"Your solution is inhumane! Burning people is not right!"
"They're not people anymore! They will turn into monsters who will drink the blood of our children!"
"Says the man who can afford to bring his children to a physician the moment they are infected! What about the common children, huh? Will you leave them orphaned because of your own greed? And what about their parents? Would you burn their child to save your own?"
"If His Majesty was here, he would agree with me! This is for the sake of the Kingdom, not every individual citizen will survive this crisis!"
The voices of the council continued to rise as they argued back and forth in the throne room. Most of them were high-standing nobles while there were only a handful of representatives for the common folks.
The one leading the burning method suggestion was the Duke of Desprotia, Duke Elir, Prince Leron's uncle. His duchy is the nearest to the capital and the palace. He is very close to his older brother, the king, causing him to grow a large head and believe his word is law. Since the king favors him, many nobles suck up to him and took his side no matter what.
The leader of the opposition is the scholar, Palwien. She was the highest-ranking scholar in Crescentia and still attained good rapport here in Ilvedia. She was a woman with a petite stature yet strong personality, and she always voices out her thoughts even if no one supports her. She was here on behalf of the poorer citizens who begged to be represented in court for this matter.
"What is going on here?" Prince Leron interrupted the fight. The maids had draped his formal coat and cape haphazardly since there was not much time, but the way he carries himself is enough to make people treat him respectfully even if he wears a potato sack. Beside him were the scary Noble Huntsmen, the new defenders of Ilvedia whose bows and arrows are always on their backs.
All eyes were on this new addition to the court, and the chaotic room had finally gone quiet.
"Your Highness!" His uncle, Duke Elir lifted his fat butt from his seat and bowed to him. His big body was like the bell from the Santimieda chapel. "Thank heavens you can join our having a discussion of utmost importance. If you would listen for a while, you may come to a decision—"
"I have already made my decision upon coming here." Prince Leron raised his hand, interrupting. He declared boldly to the whole court with his messy, bed hair that still looked flawless. "No burning will happen in the Kingdom of Ilvedia!"
The nobles who are with the burning method side gasped in shock, and muttered among themselves. The bell-bodied Duke Elir started to perspire, his bulging cheeks getting oily.
"In the past 100 years of history, no human has been burned again because of illness, belief, or circumstances. We will not resort to these means even now." Prince Leron spoke with a firm gaze. "The kingdom doesn't need more destruction! What we need is a stable defense system and recuperating all the infected, regardless of status and social standing. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Palwien answered brightly, the opposition smiling to themselves as they received the crowned prince's support.
"Moreover, I shall make a decree for all health expenses to be lowered by half in the next ten weeks. Anyone who disobeys this law will have to pay 100 gold coins and give up their physician's license." Prince Leron declared. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" The whole court answered, and the matter was settled.
Duke Elir sat back to his chair, face red but saying nothing. The nobles, no matter how powerful they are, still have to listen to the prince because he had the whole kingdom in the palm of his hands while the king is away. He holds power over the military and the finance. Some also felt that this decision is correct. If they keep aggravating the masses, an uprising may happen and worsen the situation. Ilvedia would really fall faster than Crescentia had.
The Noble Huntsmen clapped and cheered, as they were also part of the commoners and work for the commoners. They saw Sangfroid smile for the first time in these many days, and they knew how proud he was to serve His Highness. Prince Leron turned and smile back, blue eyes like bright clear skies.
With Prince Leron's just and firm rule, the signing and processing of the royal decree went faster than normal and more efficiently. He worked day and night despite his pale complexion, sometimes making the people worried yet he remained stubborn. He must ensure the safety of his people now that the responsibility of ruling the kingdom lies on his shoulders. He knew his father is never going back until the attack was over. That might as well, he felt that if his father was here he would pierce him with his sword the moment he came in sight.
Prince Leron has always known the king was a bastard, and he felt awful for ever listening to him. If he could turn back the time...
