Zoemi's life in the duke Espine's castle had officially begun.
The first problem that the boy and his father faced, was the lack of space for the boy in Mizoe's quarter – mainly because the pale-blue-haired knight had been living the single's life in the single tiny room in the barracks...
Therefore, so that the black-haired boy could live together with his father, it was arranged for them to move from barracks to the inner castle after only a few hours of Mizoe reporting the problem to the duke.
Both father and son were happy with such a turn of events.
As Zoemi got used to the new surroundings, Mizoe started teaching him sword-fighting and basic knowledge.
The boy was giving his all to all of those activities and his hard work made his adoptive father proud.
The black-haired boy was slowly getting used to this new, safe world, where he was never hungry - now was facing the opposite 'problem'.
In the Espine's castle, he could eat as much as he wanted, even to the point that his stomach would burst!
Then, after a month had passed, Zoemi's appearance finally changed from a scarecrow into a healthy young boy.
His hair which was never properly trimmed or cut, grew longer and his father arranged them for him in a ponytail.
Zoemi had to agree that this hairstyle looked surprisingly good on him while Mizoe could feel his heart melting over how cute his son looked.
One day, when the two of them were returning from morning training and going to the dining hall inside, they saw a group of soldiers surrounding a gold-encrusted carriage entering through the gate.
"Royal escorts? But why...?"
Mizoe mumbled in surprise – after all, there were no messengers had arrived beforehand and an unexpected visit from someone from the royal family could mean there was something bad going on and there's a need for someone from the royal family to discuss the matter with a duke as soon as possible.
Yet, while the pale-blue-haired knight was worried, Zoemi face brightened as he realized that it wasn't anything dangerous – something exactly opposite actually – the sudden visit could only mean one thing - his plan worked!
And the young black-haired boy was correct.
As soon as the carriage door was opened the person who came out was none other than the first prince Horeo.
The gold-haired boy looked around and once he spotted Zoemi he started waving at him with a bright proud smile.
"The prince!"
Mizoe kneeled instantly at the sight of the approaching Horeo.
"Zoemi, I came to visit Miriette!"
The prince ran towards Zoemi, grabbed his hands, and started to shake them vigorously, too excited to even notice the kneeling knight.
"My prince! W-welcome it's a grea..."
Surprised Zoemi stuttered and tried to kneel down just like his father but the prince didn't allow him to do so.
"What are you doing? You are my friend, you don't have to kneel when you see me!"
"?!??!"
At the prince's word Zoemi became even more confused, he, of course, planned for supporting Horeo and Miriette but once again, he planned to do it from the shadows.
"Come with me! You know your way around this castle, right? It's time for breakfast so duke Espine should be eating together with his family - lead me to them!"
The first prince who was in an especially good mood wasn't bothered by Zoemi's awkwardness and started pulling him towards the front entrance.
The gold-haired prince had learned about the duke eating meals together with his family from one of his attendants on the way to the castle – and was very excited about it for whatever reason.
"Well, who would have known...?"
Mizoe looked between the leaving children and the prince's escort, but the knights and attendants looked just as surprised as he was.
After entering the castle it was Zoemi's turn to lead the prince.
At first, he was afraid that the way to the dining room where the duke was would be just as awkwardly silent as the ride in a carriage together with Miriette - but that assumption turned out to be completely wrong.
"Zoemi! My father praised me for asking him to visit my fiancé on my own! He said that I was behaving like a true man!"
Horeo was absolutely elated and boasted to Zoemi in high spirits.
"Father was getting worried that I still haven't awakened to magic, but he looked very happy when I asked him for permission to come here! And it's all thanks to you!"
The young prince's golden eyes were sparkling and Zoemi blushed a little from being thanked so honestly.
"No, my prince, I haven't done anything special, it's you who has done everything... Ah, we're here."
Two boys were already standing in front of the right door and Zoemi wanted to just go back to his father but was once again stopped by Horeo.
The first prince had a firm grip on his arm and the thought of letting the black-haired boy go didn't even cross his mind.
"Umm... my prince...?"
Before Zoemi could protest two maids came running and opened the door for them.
Children entered the magnificent dining room...
Duke Doregon Flemes Espine, his wife Misena Rissa Espine, and his daughter Miriette Lisea Espine, were all waiting for them in front of the table full of food.
It may have been a sudden visit but such a thing couldn't surprise powerful fire attribute wielder like duke Espine, after all, he had the help of his wife whose wind attribute was as strong as the fire attribute.
Anyone who knew of this couple's power was not at all surprised how powerful their daughter turned up to be.
"Duke Espine, Lady Espine, Miriette."
The first prince bowed his head and greeted his hosts while showing a great familiarity with his fiancé by calling out to her by using her first name.
"...!"
Meanwhile, Zoemi was scared out of his mind.
He couldn't get to his knees since before entering the dining room, the young prince changed his grip from Zoemi's wrist to Zoemi's arm which meant that if the black-haired boy tried to kneel down, he would pull the prince down together with him and if he would make the prince fall, it would be very bad...!
...but at the same time, even though Horeo was fine with Zoemi not kneeling down in his presence, the black-haired boy could not act like that towards the duke!
Zoemi's father, after all, was employed by the duke and Zoemi not kneeling as a greeting would be considered more than just rude – yet with the precarious position he has found himself into because of Horeo's grip – as causing the young prince to fall down would be even greater offense than not bowing to the duke – the black-haired boy chose the hopefully best option available and just bow down as much as he was able to – without inconveniencing the prince - and prayed for the duke to be in a good enough mood to not mind that lack of proper greetings towards him.