[Damon, come here. You really can't stay still for even a moment... With all this sweat on your forehead, aren't you hot?]
[Doesn't the handkerchief smell good, Damon?]
[Damon...]
Damon's mother's eyes in his dream were so large and clear that Damon almost lost his mind.
Although he hadn't even grown half as tall as his mother, Damon felt like he could do anything for her.
Just like his mother would do anything for him.
[Damon, come here.]
His mother's white hands fluttered like soft cloth.
Damon threw down the small wooden sword he was holding and ran toward her. But something was strange. The wooden sword should have made a clanking sound when it fell, but it didn't.
Crunch. Damon thought. It's a 'crunching' sound. Young Damon didn't know the words to express sounds yet.
Even so, he could clearly see that the sound was supposed to be a 'thud'.
It was the sound of something hard, something that shouldn't be broken, being broken without warning. The moment he heard that sound, Damon realized.
There was no turning back now.
He had just thrown the wooden sword?
That was all.
Damon slowly turned his head.
No, he was dragged as if someone had pinched his round cheek. Resistance was useless.
Instead of the wooden sword, his mother was lying on the floor, her eyes wide open, her neck broken.
"Your Highness."
Damon, who had suddenly woken up from his nightmare, shivered as he realized that cold sweat was running down his shirt.
"Are you okay? It seemed like you were having a nightmare."
"...I'm okay, Dilse."
Damon's body swayed from side to side as the small carriage rattled.
He wiped his pale, pale face with his palm, like someone suffering from motion sickness or severe anemia.
Damon's confidant, Dilse, looked worried at the Prince, who looked twice as gaunt because of his shabby clothes.
"Is it far to Vetor?"
"We'll be in the border area soon. I sent word first, so there should be no problem getting through."
"Yes."
With a short answer, Damon fell into a trance again.
Dilse stared blankly at his eyes, which seemed to be clouded and empty, and spoke.
"I should have asked the Queen Mother for help instead. If I had known the journey would be this rough..."
Damon smiled tiredly at his words.
They had set out secretly from Kensilom and disguised themselves as merchants before leaving the border to avoid any possible watchers of his father, King Grax. If he had asked his grandmother, Queen Helen, for help, as Dilse had said, he could have squeezed an excuse to visit Vetor officially, regardless of Grax's wishes, but Damon did not want to provoke his father.
The two hats had collided only a short while ago, so he judged that causing a bigger storm could actually complicate things.
“This is nothing,”
Damon said. Dilse looked like he didn’t believe him at all, but he remained silent without finding fault.
The small carriage left the mountain path and entered a small stone-paved road, and then continued on for a long time until he reached the royal palace of Vetor.
It had been raining for three days since they had set out from Kensilom, and since then they had been stuck in the narrow carriage, so Damon felt a little dizzy as soon as he touched the ground.
The moment the blazing sunlight hit his forehead, he suddenly felt as if his chest was clearing up, and he took a deep breath as if he had smelled a fresh scent.
“It’s warm.”
Damon muttered to himself.
Belen Wiziard and Plat, leading their servants and knights, came out to greet him.
Damon followed him, accepting Plat’s polite greeting gently and saying nothing.
Since it was not an official visit, there were no fancy events. After being guided to the residence he would use during his stay, Damon washed and changed his clothes with the help of the attendants.
Whether it was because of the warmth or the relief, his pale cheeks began to show color, and only then did his original handsome appearance come back to life a little.
“This way, Your Highness.”
Damon was a little surprised to see Arkan sitting and smiling brightly as he entered the King’s reception room.
He was much younger than he had vaguely imagined, and even though he wasn’t standing up, he couldn’t hide the fact that he was a tall and handsome man.
‘The rumors floating around the royal court were true. They say the reason my father is always displeased whenever he comes back from a meeting is because King Vetor is too handsome.’
Damon smiled bitterly inwardly. Arkan, not knowing what he was thinking, sadly shook his hand.
“Welcome, Prince Damon.”
Damon responded politely to Arkan’s words.
“I should have come and greeted you formally, but I apologize for not being able to do so.”
“No problem. Sit down.”
Perhaps because they were the same age, or perhaps because he was still aware of his status as a Prince, Arkan’s speech was more relaxed than usual, and Damon felt a sense of favor toward Arkan because of this.
Damon said,
“I think you were embarrassed by my sudden visit.”
Arkan smiled for a moment, then answered.
“To be honest, I was a little embarrassed. But it’s okay. You’re always welcome as a guest.”
Arkan had meant it as a favor, but Damon, who knew that his father had sent an assassin to kill him, felt his heart sink.
Although Damon thought he had shaken off much of his negative personality as a child thanks to his grandmother Helen’s education and affection, perhaps because of the unfamiliar environment, he was easily discouraged.
His face, which had lost its color as if it had just returned, became pale again.
Suddenly, the terrible nightmare he had in the carriage was about to come back to him.
“The journey must have been quite tiring.”
Damon, who was trying hard to suppress his churning stomach, looked at Arcan.
His golden eyes, which could have easily looked fierce, were filled with warm concern and worry.
