LATER THAT DAY, the palace servants were running wild around the entirety of White Rose Palace. The King and Queen ordered the royal messenger to disperse the invitations to the three palaces and some acquaintances in the common folks.
The celebration for Prince Kyanite’s return will be held at night, for the convenience of the vampire royals. There were no problems between the humans and the vampires living together in one world. However, due to ‘some’ people, some fights are inevitable.
“His Highness’ favorite color is sky-blue! Sky-blue!” exclaimed the head servant to the one servant who misplaced a white decoration. Prince Kyanite couldn’t help but shake his head.
It’s been a while and he had also finished his side-mission, earning 70 points. He had met all the important figures of the White Rose Palace and conversed with them: the King, the Queen, his parents, his Cousin Crown Prince, his Cousin Princess, and of course, his most loyal subordinate. Right now, he had nothing else to do except play chess with Zeeno in his Zinnia House.
-
THE ROYAL MESSENGER of Cold Blood Palace received White Rose Palace’s invitation with a kind gesture. In a blink of an eye, Princess Aquamarine appeared beside the two and picked the white envelope from the hand of their palace’s messenger. She tore up the wax seal that held the emblem of White Rose Palace with a swift movement and stretched out the paper in front of her eyes.
“… would like to invite the Royal Family of Cold Blood Palace … evening … celebrate the return of Prince Kyanite to the White Rose … dinner … dance … WAAAHH!! WE ARE INVITED! WE ARE INVITED!” Princess Aquamarine cheered excitedly. One by one, the rest of the thirteen siblings gathered around her.
Prince Adventurine crossed his arms. “Don’t you know you’re too loud?”
“Did it specify who are invited?” asked the youngest, Prince Turquoise, in his juvenile voice.
“Yes, yes,” Princess Aquamarine replied while nodding. “It is stated here, ‘the Royal Family of Cold Blood Palace,’ so it is pretty nice to assume that it is all of us!”
“I would not go,” Prince Chalcedony coldly said.
She smacked his head, saying, “Spoilsport!”
“What? I held that Human Prince captive in our cellar. Do you think they will be glad to have my presence? More like, death awaits me there.”
Prince Actinolite, the sixth child, rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Stop your nonsense reasons, Ten. You are a Master of Disguise.”
“He is right,” seconded Princess Emerald, the seventh child. “Maybe change your appearance to a servant and blend in with the palace servants of White Rose.”
Prince Chalcedony huffed. “And be ordered around? No way; thank you.”
Before he could take his leave, the ground began to shrink as he got lifted higher and higher. He growled and glared at Prince Adventurine who had carried him by his underarms. The Ninth Prince stuck his tongue out at Prince Chalcedony as he continued using his flight ability. It didn’t take long before the Tenth Prince was spun around in the air by his older brother.
It was surprising that it took some time before Prince Chalcedony finally gave up. Usually, it only takes a few minutes using Prince Adventurine’s method to make the Tenth Prince agree to the majority.
-
PRINCE KYANITE STOOD up and stomped around. He pointed his folding fan at the chessboard, shouting, “How did I lose five games straight?!”
Zeeno held out his hands. “Your Highness, please calm down…”
“Calm down? Calm down?! NO! I’m not calm!”
He abruptly stopped as soon as the red System without the loud beeping noises appeared before his eyes.
【INTENSIVE WARNING! INTENSIVE WARNING! The actions and dialogues presented are almost OOC.】
The system minimized as he cleared his throat. He looked at Zeeno and said, “N-Never mind what I just did. That was too much.”
Zeeno was speechless and could only nod in response. Prince Kyanite approached the door and wore his boots. Although Zeeno had no idea what his prince will do, he wore his black boots and followed him out of the Zinnia House.
They stood in the Bamboo Pavilion for a couple of minutes without anyone daring to speak. Prince Kyanite filled his eyes with the beautiful view of the Yellow Tulip Lake while fanning himself in a graceful manner. Zeeno’s head shot up when he heard the sound of the fan being folded and slapped against the skin.
“Are there any rivers or bodies of water here in the north?” Prince Kyanite asked, his eyes gleaming.
In a panic, Zeeno grabbed his prince’s hand and exclaimed, “Do not!”
“Do not…?” Prince Kyanite wondered. He stared at Zeeno’s eyes before realizing what he had meant by that word and quickly dismissed the other’s thoughts about him taking suicide by drowning. Chuckling, he said, “I’m not gonna drown, okay? I happen to know how to swim now.”
This time, it was Zeeno who stared at Prince Kyanite with questioning eyes. “How did you learn to swim when you have despised attending swimming lessons since childhood?”
Prince Kyanite gulped and gave an awkward smile. “I-It just happened…”
Zeeno, then, gave him a ‘you are being suspicious’ look. Prince Kyanite turned his head away and cleared his throat. He stretched his arms out and awkwardly walked out of the Bamboo Pavilion. “Hah! It’s a nice day today! Wooh!”
Zeeno followed his prince, keeping his skeptical look on him. Just before Prince Kyanite took a step on the small bridge, Zeeno sharply grabbed his hand.
“Oh my God!” Prince Kyanite shrieked. “Hey! Hey! Zeeno! Stop pulling me!”
Zeeno seemed to hear nothing and continued pulling him back into the pavilion. He harshly dropped his prince’s hand and grabbed both his shoulders. He was slightly taller than Prince Kyanite and his hands were large.
“People who had amnesia do not act and speak so very different from who they really are. After walking around the White Rose Palace, is it really true that you remembered nothing? If it were another person, I would believe. But you? Your Highness, you grew up in this place. Even with your eyes closed, you would not get lost around White Rose Palace. Being back here must have brought back even a few pieces of your memories. Unless…”
Zeeno leaned his face closer, staring straight into the light gold eyes. Prince Kyanite tensed; his hand clenched tightly on the folding fan and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
“…you remembered nothing because, in the first place, you never knew about this place?”