The news of Adam, the commander of the right wing going to Barlow as a bridge between Grithda and Barlow's alliance relationship had spread throughout the entire citizens. Many of them regretted why a knight as great as Adam had to go there, and many wondered why a kingdom as splendid as Barlow only asked for one man.
Barlow a magnificent kingdom, only asked one omega knight to come to their kingdom.
It made a lot of people wonder.
They certainly weren't underestimating their knight commander, but it was very surprising that the crown prince of Barlow, a wealthy and magnificent kingdom, asked for nothing but one.
One man. An omega. It certainly sparked question after question that went unanswered.
Not to mention that Barlow was famous for its conservative ideology where omega could not work inside the palace, Barlow Palace was only filled with alpha and beta. It was strictly forbidden for the omegas to approach their palace grounds even an inch. For hundreds of years, the kings and queens of the Barlow kingdom never married an omega. Always marrying another alpha. Making their family lineage purely filled with alphas.
Rumors and gossip abounded, both positive and negative rumors— it was a shame Adam had sharp ears. Day by day he grew more and more agitated even though he put up a strong front, acting as if the noises had never bothered him.
The days passed quickly in a blink of an eye, in the morning Queen Yelan called him to the back garden, her favorite place. Adam who had trouble sleeping for days opened his eyes heavily, maybe he only slept for 2 hours last night. The servant who had woken him left after sending the message, and Adam, who had just woken up, frowned while stretching his body, rubbing his eyes which still felt heavy from lack of sleep. Adam stood up, walked to the kitchen to make a coffee as strong as poison, downing it in one gulp.
"Tomorrow is the day." He muttered, washing his face with cold water so he could feel more sober.
Walking down the hallway, he did not miss the way people were stealing glances, and that only made Adam's mood worse, could they just pretend they did not see him? Just mind your own business, he grumbled, hastening his steps until he reached the back garden.
Green trees and blooming flowers filled the beautiful garden, in the center of which was a table and chairs, Queen Yelan there sitting quietly waiting for Adam to come while reading a book, the sunlight shining on her presence made her look like an angel even in her old age she looked so elegant and beautiful.
When Queen Yelan's eyes saw Adam walking up to her, she motioned him to sit in front of her. Calling the maid to pour him tea, a warm smile was on her lips and Adam also replied with a smile.
Respectfully lowered his head, he again looked at Queen Yelan. Waiting for the queen to speak first.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Tilting her head as she looked at him straight in the eye, Queen Yelan then laughed. "Haha, you don't have to lie to me, Adam. How long have I known you? I've been watching you since you were a kid, look at your eye bags. God."
Reflexively rubbing under his eyes, and let out a grunt. Queen Yelan laughed again at Adam's reaction as if he did not want his weakness to be seen. "This decision will be hard on you. You will be going into completely unknown territory, Barlow, under the control of the crown prince Jacob."
"If it is for the good of the Grithda kingdom then I have absolutely no objections to going there, Your Majesty."
"I want to say something that will make you feel better, no, I don't know if it will make you feel better. I just want to say that you don't have to worry, Adam. I've spoken a lot with Prince Jacob and your safety is guaranteed there."
Adam nodded, even if Queen Yelan didn't say that, it didn't matter, well maybe he would feel a bit nervous as a human being, however even if Queen Yelan asked him to go to a dangerous island for Grithda's safety, he would definitely obey the order without a second thought.
"Although I don't know what his plan is, he said he would grant you wealth and privilege as the first omega to enter Barlow's palace."
At Queen Yelan's words, Adam accidentally choked, he coughed, and smacked his chest a little trying to calm down so he would not cough again in front of a queen.
What? He would give Adam wealth? What did he do to deserve that? He was merely a knight of the Grithda kingdom, an omega.
Looking worriedly at Adam who almost spilled his tea, Queen Yelan handed him a handkerchief. Adam bowed his head, took the handkerchief then wiped his mouth in embarrassment.
"He will also aid our nation in the war, reopening the trade and border between Grithda and Barlow, that young man Prince Jacob— hah, if king Jonas were still alive none of this would be possible."
Huh? He went so far for Grithda just because he brought one omega knight to Barlow .. somehow it made Adam even more nervous.