“...I’m sorry, Your Majesty. The journey was not easy if we came quietly.”
“I suppose so. First, rest. It would be good to get rid of the poison. It would be okay to talk slowly...”
“No, Your Majesty.”
Arkan, who was about to call Plat, stopped and looked at Damon.
The moment he saw him swallowing dry saliva, Arkan felt a strange feeling as if he was looking at a child who had escaped from a den of monsters.
Damon said.
“...This is not a light matter, so I think it would be better to get it out now. If Your Majesty wants to banish me after hearing my story, if you pretend not to hear my story... then do so. Rather...”
“Calm down, Damon.”
Arkan gently cut him off. Thanks to the brief silence, Damon, whose lips were trembling, was able to catch his breath.
Arkan, who had been watching him slowly calming down, said.
“Plat, bring me some new tea. Something soft with cream. And a little lighter.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Damon rubbed his haggard face and said.
“I apologize. I was tense...”
He paused for a moment, swallowed dryly, and shook his head.
“I was tense.”
“Slow down.”
Damon’s eyes, looking down at the floor, tightened. His expression was furrowed with a fierce expression as if he was enduring some great pain, but it didn’t last long.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, then suddenly raised his head and looked at Arkan.
“I know that Your Majesty is troubled because of my father.”
Arkan’s eyes blinked quietly. He looked as if he was speechless, but that was not the case.
Rather, he was more tense and nervous than ever. He had been like that ever since he heard that Prince Kensilom had arrived at the palace.
After a moment of silence, Arkan said,
“I can’t deny it.”
“Yes, of course you would. But I wanted to tell you that I have a different opinion from my father.”
That’s not all, Arkan thought. Where in the world would there be a fool who would make such a fuss just to talk about such a thing?
As he had expected, Damon opened his lips again.
However, he bit his lips several times because he couldn’t come up with words, and finally let out a long sigh after taking a sip of the tea Plat had brought.
Damon said.
“I don’t know how to tell you this. It’s embarrassing to say this, but my father... at least right now, my father is in no condition to run the country rationally.”
“Is that the official judgment? Or the Prince’s judgment?”
“It’s my judgment, but it could also be the official judgment.”
Arkan thought back to the last time he saw King Grax.
He would often react hysterically to those around him.
He would try to suppress his temper during discussions, but it would often end in failure.
‘Well, considering that he even sent assassins among the delegation, I can’t say that he’s in his right mind.’
Arkan looked at Damon, who had grown even paler and seemed to be having a nightmare while awake, and said,
“What do you want to tell me, Damon? I’d rather get this over with quickly. You look like you could collapse at any moment.”
[Doesn't the handkerchief smell good, Damon?]
[Damon...]
Damon's mother's eyes in his dream were so large and clear that Damon almost lost his mind.
Although he hadn't even grown half as tall as his mother, Damon felt like he could do anything for her.
Just like his mother would do anything for him.
[Damon, come here.]
His mother's white hands fluttered like soft cloth.
Damon threw down the small wooden sword he was holding and ran toward her. But something was strange. The wooden sword should have made a clanking sound when it fell, but it didn't.
Crunch. Damon thought. It's a 'crunching' sound. Young Damon didn't know the words to express sounds yet.
Even so, he could clearly see that the sound was supposed to be a 'thud'.
It was the sound of something hard, something that shouldn't be broken, being broken without warning. The moment he heard that sound, Damon realized.
There was no turning back now.
He had just thrown the wooden sword?
That was all.
Damon slowly turned his head.
No, he was dragged as if someone had pinched his round cheek. Resistance was useless.
Instead of the wooden sword, his mother was lying on the floor, her eyes wide open, her neck broken.
"Your Highness."
Damon, who had suddenly woken up from his nightmare, shivered as he realized that cold sweat was running down his shirt.
"Are you okay? It seemed like you were having a nightmare."
"...I'm okay, Dilse."
Damon's body swayed from side to side as the small carriage rattled.
He wiped his pale, pale face with his palm, like someone suffering from motion sickness or severe anemia.
Damon's confidant, Dilse, looked worried at the Prince, who looked twice as gaunt because of his shabby clothes.
"Is it far to Vetor?"
"We'll be in the border area soon. I sent word first, so there should be no problem getting through."
"Yes."
With a short answer, Damon fell into a trance again.
Dilse stared blankly at his eyes, which seemed to be clouded and empty, and spoke.
"I should have asked the Queen Mother for help instead. If I had known the journey would be this rough..."
Damon smiled tiredly at his words.
They had set out secretly from Kensilom and disguised themselves as merchants before leaving the border to avoid any possible watchers of his father, King Grax. If he had asked his grandmother, Queen Helen, for help, as Dilse had said, he could have squeezed an excuse to visit Vetor officially, regardless of Grax's wishes, but Damon did not want to provoke his father.
The two hats had collided only a short while ago, so he judged that causing a bigger storm could actually complicate things.
“This is nothing,”
Damon said. Dilse looked like he didn’t believe him at all, but he remained silent without finding fault.
The small carriage left the mountain path and entered a small stone-paved road, and then continued on for a long time until he reached the royal palace of Vetor.