No, there's no use thinking back now. Yet he can never push down the guilt and shame that he felt in his weak heart. Vladstin's words haunt his dreams at night, his blood continuously being sucked out of him in his nightmares. He would wake up in cold sweat with Sangfroid right beside him, ready to give him a glass of water.
Sangfroid sensed that the day of the attack is coming near, so he sent out the rest of the Noble Huntsmen to join the others in protecting the border. He himself remained to watch over the prince's side, much more stricter than the bodyguards.
"You don't have to stay here with me." Prince Leron said, taking the glass from his hand. "I will be all right."
"Vladstin is cunning. You can never expect when he will strike and how." Sangfroid said. "He had appeared and turned people into vampires just a few months ago, but he is already a powerful Vampire Lord. He uses his wits and never shows the full extent of his power. We cannot underestimate him."
"You have been going after him since he has turned others? It has been a few years ago already since... since Crescentia has fallen, hasn't it? Had he turned since then?" Prince Leron asked.
"We believe he did turn the next night after he died, but we only learned about him when he took his first victim three months ago, so we cannot be sure." Sangfroid explained. "The Bishop told us to keep this in secret and eliminate him as soon as possible on our own, to avoid hysteria among the people. He sent a letter to the King a few weeks before your coronation, but did not get a response."
"So that's why he visited Faldenhorf so suddenly." Prince Leron chuckled wryly. "Coward."
"You are not like him." Sangfroid put his hand above Leron's. "Do not blame yourself. When you spoke to the court that day, I knew you would be completely different from your father. You wanted to gain his appreciation because he is your parent, that's why you did it."
"No. That's not it." Prince Leron shook his head. "I am a coward, just like him."
Sangfroid squeezed his hand. "Your Highness—"
"I don't need his appreciation." Prince Leron said. "The reason I betrayed Crescentia was out of fear for my own life. When I was 10, he told me that he will pluck out my eyes if I do not become a spy for him, and gain the pity of the Crescentian royal family. When I got older, he told me that if I did not kill Vladstin, I would be burned alongside them."
Sangfroid was stunned by this revelation, not knowing what to say. He felt a wave of even greater anger than he did with Vladstin towards the king.
"So you see, I am also a coward always fearful of my life. Living in Crescentia was the best years I had." Prince Leron made circles on the glass with his thumb. "The Royal Family was benevolent to the common folk, because they believe that goodwill will be rewarded in their next life. Unlike us, they think that people can be born again and who they are in their next life depends on your goodwill. I was the one who introduced the concept of heaven and hell to Vladstin. I was fascinated by their culture just as much as they were fascinated with mine. We would talk for hours in the library and in the gardens, discoursing about anything under the sun."
Prince Leron sighed. "He was my closest friend."
Sangfroid suddenly felt envious. "Your closest friend?"
"Yes." Prince Leron suddenly noticed his foul expression. "What? Are you jealous?"
"I'm not." Sangfroid looked away. "You've spent longer time with the Prince of Crescentia so it only makes sense that you are closer to him."
Prince Leron laughed. "Still, you look so upset about it."
"It's nothing. I just wished I had spent more time with you so that I could be your closest friend." Sangfroid said.
"You are now. I don't have any friends other than you two anyway."
Sangfroid frowned. "You must be kidding."
"I'm not!" Prince Leron said. He hugged his knees. "Everyone in my childhood only approaches me because of my status as a prince. In Crescentia, I was an exile, a foreigner and yet I was treated like family. More than my actual family here. I didn't feel alone there..."
Sangfroid squeezed his hand, and Prince Leron appreciated the gesture of comfort. He looked softly at Sangfroid.
"Sangfroid, I have a favor to ask of you."
"What is it, Your Highness?" Sangfroid's one eye widened and he perked up.
Prince Leron gave him a sad smile when he said these words:
"When I turn, I want you to be the one to kill me."
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