What kind of work would he do there later? Would he be enslaved? Damn it, but if that could keep Grithda nation safe then Adam certainly would not complain.
"Also, Adam...." Queen Yelan tucked her black hair behind her ears, she smiled but there was sadness dancing behind her eyes. Adam pretended not to notice. After all, it was Queen Yelan who indirectly raised him in this place, and Adam wanted to return the favor as best as he could. "If there's any problem feel free to tell me, by letter or by coming here on your day off. Ah ... I don't want to show my pitiful self to you. I wish there was some other way than this."
"I will. I will stop by here often. You don't need to worry, Your Majesty."
They were silent for a moment, filled only by the sound of birds chirping and the sound of leaves being blown by the wind, enjoying the beautiful view of the garden surrounded with colorful flowers.
Moments later he heard Queen Yelan hum, a hum that Adam would often hear when he was little, reminding him of the time Queen Yelan often stopped by the orphanage to visit the children there, humming the same tune. Adam raised his head to look at Queen Yelan who was looking at the sky. His heart felt warm as if embraced by the melody.
*
Whispers were heard from a distance and the people lowered their eyes and stepped aside with pale face, Harris frowned, his head suddenly throbbing, confused because the guy who was now walking in front of him somehow decided to do this.
Okay, it did not mean Harris forbade this behavior but this was already the third time the two of them had come to this place.
Prince Jacob, standing in the middle of the street, strolled casually ignoring the citizens who were nervous about his presence. The people seemed to freeze in silent, bowing their heads as their body trembling. Jacob, as if oblivious to the fear and nervousness of the people around him, was still walking leisurely towards the place he was looking for.
Bookstore. Prince Jacob checked the bookstore again.
He had been around Prince Jacob for years, having grown up with him at the same age, and recently Prince Jacob's behavior had confused Harris. No. He did not want to protest at all because what Prince Jacob was doing was actually a very normal thing for every human being to do, but seeing Prince Jacob who always lived with a face as if nothing amused him with those permanent cold eyes, like he thought everything around him was boring— Prince Jacob's face had been a little livelier lately.
He did not know what was the reason, but now they were both standing in front of the bookstore. In Dorsa territory, western part of Barlow.
"Your Highness... W-what do you want to look for here... I—"
"Hmmm.." Jacob muttered in front of the booth, ignoring the poor bookstore owner who was sweating nervously, his eyes scanning at every book on the shelf.
After several minutes of circling each side of the bookshelves, with the hapless shopkeeper standing confused and hunched over, Jacob left the store without a word.
"Your Highness?"
"There's nothing here either…" Jacob muttered to himself, then sighed in disappointment. Harris followed behind him, although he asked several times what his purpose was for making his rounds of bookstores and libraries on each side of Barlow's territory, Prince Jacob was silent, ignoring him, only staring at him with raised eyebrows.
"Your Highness, I've accompanied you around almost everyday... exactly what are you looking for?"
An expressionless face and cold blue eyes looked at Harris who had a questioning face, he was thinking and his eyes narrowed for a moment however his mouth did not move— still tightly shut, and at that Harris was getting more and more impatient.
As if he did not hear Harris's question. Jacob untied the horse's rope, stroked the horse's fur before finally getting on it. Harris also quickly got on his horse to follow him.
--What the hell is on Prince Jacob's mind right now?
Harris could not hold back his curiosity anymore, almost everyday Prince Jacob took a walk around the Barlow area which instead made the usually bustling atmosphere of the streets market instantly quiet.
Harris sped up his horse until he was side by side with Prince Jacob. Harris lowered his voice, "Jacob you're scaring your people...."
Glancing at Harris, Jacob looked around. "Why? Why are they scared?"
Prince Jacob finally spoke up when Harris called his name. He always told Harris to talk like a normal friend, but how could Harris be like that in public? After all, he was merely an ordinary knight, there was no way he could address the future king of Barlow by his name.
"It's because you're a future king, also your succession ceremony is near."
Snorting, Jacob quickened his horse's pace. Even though Prince Jacob's face looked calm as usual— Harris had known Jacob for a long time so he noticed the little change in the man's mood, just like now, people who did not closely know him for a long time, probably would not notice that Prince Jacob's gaze was different, as if he was disappointed about something.