The day after, Ren Xiyang attended the Imperial Council gathering, while Rian caught up on his lessons.
The day after that was the social event.
Rian had insisted on giving Ren Xiyang more clothes, even though his current ones were fine.
“But these are winter appropriate clothing,” Rian insisted.
“But I maintain my local surrounding temperature,” Ren Xiyang said.
Rian pursed his lips. “Well, you’ll wear this whether you want to or not.”
Ren Xiyang may squabble on the surface, but he easily accepted the free clothes.
On the night of the event, Ren Xiyang wore the new black shirt with gold stripes, paired with a red Rosewood gem. The new black military-style coat went down to his knees, styled with gold accents. The outfit was finished with a deep red cape.
When he arrived at the Palace, one of the Palace staff led him to a small drawing room, where Prince Alexius was waiting for him.
“Ayden!” Alexius greeted warmly. He paused. The style of the cape and the cut of the coat looked a lot like his and Rian’s clothes! “We’re matching!”
Ren Xiyang glanced over Alexius’s clothes. Heh, Rian must have miscalculated. “Prince Rian gave these to me.”
Alexius raised his eyebrows. “Is that sooooo,” he said. “No, the important thing is, are you ready? Do you remember everything we discussed and practised?”
Ren Xiyang placed a hand over his heart. “I’ve accepted your money, and I’ll carry out the task well.”
Alexius gave a sigh of relief. “Okay, great! I’ll see you soon!”
Ren Xiyang entered the main hall first and went to talk with Florence and Adrienne.
When it was time for the Imperial family to enter, Ren Xiyang turned his attention to the front. His extended his magic out.
“Welcome to His Highness, Prince Alexius!”
A soft glow appeared, strengthening as the doors opened and Prince Alexius stepped through. The glow of light condensed into warm flower buds that blossomed around him. Alexius smiled brightly and walked with a skip in his step as the glowing flowers spread out from him as though he was a warm little sun that brightened the room when he came in.
Some of the little noble girls had big wide eyes, and many of the adults unconsciously became a little happier.
Prince Rian was next.
Ren Xiyang had already seen Rian’s new magical entrance effects so nothing was surprising.
Then, King Edric and Queen Mira came in and opened the event.
This particular social evening was a relatively quiet and relaxed one. The main hall in the Imperial Palace was semi-partitioned into multiple different areas with their own partial sound isolation and activities, from board games like chess, card games, poetry readings, and so forth. Nobles could choose to sit at a table and sit down for the evening meal, or they could nibble on this and that from the trays of the butlers circulating the main hall.
Each social event was for socialising and networking, and they each provided different settings and environments to facilitate different forms of connection.
Rian scoffed at his younger brother, who was intruding between him and Ren Xiyang. “Did you change your outfit at the last minute? Did you steal my tailor?”
Alexius pouted. “No, I didn’t!”
“Great minds think alike,” Ren Xiyang said.
Both Rian and Alexius made the same disgusted face.
Florence and Adrienne were surprised in their hearts to see the two princes acting like this.
Ren Xiyang simply sighed. He felt that Rian mentally regressed in age the moment he was around Alexius. Was juvenile-ness contagious? “I want to sit down.”
Rian mentally recovered. “Come right this way, I have a room specially prepared for us. Lady Florence, Lady Adrienne, I hope you can also join us…”
At these social events, King Edric and Queen Mira typically moved independently, visiting different groups/factions as appropriate.
Presently, Queen Mira realised that she hadn’t seen her sons for a while, and nor had she seen many children around Rian’s and Alexius’s age.
Normally, at an event like this, the noble children would be playing the same game or doing the same activity as their parents along with other noble children. But right now, she noticed Cassiopeia Schauss and Alexandra Slate playing together while their parents chatted, yet Perseus Schauss was missing.
After Queen Mira finished talking with the Schausses and Slates, she turned to the quiet lady-in-waiting by her side. “Do you, by any chance, know where the princes are?”
The lady-in-waiting lowered her head as she replied, “Your Majesty, I’ll find out immediately.”
Queen Mira went to talk to another group of people. When she was done, her lady-in-waiting was back.
