After a long pause, the boy gently took a small fluffy ball from his pocket and pointed it at his dad. William looked at the animal in his son's hands with little surprise. Vincent was growing more and more tense by the minute, especially as his parent had not spoken to him since showing him the animal.
|| Dad.... Can I keep this little guy as my pet? I promise to take good care of him.... ||
William thought for a moment, then smiled softly, after all he had no reason to forbid his beloved child to own an animal.
|| Take it. If you think you can take care of it, then you can. I'm not going to forbid you from owning an animal you've become attached to. ||
Hearing his parent's answer, the boy couldn't help but smile, for he thought his father was a really nice person. Looking at his father, the boy wondered what he deserved to have such a cool parent, could it be that the gods had taken pity on him because of his previous life where he had not been given the opportunity to have a normal childhood? Vincent didn't know why, he had been given such a promising life, but surely he wouldn't waste it like the previous one. As he thought this, looking at the little hairy ball in his hands, his dad pulled him out of his thoughts.
|| Have you thought of a name for your new friend yet? ||
|| ....I thought of the name Aquamarine, or Aqua for short. When I look at this bat, it reminds me of a gemstone I read about recently. ||
|| I like the name, I'd say it suits him, judging by the colour of his coat, which changes from pale green to mint and pale blue. ||
|| ....Dad, I have a question about our family. ||
|| What kind of question is that? You don't have to stress about asking me things, after all, that's what parents are for. ||
|| that case, if we are a 'cursed family', why not try to change our reputation for the better? ||
|| It's very simple, why give up a title that draws away from you the annoying insects that call themselves nobility. This is actually not the only reason, thanks to this innocent title, our family has become the terror of other Kingdoms, so that no one attacks us without reason. ||
|| By the way, is the rumour of mixed blood true? ||
|| Who knows, this rumour started because of the colour of our hair, all generations in our family have black hair, so people thought it was the result of mixing with another species. Unfortunately, I don't know if this is true because the person who would know the answer to this question is long dead. ||
|| I didn't think our family would be so secretive. ||
|| What can I say, who doesn't like riddles about their own origins, it is said that the first founder of our family scattered riddles around the estate which, when solved, will lead you to the truth about the family. ||
|| In that case, I will do my best to find the truth. ||
|| I'll be cheering you on with all my heart. Any other questions? ||
|| I have a question about our work with the Royal Family, how did we come to work for them? ||
|| I didn't think it would interest you, but I'm happy to tell you about it. It all started with the first representative of our house as well as the first king, you could say that our families have been friends since the first generation, but that's not what we work under. There is a legend circulating among our family, telling that both of our families made a bet to receive a blessing from a dragon and the loser would loyally serve the chosen one for all generations. Of course, our family was not chosen, so we became loyal servants of the royal family, which is the only family that has control over us. There is, of course, also part of the story of how our ancestor made a deal with a demon to become stronger so he could stand as an equal to his friend and protect him when the need came. But this is just a story passed down from generation to generation, it doesn't have to be true. ||
|| So could it be that we have black hair because of this deal? ||
|| If this story is true then yes.
|| ….Dad, you work under the First Prince, don't you? ||
|| That's right, why ask? ||
|| Could you tell me how you met? And what is he like? ||
|| ....Edric is a troublemaker, but he doesn't cause trouble when there is no reason to. I'd say he's a cheerful type of person who likes to have everything planned out, he's intelligent and thus gets bored quickly, so he looks for entertainment in risky things or in pissing others off. ||
|| He sounds like an interesting person, but how did you meet him? ||
|| Before you were born, our kingdom was at war with a neighbouring kingdom, a war that had been going on for three years at that point, and in the last year of that war, the king sent his son to us, who was only fourteen at the time. I was outraged that the king would send his own child to war, after all I knew that Edric was an amazing strategist, but it didn't change anything, he was still a child who should be enjoying his life and not looking at the sights that war brings. I did not allow him to stray from me and forbade him to fight with the others; no one opposed me, so I acted as his babysitter. Thanks to him, we were able to defeat the enemy in a year's time, and when I returned to the kingdom, less than a week had passed before I was summoned to the palace. It turned out that the king, having heard from Edric how well I looked after him, had given me the position of his right-hand man. The position had originally been offered to my younger cousin, but he was poisoned by the spies, who mistook him for me. ||
Vincent did not know what to say when he heard this story, he was surprised and in a bad way, many thoughts went through his head, but he could not put them together. After all, there was no way that the king himself would have had the idea of sending his own child to war, so the culprit was probably the prince himself, the only question was why he would do it.
