat strongly. Arthir moves away from Cyris, making sure he was out of the child's field of vision. "Where are your parents?"
"Play...I will go play at the park. Mama and Mom are at home."
"Is that so? Do they know?"
"Mhm."
"Okay, that's good. Make sure to be careful and keep away from the road." Arthir puts the child down and lets him go, fortunately the park was nearby and he exhales in relief. He turns back to Cyris. "As I was saying, don't look at him and other children as if they were your enemies. Honestly, you look like a villain. Glaring at him made him cry."
"Weak." Cyris countered and crossed his arms. "The child is weak."
Arthir sighs. "Even so, you shouldn't scare him like that. Intentional or unintentional, as the future Emperor of this Empire, you must ensure that your subjects live happily and feel safe. What kind of emperor would you be if you cannot even achieve peace with your own citizens?"
Cyris looks him in the eye. "I just have to protect them, right? I fought a lot for this country."
"And I'm sure they are grateful, however you shouldn't carry such a horrific image. Don't..." Arthir voice slowly trails off.
"What? Won't lecture me anymore?"
Arthir frowned and turned away. "Hmph, I've given my advice."
Cyris rolled his eyes and looked away. "You know, before you lecture me about achieving peace and happiness with my subjects, you should deal with your own country first. What gives you the right to tell me how to lead my future empire when you aren't even respected by your own kingdom."
"How did you..."
"How did I know? Well-" Cyris cuts himself off when he sees the gaze Arthir shot at him. It was dark and cold, void of any emotion with the exception of rage and venom. Arthir bit his lip and inhaled deeply through his nose and walked away.
"...Hey." Cyris calls as Arthir walks further away. "Hey!"
Arthir didn't reply.
Cyris scratches the back of his head. What the hell is wrong with him? "Hey! Don't walk away from me!"
"..."
"Hey!"
Cyris follows, but Arthir suddenly bolts away and turns a corner. Cyris chases after him, but he loses sight of him when Arthir enters a sea of crowds. Cyris stomps his foot, looking from left to right but unable to find Arthir.
Just where did he run off to!?
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Hello, hello, hello!!
How is everyone doing?
And so Cyris and Arthir have another conflict! Wuu, I hope this chapter was enjoyable. I'm pretty nervous because I feel like it's enough. Feel free to correct and errors!
Once again, thank you for all the support, votes, views and comments!
I'll see you all in the next chapter!