“Your Majesty, I have found His Highnesses. His Highness Prince Rian is currently holding a meeting for his so-called ‘association of future leaders’ in one of the chess rooms. While I was listening, they were talking about food preservation and distribution networks and how to increase the security and safety of trade across the kingdom.”
Queen Mira: “…”
Given that her eldest son hadn’t used a complete sound-blocking spell, he was clearly signalling to her and her husband that he was ready to be named the Crown Prince.
“Have the servants bring extra food for the children,” Queen Mira ordered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
In one of the chess rooms, the chess tables had been pushed to the side. And who knew how, but Prince Rian had brought out a large map of the kingdom of Sedaveria which now floated vertically. The home fiefs of the children present were marked with a glowing outline. As Prince Rian talked about distribution networks and trade, lines of roads would light up.
Prince Rian spoke warmly and encouraged questions. When he answered, his focus made the children feel important and heard.
Most of the young children in the room didn’t stand a chance. They were buzzing with the excitement of being able to join Prince Rian’s new exclusive association and ready to do something to show that they deserved a seat in the group. Even Günter had set aside his usual squabbling to listen.
Perseus Schauss looked less enraptured, but he accepted that Prince Rian’s arrangements were good.
Adrienne Obsidian’s face was calm. She knew that this was just the surface of Prince Rian’s plans.
Florence Sage could see just how charismatic Prince Rian was, and how he was inspiring the younger children. He gave them small suggestions of what they could do whilst implicitly hinting how they could talk to their families. He also offered Earl Rosewood up to help them on various matters.
Florence looked at her friend. Ayden’s cool and silent demeanour, unbothered by Prince Rian’s words, put Florence’s heart at rest.
And Ren Xiyang already knew most of Rian’s plans, and he wasn’t surprised about any others. He was the one magically levitating the large map and making parts of it glow because even the Eldest Prince Rian couldn’t multitask to this extent.
Rian’s words came to a stop when he noticed four servers carrying laden trays standing quietly at the room’s opening. He had noticed his Imperial Mother’s lady-in-waiting snooping. And he knew the following influx of food and drink was ordered by his Imperial Mother. He smiled and generously declared a break to eat.
Cassiopeia hadn’t joined Prince Rian’s ‘association’.
Her parents had told her to decline Prince Rian’s and Earl Rosewood’s requests, and her parents could take the fallout if anything happened. The fact that something had happened between Lady Cassiopeia Schauss, Prince Rian, and Earl Rosewood was now old news among the aristocracy. It would be understandable if Duke Schauss prohibited his daughter from seeing those two boys.
—No, ‘hadn’t joined’ wasn’t the right phrasing.
She wasn’t invited.
And yet, her second brother Perseus had been invited. Prince Rian had barely looked at her before ushering her brother along with him that evening.
Cassiopeia felt hurt. She felt uncomfortable at the thought of missing out. She also hadn’t been sleeping well lately, which made her feelings worse.
After seeing those dead bodies, she had nightmares about dying. And in her dreams, it felt so real, as her mind mixed imagination with her real, remembered experience of dying previously, before she reincarnated.
Her conversation with Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood also brought back more memories of her past life. She remembered more of the stories she had read. She remembered the villains and cannon-fodders.
She didn’t want to remember. She didn’t want to compare. But deep down, at the base of her throat, in the core of her chest, she was afraid that she knew the truth.
“You’re acting like a cannon-fodder.” Earl Rosewood’s words echoed in her chest.
Other people said Earl Rosewood was as kind as a Saint.
No one said that about her. Even though she was going out to heal commoners too.
Instead of being praised for helping and healing, Alexandra told her that other nobles looked down on her! Some nobles thought she felt guilty after arguing with Earl Rosewood. Other nobles thought that her father, Duke Schauss, was making her go out and heal charitably in an attempt to recover the Schauss’s family’s worsening reputation and that she was being used as a tool!
Prince Rian’s words re-emerged. “You’re being used as a tool, and you don’t even realise it.”
Prince Rian was changing the story, changing the world.
And compared to him, Cassiopeia felt tiny.
After the social evening, in the Schauss carriage on the way home, Cassiopeia sneaked glances at Perseus.
Perseus finally said, “Is there something you want to ask me?”
“I…what did Prince Rian talk to you about?”
