Chance was in a daze as he thought about how Charles died. 'He had a male lover, does it mean that he was also punished for being gay?' he shook his head, 'That is not possible since King Chrollo was already dead when Charles became the king.'
He looked at the king who seemed to be satisfied by his reaction and he felt sick just by looking at his father. He tried hard not to meet his stare but as he looked away from the king, he saw Caliber's darkening expression. "Are you...okay?" he asked in a whisper.
Caliber snapped out and his darkened face vanished when Chance called him. He just shook his head saying that it was nothing and smiled.
"Where is that newly crowned king, Leonidas?" Cadell asked, facing Caliber. He gave out a slight smile, "I had passed by His Majesty on my way to the garden," he said and he saw Chance flinch, probably remembering what happened. "His Majesty has gone to his chamber to rest." Caliber continued.
"I remember I told him to be patient. What a cocky, insolent new ruler he is." the king uttered with a sneer.
"Please do know that you are in our kingdom, talking about our king like that is unseemly. Be careful." Caliber responded, he tried to hide the contempt in his tone but his words sounded like he was threatening them.
A sound of a sword that was drawn from the sheath was heard and they turned to see the knight beside King Cadell that was pointing his sword to Caliber, "You dare call His Majesty, King Cadell, unseemly?!"
"It was your side that called our king, cocky and insolent first." Caliber said in return, not guilty about his threat. The knight gritted his teeth and lunged forward but by making only one step, he was surrounded by other knights from Canopus.
"Eeek—!" The hot-headed knight dropped his sword and the color of his face was drained from the fright of the multiple swords surrounding him. Caliber and the King looked as though they were in a fierce staring contest, the king was glaring at him while Caliber was smiling but obviously a fake one as he was giving off an aura of hostility.
"Forgive us, it is true that we were the ones who started it. I hope that the two kingdoms would not fight because of words, especially on a royal occasion." Nicholas chimed, giving a slight bow. One should not be apologizing for it will be as though admitting to the mistake of a king. Cadell ignored it, since Nicholas was one of the people he would not argue with, for he knows that everything the butler does is for the best.
Caliber raised his hand then put it down, gesturing to get their swords away from the knight of another kingdom. "Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness." Nicholas said.
Chance raised his head with widened eyes, 'Your Highness?!'
The King stood up from the throne without looking away from the eyes of the prince of Canopus, "I will be sure that the Captain will set a punishment for his fellow knight." he looked at Alec from the corner of his eyes while still facing the direction of the prince, "Is that right, Valorian?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." the Valorian knight responded then glanced over the other knight who resembled a ghost with tears forming in his eyes, knowing what will happen to him. "Come with me," he said to the knight but the man was glued to the floor, not able to move. Alec grabbed the cloth close to his nape and dragged him to the door, exiting the ballroom until he was finally able to walk.
There was a heavy aura surrounding the four catching the attention of the others inside the room. Some of them are whispering and gossiping about the tension among the royals, but some remain silent, scared of the consequences of making a rumor.
"I am also tired so I will get going now. I believe we shall meet again tomorrow upon our leave." the King stated as he looked at the Canopus prince one last time. Making his way out he glanced at his son, "We shall talk about your tardiness for making us wait, tomorrow." he stated in an icy tone and walked away. The butler, Nicholas, gave him a bow and followed after the king.
The doors were opened as they saw the King about to leave, all of them paused from what they were doing and bowed, "Have a good night's sleep, Your Majesty."
The King of Canopus, who was actually watching from a distance smiled in amusement, "What a good show that was." he smirked and took a sip from his wine. 'That old man dared to make a commotion in my party, with my brother?' he put down his glass on the tray from the waiter passing by. 'What should I do?' he thought and smiled as he thought of something that will amuse him even more.
~~~~~~~~~~
Caliber stopped and watched the prince of Antares who was deep in thoughts, standing alone on the terrace. He snorted and smiled as he remembered what the prince did to him in the garden.
