THE NIGHT was given to the newly appointed knights and their families to celebrate their success. For this reason, it was only five in the afternoon and the banquet prepared by the palace for this special celebration ended earlier than expected.
But it was fine because the palace also prepared a special celebration for the successful knighthood of their precious prince, Prince Calleous Ambrosia Ciltara. Even though they were still surprised that what they thought of as a normal first-degree knighthood turned out to be a royal-degree blood knighthood. The servants of the palace were still eager to prepare a small banquet for the prince.
"Congratulations again, my baby! Mommy's so proud of you!" Aleera Mireille de Lumierre-Ciltara cried as she threw herself at her youngest child.
This former queen was the renowned number-one beauty of their kingdom. Before she married the former king, Aleera was still the noble daughter of the only fifth-degree knight in their small kingdom, Grand Master Elwin Roi de Lumierre.
As for the former king, Cirius Dimitri Ciltara was the youngest and miracle baby of the former King Lachlan Oran Ciltara. They were already in their late fifties when he was born; that's why he became the favored son among his already late twenties elder brothers.
It was only after Cirius was born that, finally, former king Lachlan announced his eldest son as the crown prince. Just as the ceremony for the crown prince was being held, an unexpected accident happened.
The eldest actually died because he fell off the stairs when he was walking down. Then, like a curse, the second elder brother also died of a sudden illness after his coronation as the new crown prince was held. And after that, the third elder brother shortly followed after dying of choking from water before the coronation even occurred.
And when it was only him alive, the former king and queen finally asked the priest from the temple what they must do in order to stop the curse. And what they said was that Cirius must marry before his coronation as the crown prince.
The former king and queen wanted to give him the crown prince title when he was old enough, like his brothers but they were getting older. So left with no choice, the old couple compromised and granted the only fifteen-year-old Cirius at that time a bride.
And so Cirius and Aleera married at the age of fifteen. As soon as they were married, the old couple died and so Cirius became the youngest king at the age of sixteen.
Afraid that they might end up like his parents, Cirius wanted to quickly have an heir and they were nineteen when Cadmus was born. And as soon as Cadmus turned one, he was already coronated as the crown prince.
Aleera wanted to have a daughter but the doctor said that because of how young she was when she gave birth to a son, she might be unable to give birth to another child. How can Cirius just let his dear wife be sad?
So after trying hard, Cadmus was six years old when Calleous was born. Although it wasn't a dream baby girl, with how beautiful Calleous was when he was still a baby, Aleera felt fulfilled that she didn't almost give Calleous a name that sounded feminine; she even made sure that Calleous would grow while maintaining his beauty.
That's why, despite Calleous' hate towards being treated as a daughter by his loving mother, he never cut his hair short as per Aleera's request. This is why Calleous has been maintaining the shoulder length of his hair.
Because of this, Calleous was closer than his father, while his elder brother, who looked more like his father, was closer to their mother. Despite this, no one can hide how he was the favorite of both his father and mother and that also includes his bro-con brother.
"Callie, baby, how was the wound on your finger? Is it still bleeding? Are you in pain?" Aleera worriedly asked while inspecting his youngest son's tightly wrapped finger.
Calleous couldn't hide the twitching of his mouth as he watched his overly dramatic and exaggerated mother. He was even not sure what that twitch was for. Either for his mother exaggerating over his small wound like it was the end of the world or for the name that she once again called him.
Or it could be both, since despite that Calleous had become used to his mother's exaggeration towards him and that special nickname that only his mother and maybe his older brother call him, it never fails to trigger him like a light switch.
That's why, despite his love for his mother and his devotion and fanaticism over his older brother, he still prefers his father, who is the only one who is normal when treating him.
Although his father would sometimes show his favor, it was less obvious than that of his mother and older brother. And knowing that it was his father who saved him from having his special nickname as his real name, Calleous couldn't hide his favor towards his father.
"Calleous, what you did really surprised me but knowing you, it was no longer shocking," Cirius commented, silently pulling his wife away from the annoyed son. "Just like your mother, I also congratulate you, son. You made me so proud."
Cirius patted his son's shoulder. In spite of the fact that Cirius is a very serious person, he still has arrogance, especially when it comes to his children. When he was still the king, the only thing that the nobles and aristocrats under him hated about him was when he would boast about his two sons, making these aristocrats want to beat him.
Former King Cirius Dimitri Ciltara is famous for his great reign of almost twenty-eight years compared to his father, who had been the king longer than he did. The glory that their small kingdom had been experiencing and parading, even to the surrounding small kingdom, was all because of him.
So despite the Kingdom of Ciltara being small, it was the most progressive kingdom, both in economics and talent, compared to other small kingdoms. Cirius had been making a name for the kingdom from the moment that he became king at the young age of sixteen.
