Aligned Goals

"It is King Corvus Aurum Goldenvale the Sixth." 

Eliran said, letting out a quick breath to move his black hair, a total opposite to Cole's snow-white, out of his face.

"How can I know you're telling the truth when you're in the city right next to the capital, roaming carelessly like that," Cole asked, his stance still unchanging.

"Pfft, oh please." Eliran shook his head with a sigh, "Let me just go through all the details, if that may be possible to make you believe any of the things I've just said."

"Full name is Eliran Blackthorn, as you can see, I come from the Noble Blackthorn family that resides on the highest layer of Silvindor. Our prestigious position came to be from the fact we managed to import, excavate, and export charcoal since the early times. Hence the 'Black' in front of 'Thorn'."

"Go on."

"No need to tell me– Anyways, as I was saying, my father, Darius Blackthorn was a just and valiant man, loved by a lot, even women, six wives, four of whom he had children with."

"Whose child are you?"

"Can you chill out, please? I'm just getting to the part. I'm the only son of the fourth wife, Anita Blackthorn. She was the youngest and most discriminated against, resulting in the same happening to me. Albeit, being the fragile being I have been since my birth, my father, Darius, seemed to grow attached to me, leading to him showing more affection towards me."

"Thus, the other wives got jealous and the things got even worse between them all. Is that right?

"Bing bong! Correct, that is exactly what happened. Things got worse to the point Dad noticed and he showed favoritism by separating us on another mansion during the time the King-Selection was occurring."

"The King-Selection?"

"You really don't know anything, do you? Have you ever been living in Goldenvale?" Eliran asked exasperatedly.

"I used to live in Elyndor, there were hardly any people traveling to and fro on that forsaken place."

"Elyndor, what's that?" Eliran was the one who asked the question this time.

"Have you been living in Golde–"

"Shush, I know of Elyndor, Cole, just playing with you. What son of a Potential King would I have been if I didn't know the Kingdom itself? Albeit, it is understandable you lack so much knowledge about the system and small details that didn't reach that far."

"And, go on– What is the King-Selection process?"

"As the name says, a specific timeline where the noble houses will go through tests and processes to deem who is deemed to be the Ruler of the Kingdom."

Eliran didn't stop his mouth, he kept at it without giving any space for Cole to intervene.

"And during the finalized moments of that process, together with Corvus, a fellow competitor for the throne, invited my Dad, Darius, with the pretense that a chamber that may contain ancient knowledge resided underneath the Castle itself.

"The curious and hungry for knowledge Darius, ended up accepting his request, taking me with him considering the fact we were together when he was invited.

"After leaving me home, but the naive kid that I was and wanted to hang out with my father, I ended up secretly getting on the carriage, following secretly, never revealing myself."

"Hm?" Seeing how Eliran seemed to reminisce and anger beginning to boil and slip through his tone, Cole kept his attention unwaning just in case he might try something, after all, Eliran hadn't showcased his magical abilities once so far.

'Exactly when the world is supposed to have a much higher ratio of awakened too…'

"Indeed, there was a chamber underneath the castle, a library of sorts, and then I witnessed it. My father getting stabbed by a knight on his head."

"..." Cole kept silent.

"Can you imagine, playing so dirty for the throne? Inviting a competitor and stabbing them on the head from the back." Eliran scoffed and chuckled in irony.

"My innocent father, and I who witnessed his head getting ripped open, had nothing to do. All I was able to manage was see his blood gushing out with my own two eyes."

Eliran's voice started to shake, slightly, as tears filled his eyes.

"I don't care if the world is burned and destroyed. But that guy, Corvus Aurum, I will make sure to kill him with my own two hands." Eliran grabbed Cole's Feather Blade with his bare hand, coloring his palm red as he pushed him.

"And no one dares to take him from me." Eliran heaved as his body shook.

"Pfft, isn't that a good look on your face now, so genuine." Cole slightly shifted his head on an angle as he scoffed and pulled the blade away.

"And, what of it? You made me tell you my whole life story just because I hold a facade before the others." Eliran spat as he wiped the excessive blood from his hand with the sleeve of his cloak.

"Tch, it burns."

"Of course it would, you pushed against the sharpest part of the blade like that– It will take a few weeks for your hand to heal naturally. Albeit, there are probably a lot of healers nowadays, aren't there?"

"You're goddamn right. Anways, leaving my case aside, what is the deal with you?" Eliran raised his right brow as he questioned Cole who stretched out his hand to reach the handle of the inn's door.

"Hmm, what might the deal be with me I wonder." Cole couldn't help but close his eyes in half as he thought about it.

"A lot of things may be the deal with me, Eliran Blackthorn, but what I can tell you for sure is that we're on the same side."

"Eh?"

"Yes, I am also against the current King of Goldenvale, and right now, he might be chasing me."

"Chasing you?"

"A rebellion happened inside the castle about a week or so."

"A rebellion?" Eliran repeated, and that was the queue Cole needed for his expression to turn severely dark with a smirk of mockery on his face.

"Yes, a rebellion that has made Corvus ready to greet us with a smile the next time we see him."