Chapter 4

Queen Dorothy returned early from the ball to her chambers. Removing all the signs of make up and guise. In fact, she's not that much lively and spirited as she was portrayed to be. The unbreakable bond between the King and the Queen of Calsyre, the divine mother of the nation, the luckiest woman with a perfect family—were all fake.

Times have changed, her personality and her heart also turned cold from the chilling coldness of the palace. Her past usual lively self was now nowhere to be seen.

She glanced at the mirror and saw her reflection. "You are a pathetic liar." She said to her face with comtempt.

Her gaze changed directions and saw the reflection of a huge painting of herself and the King hanging at the top of her bed. They used to be very happy with this alliance. An enviable marriage. But now, it's all a joke.

'What good husband? After my birth, he only cared for my son, showing me a bit of care in front of outsiders, but when the doors were closed and the curtains were unfolded, I was all alone in this cold horrendous castle. I, the Queen is just a decoration for the royal family.' When did their marriage started to fail? This marriage, the sweetness of romance is just a thing in the past.

She walks toward the balcony of her luxurious chamber. Queen Dorothy glanced longingly to a certain direction where the mystical forest is located.

Her child, she longs for her daughter. It happen sometimes, wondering about what her daughter would look like, if she's suffering out there, and if she resents them for locking her up in that desolate forest. Maybe she does, but what can she do? She knew that once she set her daughter free, the world will only give her pain and she, as the mother, will only cause her nothing but endless trouble.

In the next morning.

Noah found Alexander in the shooting range while holding a bow. "Practicing for tomorrow?"

Alexander didn't refute his words. "You know, there are a lot competitive people around here. Tomorrow, if you're slow, you might lose all your prey."

Noah laughed and agrees, "I must say, you're right about that my friend. Calsyre is known for having a thrilling hunting event. This is what I've been looking forward to before my visit."

He took a bow and loaded it with three arrows. Noah aimed it on the target and released it soon after. All three of the arrows hit bullseye.

Alexander was amazed, "Ah, Noah, that's amazing! Teach me some of that."

Noah arrogantly smirked, "No sweat."

The two of them were good buddies. Alexander isn't well-versed in archery but he's very good at using swords. Noah on the other hand is from Eceris, they do not have an adept knowledge about mana unlike Calsyre but Eceris, known to be a country who values strength utilizes every other means such as advanced combat weapons and military tactics to maintain a strong and majestic empire. As a prince, Noah was tasked to learn them all.

"I'm quite surprised that the Marquis is not with you right now." The Marquis is extremely loyal to the prince. You can hardly see the prince without the Marquis. Some even made fun of it and said, Marquis of Eisenberg; the babysitter of the prince.

He replied, "He's with the Duke of Tantaleigh for formal business." That explains why they weren't together.

"That reminds me, I was planning on showing you around the palace. You also like reading right? I'm telling you, you will absolutely admire the library here." The prince is very excited to show his friend around.

He's very enthusiastic. Noah let his friend guide him around and the two of them went places to places to visit the astonishing attractions inside the castle. In the end, they reached the palace's library. Inside, the fine scent of centuries old books added to the ambience of the whole place.

Noah look exactly like he found heaven when he saw the whole place. "This is fascinating."

Beside him is Alexander, looking rather smug. "I told you, you'd be delighted to see this."

Both of them browsed the library. Noah carefully looked and search for something interesting. He then saw a thick dusty book lying in the corner. It's covered with gems and and some gold in the corners. He picked it up and carries it to the table. He opened the book and saw the title, 'Gems'.

He turns to the next page and saw a portrait of a man and a woman. Noah read the description below.

'King Harriet and Queen Calsyre' — the first king and queen of Calsyre.

He flipped through the pages and confirmed, this must be a book about the first king and queen.

"Oh, that old thing." Noah was shocked due to Alexander's sudden appearance.

Noah recovered and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm so tired of hearing the legend of these two. Yes, it's fascinating and great but, seriously? A cursed child? That's way too mad, my friend. Plus, if that's true, where is the child? If that legend is actually true, the cursed kid should have appeared by now. Unless I have a twin sibling or my father had an affair. So, that rules out the possibility of it happening." He said dismissively.

He practically grew up in cloud nine. Protected from the truth and of course, the fewer people involved, the better. "But you know, I hope the legend remains a legend. Those children should never exist either way. Their whole existence is to suffer and to be punished for something they don't know of—that's just unfair. Not only that, they will also cause such madness in the world. How will they be able to bear such condemnation? It's an excruciating torture as they also possess a pure heart that will endlessly meant to be shattered to pieces. A fate worse than death." He added.

In fact, he also asked himself before if it was true. The mysteries surrounding their family, the rampaging rumor outside, and his parent's oddity made him doubtful. But even if he knows something, he's still helpless. He can do nothing at all and so he chose to feign ignorance about everything in the end.