The royals of the country stared at the destruction brought by the invasion. However, the king only held his hands behind him. "That's true, but our country is far too distant from the other countries. It would be hard to evacuate to other places without meeting death. We can only fortify our defenses as long as we have people to protect. Moreover, we are mining underground. If we find water again…"
The ward nodded and only listened to the king's plan. However, he glanced at the first prince, who kept on staring in the tower's direction. Even Kanaru and Gannett were gazing at the changed view.
Soon enough, Rodnir looked as well. The colossal thing watching over the country was gone in a few seconds. Even if the top half was dropped to the ground as well, it would be impossible to rebuild it without the technology of the digital age.
"The tower…" the queen murmured as she realized where the important people were looking. She then remembered Kanaru's visions concerning that tower. "Kanaru…"
"Hmm? Uhm, sure. I'll help His Grace with cleaning up." Kanaru figured out what those subsequent gazes on him meant. He just made use of Rodnir as an excuse.
There was no helping it if the communications tower was destroyed in an instant. It didn't matter if Kanaru worked on it for the last ten years… or if he thought it would give Burdett a massive advantage. Nothing could be done; the tower was gone.
No need to dwell on it anymore.
…
"We can't give you the luxury to soak in a bath. Water is a precious resource we can't use in other things aside from drinking." Kanaru chuckled in apology as he scrubbed the cloth against Rodnir's neck. "But I found this place. The water here is not suitable for drinking, but it's not dirty either. Who knows? Maybe if I can build a proper filtration system, we can make use of this…"
"You can barely fill a bucket with it, however." Rodnir let his hand on the shallow stream where he was sitting. "It would take more than this pressure to have this as an alternative."
Instead of a luxurious bath in the castle, the ward and the third prince found themselves in a secluded cave. It was a short walk from the castle's back gate, but they had to fly down the cliff. The rock formations were suggestive of it being an underwater tunnel, but it was almost dried up by then. What Kanaru found was only a shallow two-inch-deep stream running along the bed.
As for using it as a source of water, they couldn't build the necessary machinery to gather water and transport it. They couldn't also have manpower going down there to collect water. Only the royal family had enough mutation to develop wings among their people.
That being said, the tunnel was left as the third prince's secret bath. With the communications tower destroyed, this was the only place he could stay if he wanted to do something.
"I found books from the last era about machines we can build, but we don't have the resources to do so. We can barely supply anything to the people." Kanaru chuckled and soaked the cloth to wash it. "We can't neglect the castle, either, as it stands as the only defensive keep if ever we get attacked."
"Middlemist has no trouble sharing resources or machines with other countries, but securing them during transport is the worst. Some countries and bandit groups tend to attack caravans delivering parts or whatever." Rodnir sighed and moved his head, letting Kanaru clean his body from the blood. He didn't even mind having someone's hands on him.
He could notice how Kanaru was slowly feeling awkward with his actions. However, he only continued to speak to fend off the silence. "That was why Middlemist had to enter into a lot of trade contracts. It can only provide for those who can help with the transport. The lesser and distant countries could only suffer. It's better for them to move closer or develop other ways to live."
Kanaru nodded and assented with a hum. He had heard about this from Covey. Even the supposed wise advisers gave this as an excuse. The older Kanaru got, the more he realized it was the reality they faced when Burdett was established away from Middlemist.
"I think most lesser countries knew that. Otherwise, we would be saying bad things about Middlemist for running a monopoly on most resources. It's even only trading with other rich countries." Kanaru chuckled, hiding his blush as he got to Rodnir's shoulders. The man's arms were sculpted from the strong muscles that were natural for a unicorn to possess.
"Well, King Fenris did give the lesser countries other avenues to secure resources for themselves." Rodnir hummed as he watched Kanaru hesitantly washing his arms. He could tell from Kanaru's gaze that he wasn't annoyed or disgusted; he was just hesitant to touch Rodnir's skin. After all, Rodnir was a high-ranking unicorn.
However, when their topic shifted to the concubines, Kanaru stopped altogether. He lifted his eyes and met Rodnir's gaze. "You were placed in danger because of us. Am I still allowed to enter the harem court? Also, do you think… King Fenris will be interested in me?"
Rodnir only stared back at the third prince. He was so used to princes avoiding this kind of fate, yet he was faced with someone who could ask that question without looking away. Moreover, Kanaru was asking about getting into the king's harem court.
At this, Rodnir only hummed. "…the ambassadors are only here to assess candidates and provide them safe passage to Middlemist. Getting into the inner harem court is dependent on your own charms. King Fenris's harem court is a complicated system. Then again, with your intelligence, I'm pretty sure you can navigate it pretty well.
"As for him getting interested…" Rodnir chuckled and used a hand to rub Kanaru's cheek. "Why? Do you want to sleep with the king?"
"…! I…!" Kanaru shrieked and shrunk as his palms were left stuck to Rodnir's upper arms. His fingers would even press and lift against the skin. "I mean… I don't know how to behave in that kind of situation. I just heard he gives more resources to those he visits at night. It doesn't have to be nighttime, too. The thought of getting visited… it's not like I can prepare for that."
Rodnir laughed at the sudden blush and misery. He then slid the hand on Kanaru's cheek to the back of the third prince's neck. He gently pulled Kanaru into his personal space. "You don't have to worry. I can teach you right now if you like. After all, I'm already almost naked."