When the sun reached its peak, the second Prince was woken from a long dream. His eyes were misty as he blinked them open. Seeing that it was his cousin who woke him, the hint of annoyance calmed, replacing it with a pitifully wronged expression.
Ulfstead didn't actually want to wake the kid; he must have been tired from having to get up at dawn. Growing children needed their sleep, but it was time for lunch. If there was something his second brother disliked more than being woken up early, it was missing a meal.
Prince Lyfette sat up in displeasure and held out his palms for the palace attendant to carry him. Seeing this, the Prince's guilt toward this little brother dissipated. Grasping the chubby hand instead, he yanked the lazy child out of his seat.
"Cousin, what are you doing?" The second prince whined.
Ulfstead felt his eye twitch. "How old are you? You actually want to be carried? I may have turned a blind eye and let you sleep through class, but don't think you can become a pig that can't even use his legs." He must discipline the boy now or he will definitely dance on the top of their heads in the future.
Prince Lyfette pouted, but still followed his Cousin brother's orders. Who told him to be born second? According to the ancestors, disobeying the older brother was equivalent to disobeying the father. Even the four year old knew this.
Leaving their small study, the two princes headed to the dining hall where they'd meet with the King. Since the second prince began taking lessons with Ulfstead, the two had the same schedule. The only difference was that at the end of the day, the second prince was returned to the General's mansion, which though wasn't far, must have been awfully lonely.
Ulfstead would have much preferred that his cousin brother stayed with him in his residence. A year ago, His Majesty had finally kicked the son out of his chambers, and moved him to the East Palace.
This was a direct punch to parties opposing him as the crown prince. The West Palace was the Imperial power while the East Palace symbolized the heir apparent. His Majesty hadn't announced anything, but how many hints did he have to give for others to realize that the eldest son was going to be the Crown Prince?
Disregarding the symbolism, the move wasn't a big one and in line with the standards of the royal family. If the palace was a normal home in modern day, it would be the equivalent to a child sleeping with his parents to changing to their own twin-sized bed.
Ulfstead didn't have any choice in the matter. He much rather have moved to a small courtyard on the outskirts than a place that had more vacant rooms than a sea-side hotel in the rainy season. Sadly, no one cared for his opinion this time.
The boys took a quick detour to through one of the many courtyards. The sun touched their skin, feeling nice after sitting inside for most of the day. Ulfstead found this life rather magical.
Sometimes, it felt like everything from his quality of life to the smells he breathed in were ten times more enhanced. But, don't get him wrong. This life was in no way perfect.
Throughout the past few years, not everything had been a walk in the garden. The Imperial Palace is well guarded, but how could it be possible for not even a bug to fly through? The best example was the day he was born.
He was a modern person who's natural instincts were dulled from peace. He was oblivious to the small details that were a threat to him until the 'strange' events started to escalate.
Such as that time at peak of winter when the fire went out and his father 'by chance' was away, resulting in a month long cold. Such as the time when he 'slipped' into the bath and almost drowned. Such as the time when an arrow 'accidentally' swooshed by his head.
As the supposed heir, Ulfstead now had a sign on his back, saying 'kill' rather than the simple and much preferred 'kick me'.
So, what the hell was he doing acting smart and pretending to be a genius? Why not play dumb and act stupid?
Ulfstead looked back at his second brother. The little thing looked like a sloth walking with his eyes half closed. Ulfstead had horrible instincts, but he really worried about this cousin of his.
Before, Ulfstead thought that maybe it was for the best for him to be put in this position, at least for now with the attention on him, the second prince could grow up safely. But then, he'd remember that this world was never simple or kind. Both hands were shitty in their own ways, his cousin's (un)arguably worse.
When they were younger, the King was adamant on having the prince separate , saying the second prince must recognize his home. Ulfstead couldn't understand his father's reasoning for this and he doubted he ever could. It even caused a bit of tension between the father and son.
Each time the King denied his own flesh and blood, Ulfstead was reminded of his past life. How easy could this have been him? It made him sad to know that the King was not much different from his birth parents who abandoned him. Maybe they had their reasons; Ulfstead liked to think so. But it didn't change the fact that their absence was an ongoing ache in his chest.
Ulfstead wasn't a complete fool. The King had taken a fancy to him by chance and only by chance. If Ulfstead was ever thought to be useless.. If the truth were ever to be revealed... The boy's eyes flickered slightly under the bright sun. The complications in his heart were ironic.
He wondered how his father would react...
Ulfstead couldn't change the King's ways, but at the very least, he could take care of Lyfette. He didn't want the child turning out like the past him, a lone ghost walking in the world.
Because Lyfette had yet to officially meet his adoptive mother and father, he was still technically under the care of his 'uncle.' And as the King didn't even spare any time for his daughters, why would he treat the second prince who he ruthlessly gave away any differently?
In the beginning, not everyone understood the second prince was worth. He was a royal son, yet he was kicked out of the palace as soon as he was born. It was dictated that when the Hellebore King and Southern Belleflower married, the two would ceremoniously adopt him. Later, a long time passed since the King's decree and neither party seemed to have any intentions of coming to pick up this son.
The people following the situation thought, 'If neither marry, wouldn't this mean the second prince would remain an 'orphan'?' How embarrassing was this for the small child?
Thought to be unwanted, the servants of the General's mansion became dissatisfied with this 'young master'. The King had stuffed in his child to control the King of Hellebore, right? Their master was being threatened with the existence of this prince, right? Their overactive imaginations overrode the fact that the second prince was just a baby. Dissatisfaction turned into neglect and even an outsider could see something was wrong. It was no wonder why the child was always quiet.
Ulfstead had an inkling would happen. And unlike his father who was blasé toward all his children except the first son, Ulfstead actually cared. His older sisters were mistreated when their mother's were deposed.
Through the instigation of powerful concubines, servants had the courage to bully them because they no longer had a mother's protection. The Harem was rich, but the greed of humans was endless. Even poor princesses like his fifth sister were beaten down so the others would shine in their father's eyes. It was too bad their efforts were like playing the lute to a deaf cow.
Once, when Ulfstead was barely able to speak, he heard his lovely fifth sister crying after being wronged. Servants had actually dared to steal the small fruits from Pelebin that Ulfstead had given her. Without the tigress the cub will be bullied by the vultures.
Eventually, Ulfstead helped his sister regain favor by revealing his literacy, saying that it was the fifth girl who taught him. His Majesty from then on looked at this daughter much more kindly. His fifth sister became a little celebrity known and earned the title of 'learned lady'.
Unfortunately there were more cases like these, not all with happy ending. It was just too hard convincing his father that each of them was special. The King had many wives and children but His Majesty was like a cloud; his rain will never spread equally over the fields. The prevalent fact was that if His Majesty did not care for someone, it was easy to step on them, sometimes it was even welcome. Pairing this with the confused servants of the General's mansion, it seemed that the baby had no one.
The young Ulfstead believed he was responsible for this cousin even if none of this was actually his fault. Thus, when he was barely a year and a half years old, he made a decision to 'raise' this cousin better than a real younger brother. He was going to raise him as a son!