“My, my! Now, I almost thought that we’d get through a whole day without trouble!” A middle-aged man with a long, grizzly, black beard sauntered through the hallway. He wore a long, black robe that draped down to his tiger-hide boots, and a golden necklace rested on his chest. The man smiled through his thick beard. “Hussan, I do apologize for my nephew and his friend’s misbehavior. I hope that you can come to forgive the two of them.” Darien’s uncle, Cambyses, bowed his head lightly to the chef.

Hussan’s face paled as white as a ghost. Having a member of the royal family bow like that to him sent a tingling feeling shivering through his body. He swallowed the rock in his throat. “D-Don’t worry about it, Lord Cambyses. I’ll have the next meal ready as soon as I can. J-Just make sure that these two young boys don’t disturb my work again. My job, serving the king the best food in the empire, is already difficult enough. Having interruptions and disturbances makes my profession much harder.”

“Of course, Hussan.” Cambyses smiled. “I’ll make sure these boys are tame by tomorrow so they won’t bother you again.”

Hussan nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Cambyses turned to Tetsu and Darien and sighed. “What were you two thinking?”

“That’s what I asked!” Yuu exclaimed a little too rashly. He blinked, realizing the words he had been thinking had just slipped out of his mouth, and quickly covered his lips with both his hands. “S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to answer without being spoken to, milord!”

Cambyses laughed heartily and patted Yuu on the head. “No worries, son. You are the one who maintains stability in this crazy trio. It’s a wonder why you hang around these other two, huh?”

“Yuu is too much of a baby to do anything that we do,” Tetsu teased.

“A-am not! You guys just do really dumb things that will only get you in trouble! They heed no benefits except thrill and that’s not worth getting privileges revoked or a terrible scolding from Hassan and our king!” Yuu retorted.

Tetsu grunted, folding his arms and glancing away. “Stop using big words, you baby.”

“You boys should follow Yuu’s example. After all, he’s widely respected by his peers and is getting top marks on all his tests. He’s going to make his family proud of his accomplishments.”

Yuu put his hands on his hips and beamed boldly, as if he were some type of a legendary hero. Tetsu quickly put an end to his fantasies by giving him a gentle shove, pushing him off balance.

Cambyses chuckled at the children as they bickered. “Now, now, you two. No fighting. Might you give my nephew and me a moment alone? I would like to speak to him in private. I’ll take him to dinner with his Majesty and her Highness, but we will see you two later, yes?”

Tetsu and Yuu exchanged puzzled glances and shrugged. The two of them argued quietly as they walked down the hallway, leaving Cambyses and Darien in silence.

“What is it, uncle?” Darien asked curiously.

“You are the heir to a grand throne,” Cambyses began, and saw the prince roll his eyes, prepared for the same annoying speech he knew his father would give him. “Oh, listen to me, my boy. I won’t lecture you on how you should act, because I expect that at fifteen years old, you already know what’s expected of you as the prince of the largest empire of Dastia. Our prosperous nation is flourishing. It is all thanks to your father’s great leadership that our empire is in a better state than it has ever been. But even your father has flaws.”

“Flaws, uncle?” Darien repeated, raising his eyebrows. His father was doing something wrong? But how could he be, if the nation was doing so well? The young prince walked beside his uncle down the hallway, past lines of statues that represented ancient Tulgorian kings and ancestors who had long since passed away.

“Your father is greatly opposed to war and is against fighting altogether. However, our empire’s military is by far the strongest and largest of all the empires in Dastia. With it, we could easily be consuming other nations and bringing them under our control. We could share our wealth with the rest of the continent by making them a part of us.” Cambyses sighed. “I believe that an ideal dream would be to unite the entirety of the continent, so that everyone would be able to live in our wealthy nation and have the same opportunities that all of us do. However, such a dream would require several years, or perhaps decades, of sacrifice. My brother does not have the heart to sacrifice what is necessary for the better of our nation and all of Dastia. What do you think?”

Darien stared forward, thinking hard on the subject. “I believe that the whole idea of having one united, peaceful nation without conflict is great. Then people wouldn’t have to suffer like Tetsu did. But the path that you’re suggesting is going to bring about several decades of war where many would suffer. It would be causing the same pain that we’re seeking to prevent. If I were to make a decision, I would search for a solution that results in a united continent without having to resort to war.”

Cambyses sighed and smiled. “You truly are your father’s son. The two of you do think alike. But it is that kindheartedness that might be your downfall one day. Make sure you keep your eyes open. You never know who might take advantage of your weaknesses, my boy.” He placed his hand on Darien’s shoulder, and nodded to two Tulgorian soldiers that stood at the end of the hallway.

The guards, wearing black cloaks and sheathed scimitars, elegantly pushed open the door at the end of the corridor for the two oncoming members of the royal family.