“I’m interested too,” Duke Schauss said. “But it’s late, why don’t you tell us tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, Father.”
Cassiopeia pressed down her impatience. She had another restless night.
The next morning, over breakfast, Perseus told his family what Prince Rian (and very occasionally, Earl Rosewood) had said at the meeting for future leaders.
Prince Rian had been comprehensive, covering topics such as health, food, economics, agriculture, law enforcement, and military matters. He told them about the Royal Healers’ Service that he was preparing, and how Earl Rosewood had been able to avoid bandits in the Rosewood fief thus far by personally monitoring the fief. Earl Rosewood mentioned setting up a kind of network that would allow them to move food from places of plenty to places of need.
Cassiopeia’s lips pressed tightly as she listened. These were big changes.
Duke Schauss’s gaze turned introspective. More than Cassiopeia, he knew the current rumours and the current reputation of the Schauss family. He also had a better understanding of Prince Rian’s finances, and it now seemed increasingly likely that the Royal Healers’ Service would be successful unless Duke Schauss purposefully suppressed it.
But what if Prince Rian found out? His Highness wasn’t supposed to uncover the truth about the anonymous letters, yet he did, somehow. The matter was too big. Too many people knew about the Royal Healers’ Service.
Very reluctantly, Duke Schauss came to a decision. He needed to meet with Prince Rian.
As usual, Ren Xiyang didn’t plan to stay long in the Capital. He met Baltasar Cordovan and Adrienne Obsidian to assess their flying abilities. He had another healing session with Rian[’s body]. He also learnt that the healers at the Capital hospital finally took his suggestion and discovered many tiny moving things inside untreated water using an enhanced vision technique. The healers were now seriously testing the cleaning/killing ability of different spells against the tiny moving things.
Rian had a deep smile when he told Ren Xiyang the news. “It’s interesting that they’ve made progress now. Duke Schauss has also requested to see me.”
“Don’t pretend to be surprised,” Ren Xiyang said. He could almost see Rian’s big dog tail wagging.
Rian’s smile turned into a smirk. “I’m surprised how quickly Duke Schauss capitulated. With him and the healers at the Capital finally becoming agreeable, we can think more about the next steps to improve health outcomes and reduce disease outbreaks.”
“Do you want to talk about it now before I leave? Or is there something else more important?”
“Since you’re here, we should duel.”
“No.”
Rian sighed. “I tried. Since you’re here, let’s talk about the flying carriages…”
On the day the Rosewood contingent (plus opportunistic travellers) left the Capital, a Schauss carriage went from the Schauss residence to the Imperial Palace.
Duke Schauss stepped out and was met by Prince Rian at the front doors of the Palace.
Duke Schauss’s eyes flickered to the person standing next to Prince Rian: Mage Vercher, the commoner healer mage overseeing the establishment of the Royal Healers’ Service alongside Prince Rian.
Prince Rian’s eyes curved as he smiled. “Good morning, Duke Schauss. I’m glad you found time out of your schedule to meet with myself and Mage Vercher. I hope you can provide some of your guidance.”
Mage Vercher bowed. “Your Grace, thank you for coming today.”
“I thank you for meeting with me, your Highness,” Duke Schauss replied.
“Shall we?” Prince Rian motioned for them to enter the Palace.
The three of them sat down in Prince Rian’s study.
Prince Rian opened a slight smile. “My expertise is not in healing. However, I truly believe that the Royal Healers’ Service would be a revolutionary association to have in our kingdom. I hope that Duke Schauss can help me on a few matters…”
Duke Schauss suppressed the discontentment in his heart. If he didn’t offer his affiliation, then the Royal Healers’ Service could grow and oppose his own network of healers and hospitals. And if Prince Rian became King Rian—a very high possibility—then the Schauss family might be displaced by another healer-mage family that had offered their help to Prince Rian.
To prevent this future, Duke Schauss had to extend his hand.
And Prince Rian knew this perfectly well.
Rian: All according to my keikaku ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Rian: Ren Xiyang! Ren Xiyang! Did I use the word correctly? *wags big fluffy puppy dog tail*
Ren Xiyang: Yes, yes, very good.
There are a lot of little events. Originally, many of them were “told, not shown” but I like the characters and I want to see them interacting more >w
The day after, Ren Xiyang attended the Imperial Council gathering, while Rian caught up on his lessons.
