"You have? When was this?" Haochen asked with curious eyes.
Ning furrowed his brows in thought. "It would have been at least three years ago by now. Father had to discuss matters with the Grandmaster. What I found was that Verbatium was an interesting place, the individuals even more so." He said, his tone humored.
"Actually, to be frank, I hadn't met him *directly*. I had the honor of meeting his eldest brother, who I get along with quite well, and still see time to time whenever I have to relay messages to their Sect from ours. When I saw Calibri, it was just once. He hadn't seen me, but as we were walking towards the Diamond tower-"
"Diamond tower?" Shing interrupted.
"Yes, it's a colossal tower made of diamond, marble, and silver. Quite beautiful indeed and the only building I saw. Anyway, as Kreian, his eldest brother took us there after removing the incantation on our eyes, I happened to see Calibri bathing in a hot spring with other Verbatians."
Haochen made a confused face and Shing crinkled his nose.
"If he's royalty, and they have a diamond tower, why was he bathing in a hot spring with other people?" Shing asked.
"Also, it could have been anyone, how did you know it was Calibri? " Haochen asked.
"I'd actually inquired as to why they were bathing together out in the open, because I found it so peculiar how they scrubbed each other's backs and were not even bothered by their nakedness; and also because I saw barely anyone and when I did they were bathing each other out in the open. According to Kreian, there's nothing strange in bathing with others, status doesn't matter, and hot springs were good for the skin. I knew it was Calibri because Kreian offhandedly pointed out that it was his younger brother, and right after I heard one of the boys addressing him and asking him to scrub his back."
Haochen and Shing turned red.
"Did he really scrub his back?" Haochen asked, looking at his brother wearily out of the corner of his eyes.
"Yes, and then a woman asked him to scrub her back, and he did." Haochen blinked rapidly at that.
"Wait wait wait, a woman? There were women in there too? How can men and women bath together?" Shing asked, his face redder than a cherry at that point.
"And Verbatians can easily be confused for females, how could you tell the difference so easily?" Haochen asked, equally as red.
"Well…The water wasn't that deep. They were standing. So, I saw… everything."
Shing cleared his throat. "Gege, what sort of 'kind' was Prince Calibri to you? Because this 'kind' seems a bit too 'kind'."
Haochen's face burned. "It wasn't anything of this nature. I had chest pains and he offered me some herbs to soothe it."
"Are you sure it wasn't an aphrodisiac?" Shing asked, his eyes drifting lower down his brother's body.
"He's not like that!" Haochen said, his voice breaking from its usual soothing octaves. "He's-" Haochen couldn't explain it, but he knew the Calibri wasn't someone like that.
"He's innocent. If you meet him, you can tell." He said after a moment.
"I do believe you're right about that. Nobody seemed embarrassed or even lustful as they bathed. It was as if they didn't see a difference in gender. In fact, I felt like the pervert because they were so serene and graceful that I couldn't take my eyes off them, while their eyes didn't even linger on each other. It was mortifying." Ning said, sighing at the end. Even he had pink-tinged cheeks. "But from what I saw, Calibri seemed to have excellent temperament, and everyone seemed to dote on him. He seems like a good person to have as a friend or an ally if his brother is anything to go by."
Haochen recalled Kol say something of a similar nature about Calibri's father doting on him too.
Shing twisted his lips. "I guess everyone has their customs. We do some strange things too, maybe not to that extent, but we do."
Haochen nodded to himself. "Maybe that's why Verbatium is so private about everything. Compared to the other sects, they're quite different."
"I'd say they have to be that way, imagine having to always tell the truth. People must have taken advantage of that in the past, and perhaps it led to their isolated practices today." Ning said.
Shing furrowed his brows. "Now that you mention it, there are texts upon texts about each sect widely available, but there's next to nothing about Verbatium." He said.
Haochen sighed. "We already know that they're incapable of lying or hiding their emotions, their own bodies will betray them. A secret like that is far more valuable than any of the information from the other sects. People would love to use that against them."
"But it's not like everyone knows what the colors mean." Shing said.
"He's got a point. They have allowed some people to know though. Usually it's leaders and people within the education system, but did you know, once you know about it, you ever talk about it to someone about it and break the Oath of Secrecy, your tongue dissolves. If you try to write about it, your hands cripple." Ning said.
Shing looks revolted. "Who came up with a curse like that?"