He was a strict king when it came to the nobles and aristocrats but when it came to talents, he was more accommodating, saying that all the talented people in the Ciltara, whether they came from nobles or from commoners, would be rewarded according to their accomplishments.
Because of this impartial ruling, he was known as the nondiscriminatory king. The only time this unbiased title would break was when the matter had something to do with his sons.
There was once a time when Calleous was only three when a prince from another country had a visit. The nine-year-old Cadmus was playing with the prince when Calleous came in. The moment the small and spoiled Calleous set his eyes on the sword toy in the other prince's hands, he quickly wanted to have it.
But the toy was obviously important to the prince, as it was a gift from his father. He didn't want to give it to Calleous so he cried. And Cadmus, a bro-con since young, couldn't let his lovely brother cry, forcing the prince to give the sword to his younger brother.
How can the prince of another kingdom let himself be bullied? Knowing that Cadmus was stronger than him, he targeted Calleous with insults, calling him names and such. And when Calleous was called 'weak' and 'sissy', the three-year-old prince erupted in anger.
Using the sword of the other, he strikes the seven-year-old prince with strength and power that, aside from pain, makes the other question his life. Just how can the small and petite body of a three-year-old bully him?
He could only cry to his father, while the father, a little ashamed when he heard how his own son was bullied by a small Calleous, tried to ask Cirius for compensation. But who is Cirius?
Of course, when he heard what happened, he didn't hesitate to take his children's side. And not only that, he even insulted how a future crown prince can be oppressed by a younger prince. How it was a shame for their country to let a weak prince become the future monarch.
What more, Cirius even insulted the other king about how he raised his child. He was too soft for his children, making them grow up like soft persimmons. And many more that the father-son pair end up going home with shame.
Since then, Cirius has earned another title and despite feeling insulted, he is even more proud of it.
"Thank you, mother, father. By the way, where's my brother?" Calleous asked after all of them had taken their seats at the long dining table.
"Oh, forget about your brother. He was still busy over there doing the tasks of a king that he chose over his lovely young brother. Hmp!" Aleera pouted while letting her husband help with putting the table napkin for her.
Calleous shook his head, looking away from them and put on his as well. "You can't blame it on my brother, mother. If you didn't let father abdicate earlier, maybe it was father who was in my brother's position now. Although I might not end up becoming a blood knight but a normal knight instead."
"This unfilial son! How can you still show favor for that brother of yours?" Cirius interrupted. A hint of dissatisfaction was heard in his tone.
Calleous just smiled cheekily at his father, which made Aleera laugh. Calleous was only in favor of his father over his brother with words but no one can still beat his love for his brother.
"Brother!" Calleous happily exclaimed.
Speaking of the missing Cadmus Augustus came in with his usual poker face. He not only took his father's features but also his character and attitude as a monarch, which were inherited from his father.
It was only different when it came to his younger brother. Yes, like usual. It was only because of Calleous that the attitude and character of his family members were altered.
"Cadie?" Calleous called out again in question.
It was because the expected reaction from his brother did not happen. Calleous was disappointed and also curiously watched his brother walk to the chair opposite his.
Despite Cadmus being the current king, in their family of four, Cirius was still taking the center seat. The right seat was for the eldest son, while the left was for his wife. As for Calleous, his seat was beside his brother.
But this time, his brother actually sat on the empty chair beside his mother. Obviously, something was wrong with his brother.
"Cadie? What happened? Why are you not sitting beside your brother?" Aleera worriedly asked, looking back and forth between her eldest and youngest son.
"Don't wanna." This short and curt answer was followed with a snort, enough to clarify that something really was wrong.
"Are you mad at me, brother?" Calleous asked.
Cadmus once again snorted as an answer. Ignoring his younger brother's question. This also made Calleous pout like his mother.
Even though Calleous changed his spoiled attitude now that he's older, he couldn't help but release it when facing his elder brother. He was only showing his spoiledness and meekness towards and only for his brother.
"Cadie…" Calleous softly called out, longer than he had earlier.
And how can a bro-con like Cadmus take that attack? Even without looking, he was already affected. But because he was really mad, he didn't lose himself but he did not ignore the other, like his first plan. A plan that will obviously fail.
"You're still questioning me now? Don't you think that what you did is wrong?"
"What was that?" Calleous ignorantly asked in return.
"How can you just take the oath of the blood knight? I didn't want you to do that and I don't need you to do that!" Cadmus flared up.
"What are you getting mad at? I didn't need to ask your permission for that because it was supposed to be a surprise. And even my mother and father didn't get mad so how could you?" Calleous rebutted.