The day after that was the social event.
Rian had insisted on giving Ren Xiyang more clothes, even though his current ones were fine.
“But these are winter appropriate clothing,” Rian insisted.
“But I maintain my local surrounding temperature,” Ren Xiyang said.
Rian pursed his lips. “Well, you’ll wear this whether you want to or not.”
Ren Xiyang may squabble on the surface, but he easily accepted the free clothes.
On the night of the event, Ren Xiyang wore the new black shirt with gold stripes, paired with a red Rosewood gem. The new black military-style coat went down to his knees, styled with gold accents. The outfit was finished with a deep red cape.
When he arrived at the Palace, one of the Palace staff led him to a small drawing room, where Prince Alexius was waiting for him.
“Ayden!” Alexius greeted warmly. He paused. The style of the cape and the cut of the coat looked a lot like his and Rian’s clothes! “We’re matching!”
Ren Xiyang glanced over Alexius’s clothes. Heh, Rian must have miscalculated. “Prince Rian gave these to me.”
Alexius raised his eyebrows. “Is that sooooo,” he said. “No, the important thing is, are you ready? Do you remember everything we discussed and practised?”
Ren Xiyang placed a hand over his heart. “I’ve accepted your money, and I’ll carry out the task well.”
Alexius gave a sigh of relief. “Okay, great! I’ll see you soon!”
Ren Xiyang entered the main hall first and went to talk with Florence and Adrienne.
When it was time for the Imperial family to enter, Ren Xiyang turned his attention to the front. His extended his magic out.
“Welcome to His Highness, Prince Alexius!”
A soft glow appeared, strengthening as the doors opened and Prince Alexius stepped through. The glow of light condensed into warm flower buds that blossomed around him. Alexius smiled brightly and walked with a skip in his step as the glowing flowers spread out from him as though he was a warm little sun that brightened the room when he came in.
Some of the little noble girls had big wide eyes, and many of the adults unconsciously became a little happier.
Prince Rian was next.
Ren Xiyang had already seen Rian’s new magical entrance effects so nothing was surprising.
Then, King Edric and Queen Mira came in and opened the event.
This particular social evening was a relatively quiet and relaxed one. The main hall in the Imperial Palace was semi-partitioned into multiple different areas with their own partial sound isolation and activities, from board games like chess, card games, poetry readings, and so forth. Nobles could choose to sit at a table and sit down for the evening meal, or they could nibble on this and that from the trays of the butlers circulating the main hall.
Each social event was for socialising and networking, and they each provided different settings and environments to facilitate different forms of connection.
Rian scoffed at his younger brother, who was intruding between him and Ren Xiyang. “Did you change your outfit at the last minute? Did you steal my tailor?”
Alexius pouted. “No, I didn’t!”
“Great minds think alike,” Ren Xiyang said.
Both Rian and Alexius made the same disgusted face.
Florence and Adrienne were surprised in their hearts to see the two princes acting like this.
Ren Xiyang simply sighed. He felt that Rian mentally regressed in age the moment he was around Alexius. Was juvenile-ness contagious? “I want to sit down.”
Rian mentally recovered. “Come right this way, I have a room specially prepared for us. Lady Florence, Lady Adrienne, I hope you can also join us…”
At these social events, King Edric and Queen Mira typically moved independently, visiting different groups/factions as appropriate.
Presently, Queen Mira realised that she hadn’t seen her sons for a while, and nor had she seen many children around Rian’s and Alexius’s age.
Normally, at an event like this, the noble children would be playing the same game or doing the same activity as their parents along with other noble children. But right now, she noticed Cassiopeia Schauss and Alexandra Slate playing together while their parents chatted, yet Perseus Schauss was missing.
After Queen Mira finished talking with the Schausses and Slates, she turned to the quiet lady-in-waiting by her side. “Do you, by any chance, know where the princes are?”
The lady-in-waiting lowered her head as she replied, “Your Majesty, I’ll find out immediately.”
Queen Mira went to talk to another group of people. When she was done, her lady-in-waiting was back.
