"You're right, brother Juno, I should let Nell stay with the other aids and servants," said Simon with a sigh.
He faced the healer with an apologetic smile.
"I hope you don't mind, Nell, I'll just call for you tomorrow for the rest of our healing sessions."
Nell nodded at Simon, then turned around and walked away.
Juno then faced one of the aids trailing behind them and harrumphed.
"Show my brother, Prince Simon, his room in my palace," he told a young looking gentleman.
"Yes, your highness, Prince Juno," replied the manservant. "This way, your highness, Prince Simon."
The manservant introduced himself as Rode.
"I shall be your butler as long as you stay in Prince Juno's palace. Please tell me if there is anything you need."
"Thank you, Rode," Simon replied with a grin. "You can leave now, I would like to get some resst."
"Do you not wish to clean yourself first before you retire for the night, your highness?" Rode asked.
"Oh, that would be nice."
"Then I shall call for the servants to prepare you a bath," said Rode before leaving the room.
"Woah, I get a butler and servants to bathe me!" Simon said with a small laugh. "Back in the old dormitory where I used to stay with the rest of the insignificant princes, we don't have servants of our own, and we can only bath in the day time, in the common bathroom on the ground floor!"
He looked around the spacious room he currently occupied and sighed in contentment.
"All of these still seem like a dream!" He laughed merry as he dropped face first on the feathery soft canopy bed. "I hope I never wake!"
That night, the two eldest princes met to weigh their options.
"What do you think, brother Juno?" asked Largos. "Should we still get rid of that worm?"
"Not for now," replied Juno. "Tell me first, what happened to that sniper you employed for the parade earlier?"
"Well..." Largos kept his gaze low, "according to him, he shot Simon with a poisoned dart three times as soon as he alighted on the castle steps, but the darts he aimed at him just bounced off, as if an invisible bowl was covering him."
"Again?" Juno frowned at his brother.
"I'm telling you, brother Juno, there really is something about that Simon that disturbs me. Some higher beings must truly be guarding him!"
"And I say, it was just that healing priest and his little tricks!" Juno replied. "It was probably a buff or a blessing of some sort to keep him safe. That's why I have decided to separate the two."
"Will it be easier to get rid of him then?" asked Largos.
"Of course!" Juno said with an evil grin. "But then again, what's the rush?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you not see how our little brother the 'hero' got drunk, not only from the wine, but from his accomplishments as well?"
"Yeah, I was getting pissed by the way he kept blabbering about how his 'solar plexus' wanting to 'explode', when he can't even show us any proof that he could actually kill anything bigger than a fly!"
"Why don't we let him have his fill, then?" Juno sneered. "Let him wallow in the limelight while we spread lies about his conquest, and when he least expects it, we shall expose him as a phony, a deceiving little worm that befits his image."
"Oh, brother Juno, you truly are a great strategist! Your plans always excite me!"
"But of course, as befits a crown prince and the future king!"
Juno smiled confidently while his brother's grin looked strained.
"For now, let's help Simon tell more tall tales about his fight with the behemoth," he continued with an evil grin, "let his mouth be his own undoing, and when he goes too far, we will be there to push him over and roll him in the mud like the slimy worm he is."
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Go to Part 24
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