“I must have jinxed it,” Walce muttered to himself once he read the letter addressed to them.

  Aside from the fact that Karel directly involved himself with the incident in Astadvran and was summoned by the Ramayan Emperor only a few days ago, one of the most prominent Ramayan figures would finally visit Mapiya Isnd.

  When Walce decided to follow Karel and stayed in Mapiya Isnd, he had already cut ties with his own family by not using his surname. However, he couldn’t disguise himself before meeting their guest. Even if he did, his charade would be easily seen through.

  Walce had no choice but to relent. Aside from Kani, he also called for Mersya to be present during the meeting.

  Once that day dawned upon them, he dreaded it. In front of the mansion, a portal swirled ominously as two figures of women stepped out.

  “Sir Walce,” said the monotonous voice once those crimson eyes nded on him, “to think I’d see you here. Karel surely kept some secrets.”

  Walce only bowed his head to salute before motioning them to follow him inside.

  Kani, alongside Mersya, also saluted once their guests entered the room, “A pleasant day to you, Your Highness. I am Kani, lord and owner of Mapiya Isnd.”

  “Karel spoke highly of you, Kani,” replied the princess much to his surprise.

  They sat down upon her gesture and it was Walce who served tea and snacks.

  “Astadvran lost one of its princes and because Karel meddled, he had to be confined in the Raise Imperial Pace for the meantime.”

  Kani heaved a breath. He expected a punishment worse than this but still thankful that it’s only probation. “I was the one who asked him to save Prince Guerrid. Please don’t be too harsh on him, Your Highness.”

  Elegant eyebrows rose up. “But he told us that it’s his own decision to do so.”

  “That may be so. After all, he’s also fond of the Astadvrani Prince.”

  “How’s the Astadvrani Prince then? I heard they performed the blood pact.”

  Mersya chimed in after Kani gnced at her. “Master Karel knew that Prince Guerrid had an affinity with magic and didn’t suffer that much during his conversion. It may take up to days or perhaps weeks before he wakes up and fully recovers, however.”

  “Humans are really something else,” Her Highness hummed.

  After the silence, Princess Belle immediately id down the agenda of her sudden visit.

  “After the closed door discussion regarding what happened in Astadvran, His Majesty allowed Karel to shelter Prince Guerrid. However, he must discard his former identity.”

  While it seemed like the Emperor’s idea, the Empress actually suggested it to the emperor and the tter gave the order.

  “And because of how grave the situation in Astadvran right now, the Empress decided to make her move once they ended up in a civil war.”

  Walce visibly flinched. “You don’t mean…” He furrowed his eyebrows. “The Empress can’t be away from the empire.”

  “The Red Knight will accompany her.”

  Another dreadful silence befell them at the mention of the Red Knight. He’s one of the most enigmatic figures in Ramaya, after all. While his face was known by the knights, there’s not much known about his background except that he’s a former royal. Also known as the current Commander General of the Rose Imperial Knights, he’s also the commanding general during the Ramayan Civil War. His merits spoke for himself and none dared cross paths with him.

  Princess Belle was known as a stern woman who’s stickler for ws and upholding them wholeheartedly, the Red Knight, on the other hand, was someone who stood above everyone not only when it came to fighting but a known pacifist and had ended disputes in the aftermath of the said war. He’s also the chosen commanding general for a reason—unmatched yet gentlemanly like a true knight—and definitely a force to reckon with.

  “It’s not ideal to do it.” Walce met Princess Belle’s eyes head on.

  “Her Majesty had closed off Ethys, remember? This time, she had to do precautionary measures to control the situation.”

  “Astadvran will retaliate if they know Prince Guerrid is here, Your Highness!”

  “But, would they retaliate against us?” Her Highness scoffed. “We’re doing this to minimize the damage instead. Economically, Astadvran is still our rgest trading partner outside of Ramaya and while Stavros has been catching up, and Mapiya adding more, we will have more losses if the situation escates further.”

  “That’s indeed true,” Kani mused, knowing how a war would impact them.

  “This had already been approved by the Emperor and we had no choice but to acquiesce.”

  “Bloodshed isn’t the solution.”

  “And I agree with that.”

  Walce knew it would be a losing battle of wits against Her Highness and decided to just let it go.

  As the tension settled down, Princess Belle announced the real agenda of her visit: “Her Majesty suggested bestowing a title to the Lord of Mapiya, seeing how it flourished in just a few years’ time.”

  Kani stared at her, puzzled.

  Princess Belle smiled at Kani. “While Karel is a co-owner of the isnd, he cannot use the title as he’s also a grand prince. It will be bestowed upon you instead.”

  Princess Belle chuckled seeing his bewildered expression. “His Majesty then decided to bestow upon you the rank of Count. Mapiya Isnd will become a County and your house will be called Arrynden.”

  “That’s…”

  “Karel doesn’t have any say about this because the Emperor decreed it. Even if he wanted to protest, no one can deny your contributions to the empire. Elder Orazio is so proud of you, even bragging about you whenever he could.” She shook her head fondly. “He talked the Emperor’s ear off one time, and His Majesty politely asked to leave him alone.”

  “Can I ask why Arrynden? Is it…”

  “Oh. He must have not told you.” The Princess hummed, a distant look in her eyes. “Karel was bestowed upon a second name by his mother, the only royal princess during the Chang Regime. He was born during a tumultuous time, hence the first part of his second name. Princess Toinette then attached another name to it, countering it with strength and in other forms, it could also mean light.”

  The others became interested in that, listening intently.

  “Queen Ling heard of her audacious actions as giving second names were only meant for the direct line of successors to the throne, and in the end, Princess Toinette pledged that Kelzo must serve the future heir of the crown in exchange for pardon.”