“Your Majesty, I have found His Highnesses. His Highness Prince Rian is currently holding a meeting for his so-called ‘association of future leaders’ in one of the chess rooms. While I was listening, they were talking about food preservation and distribution networks and how to increase the security and safety of trade across the kingdom.”
Queen Mira: “…”
Given that her eldest son hadn’t used a complete sound-blocking spell, he was clearly signalling to her and her husband that he was ready to be named the Crown Prince.
“Have the servants bring extra food for the children,” Queen Mira ordered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
In one of the chess rooms, the chess tables had been pushed to the side. And who knew how, but Prince Rian had brought out a large map of the kingdom of Sedaveria which now floated vertically. The home fiefs of the children present were marked with a glowing outline. As Prince Rian talked about distribution networks and trade, lines of roads would light up.
Prince Rian spoke warmly and encouraged questions. When he answered, his focus made the children feel important and heard.
Most of the young children in the room didn’t stand a chance. They were buzzing with the excitement of being able to join Prince Rian’s new exclusive association and ready to do something to show that they deserved a seat in the group. Even Günter had set aside his usual squabbling to listen.
Perseus Schauss looked less enraptured, but he accepted that Prince Rian’s arrangements were good.
Adrienne Obsidian’s face was calm. She knew that this was just the surface of Prince Rian’s plans.
Florence Sage could see just how charismatic Prince Rian was, and how he was inspiring the younger children. He gave them small suggestions of what they could do whilst implicitly hinting how they could talk to their families. He also offered Earl Rosewood up to help them on various matters.
Florence looked at her friend. Ayden’s cool and silent demeanour, unbothered by Prince Rian’s words, put Florence’s heart at rest.
And Ren Xiyang already knew most of Rian’s plans, and he wasn’t surprised about any others. He was the one magically levitating the large map and making parts of it glow because even the Eldest Prince Rian couldn’t multitask to this extent.
Rian’s words came to a stop when he noticed four servers carrying laden trays standing quietly at the room’s opening. He had noticed his Imperial Mother’s lady-in-waiting snooping. And he knew the following influx of food and drink was ordered by his Imperial Mother. He smiled and generously declared a break to eat.
Cassiopeia hadn’t joined Prince Rian’s ‘association’.
Her parents had told her to decline Prince Rian’s and Earl Rosewood’s requests, and her parents could take the fallout if anything happened. The fact that something had happened between Lady Cassiopeia Schauss, Prince Rian, and Earl Rosewood was now old news among the aristocracy. It would be understandable if Duke Schauss prohibited his daughter from seeing those two boys.
—No, ‘hadn’t joined’ wasn’t the right phrasing.
She wasn’t invited.
And yet, her second brother Perseus had been invited. Prince Rian had barely looked at her before ushering her brother along with him that evening.
Cassiopeia felt hurt. She felt uncomfortable at the thought of missing out. She also hadn’t been sleeping well lately, which made her feelings worse.
After seeing those dead bodies, she had nightmares about dying. And in her dreams, it felt so real, as her mind mixed imagination with her real, remembered experience of dying previously, before she reincarnated.
Her conversation with Prince Rian and Earl Rosewood also brought back more memories of her past life. She remembered more of the stories she had read. She remembered the villains and cannon-fodders.
She didn’t want to remember. She didn’t want to compare. But deep down, at the base of her throat, in the core of her chest, she was afraid that she knew the truth.
“You’re acting like a cannon-fodder.” Earl Rosewood’s words echoed in her chest.
Other people said Earl Rosewood was as kind as a Saint.
No one said that about her. Even though she was going out to heal commoners too.
Instead of being praised for helping and healing, Alexandra told her that other nobles looked down on her! Some nobles thought she felt guilty after arguing with Earl Rosewood. Other nobles thought that her father, Duke Schauss, was making her go out and heal charitably in an attempt to recover the Schauss’s family’s worsening reputation and that she was being used as a tool!
Prince Rian’s words re-emerged. “You’re being used as a tool, and you don’t even realise it.”
Prince Rian was changing the story, changing the world.
And compared to him, Cassiopeia felt tiny.
After the social evening, in the Schauss carriage on the way home, Cassiopeia sneaked glances at Perseus.
Perseus finally said, “Is there something you want to ask me?”
“I…what did Prince Rian talk to you about?”
