"What did you just call him?" Prince Magnus asked, his voice shaking. "He said 'bestie', my dear brother," Leopold replied with a grin on his face, "You chose the wrong person to bribe." I was slightly relieved that I no longer had to deal with Prince Magnus directly but was also a little annoyed that everyone was now paying attention to me.
Magnus was at a loss for words. The atmosphere went silent for a few seconds, with not a sound, even from the crickets outside. All of a sudden, there was a huge shift in pressure. Magnus' purple eyes turned black, and I felt a dark aura exuding from him. Despite being very subtle, it was noticed by some of the guests. For some reason, it felt like a completely different being. I put my hand on my sword, ready to engage if required.
"My lord!" Someone shouted from the crowd. The aura vanished. His eyes turned purple once more, and he seemed to have regained his senses. The owner of the voice came forward. It was an old man, probably in his sixties, with snow-white hair and jet-black eyes. His pale, wrinkled skin made it seem as if he was ill. Magnus turned to stare at the man for a few seconds, before looking back to face me.
"I apologise, Lord Herz. It seems that I lost my composure and caused a commotion. I will excuse myself from this party. Once again, a very happy birthday to you." Saying this, Magnus took his leave, with his guards and the old man in tow. Within seconds, the crowd dispersed and I was left alone on the balcony with Leopold. I was a little rattled, but glad that exchange was over.
"What was that about?" I asked my best friend. "I don't know. But whatever it was, it was very weird." He replied. "But don't worry about it right now. It's your birthday, and we are going to celebrate our hearts out!" I smiled. Nobody knew how to cheer me up better than Leopold.
I had known Leopold for almost ten years. We first met when I joined the Royal Academy. Leopold was a man like no other. Even in the early years, he showed great promise when it came to all sorts of fighting styles, even competing with me when it came to swordsmanship. His strength in school was unrivaled, and though he lacked a little in strategic understanding and quick thinking, he more than made up for it with all the latest social and political updates.
I respected Leopold immensely and had taken an oath to serve him a long time ago. Despite this, he continued to treat me as a friend rather than a follower. While this is a good thing, Leopold is unable to understand when and where he must act like a prince, which has affected his political standing among the lesser nobles.
I put my arm around Leopold's neck and proceeded to chew him out for being late. "Hey, I said I'm sorry. It really wasn't my fault this time. The demon subjugation took more time than expected because we had a lot of new recruits joining in today."
"Keep making excuses, but you never actually show up on time."
"That's not true!"
"Really? When was the last time you showed up on time?"
"As the first prince of this nation, I prohibit you from ever asking that question again."
"That's what I thought."
I smiled once more. Conversations like these were exactly why I loved spending time with Leopold. After everything that we have been through together, we are brothers in almost every sense.
While we were enjoying ourselves, I noticed a girl, around my age, come out to the balcony. At first, I couldn't see her face clearly because of the bright lights behind her, but as she got closer, her face became clearer. One proper look at her face and I was awestruck. I had never seen a more beautiful person in my life. Her long dark pink hair flowed flawlessly along her fair skin. Her red gown looked exquisite, almost as if it was made by God himself. Her turquoise eyes sparkled as she looked directly at me. The blinding light behind her gave her body a glowing outline, making her look like an angel descended from heaven.
Looking at her walking toward me, there was only one thought that raced through my mind. "Holy shit. She is beautiful."
Her face turned red. "Th- thank you, Lord Herz." I paled in horror. Did I say it out loud? I was panicking but managed to maintain my composure. Leopold leaned closer and whispered to me, "Oh? It seems like someone is in love." Emphasizing heavily on the last word. I was tempted to punch him in the face to wipe off that grin he was wearing, but I chose to deal with him later. I pushed him off me and took a step forward.
"Sorry for that miss. It appears I was thinking out loud." I bowed down, trying to hide the blush on my face. "It's alright, Lord Herz." She smiled, "I did not expect you to be so bold, it caught me off guard."
She took a deep breath, gave a slight bow, and continued speaking. "Happy birthday to you, Lord Herz. My name is Freya Wynrel, daughter of Duncan Wynrel."
"Thank you very much Miss Wynrel. You don't have to be so formal; we are around the same age. Call me Valerio." I replied.
"Very well. In that case, Valerio, you may call me Freya."
"As you wish, Freya."
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Freya bowed once more, turned around and walked out. I couldn't help but stare at her as she walked away from me. Her hair swayed with the light breeze as she walked back into the party hall.
As soon as she left, I felt my legs give out. Luckily, Leopold caught me in time and helped me back up. Because of the adrenaline, I hadn't noticed my legs struggling to hold me up. The nervousness was getting to me, and when she left, my body relaxed, resulting in my sudden fall.
"So, care to explain what that was all about?" Leopold snickered. "Who is she?" I asked, not paying attention to what Leopold was saying.
"That young lady is Freya Wynrel, daughter of Duncan Wynrel, ambassador from the Light Elf tribe that resides in the Northern Forest. I'm surprised you haven't heard of her, considering how her father works directly with your father."
"I'm in love with her," I said.
"You JUST met her!" He retorted.
"I know. But I felt a connection. I can feel it." I replied, fantasizing about our happy married life together.
Leopold sighed. "As much as I'd love to see that happen, it won't be that easy. You see, Freya is actually engaged to Magnus."
I could feel something break inside me. Despite just meeting her, I felt…weak.
"But that doesn't mean we can't make it happen." Leopold cheerfully declared. I looked at him, confused. "What do you mean? He is royalty. I can't compete against him."
"But that's where you're wrong. You are already competing against him by taking my side in the battle for the crown."
"That's a completely different thing."
"Not really. The only reason why Freya has gotten engaged to him is because of his corrupt nature. He threatened to cut all ties with the Light Elf tribe if she refused to marry him. And knowing his nature, it wouldn't even be much of a stretch to say that the bastard would take hostile action against them."
I was upset. Despite not knowing Magnus personally, I had heard of him from Leopold. This sounded like something he would do. "So how do we solve that problem?" He quizzed me.
I looked at him with a maniacal grin on my face. "I think it's about time we made you King."