┃ Prince Idalius' POV ┃
Before I tell you what happened right on that very life-and-death situation I had just encountered, let's go a few days back when I was simply living my life as the 3rd Prince of the Kingdom of Lumen, Prince Idalius Asbel III.
Our Kingdom was ruled over by my father, King Mirage, and my stepmother, Queen Eileen. It was divided into three states provincial, however, one of them was considered as its capital, and also, my birth town, The Municipality of Aonani. Among the three, it was considered as the liveliest since it is a place for feasts and gatherings and is solely ruled over by my father and his wife.
The second municipality, Armistead, was ruled over by my father's second-in-command, General Sao. It's well-known for its abundance of food and various types of businesses. It is also the main exporter of products around Lumen. I have gone here myself multiple times since this is where my Academy was located but other than that, here is where I also go for fencing classes and to attend Equestrian.
Lastly, is Venzor, the wealthiest among the three. It is located near the hills of Quan Mian and this is where the rarest of the rare gemstones can be found. Thus, you can also guess that there are many mining sites in this area.
Yet despite its prosperity of treasures, Venzor was a place full of madmen, poverty, and debauchery. No one could've known how it led to that but since it is a place of treasures, the people there had no time for peaceful negotiations upon knowing how rich their land is. To be honest, 80 percent of the crime in Lumen can be found in Venzor. I have never gone there myself and I don't have any plans to go there.
Aside from criminals, the roads are never finished and the buildings were of low-maintenance. I can only imagine corpses scattered around the area of people who lived in the slums and were unable to feed themselves. It was a living hell for commoners who continue to suffer there.
It wasn't only because of the people and their poor lifestyle that turned it into the way it is. I recalled when my brothers told me about the first time they had met Venzor's leader.
He was a bearded man in his early 50's who smoked cigars every now and then and likes puffing it right onto their faces. From their description of no other than, Signor Trevino, he looked like a vicious man who would smuggle illegal weapons from across another country. No one dared interrupt whatever he said or commanded. Whenever he breathes, everyone else in the room would shudder in fear. They couldn't be any more specific about that [*shrugs arms*].
Let's bring back the topic about me. Since I mentioned it already, I have three brothers, namely: Prince Lionel, Prince Adelio, and Prince Mael.
Prince Lionel is the Crown Prince, the Eldest, and the Most Favorable. Although, during these times, I never see him hanging around the palace gardens like he normally would. In fact, I am not close to him at all but maybe because I am not a son of the King from the Queen herself.
The closest I am with so far is Prince Adelio but then, I can never address him like that in a way where we seem to be actual brothers. He is highly respected in our town just like Prince Lionel and the smartest among the four of us. He is of great help to my dad when it comes to country negotiations.
And last but not the least, Prince Mael. He is the youngest and was born right after me. Mael has a very lively character and is portrayed as a human golden retriever of the Palace because he has tow-colored locks and a bright beam.
Just like me, he was a product out of wedlock and his mother was never mentioned to him at all. But rumors have said, that it was because of the Queen's raging anger towards the King's infidelity which caused her to secretly murder Mael's mother.
That is why, one day, I was abruptly awakened by a loud thud from the door and the screaming of the Palace maids. What kind of Royal Drama is going on in such an early morning when I haven't taken a bath yet! [*rolls eyes*]
I opened the double-sided doors of my room and the first one I saw today was my eldest brother. He stopped in front of me without meeting my eyes like the usual arrogant thing he would do to someone who's a son of a concubine. How rude!
"Good morning, brother," I uttered. Oops... I highly doubt if he even treats me like that. He slowly turned his look to me, ignoring the cries of the people outside, "Are you also going out to take a sip of Aonani's freshly brewed tea?" [That's figurative, don't judge me]
"Yes, would you like to join me?"
That was quite unexpected. My mouth turned into an 'O' shape by his out-of-the-blue attitude. I gathered my strength to let out a smile and happily marched with him through the hallways but my bright beam quickly shifted when we saw what the chaos was all about...
"You dirty little liar! If I have known where you were last night, I would have already slashed your tongue off your deceitful face," the Queen was grasped tightly by two Palace Guards because she was having a total royal meltdown instead of still sleeping.
"Calm down, my Queen. Let's discuss this in our room, no need for everybody else to know," Father declared, conscious about the weird stares they are getting from the people who gathered and watched, seemingly.
Yet as if, today wasn't bad enough... a group of men entered the Palace carrying a boy. At first, I wasn't quite sure who it was but two closer looks and I finally recognized the person who was wrapped in white silk sheets. The attention that was once the Queen's was shifted to Prince Mael, who was all but pale and washed out.
"Call the Royal Physician!" the Palace guards demanded and left the Queen on her spot. We made eye contact for a split second before I decided to look away and run towards poor Mael.
"What happened to him? Where did you find him?" I asked one of the men who carried him back home.
They all looked at each other and shrugged, "We saw him by the riverbank lying around. We thought he was just sleeping but after we came back, he was still there so we decided to check his condition only to find out that he passed out. He was also holding a knife with a very sharp obsidian blade but he wasn't bleeding at all. In fact, he's paler when we discovered his body but apparently, he is still breathing."
I looked at Father upon realizing our situation," I think he's in a vegetative state [ It is when a person is awake but showing no signs of awareness]. We should probably take him to bed and wait for the physician to come."
My Father nodded, but as soon as I stood up, someone pulled me from behind and slapped my face," You filthy ingrate! How dare you say what is best for your brother when you are the reason for all this."
"Eileen, enough of all this!" Father shouted at her but the nightmare herself didn't hold back at all. She pointed her finger at me and looked back to her husband.
"Instead of watching over your children, you were out there fondling with this ingrate's mother. If not, where were you when Mael sneaked out of the house? Hanging out with another courtesan in the brothel? And don't you dare tell me to talk this all out in our room. The entire kingdom should know about your whorish behavior!"
The entire room went silent. When I thought she was already finished the Queen shifted her frightening eyes on me and the only thing I could wish for at that very moment was to disappear for a matter of days...
"You! Don't you think this is over with... Do not look at me with useless eyes the same as your mother. The only thing keeping her alive is that she is still a toy for the King to play with. Hence, if you do not want to encounter the same fate as your younger brother, go find the medicine that will keep him alive..."
I glanced at my Father who was fully out of control of the whole situation and back to Mael whose condition is either unknown or planned by my evil stepmother. But one thing is for sure, today, the real journey awaits me.