Mikael paced back and forth in front of the room where his sister was resting, all the while accompanied by Tan.

“She’ll be alright. Casimir is in there.” Tan told him again. “He’s one of the few high ranking priests that is close to the crown prince, he wouldn’t do anything to your sister.”

“I’m more worried about what your brother would do.”

Tan shut his mouth at that as he can’t deny that his brother tends to go overboard when it comes to his betrothed. They waited for about half an hour before the door opened to reveal a drained-looking Casimir.

“Oh, it’s you guys.” Casimir said, not in the mood for proper etiquettes. “The crown princess is fine. In fact, she’s doing well, physically.”

“What do you mean?” Mikael asked rather sharply.

“She awakened. However she’s disappointed that she’s an Alpha like her father…”

Mikael grabbed his shoulders, shaking him slightly. “That’s impossible. She came from a family that is known to produce Omegas. Maybe you were mistaken because of Prince Calisto’s usage of blind?”

Casimir held up his hands in defeat. “I would never make a rookie mistake. Even Calisto confirmed it earlier.”

Mikael loosened his grip on Casimir and Tan walked up to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Mikael only gave him a troubled look, to which Tan reciprocated with a reassuring smile.

“How about we check in on inso first before worrying about other things?” Tan suggested.

The Heir of Canaels only nodded at that as he stood up straight and fixed his clothes and hair. Casimir only raised an eyebrow at the two of them, raising a hand to stop Tan for a moment.

“You’ve finally decided on him?” Casimir frowned. Tan only waved his hand nonchalantly.

“I hate how sensitive you are to such things. Don’t worry, it’s only a temporary measure. I’ll lift it by tomorrow.”

“Your Highness, you may not know this but for us…well…not having to rely on self control and suppressants is a boon.” Casimir said with a bitter smile. “Please make sure that you really lift it as soon as possible or else that young lord would seek that peace out on other Alphas.”

As a prime example of the perfect Omega, Casimir not only joined the priesthood but also has been taking suppressants for his heat cycles so that he wouldn’t inconvenience the Betas in his congregation.

“Don’t worry. I won’t forget to lift it tomorrow. You should go rest for the meantime, Casimir.”

Casimir nodded and left with his shoulders heavy. Tan wondered if the priest still remembers that one time he was forced into a blind and had to ask the crown prince’s help to dispel it.

Tan stopped for a moment, wondering what kind of an Alpha his brother is to easily dispel and make others submit to him. No matter how he looks at it, there’s something off with his brother.

Is it possible for a King of Kings to exist?

He entered the room, seeing Mikael hugging his sister tightly. He saw his brother sitting by the chair, lost in deep thoughts. Tan awkwardly stood by the side, not knowing what to do with himself now that he’s in there.

“So…what now, kuya? I heard that she’s an Alpha. How are you going to deal with the nobles calling for her removal as crown princess?”

“Do not worry about it. It’s my problem to solve.”

“...if you say so.”

Silence fell between the brothers as they watched the Canaels siblings converse in low voices. Tan noticed his sister-in-law’s complexion was still pale and he wondered if he had looked like that when he awakened years ago.

No wonder his brother was more than beside himself in worry.

Soon after, they heard hurried knocks on the door and Javi frantically calling for them outside.

“Your Highness! Your Grace! Please pardon my intrusion!”

He opened the door and they saw his panicked expression and the sweat dripping from his forehead.

“Javi, this is a patient’s room.” Tan scolded him, folding his arms across his chest disapprovingly. Javi wiped his sweat on his sleeve, heavily heaving for breath.

“I know, I apologize but we’ve received a report that His Excellency, the Duke, has been injured during a raid and–and—!” Javi hurriedly said, fumbling over his words. “They are requesting back ups.”

Mikael stood up, his expression grave. “Where was he last seen?”

Javi shook his head, unable to answer, making Tan frown. Meanwhile, Siane only sighed tiredly, mumbling ‘one after the other' under her breath.

“If they don’t even know where he was last seen, how can we send backups?” Tan pressed but Javi continued to shake his head, unable to respond.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I rushed here…I’ll go get the messenger again to have him relay–”

“No need.” Siane said with a weak smile. “If Father’s been ambushed, the only likely place is at home where he usually relaxes his guard.”

She took off her blanket and carefully stood up, with Mikael’s assistance. “I’ll go and check on him. Cali, can I borrow your knights?”

“I’d rather send the knights alone than you go with them.” Calisto pouted. “You’re not even fully recovered yet.”

“It’s my father that we’re talking about here, Cali. He’s my only parent left, I will not take chances.” Siane said firmly. “Now that I’ve awakened, my magical abilities have also been strengthened so there’s no immediate danger to me.”

“I’m also coming with her, Your Highness.” Mikael added, making Tan look at him startled. “He’s our father and we both have magical abilities on par with a Captain's.”

Calisto chewed the inside of his cheek, not really wanting to let his betrothed or her brother go, but seeing their determined expressions, he had no choice but to let them do what they wanted.

It only took half an hour to assemble the royal knights under Calisto’s direct order, all of them wearing the blue and white colors of the prince’s.

Calisto helped his betrothed up on her horse, his face full of worry, his hands not leaving hers.  “Must you really?”

“I’ll be back before you know it.” She assured him with a gentle smile.

“I’m sending Casimir as well, just to be safe. He’s the best healer I know.”

“You’re overworking him, dear...”

“He’s getting paid well from my wallet.”

Tan ignored the lovebirds and instead looked towards Mikael. He gripped a dagger with a defensive spell on it, intent on giving it to him but couldn’t find the right words to make it look natural.

Mikael noticed him standing there with a conflicted expression, and the red-head only smiled at him reassuringly. “I may not be on par with my sister but I can handle myself.”

Tan grumbled to himself for a moment before stepping forward and thrusted the dagger towards him. “Just in case you need it. This is mine, it has protective spells on it.”

Mikael stared at it for a moment, debating whether or not to accept the item and in the end, he accepted it graciously.

Once they moved out, Calisto turned to the rest of his knights. “Follow them close behind and provide as much assistance as needed. Do not be lax. If my Sisi ever comes to harm, you will pay for it.”

The coldness in his tone sent shivers down their spine and they all saluted before leaving.  Calisto then turned his attention to his brother, intent on discussing something that he had noticed earlier.

“Is there something going on between you and Lord Mikael, bunso?” Calisto asked and Tan stiffened at his tone.

It was neither cold nor admonition but it made Tan subconsciously stiffen in guilt, since he’s aware he did something that may have severe consequences.

He knew his brother had been filling in for the King for the past half year, slowly taking over the king's duties with cleverly placed requests from the prince using a higher command.

Tan knew the nobles wanted to speak up with this subtle taking over but Calisto has been producing a much better result compared to the current king that they couldn’t complain at all.

Being an inferior Alpha, he couldn’t help but respond politely to his brother.

“It is only a temporary fix. I will lift it once tomorrow comes.”

“See to it that you do that if you don’t have any plans of pursuing him.”

“Yes sir, I’ll keep it in mind.”