// Dad, how can you be so calm in this situation, after all someone tried to poison you, not to mention the fact that you spent four years in the war. No matter how long ago it happened, how can you be so cheerful when others in your position would be afraid to leave their own homes? //
|| How old was Dad at the time? ||
|| I was twenty-one when I met Edric, and nineteen when I was sent to the war. Although I don't look it, I was the highest ranking man at the time, so no one could oppose me, though most were too afraid to speak out. ||
// ....Dad, I promise not to let the King send you to war again, no matter how small, you need psychological help. When I meet Edric I will ask him to take good care of you, after all you both need emotional support. //
|| ....Dad and the Prince have been through a lot of bad and scary situations. ||
|| Don't worry, I won't let a similar situation happen to you, even if it costs me my life. ||
// Dad, please don't smile when you talk about such exaggerated things, I've just been given a new chance to do well and I don't want to lose you just because you want me to be happy. //
|| Dad doesn't have to risk his life for me, all I want is for dad to be there for me. I don't want to wake up one day and know that I won't see you again.... Please don't go on any more dangerous missions like wars.... ||
|| Don't worry, I have no intention of going back there, and even if I were summoned, Edric wouldn't let me go. ||
|| Dad works for a nice man. ||
William just smiled at the words, then turned his attention to the view outside the window, but instead of their estate, it was the palace, which the man could only sigh at. It would seem that Edric had learned everything from the royal guard.
// What a troublesome prince. I didn't think my son would get the chance to meet him so soon. Let's hope Edric has a good reason for calling me on my day off, because I can't vouch for myself. //
|| Vin looks like we're heading for the palace, so you'll have a chance to meet Edric. ||
|| Why are we going to the palace? ||
|| My guess is that Edric found out about your accident and wants to make sure you're all right, or he just wants to use the situation as an excuse for me to spend some time with him. It's been so many years and he still likes to act like a child. ||
// Dad, you should spend more time with the person you are friends with, not just on work days.... It sounds more like you neglect him. //
|| You don't have to sound disappointed, I know Dad enjoys spending time with Prince, you just don't want to admit it. ||
|| You may be right, but it doesn't change the fact that I wanted to spend today exclusively with you, like in the old days. Because of my work, I don't have as much time as I used to, so I wanted to spend all of today with my child, so I'm a little disappointed with the whole situation. ||
|| Dad, don't worry, I've had a great time today and I'm looking forward to the next day just as much. ||
As they talked, the carriage suddenly stopped. They finally arrived in the courtyard of the palace, and as soon as they stepped out of the vehicle, the person greeting them was Edric himself. The man who smiled at them had the same colour of hair as Allen, but his eyes were the shade of green, they looked as if they were made of real emeralds, Edric had a fair complexion, but compared to the almost white complexion of William and Vincent, Edric had a warmer shade that suited him perfectly. Vincent was surprised, he hadn't expected the prince to look so much like his new friend, but those thoughts quickly disappeared when he saw his parent standing opposite his friend, the boy had thought William was tall when he first saw his dad, but now he knew he was wrong, there was about ten centimetres difference between them, Vincent had to admit that Edric was handsome, but where William had softer features, his friend had sharper ones, making him look surprisingly dangerous when he wasn't smiling, like a predator waiting for his prey.
|| William, I am delighted that you have decided to visit me today. ||
|| You don't have to pretend it wasn't your idea to bring us here. ||
|| Will knows me too well ||
|| Of course I know you well after all I have worked for you for almost fourteen years. As you probably know this is my son, Vincent. ||
|| Hello, it's nice to finally meet you Vincent, your dad has been hiding your existence from me all these years, I only found out about you two months ago but you were unconscious at the time. ||
// Dad why didn't you mention my existence to your friend! //
|| It's my pleasure, this is the first time I've met someone from the royal family. ||
|| What do you mean first time? After all, you met my little brother, didn't you? ||
// Younger brother? I actually met his brother-.... Allen is from the royal family!? Why didn't he tell me that! //
|| Allen didn't tell me he was from the royal family, he just said his name.... ||
|| My little brother likes to be treated like a normal nobleman, which is probably why he didn't want to admit he was a prince. I would appreciate it if you could treat him as you did before you found out. ||
|| Don't worry, Prince, I have no intention of treating Allen any differently. ||
|| You really are a good kid, my stupid little brother has chosen a good friend, take good care of him. ||
Instead of answering, Vincent decided to simply nod and smile. The conversation in the palace courtyard did not last long as Edric led them into his study, where they sat down on couches facing each other, with a low table between them, on which were fruit and cakes, as well as three cups for tea.
|| So I was right, you dragged us here for no particular reason. ||
|| I have invited you to the palace to question your son about his kidnapping today. ||
|| You don't think I'm going to let you interrogate my son, not even an hour after he was taken from me? ||
|| Forgive me, Will, but you must admit that this whole kidnapping seems strange to you, which is why I want to ask Vincent a few questions, nothing more. ||
|| ....All right, but that doesn't mean I won't keep an eye on you. ||
|| I know you don't have to worry, I'm not going to hurt your son. ||
|| What do you want to ask me? I wasn't locked up for long, so I don't think my testimony will help you find the main organiser of these kidnappings. ||
|| That's true, but that's not the point. I want to ask you about the mysterious figure who freed all the prisoners. If I am not mistaken, you should have already been captured when the mysterious saviour attempted to rescue the prisoners. ||
|| By then I was already locked in a cage, but it was covered with some sort of cloth so I couldn't see what was going on.... Unfortunately, it looks like I won't be much help, especially as all I heard was the sounds of the fight and then the sounds of the guards coming to the rescue. ||
|| In that case, when did you have time to release the little one you are now holding? ||
Edric said, smiling as he pointed to Aqua, who lay peacefully on the boy's lap, allowing himself to be petted. Vincent realised that he had made a mistake that he would not be able to get out of easily. He decided to do what he did best, lie to people's faces.