"I heard it was one of the founders of Verbatium. You know how every sect has a few distinguishing powers, yes? Apparently, Verbatium has more than just a few, and someone outside of the sect came to know about it. He'd tried to gather up other sects to destroy Verbatium because he didn't like that they had the powers that they did, but Verbatium defeated them easily. So, they tried to reveal Verbatium's weaknesses to other people and there were quite a few. Among the weaknesses would be that they can't lie or hide their emotions without their bodies revealing it. When the Verbatian leader found out about it, there wasn't much he could do. But since the color-coding key wasn't revealed, he created the curse so that everyone who did come to know about it would be sworn to secrecy. Of course, this is a story I heard long ago from one of the cooks, so I don't know if it's really true."
"Seems a bit far-fetched to me Gege, why would you want to destroy a sect solely because you're jealous of their powers? Who is that stupid? I mean every sect has special powers, so what if Verbatium has a few more? It's how you use your powers that matters really. Everybody knows that. And besides that, if those people revealed so many of their weaknesses, how come we only know about one of them? That story is definitely an old housewife's tale." Shing said, flicked his long hair, and crossed his arms.
Ning chuckled at that. "Possibly, but it holds some truth, which is that people can't stand being outdone. It grows the green-eyed monster in them by leaps and bounds. It makes me wonder though; what sort of powers and weaknesses do they have that makes them so afraid of interacting with others?"
Haochen who had been quiet for some time frowned, thinking about everything his brothers had said. If Calibri and the other Verbatians did get accepted, there was a possibility that their weaknesses would be revealed, one way or another. If that was the case then it wouldn't be good for Calibri to accept the place. Being with a bunch of competitive teenagers, especially ones that saw you as an oddity, couldn't be good at all.
He sighed through his nose. Then again, if what Ning had said earlier on about Verbatians always getting accepted when the exam took place every century was true, then the Verbatians must have properly indoctrinated principles of caution into the children to not reveal anything to the other students. In that case, there was nothing to be worried about. But Haochen was still worried because he'd met many of the Royal youth of the other sects, there was no doubt that they would be getting accepted too. And frankly, they were quite a nasty, irritating, self-centered, and entitled bunch of teenagers. There was no way they would be alright with Calibri upstaging them if he did in fact have greater powers than them. They would most likely try to make his life difficult at any and every turn.
"Haochen?"
He blinked and looked towards his older brother. "Gege?"
"We asked if you wanted to freshen up before dinner, or if you wanted to eat now." Shing said after noticing his blank stare. Haochen looked around and realized they were in the dining hall of the castle already and the servants had set up for them. He straightened up.
"I'll freshen up first." He said and the servants bowed, then moved to cover the dishes.
"Father's still in his meeting, it seems." Ning said.
"Your Majesties, the King has informed us that he will be dining with your mother and the Sect Leaders in the castle courtyard after the meeting. He advised that you begin without them." One of the servants said.
"Must be discussing something important." Shing said with a yawn. He went to sit at the table. Ning turned to Haochen apologetically. Haochen smiled at his brother. "What are you looking at me like that for? I don't mind that he's busy." He glanced toward the corridor. "I'll wash up and then be back in a bit."
With that, he turned and walked towards the West Wing of the Castle. Two pairs of periwinkle eyes followed him as he entered the corridor and disappeared from their sight.
Ning sighed. "Father can be so nonchalant."
Shing rolled a grape between his fingers and furrowed his brows. "Gege, why does father have to make him beg for his attention like this?"
Ning looked at his youngest brother, deep in thought.
"Because he always makes time for me, and he takes you wherever he goes. Gege is better than me at everything, and just as good as you in all aspects too. Can't father be a little more compassionate?" Shing said, turning in his chair towards Ning.
Ning glanced back towards the corridor Haochen had walked through. He sighed again and looked back at his youngest brother. "For Haochen's sake, I wish he was."
Haochen who'd stopped walking upon hearing their conversation a few seconds prior clenched his jaw. Ning and Shing had conversations like this often, worrying about how their father treated him. They tried not to make a mountain of it in front of him, but anyone who watched their family could tell that their father did not give Haochen the same dedication that he gave his other children.
Haochen slowly exhaled, trying to release the tension from his muscles and the knot building below his diaphragm. Of course, he knew that his father treated him differently, and while he didn't know why, he would never ask about it. There was no use dwelling on things that wouldn't change. So, with a backward glance, he lifted his foot and kept walking.