  “The heir… Was it Princess Elise?”

  “Oh, you know her?”

  “Karel fondly talked about her despite what happened. I would have loved to meet her.” He frowned. “Unfortunately…”

  “She would have loved to meet you too, Kani.” She smiled wistfully. “The te crown princess never discriminated against anyone and loved all of us. It’s because of her love that bound us together as a tight-knit family but you must have already known how that ended.”

  He nodded grimly and Walce’s face soured further.

  Many Ramayans hated the former Crown Princess but Walce never saw her in a negative light. He had seen the princess, akin to the sun in those gloomy nds of the Ramayans and yet, her life was taken away during the eve of the battle. A grave mistake the opposition had made and the kingdom was turned upside down in the aftermath of her death.

  “She would have been a great queen if not for what happened. Fate really is a cruel thing.”

  A palpable silence befell them for a minute as Kani pondered about the offer.

  “Now, do you accept this arrangement?”

  Kani heaved a deep breath as Mersya squeezed his hand. She nodded at him sternly.

  When he turned to Princess Belle, he firmly answered, “Yes.”

  With a flourish of her hand, stacks of papers appeared in Kaho’s hand, and a pen in Her Highness’ hold.

  “Do you have any more additions to this?”

  “I will have to adopt the twins to protect them.”

  “Twins?”

  “Kani!” timely shouted a voice from beyond the door. Walce sighed as he motioned them inside, reminding them to behave themselves.

  Two identical werebeast twins strode further inside the room after taking a glimpse of the Ramayan Princess, they stood behind Kani and Mersya’s shared chair.

  “Greet Her Highness properly, you two.”

  “Hariff,” prompted the older twin, followed by, “Haliff.”

  Then they bowed in unison. “Greet Her Imperial Highness.”

  Her Highness smiled. “Cute little beasties.”

  They straightened their figures up, hands behind their backs.

  “Lady Kazue, the Overseer of the Ize Region, likes Karel so much because he adores the werebeasts. It must have been the reason why he saved you.”

  Kani’s fists slightly clenched, a tad bitter about what he’s discovering about Karel, and not even from the person himself. They’ve been together for years and he didn’t even know his real name.

  “Oh, back to the topic.”

  Kani cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. I want to adopt Hariff and Haliff as my progeny. I’d like them to share my new surname. Guerrid, under his new name will also be adopted as well.”

  Hariff’s eyes widened. “We’ll be your…”

  Haliff mused, “Progeny?”

  Princess Belle’s eyebrows twitched. “The title will be passed onto the former prince if…”

  Kani nodded resolutely. “Yes. It’s fine with me.”

  “I think you should ask for Guerrid’s consent first before deciding that,” chimed in Walce.

  “That may be true but he’s already bound to Karel. Sooner or ter, things will turn out this way. Think of the Count rank as a way to protect yourselves. Especially, Karel won’t be able to protect everyone alone.”

  Lady Kaho tapped the princess’s shoulder. “Please don’t speak of anything ill, Your Highness. You might jinx it.”

  Mersya held Kani’s arm without looking at him. She still looked ahead, an unreadable expression on her face.

  “With this title, will we really be able to protect ourselves?” asked Mersya so suddenly.

  The princess turned to her then nodded. “Yes, my dear. At least, to some extent. A noble isn’t to be taken lightly, even the nobles of the empire won’t easily bully you.”

  “They dare.” Walce scowled. “I will tear them apart myself!”

  Kani turned to the butler. “Walce, you should also share the surname since you can’t return to the empire, right?”

  Walce incredulously looked him in the eye.

  Princess Belle nodded. “That’s actually a good idea, Walce. The county will be able to protect you in any case if something happens.”

  He shrugged. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

  Kani chuckled. “You’re not a beggar anymore, Walce.”

  Her Imperial Highness and Kani, now an Arrynden, finally signed the official documents ending the few hours of discussion.

  With a swing of her hand, Princess Belle immediately tucked away the documents and prepared to leave.

  “Walce, I know how capable you are,” said the princess as she looked up to him. “Protect these children with all your might, you hear me?”

  “Yes, Your Highness. I won’t disappoint you.”

  “Good.”

  Kani finally stood up as she approached him. The blonde also reached out to hold his hands, whispering, “I know you already know who Karel really is but heed this, young one, this will be a perilous path until the end.” Kani squeezed her hands in response. “Are you prepared for it?”

  Kani looked at their hands before looking at her with determination shining in his amber molten eyes. “The moment I held his hand to seal our contract, I knew the consequences, even though I didn’t know his real identity back then. As these feelings grew stronger every day, I have resolved myself to see it through to the end.”

  Something clenched in the princess’s heart, a feeling she never knew she would feel again. “There’s no turning back, Kani.”

  “I know, Your Highness. But, please don’t worry, I’ll make sure that he’s well taken care of as long as he chooses to stay here.”

  Princess Belle chuckled then embraced him tightly, cradling him like a child in her arms. As they parted, she recited, “May Goddess Keoki protect you, child, The One Soaring In The Skies.”

  His amber eyes shone in recognition at the spoken words. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

  As they exited, Lady Kaho quietly whispered to her master, “Kani reminded me of someone dear.”

  “Of course, you do.”

  Kaho smiled wistfully. “He’s akin to a copy of that man from head to toe, even those molten eyes, except for his elven ears.”

  Princess Belle smiled ruefully to herself. “Do you bme me?”

  “No, Belle. I didn’t bme you for it. Not even now, not ever.”

  The princess halted her steps and snorted. “Love is such a wondrous thing to have, don’t you think so?”

  Lady Kaho smiled as they started walking beside each other again, entering the portal back to Ramaya.

  lymsleiah