Urien continued to follow Letum around after he had collected more than enough of the wormwood from the greenhouse and left the said place when they couldn't find Somnus and Pasithea anywhere, watching the young prince's expression carefully.

"Your Highness…?" He called out tentatively.

"Mm?"

"Is something the matter? You look like you're suffering from something."

Letum smiled at that bitterly as he glanced over his shoulder to look at the knight.

"My brother thinks he's so good at hiding his true intentions. He went to the greenhouse, knowing Lady Pasithea was there and acted as if he was surprised. Then ditched us for her."

He sighed, shaking his head. "In a place like this where there are many eyes on us, most likely he's trying to keep their attention on him for whatever stupid rumor there is about our extended stay here."

Urien only stared at him before letting out a chuckle. "You give too much credit to that older brother of yours, Your Highness."

Letum pouted, stopping on his tracks to fully face the knight. “You don’t think so?”

“No, Your Highness, not at all. I've already beaten the shit out of Prince Somnus before regarding using relationships for personal gains."

Letum frowned at him. "Aren't you a little too…casual about admitting that you had beaten a prince up?"

"Prince Somnus did say that it's alright. If many people know, it would serve as a reminder for him if he's going too far even if I'm not there."

Letum sighed, shaking his head. "Whatever…"

He should have been used to the loneliness he feels whenever Somnus isn't around, yet Letum feels like his brother is intentionally doing this for some reason.

Letum knows his brother best: Somnus, for all his flirting abilities, isn't one to stay with one woman regardless if he was rejected or not.

He'd quickly move on to flirt with others, as he tries his best to turn that persona into his mask to hide his true intentions.

It's impossible for Somnus to actually like Pasithea, seeing that she's a heron; Letum knows deep down that his brother is into the likes of Lagos, the rabbit-kin from the East.

Urien gave the prince a carefree smile, his ears twitching at the minute sounds made by the rustle of clothes or shoes as those who were watching them and listening into them from the shadows moved to report to their bosses.

×××

Letum was minding his own business that afternoon, reading a book he had borrowed from the royal library, in one of the overlooking terraces with the vast view of the garden below him.

A pot of white peony tea and biscuits were on the table in front of him, with the biscuits' numbers quickly dwindling down as he idly picked them and finished in three bites.

He had tossed out his worry for his brother for the meantime, in order to achieve some peace of mind.

"Ah, Your Highness!" Someone called from the garden below him.

Letum raised his eyes to see a handful of herons around his age waving at him in a friendly manner.

"Would you like to join us for our stroll? The flowers in the garden are in full bloom."

"They say that the forest pansies are at the height of their beauty right now…"

Letum leaned over the balcony to take a good look at them.

They look like the typical young nobles who seek to climb up the ranks.

Why would they bother with him though? Shouldn't they be hounding his brother instead?

"I think you got the wrong Imperial Prince." Letum told them. "My brother's off somewhere having tea with Lady Pasithea."

He could see the surprised and troubled expressions on their faces, making him chuckle and shake his head before returning to his reading.

Of course, many have no idea how to differentiate the two of them. Only a few know of their usage of earrings as their name tag of sorts.

Letum picked up his teacup, taking a sip of his lukewarm drink and wondered briefly if his brother told Pasithea about it.

Most likely he did, though one interaction with Letum will actually reveal his inability to match his brother's glib tongue.

He choked on his drink when the young herons came up to the terrace and stood around him.

"You're not the one who danced with Princess Nyna all night back then?" The heron who looked like their leader frowned at Letum.

Letum raised an eyebrow at that.

Weren't they being friendly earlier?

What's with the veiled hostility?

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Princess Nyna is going to be Lord Vernon's betrothed in the future." One of the lackeys piped up. "She was supposed to give her first dance to him but you had to enter the picture."

Letum hummed at that, taking another sip of his tea as he placed the book onto the table gently.

He eyed each and every one of them carefully.

They had approached him on purpose, knowing that he isn't his older brother, and trying so hard to harass him for something so trivial.

"You may not know this as you are a mixed blood, but first dances for herons are as good as sealing the deal of an engagement."

Letum smiled as he placed his cup down gracefully, crossing his legs and interlocked his fingers as he rested his elbows on the armrests of his chair.

"I see. It's nice how you all decided to drop the nice act quickly, as I'd have no problems justifying my actions."

"You're a foreigner without any power or influence. On top of it all, you are a mixed blood. What made you think that people's opinion would side with you?"

"Everything you say is true. However, you are forgetting one thing: I am still an Imperial Prince, who ranks beyond any of you."

Letum raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

A small magic circle appeared by their throats, and one by one, they plopped down, clutching their necks and gasping for air.

Their shoulders shuddered, their hands trembling in fear as they continued to struggle.

"Unlike my kind brother, I do not respond well to any kind of harassment due to our lineage. I don't care about your politics, by the way."

A benign smile appeared on his lips as he watched them struggle, their breaths coming in short and there was obvious fear in their eyes.

Though Vernon doesn't seem like he's afraid; instead he was glaring at Letum who let out an amused chuckle.

"Ah, you think I'd be punished for this, for assaulting such a noble person as yourself?" Letum laughed. "Friend, let me tell you something: the King himself has given me and my brother leave to do whatever we want to our harassers."