REGULUS POV

Oh? It’s dark? Where am I? I should be awake after I’ve passed out? Did I die? Did I die from blood loss? From mana? Did I commit an error? Did the spell fail? How did it fail!? What would happen to Alicia!!?

Uh….. What a disappointing brother I am….. What a disappointing prince I am….. Although. at the very least, I died with honor, father would have been proud…..

It’s so dark…… A dark empty void….. Is this what the afterlife is supposed to be?

Oh? A light? I can see a light at the end….. Is this supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel? Am I going to be reincarnated? If so…… then let it be.

I close my eyes, as I await to be reborn.

“Regulus”

Hm? Who’s calling me?

“Regulus”

Is it a deity? Am going to paradise instead of being reincarnated?

“REGULUS!”

3RD PERSON POV

It had been about a few hours since Regulus had passed out, he was quickly brought to a healer once arriving. At first they had thought that he passed out from mana exhaustion, but after a thorough analysis, it was confirmed that it was not mana exhaustion but blood loss. Which left everybody speechless, he had no open wounds so how would he have passed out from blood loss. 

They put the question aside and prepared a blood transfusion; the twin’s father had volunteered to be the donor, though nobody asked why they speculated it was because he felt sorry for the young man as he always had a great personality.

Back to the present, Regulus had just woken up after having Alicia call his name multiple times.

“Am I in the afterlife!?” 

He said as he looked around his surroundings.

The room he was in was unfamiliar, though quite luxurious. Despite being in a stranger’s room, the people surrounding him were not. Alicia, the twins and the carriage driver were all in the room as they had seemingly waited for him to wake up.

“Good Afternoon! Did you sleep well?” 

Alicia sarcastically said as she stood up from her seat.

“I’m alive? Wait where am I?” Regulus said confused as to what had happened.

“You lost a lot of blood! We thought you died since you looked very pale!” 

“Yeah! As if you turned into a vampire!” 

The twins exclaimed with curiosity as they too stood up from their chairs.

“I don’t remember…. I remember seeing the Golem crumble into pieces before I blacked out.” He replied as he sat down on the bed..

“You were asleep for 4 hours, the sun is nearing its peak now.” Alicia said as she sat back down.

Hearing this, Regulus’ seemed to not be fazed by the shocking news he had just received.

“Four hours? Well…. at least I’m not dead.” He said as he stood up from the bed.

“Eh, you’re gonna say that after almost dying?” Solaire said, flabbergasted. 

“Oh I forgot to say, father’s looking for you. He told us to tell you to meet him once you’ve woken up.”  She said as she opened the door, waiting for Regulus to follow her.

“Your father?” 

“Yes, is there a problem?” 

“No, I was just… curious as to why a man I don’t know would call me.” Regulus responded as he went on to follow the young teen.

___________________________________________________

After walking down a few halls and through a door they reached a large door.

“Alright here you are, father is behind this.” She said as she immediately left him. 

“Kids have no manners nowadays….” He mumbled as he opened the door. 

Inside a man with orange hair with dark eyes was seated while reading a piece of paper.

“Um… Hello sir, you called for me?” Regulus said as he made himself known.

The man took one look at him and started shaking in…. Fear? No, he was shaking from relief.

“A-Are you alright? Should I call someon-” 

But he was cut off as the man bowed down in front of him, almost like he was of higher status.

“Y-Your majesty…. You do not know how happy I am seeing you in the flesh.” 

Regulus tensed up, how did this man know he was of royal lineage? Who was he? A former ally? His father’s former associate? 

As the man stood up he explained his intentions.

“I understand why you are alarmed, but have no worries. You may not remember me very well but I remember you….  My name is Lucius Retinas, you may remember me as your father’s diplomatic adviser…. Regulus.” 

And it hit him, he knew this man, in fact he was close to him as a child. He did not know how he had forgotten his old tutor, Luc. 

“Sir Luc…. I don’t know what to say.” He said as he went up and embraced the man.  

“No your majesty… Do not worry, it has been years since we last met.” 

This was a reunion none of the two were expecting, Lucius was skeptical if he was indeed the son of the king he once served. But, after calming themselves Lucius ordered a few of his servants to get food for the young man as they sat down.

“This is a moment I never would have thought would be possible… How are you?” 

“I’ve been doing great, not the lascivious life a prince should be living but other than that I’m doing alright.” 

“Ah, that’s good to know. Who have you been living with? Has someone adopted you?”

“No, I’ve been living with Sir Eadic and my sister Rosaria ever since.”

“The princess! She survived as well!? I’ve always thought you both had died since ....” The room’s atmosphere went gloomy almost immediately as Lucius hesitated to speak.

“Let’s not dwindle into the past, I heard you're an adventurer now? I know you have to work to survive but why such a dangerous profession?” Lucius inquired as he was curious of his answer. 

“Well, ever since Sir Eadic kept me under his wing, I’ve fallen in love with the thrill of fighting. I mean, I am no longer a prince, even if I was…. What kingdom could I rule? The main branch has no more members except me and my sister.” He said quite nonchalantly despite the weight of his words.

“I see…. Have you really no plans in possibly becoming king?” 

“I would…. Love to, but I doubt I could. Even if I have the ability to rule a kingdom, I have almost no possessions. No castles nor villages to rule over.” 

As he said this, Sir Lucius stood up and went over to an area on the floor. After searching for something that seemed to be not there he eventually opened a trapdoor. He pulled out a dusty old box. 

“What if….. I say you could become king.” 

He opened the box as it revealed a shiny golden circlet. A ruler’s crown, a pure gold circlet with a single ruby in the middle.

“This was the first crown of Syndis until it was replaced by the crown of the present, the crown that your wretched uncle undeservingly wears over his head. Your father told me if there was ever a time where you would be unable to be crowned in the royal palace. You could use this, as it was used to give birth to a new kingdom. “ He said as he placed the box on top of the table.

“As for your possessions, I will be willing to give you my manor, if you haven’t noticed there is a village surrounding it. That too is under my name, so you should not worry. If you would like to expand, there is a group of bandits that currently govern a castle and village nearby, it would be a perfect way to gain subjects if you manage to free them from the grasps of those bandits.” 

He explained as he began writing a letter.

“But why are you doing this? I don’t owe you a favor!” Regulus spoke out as he was utterly confused.

“I made a promise to your father to watch over, I swore under the kingdom of Syndis that I would be by your side. I was not able to do that for twelve years; please Regulus, this is the least I can do. Now, I need your word to proceed with the coronation."

The young man remained speechless as no words were spoken.

“I take that as a yes. Now, please wait, we need a priest for your coronation.”