|| As they dragged me into this warehouse-like room, I managed to get out of my captors' grasp temporarily to hide somewhere, but I found this bat in an open cage on top of it, barely alive, probably due to the low temperature in the room. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, they found me and locked me in the cage.... ||
Having said that, the boy slowly raised his head to look directly at Edric, but he was not expecting to see no smile on the prince's face, only a cold look, as if he knew that the words the boy had spoken were a simple lie. After a few seconds, the atmosphere in the room, which had been frigid just a moment ago, began to warm as a friendly smile returned to the man's face.
|| I see, I'm glad you tried to play along and come up with an escape plan even after you got scared. I am very impressed that you managed to get out of such a situation with only a few wounds on and around your neck. ||
|| ....Thank you for your kind words, but I still wouldn't have managed to get out of there if it wasn't for a mysterious person.... Have you at least managed to get some information about the person pulling the strings? ||
|| As for the main suspect, so far it is suspected that one of the major noble families is behind it, but these are just confiscations, after all, ordinary residents would not have enough money to run such a complex business. ||
|| Ed, this information is top secret you can't just reveal it like that! ||
|| Relax, I'm not just talking about this to some random person, and besides, no one would believe it if a child started spreading the word, so the investigation is safe. You know very well that I wouldn't do something so risky if I didn't already have a plan of action. ||
|| That doesn't change the fact that you are risking my son's life by saying this, and I hope I don't have to discipline you afterwards. ||
|| Don't worry, everything is going according to my plan, apart from today's accident with your beloved son. Speaking of which, why don't you stay at the palace tonight? It's getting late, and it'll be dark by the time you get back in your carriage. ||
|| ....What are you up to now? It is rare that you invite someone to spend the night. ||
|| I'm not planning anything, I just didn't think it was worth you coming back to your place, and Allen wanted to talk to your son today but didn't have time because of his birthday preparations. ||
|| It is surprisingly nice of you to think of your younger siblings, and I was beginning to think that you were the sort of person who didn't care about the well-being of others. ||
|| ....Your words hurt me, Will. As future king, it's my job to ensure that my subjects live happy and peaceful lives, so it's only right that I start my preparation with my siblings. I also forgot to mention that Salana would also like to meet Vincent, I hope you don't mind. ||
|| I don't mind, but I fear for Vincent's health, after all your sister has a worse character than you. ||
|| You say that as if I were two-faced. ||
|| It's not that, you're not two-faced, you're just a sociopath. It's easy to get confused, but they're two different things. ||
// Dad, why are you only honest at times like this, at this rate you will lose your only friend - .... Never mind, I forgot that you've known each other all my life, but why is the prince laughing? //
|| Will really knows me too well, you should say your thoughts out loud more often and smile more often. ||
|| Smile more often? Dad smiles all the time. ||
|| You see, Vincent, your dad at work is a very cold person towards others, probably because of the way he grew up. ||
// A cold person to others? How can someone like William be insensitive to people when he is so capable of smiling? Dad, what a terrible childhood you must have had to become like this towards other people.... ||
|| I'm not cool with my colleagues, it's not my fault you hire idiots. ||
|| You know very well that it was not I who hired them, but my father. If I could, I would sack most of them even without your opinion, but who knows, they might come in handy as sacrificial lambs one day. When we are finished with the interrogation, why not take you to your rooms, after all you must be tired of all the chaos today. ||
|| You are right, we should rest, today has been full of surprises.... ||
Edric decided to show where the boy's room was first, then moved on, leaving Vincent in a spacious guest room with a large king-size bed that could easily accommodate three adults. With nothing else to do, and the boy not tired enough to go straight to bed, he decided to check the wounds he had received during the fight with the slavers, although he found it strange as he did not remember any of his opponents scratching him, let alone in the neck area. But before he could delve any further into this strange situation, he decided to take the aqua out of his pocket and place it on the large bed so that he would be more comfortable and have more room to move around. As soon as he looked at the ball of fur he had picked up, he immediately felt better, so much so that he decided to leave his worries for another day.
|| Aqua is a really lovely bat, as soon as I look at him all of my worries disappear, so I promise to make sure that Aqua has a life full of love and happiness. ||
The little bat gave a contented squeak at these words, then cuddled up to Vincent's hand, which was about to stroke him, but before he could do so, someone knocked on the door, causing the boy to pull his hand away from his pet and move slowly towards the door. The mysterious person, or rather two, were Allen and another girl, probably the sister, Edric had mentioned, and the boy did not hesitate to invite them into the room.
....