Prince Dannark nodded in response and departed through a hidden passage. As soon as he did, Prince Ranir reverted to his normal sloven behavior and appearance. He stood up and walked over to the window which oversaw the distant capital cities of Corasen and Algard. Even from here, the towering silhouette of Castle Reinhard stood tall as the shining beacon of royal power. It was the ruler of the Alzar Kingdom! Prince Ranir had his normal wicked face, but he was inwardly pensive. Now that Elizabeth was dead, or at the very least missing, then the position of heir apparent was vacant. The Holy Reingolian Medallion aside, who would be the one to inherit the throne? Following his mother's, Queen Bethnal's, thought process, then the most likely person would be… A tinge of powerlessness swelled in him as he sighed. The young embers of ambition burned in his heart just as hotly as they did back then; however… he would carry out his duty regardless. That was what it meant to be royalty!
Just as he wallowed in his thoughts, the doors slammed open as two people marched proudly in. The only people brazen enough to do that could be counted on one hand alone. Without even turning around, Prince Ranir could tell who they were. He promptly discarded his wandering expression, resumed his unpleasant grimace, and glared at the intruders. The first was a fat boy who was as round as a ball. He looked like something you could use for sport that was how overweight he was. It was unsettling to the eyes. However, the most disgusting thing was his lecherous look which always seemed to look for the next woman to prey on. Were it not for the golden crown sitting on his head, he might have been imprisoned for his blatantly illegal actions. This person was Prince Belmond Etuvel Reindel, Prince Ranir's son!
As for the other person, she was an exceptionally ordinary person. She could lose herself in a crowd and nobody would find her. In a way, it was a wonder how she became like this. The Royal Family was filled with beautiful and handsome people, and though Prince Ranir did look like a scoundrel, he did have some redeeming qualities. On the other hand, this girl managed to inherit none of them. There were even widespread talks that she was the ugliest princess in history… These rumors and slander spawned hatred in her maiden heart, and she gradually became a spiteful and rude little girl. She was also one of Prince Ranir's children, Princess Rosia Etuvel Reindel.
The two miscreants seemed eager to create trouble wherever they went. Had Prince Ranir's Protector, Sir Roland, not blocked the way, they might have barged in on their meeting. The headaches that would ensue… even Prince Ranir dreaded to imagine it. He was not in the mood to entertain their antics, so he was preparing to chase them out when his son opened his mouth.
"Father, you should've let me in on the fun too," he sneered knowingly.
"…What are you talking about?"
"Oh, you know what I mean."
His son continued to goad him, which served to confuse him even further. What was his son talking about? Did he know about the meeting with Prince Dannark? That should be impossible though given the precautions they took but other than that, he had no idea what his son meant.
"I'm saying you should've let me have a go at her too." Prince Belmond rolled his eyes, exasperated by how dumb his father was. "You were fucking that woman from the brothel, right? I heard she has a long list of reservations, and you need to book months in advance. What a shame that I couldn't plow her too!" As soon as he said this, his sister burst into laughter. The young prince seemed impressed with his own intelligence but failed to notice the darkening face of his father. No, it was no longer dark. It was downright black! To call his own uncle a common brothel whore!
Without hesitation, Prince Ranir snatched a nearby stick and whipped his son fiercely across the butt. His son let out a horrendous yelp like a dying dog, but his unsightly appearance only caused more anger to swell up in Prince Ranir. How could this be a member of the Royal Family, a dignified and noble prince? He needed to properly discipline this son of his! Meanwhile, his daughter, Princess Rosia, was busy snickering at her own brother's misfortune. She was neither concerned nor worried and it looked like she was relishing in the torment instead. Her sadistic behavior made Prince Ranir gloomy, and he whipped his son harder, causing the stick to crack and explode. Finally, he caught his breath, readjusted his clothing, and snorted in disgust. His children were truly…
Immediately though, he felt regret because he was the reason that they grew up this way. They only knew his façade, and not his true self. After all, children had no concept of secrets or lies. They would speak everything as honestly as they saw it. His children could thus become a core weakness in the façade that he created, the scoundrel and villainous prince. As the saying goes, to fool your enemies, you had to fool your allies. He simply took that to an extreme and fooled his children too. The result was evident though. They learned from his behavior and adopted his scoundrel of a personality, maturing into two unsightly children themselves. In a sense, he was the one who ruined his children's futures. He sighed and lost the will to continue discipling his son. His late wife would be depressed to see him like this. Shaking his head, Prince Ranir marched out.
Prince Belmond stayed on the ground, wailing as if he were crippled, but his sister saw through the act. Although she sent a kick into his stomach, she felt it ripple off. His fat acted like a natural shield, so there was no way that their father did that much damage. As expected, he snickered and wiped away his snot before standing up and patting himself off. There was not a single bit of discomfort dressed on him.
"Father should've beaten you some more."
"Hehe… I'm a good actor, don't you think? I told you it was easy to trick father."
She rolled her eyes. "You're lucky he didn't hear that, or he would've beaten you again."
He shrank his neck and looked around nervously to make sure that his father was indeed gone. Once he was sure, he grumbled, "I didn't say anything wrong. Why did he have to beat me?"
"Didn't you hear the news? That bitch died in Liguang, so the throne's vacant now, but he's probably angry that he can't be king still," she snickered. "It's no wonder he's in a bad mood."
"Oh, that makes sense!" he nodded dumbly. "You're so smart!"
"Of course, I am!"
***
In Firecast, the news of the Battle of Liguang came around the new year. Snow had settled into a thick layer across the world, just as the people were preparing for the winter festivities. They wanted to celebrate the passing of the old year and welcome the new year with open arms. It was a very lively and pleasant time for everyone, regardless of poor or rich and young or old. Everyone could feel the infectious energy in the air! Two girls and an older man walked down the packed streets, dressed in thick clothing. The younger girl happily pointed at the interesting stalls, while the older one held her hand and made sure not to let her wander too far. They looked like a pair of happy sisters. The older man kept himself a pace away to allow them to enjoy themselves but remained close enough to protect them if the need arose. The three were Yuna Cascadion, Ten Dawn Nassandra Adnire, and Protector Avin Arcellius!
Ten Dawn Nassandra was famous as the youngest Arcanist who reached Low Condensed Drop at just twelve years of age. She was widely regarded as the person with the greatest Magic Potential in the world! However, those that knew her personally would understand that she was a simple and young child still. She wore an oversized hood to avoid being noticed and wandered the market with sparkling eyes, having the time of her life. Yuna patiently accompanied her around and although she was uncomfortable with how many people there were, she did not let that spoil Nassandra's mood. Her kindness was evident here. She was one of Freon's closest friends from the university, one of their best performing students, and a Peak Gaseous Fog Arcanist! In fact, she could even go head-to-head with renown descendants of Engelsheft Families! She was originally ranked 41 out of a thousand exceptional students, but she was about to graduate with an outstanding rank of 25 now. She could easily be seen as the next generation of rising stars in the Arcania world.