The King's Wishes

"Ehem..." Marc cleared his throat before proceeding.

They were both still currently seated at the dining table, but right at the moment when Shopkeeper Kathleen had snapped her fingers, all the dishes had vanished into thin air. The only things that were left were the pair of teacups which had once again been magically refilled for the host and her guest.

At first, Marc had thought there were other servants present in the large Grand White Mansion other than the two female vampyres behind the Shopkeeper, and those other servants were the ones that had served the breakfast and ensured the teacups had been filled right when they had just arrived at the dining room this morning. However, it seemed that his guess had been wrong - everything had been done by the Shopkeeper using her magic.

Though magic did exist in this world, Marc had rarely met with someone that was powerful enough to run a whole mansion with it, especially one as large as this.

This morning, Marc had found that his bed had been made by the time he had got out of the bathroom. His clothes that he had worn on the way to the peak of the Green Valley had been washed and ironed, any torn or cuts he had previously had on them were gone.

Ignoring his curiosity regarding Shopkeeper Kathleen magical power, he began stating his reasons for coming to the Grand White Mansion. "I came here bearing my Royal Father's request and offer to you, Shopkeeper Kathleen regarding a position in the Albastrom Kingdom currently reserved especially for you, and that is as our Kingdom's Chief Merchant," announced Marc full of pride as if Shopkeeper Kathleen should feel honored at being given such opportunity.

Ansel and Gretal narrowed their eyes at the Prince's tone, while Kitty and Kat rose from their napping position to peek their head beyond the dining table's edge to see who was making a fool of himself this early in the morning. On the other hand, unlike the other residents of the mansion that was showing great annoyance, Shopkeeper Kathleen simply raised her teacup from its saucer and took a sip, slowly savoring the taste of the herbal tea that The Kitchen had prepared this morning for her.

Without noticing any of the annoyance the four showed him, Prince Marc continued to explain, "As the the Albastrom Kingdom's Chief Merchant you will be tasked with spreading the Kingdom's name far and wide not only within the merchant's community but also the whole world. The King will provide you with full support and any necessities that you will require to start your business and even during the whole process if you deemed it as necessary. All you need to do is expand your business while bearing our Kingdom's name, and of course, bring money in to serve as the Kingdom's income. The later part can be discussed further after you have properly settled yourself in the Albastrom Kingdom."

"The King has heard of your fame and expertise as a retail merchant and of your shop, The Silvers. You are selling rather interesting stuff here, aren't you? Potions that could fulfill people's wishes and dreams, they say. That is why his Majesty would like to-"

"Not interested," Shopkeeper Kathleen answered nonchalantly.

"W-what?!" out of all the answers and questions that Marc had prepared himself to hear from the Shopkeeper, this was definitely not one of them. "I beg your pardon, Shopkeeper Kathleen. This is my Father's, the King of Albastrom Kingdom wishes, so as a loyal subject of this Kingdom, you should bow down to this request even if you were reluctant to accept it, and provide your tiny self to-"

Just then, a butter knife coming from who knew where had suddenly flown towards Prince Marc's direction, planting itself deep within the wall behind him. The butter knife had flown so close to the Prince's face that if its trajectory had been a millimeter more to the right, the Prince's right cheek would have been bleeding right now.

"You'll find that, Dear Prince, that you wouldn't want to use your royal power here." The way that Shopkeeper Kathleen had pronounced the word 'prince' was full of mockery, it was obvious that she had felt insulted this time. "No sovereign power could ever make me submit, especially not one from a mere human king," she snapped.

"Furthermore, the King of Albastrom Kingdom territory ends at the foot of this hill. The area from the foot and up to the peak of the Green Valley isn't owned by anyone. This hill is free from any exploitation from any power."

"M-my apologies, Miss Silber," the Prince quickly stammered out an apology when he saw that the two immortal young girls behind the Shopkeeper were glaring fiercely at him as if they will shred him apart the moment he uttered any more inappropriate words. The black cats were also staring at him with their different colored cat eyes - one yellow and blue - as if they can see right to the depths of his soul.

"Father told me, that he's willing to pay you with as much gold, diamonds or anything you want if you accepted his offer."

"Anything that I want, I could get them with my own strength, Prince. Like you have said just now, I am a shopkeeper that sell 'interesting' things after all. People are lining up to get into my good graces," said Shopkeeper Kathleen starting to get bored of Marc's persistence.

Right then, where the Shopkeeper couldn't see, underneath the dining table, Prince Marc's hands were tightly clenched as he gave her the next offer, "The King is even willing to give you me, his first-born and the Crown Prince of Albastrom Kingdom."

Shopkeeper Kathleen's eyes brighten with interest at that offer.

******

"Bye, Bye! See you later, Mister!" with frosted faces the two little vampyre girls waved their goodbyes at Prince Marc from the front entrance of the Grand White Mansion, they had also tried hard to make their voices sounded cheerful.

"Meeeoww!" Similarly, the cats were bidding their own farewell at the Prince, while wagging their black long tails happily.

When Marc's back disappeared at the edge of the hill, as he began the hike back down the rocky pathway of the Green Valley, Ansel turned around to face the Shopkeeper and asked politely, "Lady, are you sure you want to accept the job offered by the Albastrom Kingdom? The Silvers have never sided with any sovereignty power before."

"We owned Albastrom Kingdom's Crown Prince, so it should be okay, right, Lady?" said Gretal.

"Is he truly the Crown Prince any longer?" Shopkeeper Kathleen asked no one in particular as she looked towards the hill's edge at the distance as if she could see down that rocky pathway where the Prince was surely having another hard time hiking down right now.

After a while, Shopkeeper Kathleen took back her attention from the hill's edge. Bending down on her knees, she began scratching on her two beloved Children's furry black heads using the tips of her fingers. "I wonder what the Crown Prince had done to incur such wrath from his Dear Royal Father?"