Noah was visiting the confectionary shop to meet up with his friend Hadeem. He entered the store with a smile.
"Sob...Sob... Why? My father..."
Only to find Hadeem, crying on the floor. Noah quickly ran towards his friend and asked.
"Hadeem? What happened?"
"Uh? Noah? Uhee~!"
Hadeem hugged Noah, who was crouched near him.
"Th-They took my father!"
"Who?!"
"Some soldiers took my father!"
"Where?"
"I don't know! He just said 'Don't worry.' and left!"
Noah froze for a minute, and then took something out of his pocket. It was the emblem of the Vyolor family his father told him to carry in case he needed something to prove his identity.
"Hadeem, look at this."
Hadeem stared at the Vyolor family emblem, which was in the shape of a swan carrying a sword while flying, and he jerked. Noticing this, Noah asked.
"Did you see this shape?"
"Y-Yes..."
Noah's face hardened, and he quickly got up.
"Hadeem, I have something to ask to my dad. Can I go for a while?"
"Huh? O-Okay..."
Noah quickly got out of the shop and ran towards the mansion.
*****
"Sigh~"
Felyp was grumpy today, because he was forced to do something he never wanted to. He felt powerless against the Emperor, because of his position as a noble.
He wanted to oppose the Emperor, but he had way too many things to lose that he couldn't risk, no matter what. His family was used to force him to go against his morals. He was starting to hate himself for being so weak.
Bam!
The door to his room flung open, and at the other side was Noah out of breath with an angry face.
"Dad!"
"What happened Noah?"
Felyp was startled to see his son this angry.
"Why did you do...?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Why did you took Hadeem's dad?!"
Felyp's face darkened, and he clenched his fists in anger and sadness.
'I knew it... I am sorry Noah... I am sorry...'
"Th-That's..."
Even though he was a proper adult now, he felt suffocated under the weight of his guilt and powerlessness.
"I am sorry Noah. I had no choice, I did it to protect you..."
"What did you do?!"
"I-I was forced to send his father to war..."
"Huh? B-B-But, the monster died, didn't it?"
"It did."
"Then why-!"
"Because another king attacked us."
"Wh-why? Does he not know about the monster?"
"No, he knew... That's why he did it."
"What? Isn't he a noble as well?! Isn't he supposed to care about commoners?!"
"Noah... I know you don't understand..."
"Tell me! Why?"
"...Noble's aren't great like you think they are. They are just lucky families."
"Wh-Why? Didn't you say, we have to look after and lead the people?"
"That was a lie, I'm sorry. You will learn how greedy they are when you grow up."
"Then what's the purpose of protecting me?", said Noah as he left the office.
The doubts in his mind were gone. Even though he didn't know much, he felt it. All his admiration for noble's was gone already. He was already questioning what it meant to be born a noble, and now he came to a conclusion.
'I didn't choose this, and I don't want to be a noble...'
He walked towards the shop where Hadeem was. He found Hadeem just outside the shop, kicking a pebble on the ground. He approached Hadeem.
"Hadeem!"
"! Noah..."
Noah quickly walked towards Hadeem, and apologized.
"H-Hadeem. I-I asked my d-dad, and he said th-they took your father to the w-war..."
"Huh?"
"I am sorry."
"Wh-Why are you a-apologizing?"
"Th-The Margrave is my d-dad... and he told me he h-had to take y-your f-father... t-to protect m-me..."
Noah clenched his fist in sadness. He could barely squeeze out those words without crying, and the only response he got was silence. So he opened his eyes to see Hadeem's reaction.
Hadeem was staring blankly at his face. Then, Noah saw Hadeem's hand rise from his side.
"T-to protect... you..?"
Hadeem's hand moved towards Noah's face, as Noah could only focus on the upcoming slap and close his eyes... but nothing came. Noah opened his eyes, and saw Hadeem staring at him with fear while holding his hand with the other one just four fingers away from his face.
Hadeem stared at his hand for a while, and then looked back at the friend who he learned was a noble just now. He remembered the soldiers who took his father and looked at his hand.
'I-If my hand reached his face... Would they take me too?'
Hadeem was scared of his friend, and averted his eyes from Noah's face. He noticed the two guards looking at him from a distance. They were Noah's guards. Their equipment were identical to the soldiers from yesterday, and Hadeem blanked out. When he came back to himself, Hadeem found himself running away from Noah.
Noah silently watched his friend run away from him in fear. That day, a seed of hate was planted inside Noah. A hatred for nobles.
He would go to the battlefield at the Werga Mountains. While the soldiers were defending the Empire, Noah would observe the nobles. While hiding the hatred in his eyes, he used his age to talk with many noblemen.
When the defensive war near the mountains ended with the Empire's victory, Noah followed his father to the other side of the border. He observed how the nobles conducted the siege.
During the day, Noah would observe the nobles, who he considered to be his enemies at this point, and at night, he would suffer from nightmares of the day he saw how his friend was scared of him. He would wake up covered in sweat, and his throat dry from apologizing in his sleep.
This went on for the two months the war continued, after a peace treaty was signed, with the Armilat Kingdom paying money to the Empire as compensation.
Noah would grow up despising the people who gave human life monetary value. Only after returning home, he could cool his anger, and a while after his anger subsided, the nightmares went away for the most part. Noah grew up, and decided to plan for the future with an ambition to end nobility.
*****
"I am sorry.... I am sorry..."
"He is still apologizing..."
Clair, Corvin and Amy were looking at Noah, who passed out about two hours ago. While unconscious, Noah suddenly started to apologize with a pained expression on his face. The three have been waiting for him to wake up and discuss what to do next.
Then, Noah suddenly opened his eyes. He was laying down on Clair's lap, and the moment he saw her face, he suddenly jumped up, hugged her neck and started to cry while whispering apologies to someone. Clair froze for a moment, but then came back to herself when she heard his sobs, and she started to caress his hair.
Corvin looked at the two, and then nudged Amy. When Amy looked at him, he pointed towards the couple with his thumb.
"Should we leave them alone for now?", he said with a slight smile.
"Yeah... Let's do that.", answered Amy.