“I’m interested too,” Duke Schauss said. “But it’s late, why don’t you tell us tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, Father.”
Cassiopeia pressed down her impatience. She had another restless night.
The next morning, over breakfast, Perseus told his family what Prince Rian (and very occasionally, Earl Rosewood) had said at the meeting for future leaders.
Prince Rian had been comprehensive, covering topics such as health, food, economics, agriculture, law enforcement, and military matters. He told them about the Royal Healers’ Service that he was preparing, and how Earl Rosewood had been able to avoid bandits in the Rosewood fief thus far by personally monitoring the fief. Earl Rosewood mentioned setting up a kind of network that would allow them to move food from places of plenty to places of need.
Cassiopeia’s lips pressed tightly as she listened. These were big changes.
Duke Schauss’s gaze turned introspective. More than Cassiopeia, he knew the current rumours and the current reputation of the Schauss family. He also had a better understanding of Prince Rian’s finances, and it now seemed increasingly likely that the Royal Healers’ Service would be successful unless Duke Schauss purposefully suppressed it.
But what if Prince Rian found out? His Highness wasn’t supposed to uncover the truth about the anonymous letters, yet he did, somehow. The matter was too big. Too many people knew about the Royal Healers’ Service.
Very reluctantly, Duke Schauss came to a decision. He needed to meet with Prince Rian.
As usual, Ren Xiyang didn’t plan to stay long in the Capital. He met Baltasar Cordovan and Adrienne Obsidian to assess their flying abilities. He had another healing session with Rian[’s body]. He also learnt that the healers at the Capital hospital finally took his suggestion and discovered many tiny moving things inside untreated water using an enhanced vision technique. The healers were now seriously testing the cleaning/killing ability of different spells against the tiny moving things.
Rian had a deep smile when he told Ren Xiyang the news. “It’s interesting that they’ve made progress now. Duke Schauss has also requested to see me.”
“Don’t pretend to be surprised,” Ren Xiyang said. He could almost see Rian’s big dog tail wagging.
Rian’s smile turned into a smirk. “I’m surprised how quickly Duke Schauss capitulated. With him and the healers at the Capital finally becoming agreeable, we can think more about the next steps to improve health outcomes and reduce disease outbreaks.”
“Do you want to talk about it now before I leave? Or is there something else more important?”
“Since you’re here, we should duel.”
“No.”
Rian sighed. “I tried. Since you’re here, let’s talk about the flying carriages…”
On the day the Rosewood contingent (plus opportunistic travellers) left the Capital, a Schauss carriage went from the Schauss residence to the Imperial Palace.
Duke Schauss stepped out and was met by Prince Rian at the front doors of the Palace.
Duke Schauss’s eyes flickered to the person standing next to Prince Rian: Mage Vercher, the commoner healer mage overseeing the establishment of the Royal Healers’ Service alongside Prince Rian.
Prince Rian’s eyes curved as he smiled. “Good morning, Duke Schauss. I’m glad you found time out of your schedule to meet with myself and Mage Vercher. I hope you can provide some of your guidance.”
Mage Vercher bowed. “Your Grace, thank you for coming today.”
“I thank you for meeting with me, your Highness,” Duke Schauss replied.
“Shall we?” Prince Rian motioned for them to enter the Palace.
The three of them sat down in Prince Rian’s study.
Prince Rian opened a slight smile. “My expertise is not in healing. However, I truly believe that the Royal Healers’ Service would be a revolutionary association to have in our kingdom. I hope that Duke Schauss can help me on a few matters…”
Duke Schauss suppressed the discontentment in his heart. If he didn’t offer his affiliation, then the Royal Healers’ Service could grow and oppose his own network of healers and hospitals. And if Prince Rian became King Rian—a very high possibility—then the Schauss family might be displaced by another healer-mage family that had offered their help to Prince Rian.
To prevent this future, Duke Schauss had to extend his hand.
And Prince Rian knew this perfectly well.
Rian: All according to my keikaku ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Rian: Ren Xiyang! Ren Xiyang! Did I use the word correctly? *wags big fluffy puppy dog tail*
Ren Xiyang: Yes, yes, very good.
There are a lot of little events. Originally, many of them were “told, not shown” but I like the characters and I want to see them interacting more >w