It had been raining for three days since they had set out from Kensilom, and since then they had been stuck in the narrow carriage, so Damon felt a little dizzy as soon as he touched the ground.
The moment the blazing sunlight hit his forehead, he suddenly felt as if his chest was clearing up, and he took a deep breath as if he had smelled a fresh scent.
“It’s warm.”
Damon muttered to himself.
Belen Wiziard and Plat, leading their servants and knights, came out to greet him.
Damon followed him, accepting Plat’s polite greeting gently and saying nothing.
Since it was not an official visit, there were no fancy events. After being guided to the residence he would use during his stay, Damon washed and changed his clothes with the help of the attendants.
Whether it was because of the warmth or the relief, his pale cheeks began to show color, and only then did his original handsome appearance come back to life a little.
“This way, Your Highness.”
Damon was a little surprised to see Arkan sitting and smiling brightly as he entered the King’s reception room.
He was much younger than he had vaguely imagined, and even though he wasn’t standing up, he couldn’t hide the fact that he was a tall and handsome man.
‘The rumors floating around the royal court were true. They say the reason my father is always displeased whenever he comes back from a meeting is because King Vetor is too handsome.’
Damon smiled bitterly inwardly. Arkan, not knowing what he was thinking, sadly shook his hand.
“Welcome, Prince Damon.”
Damon responded politely to Arkan’s words.
“I should have come and greeted you formally, but I apologize for not being able to do so.”
“No problem. Sit down.”
Perhaps because they were the same age, or perhaps because he was still aware of his status as a Prince, Arkan’s speech was more relaxed than usual, and Damon felt a sense of favor toward Arkan because of this.
Damon said,
“I think you were embarrassed by my sudden visit.”
Arkan smiled for a moment, then answered.
“To be honest, I was a little embarrassed. But it’s okay. You’re always welcome as a guest.”
Arkan had meant it as a favor, but Damon, who knew that his father had sent an assassin to kill him, felt his heart sink.
Although Damon thought he had shaken off much of his negative personality as a child thanks to his grandmother Helen’s education and affection, perhaps because of the unfamiliar environment, he was easily discouraged.
His face, which had lost its color as if it had just returned, became pale again.
Suddenly, the terrible nightmare he had in the carriage was about to come back to him.
“The journey must have been quite tiring.”
Damon, who was trying hard to suppress his churning stomach, looked at Arcan.
His golden eyes, which could have easily looked fierce, were filled with warm concern and worry.
“...I’m sorry, Your Majesty. The journey was not easy if we came quietly.”
“I suppose so. First, rest. It would be good to get rid of the poison. It would be okay to talk slowly...”
“No, Your Majesty.”
Arkan, who was about to call Plat, stopped and looked at Damon.
The moment he saw him swallowing dry saliva, Arkan felt a strange feeling as if he was looking at a child who had escaped from a den of monsters.
Damon said.
“...This is not a light matter, so I think it would be better to get it out now. If Your Majesty wants to banish me after hearing my story, if you pretend not to hear my story... then do so. Rather...”
“Calm down, Damon.”
Arkan gently cut him off. Thanks to the brief silence, Damon, whose lips were trembling, was able to catch his breath.
Arkan, who had been watching him slowly calming down, said.
“Plat, bring me some new tea. Something soft with cream. And a little lighter.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Damon rubbed his haggard face and said.
“I apologize. I was tense...”
He paused for a moment, swallowed dryly, and shook his head.
“I was tense.”
“Slow down.”
Damon’s eyes, looking down at the floor, tightened. His expression was furrowed with a fierce expression as if he was enduring some great pain, but it didn’t last long.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, then suddenly raised his head and looked at Arkan.
“I know that Your Majesty is troubled because of my father.”
Arkan’s eyes blinked quietly. He looked as if he was speechless, but that was not the case.
Rather, he was more tense and nervous than ever. He had been like that ever since he heard that Prince Kensilom had arrived at the palace.
After a moment of silence, Arkan said,
“I can’t deny it.”
“Yes, of course you would. But I wanted to tell you that I have a different opinion from my father.”
That’s not all, Arkan thought. Where in the world would there be a fool who would make such a fuss just to talk about such a thing?
As he had expected, Damon opened his lips again.
However, he bit his lips several times because he couldn’t come up with words, and finally let out a long sigh after taking a sip of the tea Plat had brought.
Damon said.
“I don’t know how to tell you this. It’s embarrassing to say this, but my father... at least right now, my father is in no condition to run the country rationally.”
“Is that the official judgment? Or the Prince’s judgment?”
“It’s my judgment, but it could also be the official judgment.”
Arkan thought back to the last time he saw King Grax.
He would often react hysterically to those around him.
He would try to suppress his temper during discussions, but it would often end in failure.
‘Well, considering that he even sent assassins among the delegation, I can’t say that he’s in his right mind.’
Arkan looked at Damon, who had grown even paler and seemed to be having a nightmare while awake, and said,
“What do you want to tell me, Damon? I’d rather get this over with quickly. You look like you could collapse at any moment.”
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