He walked until he reached the terrace and joined Chance, resting his elbows backward in the top rail. In contrast, Chance was resting both his elbows, facing the little buildings outside the palace, resting his chin on his hands with palms on his cheeks.
"I wonder what you are thinking right now, Crown Prince." Caliber muttered while observing his face.
"What I am having inside my head does not concern you, Your Highness." Chance responded, did not even turn his head to look at him. Caliber let out a snort, hearing the way the Crown Prince called him.
"Why are you even here?" Caliber asked, "Same question." Chance said with no life in his voice. 'I am the one asking.' Caliber wanted to say the exact words Chance had said in return but he did not say it.
"I am also here to drown myself in thoughts." he responded which made Chance finally interested, "What are you going to think about?" he asked in curiosity, 'I shouldn't have asked such a personal question, since when was I interested in other's thoughts?' Chance said in his mind.
"I am thinking about your kiss." Caliber responded and flashed a cheeky smile.
Chance's interest disappeared and returned his gaze outside, 'I was a fool to ask.' he thought. Caliber laughed at his reaction and twisted in his position, also looking outside.
"Why are you in low spirits? Is it because of your father's command?" he could not help but ask.
Caliber really wanted to know what made Chance upset, even though he had no idea of the real reason, his mood darkened earlier just at the sight of Chance's expression. 'You weird prince, I almost started a war with a king when I do not even know why you were upset.' he thought as he waited for the Crown Prince's reply, he paused, thinking about the words he said in his mind, 'Wait, maybe I am the weird one.'
"I am just upset with how he views the sexuality of people. It makes me sick." he said while looking down, sadly.
Caliber moved a bit closer to Chance, putting a hand over his back to comfort him. "Your kingdom has done that for years, yet why did you only feel upset now?"
Chance stared into emptiness, 'I wonder how Charles thought about it. Seeing how he witnessed their deaths for years.'
His question was ignored so he remained silent as he continued to caress his back. He suddenly remembered how the two of them met and had a quarrel, he would never have thought that he had a soft and weak side of him.
"Cute." Caliber whispered and was surprised to realize he said it instead of saying it in his mind. Good thing that Chance did not hear.
"You know, I am still curious about why you kissed me. Is it not weird? We had a fight then suddenly you cried and kissed me." he said which made Chance flinch.
'Why would you suddenly bring up that embarrassing topic?' Chance thought, holding himself back to not get flustered.
"Fine, I will not ask why you kissed me, but can you not at least say the reason you cried?" he asked again, making Chance quiet.
A minute has passed and there was still no response. Caliber was about to give up the question but Chance turned his head to his direction.
"I feel sad when I am with you."
Caliber stopped caressing his back and stared at him, "Why would you be sad? I did not do anything." he said.
Chance gave out a sad smile, "I know. It is just that, my heart aches whenever I see you. I cannot explain it."
Hearing him say those words made Caliber assume the reason. He smirked which made Chance confused, 'Why the hell is this guy smirking?'
"You are upset about how your father hates men who love men, is it because you are in the same situation?" Caliber asked.
Chance blinked. 'What?'
"You like someone of the same sex and could not bring yourself to tell your father, that is why you are in low spirits." he added.
Chance dumbfounded, blinked again, could not believe what he was hearing. "What??"
"Crown Prince," Caliber called out, "You like me."
He felt as if he had gone deaf and when his words finally processed in his mind he looked at him in incredulity, 'What the fuck?'
His grin widened as he approached him, Chance was stepping backwards to avoid Caliber but he got himself trapped in the corner of the rail.
The Canopus prince put both hands in his sides to prevent him from getting away. "Should we check if I am correct?" he asked.
Before Chance could even react and reply, he felt the prince's lips planted in his mouth, even leaning to deepen the kiss, supporting Chance's head with his other hand.
Chance who was getting carried away by his kisses was shocked to realize that he was kissing the man again for the second time.
His words were misunderstood by the Canopus Prince, thinking that it was a confession of his love. But then again, in the romance novels he had read, it all started with a misunderstanding.
'Misunderstanding, my ass! Caliber, you kissing maniac!!!'