Everyone Knows Except You Two

"I cannot believe that was your first time dancing at a function, your majesty! You were glorious!"

You make it sound like I just defeated a dragon.

"Quite an unconventional performance, I must say."

Just outright say you're disgusted with the disregard of etiquette, you old hag.

"I must say, your majesty, you and the Imperial Son looked quite dashing together."

Did we? Really? Don't play with my emotions right now, Madame.

As soon as their dance ended and the other debutants were given the floor, Ísar and Xinghua were surrounded. Every lord, lady, sir and madame wanted to talk to them and it was giving Ísar a massive headache. His in-dance realization was not helping things.

"Thank you, Madame, but I assure you, his majesty and I are merely friends. It was his first official debut and as a friend, I wanted him to be comfortable," Xinghua said easily, a plastered on smile on his face and Ísar had never hated the word 'friend' before but he was starting to.

His emotions were going to explode at some point but in that moment, he simply smiled and agreed with his 'friend'. "Imperial Son Xinghua has been a valued presence the past couple of days. I do not think getting through so many events would've been as bearable without him."

And the king meant that. If the older boy had been replaced with anyone else as an envoy, Ísar might've easily crumbled under the weight of the crown. Osayi was also a big help but the balance and stability Ísar felt around Xinghua was what kept Ísar grounded.

He didn't dare look up at Xinghua after admitting that, using that as an excuse to actually focus on the nobles talking to him.

How I only realized now that I like him is beyond me. Ísar wanted to smack himself for bringing that up in his brain again, his thoughts going back to his internal confession. It was distracting him.

"I can understand the feeling of pressure during such unbearable events, your majesty." That was Duke Tobbason of the West, one of the old heads the Count had told Ísar to befriend. "What with the monsters my region has been dealing with. Usually talks of subjugations would've been talked about prior to the social season and yet? All that has been talked about is the increase of tax on nobility. Though I do hope you have enjoyed your time with your new companion. I had heard that you even had time to visit the festival."

The previously excited nobles had slowly quieted down, looking at everything but Ísar. The king himself looked up at the middle aged man and couldn't help but smile.

They were all so very ridiculous but he needed them.

He could've easily just done what he wanted, taxed them and used that money to further improve his nation the way he saw fit. He had the power, in more than one way. Even not counting the mysterious power he held, his magic was growing. It was estimated he'd be on par with his sister by the time he was sixteen.

It would've been so easy, to make them bow to his will by force, but he wouldn't. He wasn't his father and he didn't want to be.

"Lord Tobbason." The older man rose a thick blonde eyebrow as he had the audacity to look down at his king like he was above Ísar. "I am quite sure that the previous monster subjugation had left the monster population smaller than it had ever been in the history of our founding. Meaning trade within your ports has steadily increased, yet no news of the rise of your region's economy being put towards efforts to help your dukedom's citizens."

He knew it was a tad twisted, but he did like how the mention of the previous subjugation plus the lost money left the old man floundering if only a little.

"That being said, I can somewhat understand your worries. Though I am not sure why my outing with our allies' envoys was mentioned, it does bring me to one of my many points," Ísar said as he stepped forward bit by bit, getting closer to the Duke. "You see, during the festival, Imperial Son Xinghua had been attacked by traffickers within our very own slums." They gasped, he continued. "He fought them off and won, of course, but imagine if the prince of the largest empire in the world had been harmed? On our soil? By our citizens?"

He hated the hushed whispers but it helped knowing that they were at least interested enough to discuss.

"Our beautiful kingdom, gifted to us by the Mother, has a myriad of issues. The victims of the monsters attacks, mortality rate, non-existent tourism, high illiteracy, plague after plague after plague, and so much more. Fixing such things requires more than hoping they'll stay outside our walls. Yet the mere mention of a slight tax on your chocolates and silks has you looking down on your King?"

The more he spoke, the more irritated he was getting. He'd always seen nobles as an annoyance but at that moment, he found them downright pathetic.

Ísar stood directly in front of the Duke and said plainly, "Kneel."

"Your majesty?"

Ísar sighed and repeated himself, "Kneel. I won't say it a third time."

The Duke, shock clear on his aging face, went down on one knee with his head bowed in front of Ísar who simply looked bored again, his fake smile gone.

"I was going to overlook it but looking down at a king while discussing such matters simply didn't feel right."

"I apologize, my king," the Duke muttered, clearly confused as to how he'd gotten to such a position.

"I'm sure you do," Ísar said with a tilt of his head. "I hope I've given you a good enough reason as to why I mentioned a tax, your grace. If not, we can discuss this more during the season."

"Of course, your majesty," the Duke said, the situation finally kicking in. "Please forgive my prior rudeness."

Ísar stared at him for a while before turning on his heel, facing Xinghua who was simply staring at him. The look brought the young king back into the hall, remembering where he was, and Ísar's brain switched from King to twelve-year-old boy with issues being the center of attention. It didn't help that everyone had mostly gone silent.

Ísar cleared his throat and said, "Now if you would all excuse me, I would quite like to go rest for a moment."

Ísar said and walked up to where his king's seat was and beckoned Sir Erik to follow him through the door behind the chair.

He didn't even look back at Xinghua, both because he knew the boy wouldn't be far behind but also because the king was so very embarrassed every time he switched roles around him.

"Are you alright, your majesty?"

Ísar looked up to see Sir Erik by his side, both of them in the hallway of the Viscount's manor.

"I'm fine." His voice cracked so he tried again. "I'm fine. I just don't like talking too much."

The sleepy knight lazily blinked down at him before nodding and waiting for Ísar to start moving again. The knight didn't even question where the king was going considering they'd never been in the manor before so wouldn't know where the resting room was.

It was one of the reasons Ísar valued his presence. The older man mostly spoke when necessary.

"Also congrats."

Ísar was confused. "On what?"

"On finally realizing your feelings, your majesty. Still surprised it only took dancing with him twice. I owe Prince Osayi some money though."

The young king's brain froze.

"You knew?! Osayi knew?!"

For probably the first time in Ísar's short life, Sir Erik smiled. It wasn't a warm, welcoming smile either. It was the smile of a fox.

"Your majesty, with all due respect, but I think everyone knows except you two."

Ísar wanted to scream and he took back what he said about Sir Erik. The knight had no idea when it was a good time to just be quiet.