Emris followed after the aged valet, walking through the well lit corridor that led to the prince's chambers.

The palace was a sight to behold, its walls were well decorated, each pillar carved with exquisite craftsmanship. The golden statues and the ivory walls made the palace grand. It looked more like a dwelling for gods than for men.

This was the royal palace for the king of Taewe, king Charles IV. He was well known among the citizens of Taewe as a man of principles. When within his boundaries, he was kind and benevolent but outside, he was ruthless.

King Charles IV had four children, two three males and one female. They were the prince and princess of the kingdom.

The first prince was prince Alaric, the brave soldier that had personally rode with the royal army as they conquered the Lyn kingdom barely a few months back.

Prince Alaric was known as the bravest and the most promising among the royal children. He was a soldier and a leader, extremely skilled in swordsmanship. He was also good looking but so were the rest of the royal family.

Then there was the second prince, prince Stefan. He was a playboy and a drunk, the shame of the royal family. He was extremely promiscuous and he had a thing for going after ladies that don't want him.

But most let his insolent acts slide because he was an amazing business man.

Stefan loved money and riches so much, he was willing to study and become a merchant just to become rich enough to harass even more ladies.

Princess Kamari was the next. Being named the most beautiful lady in the whole of Taewe kingdom, she didn't need any extra explanation.

Princess Kamari was a people's lady. She helped the needy and was kind to common folks. She was the most popular among the nobles.

She even had a day in the year dedicated to her. She was so popular, beautiful and kind that men from all over the continent came to ask for her hand in marriage.

So in order to not have them constantly disturbing her, the princess decided to choose a particular day to meet with all her suitors for the year.

It was later named the day of the moon because Kamari meant moon.

It had been going on for three years now and yet, princess Kamari was still not betrothed. She rejected every single one of her suitors.

But this didn't deter the others, in fact it only made her more popular as rumors began to circulate, saying that the princess was only turning down her suitors because she loved the common folks so much and she didn't want to abandon them.

It goes without saying that if there was democracy in Taewe, then princess Kamari would have become the queen, kicking even her father off the throne.

Then there was the last prince, prince Vesu. Almost nothing was known about him except the fact that he had been sick since birth. Some even doubted if he was real at all.

This mysterious prince was the very same person Emris was about to see.

After returning from the battlefield, he had been traumatized. He couldn't go back there, he couldn't endure one more moment of bloodshed. So he requested to be taken off the army.

Emris was a great soldier himself, one that was just below the likes of prince Alaric. It was soldiers like him that made it so that the likes of prince Alaric could return home victorious and it had been a heavy blow to the squad's morale when they heard he was stepping down.

They couldn't blame him though, at just twenty seven, Emris had seen things that those double his age hadn't. Things that most on the squad didn't even wish to see.

Prince Alaric felt that he could still be of service to the kingdom, he didn't want Emris to face the judgment and the disgrace that came with stepping down from the army.

This was why he recommended Emris to the king. The king had been looking for a suitable bodyguard for the prince and he felt he had finally found one.

The valet paused before the door, taking a deep breath before reaching up to push the door open.

Emris watched as the prince's chamber was revealed, his nose twitching as the first thing he noticed, his first impression of the room, was a single word.

'Flower?'

Emris furrowed his brows as he entered after the valet. He could smell a gentle aroma, one that made his body tingle. It smelled like flowers but no one in particular.

It was like he was in a garden filled with the most beautiful flowers, a gentle breeze stirring them as they gently danced under the evening sun.

"Your highness, I'm here with sir Emris, knight of dawn."

Emris shook his head, the aged voice of the valet snapping him out of his trance. He immediately bowed along with the valet, paying his respects to the prince.

The room was quiet for a moment and Emris almost thought that there was no one in the room.

Then he heard the light shuffling of thick clothing, most likely the blanket on the large king size bed in the room.

Light footsteps approached the two who remained in their position and the smell of flowers became more prominent to Emris.

He almost couldn't control his urge to look up.

Finally, the fourth prince arrived at their front and the first thing that Emris noticed were a pair of dainty feet. Pale like alabaster, it had a weird sheen to it.

"You can raise your heads." A gentle voice came after.

It was a bit pitchy, light and airy, like a birds song but not too light. It retained a deepness in the form of gentleness, making it obvious that it was a male that was speaking.

Though it was easier to mistake the person for a teenager.

Emris raised his head and his eyes locked with that of the prince.

The prince was a mixture of weird features. His skin was abnormally pale, his eyes were lighter than regular blue, almost lilac and his hair was like fine red wine.

But even with all those oddities, Emris had only a single word resonating in his mind as he stared at the fourth prince of Taewe.

Beautiful…