Episode 8: Returning to the White Rose Palace 2

PRINCE KYANITE TAPPED Zeeno’s shoulder and stepped down the white bed. He gestured for his subordinate to lead the way as he knew nothing about the White Rose Palace. Just as they got out, Prince Kyanite gawked at the exterior of the palace’s infirmary. There were white roses engraved on its gold pillars, round glass windows on the extremely sturdy white brick walls, and a double door made of the finest ebony wood. If this is just an infirmary, then how extravagant are the other places around here?!

“Your Highness, should we go to your place first, or let us just follow the trail around the White Rose Palace?” Zeeno asked.

“Eh? I have my own place?” Prince Kyanite replied, obviously finding the fact overwhelming. He cleared his throat and told Zeeno to not mind what he had said and proceed on following the trail.

As they walked, Zeeno introduced the places and the people that were sheltered within the fine establishments. They passed by the Servants’ Quarters; the Yellow Tulip Lake which had not only yellow tulips around, but a wide range of flowers; the Bamboo Pavilion; the Lilac House where his younger cousin, Princess Leilani resides; Prince Kyanite’s Zinnia House, and then the wide palace grounds. After passing through the palace grounds, they came to a stop in front of the Pink Carnation House.

Zeeno bowed down low in front of the closed doors and Prince Kyanite didn’t know whether or not he should join him. In the end, he bowed his head but not as low as Zeeno’s angle.

“Why did we bow down? Who lives here?” Prince Kyanite asked.

“Your Highness’ grandmother—the late Queen,” answered him.

Prince Kyanite was rendered speechless. The person who lived in the Pink Carnation House had long left the world, yet the place continued to receive this much respect. God bless you, Grandmother.

They stopped by the Gloriosa House and Zeeno kowtowed in front of its closed door. Prince Kyanite could guess who once lived in the place and kowtowed.

“It’s Grandfather’s place, isn’t it?” he confirmed as soon as they got on their feet. Zeeno agreed and they continued their ‘trip down memory lane.’

There was a huge flower garden that separated his grandparents’ houses from the place of his older cousin, the Crown Prince’s Hydrangea House. Next was his parents’ joint house, Peony House; and the current rulers’ Red Rose House. Finally, after walking around, they reached their last destination: the White Rose Palace.

The whole area they occupy in the northern region is called White Rose Palace, and there was another White Rose Palace! The building stood tall, and the morning sun was reflected brightly by the gold pillars around it. Compared to the pillars of the infirmary, the ones in the White Rose Palace are gigantic. Even the double door was gigantic!

This entrance could probably fit ten persons in a single line and four persons standing on each other’s shoulders! Truly enormous!

Varied sizes of white roses were engraved around the walls, almost as if a vast white rose garden had been drawn on it. Just as Prince Kyanite was about to open the door, Zeeno stood in front of him.

“Your Highness, let us return to your Zinnia House first before we enter the Main Palace. You might have forgotten, but you can rely on this subordinate! I will dress you and fix your hair like usual, Your Highness.”

A while later, Prince Kyanite and Zeeno returned in front of the White Rose Palace—or the Main Palace, like how his subordinate called the place for easier distinction. Prince Kyanite wore a set of all-white attire similar from the beginning and a new shiny gold belt wrapped around his waist. A pair of white boots with clinking gold chains went to his feet and the sky-blue robe with white rose embroidery topped everything. Zeeno tied all of his hair up and placed a small gold crown loop around them. He secured the crown with a gold hairpin, and his princely aura bounced off to the galaxies.

He couldn’t help but whisper to the mirror, “You look amazing…”

Zeeno opened the door for him and his eyes welcomed the view of a ‘golden’ palace. Although not everything was gold, the golden thrones, tables, and seats of the Banquet Hall were enough to fill his eyes with its magnificent shine.

“Nephew!” called the man with the largest crown. His voice was as elegant as his aura. He left his throne and climbed down the few steps of the platform just to give him a tight hug.

“Y-Your Majesty…?” Prince Kyanite responded, quite unsure. King Hyakinthos was taken aback by hearing his title instead of the usual ‘Uncle King’ from his nephew’s mouth.

Zeeno bowed down and explained, “Your Majesty the King, His Highness Prince Kyanite currently remembers nothing. I am afraid it would take a long time before His Highness could recover his memories.”

Hearing this, the Queen stood up and rushed over; her bright blue eyes expressing disdain. “What on earth did those vampires do to him?”

Queen Calanthe’s demeanor can be compared with a volcano. She is a quiet woman, very elegant and poised. She may not show up in front of every single problem, but when finally she acts, every single one of them gets solved. It’s like something was always hidden deep within her that no one else could see. And if she gets mad, the volcano erupts.

The Queen was wearing a white long-sleeved dress that went a little past her ankles. A glittering white-gold sheer robe accentuated her snow-white skin and flowed past the length of the dress. Her feet were covered by a pair of gold slippers. Her curly blonde hair went past her bottoms and was adorned with a dazzling golden tiara. Around her neck was a gold necklace with a white rose pendant.

Zeeno bowed down to her. “Your Majesty the Queen, the vampires of Cold Blood Palace said that His Highness Prince Kyanite already had no memories when he stepped foot in their territory. It was as if His Highness arrived there by mistake, and the vampires were all innocent.”

“One is not,” Queen Calanthe stated with conviction. “I have heard that Prince Chalcedony held our nephew captive. He cannot be innocent.”

Prince Kyanite felt he had to say something, so he did. “Uh, Y— A-Aunt Queen… His Highness Prince Chalcedony didn’t do anything bad to me while I was in their palace’s cellar. He served me food and made my bed. He’s kind.”

The three stared at him, unblinking. What did they just hear? How did the dog and the cat stop fighting over a piece of meat? The news felt like an eclipse. They were absolutely stunned.

Never once did they think that the Tenth Child of the Royal Couple of Cold Blood Palace would let go of their Prince Kyanite that easily. The rivalry of the two was widely known across the Four Palaces. Even the ignorant writers in the capitals had written tales of their fights and the veteran novelists wrote intense battles!

Prince Chalcedony, kind? It was unbelievable, truly unbelievable!

“What is going on? Mother? Father?” Princess Leilani’s gentle, worried voice echoed in their ears and they finally blinked.

“Your cousin must be checked,” replied King Hyakinthos. “There is no way that that vampire would be kind to him. They must have slipped some sort of poison in his meals.”

“No,” Prince Kyanite motioned his hands; “he really treated me well. Look.” He grabbed the collar of his outfit and stretched it. “He healed the wounds I got from the river.”

“He… healed your wounds? And the wounds are on your neck?” Princess Leilani sounded disturbed. Prince Kyanite responded with a nod and her hand flew to her mouth; a single tear escaped her eyes.

Prince Kyanite was also shocked after he listened to his younger cousin’s explanation of the vampiric way of healing a human’s wounds. Did Prince Chalcedony just… licked my whole neck and used his saliva on my marks and wounds?!

【The hidden plot of "The Tragedy of a Human Prince" is beginning to be explored. The actions and dialogues of the character (Prince Kyanite of White Rose Palace) are acceptable. Player No. 8 (Lazuli) episode score: +100. Total accumulated score: 440.】

【NOTIFICATION: Side-mission is 57% complete. Keep it up! Keep it up!】