Ever since the meeting of the two brothers, Chance has never seen Clayton in the library again.
Chance closed the last book he asked for and leaned back onto the chair. In the two days that was given to him for preparation, he spent most of his time in the library. His knowledge about the Howards was just basic information about the royal family members, since the history of other generations was concealed.
He studied about the laws of their kingdom, analysed the map of the palace and read the duties and responsibilities of a Crown Prince.
The stuff he studied may not be that many, but in those two days, he felt so exhausted because aside from researching, he went over files to sign and invitations to check from aristocrats.
After work, he will be going through the list that Alec Valorian gave him, The list of people invited to the After Coronation. For preparation, the knight gave him the background of those people, which he reads at night.
He has just been in Antares for three days, but he felt so exhausted. He thought that being a historical researcher is already hard, never did he know that being a Crown Prince is harder. Not only does his role is like a researcher, he also feels like a CEO who decides and signs for the company.
'Oh, Goddess. Can I just go back to my time? I am prepared to be fired.' he thought, 'No, no. Don't, it's a joke.' he immediately added.
While leaning on the chair with boredom, he rested his head and looked up on the ceiling. Ever since the first day in the library, there has been a question in his mind. 'Why did Fate leave?' His brows furrowed as he thought of a possible reason.
Fate is someone only he can see. So if Fate sensed someone inside the room, why would she need to leave if no one else other than Chance can see her?
He sighed and closed his eyes, 'I still have a lot of questions, but I guess it will not be answered for now.' he thought.
His hands went cold as he remembered that it is the last day of preparation. He and Alec will depart to go to the nearby kingdom.
The Kingdom of Canopus.
He slammed his head on the table and closed his eyes. After a while, he raised his head, resting both of his elbows on the top while biting his nails. 'That is a gathering. I'm confident that I know their backgrounds but I still can't talk easily with others.' He crossed his arms and tapped each with his fingers, a habit whenever he feels uneasy. 'What if I mess up?'
"Fate, just where are you when I need you?" he whispered.
Just as he was about to rest his head over the table, The doors of the library opened. Alec Valorian entered, looking more dashing than usual. His messy chestnut hair has been combed neatly and tucked behind his ears. He is not wearing the normal attire of the head knight, but a ceremonial attire. His attire made his handsome features stand out even more. The wine-colored cape fluttered as it was blown by the wind that came from opening the door.
He was wearing a white coat with silver and crimson accents, red vest underneath with silver trims. On his left chest was the royal emblem of Antares. In the emblem was a red star, with a letter H in the middle. While on his right chest, is a medal that shows that he is the Royal Head Knight. Without wearing any armor, he keeps the sword in his hand.
Chance felt his eyes twitch as he stared at the handsome knight, 'Which one of us is the real prince?' he said in his mind. "You are too..." he muttered.
Alec looked at him, "Hm?" Chance shook his head, "It's nothing."
"It's time to dress up, Your Highness." the knight said. "We will not leave any longer." Chance immediately stood up and Alec escorted him back to his chamber, leaving Edmund, the librarian, to clean up the mess. 'Sorry, Edmund.' Chance thought as he got far from the library.
~~~~~~~~~~
"W-what is this all for?!" The prince exclaimed, dumbfounded by the mannequins in front of him.
The maids were all lined up, each with different outfits. Chance just sat in the bed, staring at the people inside his room. He turned and glanced at Alec, giving him a help-me look, but the knight just looked away and ignored him. 'Traitor!'
"What do you mean by 'What is all of this for?!'? THIS is for your look in the After Coronation!' The lady in the middle said, putting her hands on her waist. 'Goodness, Goddess! You are the Crown Prince of Antares! You need to look great for the new King to see!'
The lady pulled Chance from the bed and made him stand up. Behind him, the lady put her hands on his head and twisted it to the direction of the clothes. 'Look at it! Look at it!' she said with excitement.
Chance, exhausted, took a deep breath. "There's a lot, what should I wear?" he asked.
The lady stood in front of him, "I, the great Tailor Linda, have personally chosen these outfits from my new collection! You have to try it all to see what is best for you!" she stated.
"Of course, anything will look good since I, made it myself! Go on, try it all on!" Linda said. Chance looked around the clothes that were more than a dozen, when he suddenly caught Alec looking at him. 'What?' he mouthed. The knight took out a pocket watch and showed the time to him.
Seeing that they are in a hurry, Chance panicked, 'Which one should I go with?' he asked himself.
He went over the attires again and his eyes stopped at the right side, further back. A midnight blue coat that goes down to mid-thighs, with gold trims on the laps and sleeves. Under it is a vest of a deep, purple-hued wine colour. Under the vest is a white cravat, with the royal emblem connected to a chain which is hidden in the cravat, sitting on the left lapel of the coat. And at the bottom are the deep blue trousers paired with the black boots.
"This one." he muttered with certainty as he approached it.
Tailor Linda clapped her hands in joy, "Great choice!" she exclaimed. She turned to the servants, "Send it all back, except for the one His Highness chose." she ordered and they did as they were told.
The outfit, Tailor Linda and her remaining three helpers stayed in the room. "Let us help you, Your Highness!" Linda's helpers said.
'Help me change?!' Chance thought and immediately shook his head. "No need."
"But—" they were about to say something but Alec blocked their way. "Madame Linda, you can go back with your servants. Dressing him up, I will handle it from here on." he stated.
Taylor Linda always wants to dress her client up in front of her so she could see if there is anything wrong in the way they wear it. But this time was different. She will let it pass now, but she will still return to fix it. "Fine. I know you just don't want me to see His Highness's body." she said and winked at the knight.
"I will be waiting outside your door, once you put the clothes underneath, I'll handle the rest!" she stated and left the two alone.
There was another silence in the room. Chance turned to the knight, "You are gonna dress me up?" he asked.
Hearing the question, Alec looked at him, "Of course not. That was an excuse since you do not like others to touch your skin." he answered.
Chance felt his face heating up fron embarrassment, 'How could I ask such a stupid question?' he thought and secretly slapped himself.
Alec looked away and stood beside the door while Chance removed his clothes to put on the other attire. When he's finally done with the trousers until the vest, Linda comes in suddenly knowing that he's already done changing, without even informing him.
Linda handled the rest, especially the cravat, which Chance does not know how to wear properly. After fixing the outfit, she also did the Crown Prince's hair to match the attire.
Since Linda was well known and has a lot of clients, she left after finishing up with Chance. Alec and Chance's walking pace was fast as they were in a hurry. While walking, Chance saw Clayton in a balcony. He was sure that Clayton also saw him, but he pretended that he did not.
Chance wanted to talk to him again, but he could not do it now because they are in a hurry. He sighed and had no choice but to go.
Walking out of the palace, the carriage awaits for them to go inside. The coach bowed his head and greeted the prince, "Your Highness, shall we go?" he asked.
Chance glanced at Alec and nodded back to the driver, "Yes, Let us go." he responded.
Go to meet with the royal family of the star kingdom, Canopus.
Where he will finally meet his destined one.