Cannon fodder is too lazy to act

12

"Your majesty, Amalthea." Kai bent over as he met the blue-haired woman. His hair fell over his eyes, obstructing his view. 

Amalthea saw this and commented, "Your hair seems to be growing longer, Kai. Do you have any plans to cut it?" She gave an amiable smile, getting up from the table that was prepared with tea. She extended out her hand as she approached him, patting the top of his head. "You're looking more and more like her every day..."

Kai hummed, dodging his eyes away from her. "I'll cut it later." 

"You don't have to cut it necessarily, you know you look quite cute like this." She took his arm and led him to the table, allowing him to take a seat across from her. "So...what will be your plan, Kai?"

Amalthea's voice became serious, though there was an audible tinge of concern in her voice. Kai wasn't in a rush to respond, he took the freshly poured tea in his cup and took a small sip before gently setting it down; he rubbed the rim of the teacup with his fingers, his gaze solemn as he stared at the image of himself, reflecting off the surface of the tea.

"Prince Esmond isn't very fond of my presence." Kai started off, "He wishes for me to leave as soon as possible." Upon hearing his words, Amalthea clutched the teacup in her hands tightly, her brows furrowed and the regret in her eyes could not be hidden.

"I'm so sorry, Kai. I don't understand what happened with your relationship, I tried to get Esmond to understand your circumstances, but he seems..." She sighed in fatigue. "I'm sorry, you don't have to listen to my son, he doesn't know what he's saying. Please, Kai, if you're leaving just because of him, don't. I would love for you to keep staying here with me, your company is very nice in this lonely castle."

Kai shook his head in disagreement. "I understand why Esmond hates me. It's not his fault, I'm a complete monster-" 

"No, Kai!" Kai's words were interrupted by the enraged queen. "Don't say such things! You are not a monster, I don't care what those nobles say! You are just a child and you've been through such horrendous things no child should have gone through! Kai, please. You're a human just like me," She got up from her chair, moved next to Kai, and knelt down to meet eye to eyes with him. She reached out to hold his hands. "I know I can't persuade you to leave anymore. You're deadset on this. But please, Kai, let me aid you on your journey. I don't want to leave my best friend's only son venerable to the real world."

Amalthea touched the top of his head and pressed her forehead against his while tightly clenching Kai's small hands with her other hand. "Let me help you, and on this journey...I hope you find hope. I'll do my best to protect you, always. I promise you, Kai, as your Godmother."

As she whispered the words into Kai's ears, Kai felt his lips quiver involuntarily. He bit the insides of his mouth to stop this action, but the reddening of his eyes still couldn't hide the real emotions he held beneath his stoic exterior.

"Thank you, Auntie."

*Calling her auntie was just a name of endearment. Not actually his aunt.*

Looking at the two embrace each other, a pair of amber eyes squinted in scorn in a hidden corner before leaving.

For the next week, Amalthea has been helping Kai pack up necessities, but in addition, she has also been forcing him to take unwonted objects with him. Kai reluctantly complied, not knowing what any of the things she gave him did.

At the end of the week, Kai finally left. The room he occupied went back to being deserted, and Amalthea felt the palace going cold again. Of course, Kai was accompanied by a team of guards in the first half of his journey, in case he was met with any problems early on.

A few months passed.

Kai was finally gone, Esmond realized. He subconsciously looked behind him, and for an unknown reason, he felt a hint of disappointment at seeing no one following him. But this feeling was quickly shrugged off, Esmond attributed this feeling to some sort of PTSD from having Kai stalk him so much during his stay.

"Your Highness!" A call came from behind, Esmond immediately looked behind him, only to see one of the servants. "His Majesty the King has requested your presence! Please see him in his palace!"

Esmond rolled his eyes, already predicting what that old scum bag of a father would ask of him.

"What? You want me to go and supervise the battlefield?"

Okay, he wasn't expecting this.

Esmond glared at the face of his father. This war was taking a toll on him, as evident by the stress lines on his face. His previous young frivolous appearance was destroyed by the last 3 years, and all that was left was the presence of an old middle-aged man worn from life.

"Yes, you're the crown prince. This is a great opportunity for you to gain personal experience in the field; if you do a good job, you can gain the trust and respect of your people, who will be under your rule in the future. And you don't want an uprising on your hands, do you?"

Esmond sneered. Good opportunity? Yeah, it seems like a good opportunity to send your son to the enemy's hands!

As he was about to refute, the King seemed to have noticed something; he furrowed his brows and asked Esmond with pressure. "Where's the little pet of yours? Isn't he always following you?"

Esmond paused, a little taken aback at the mention of the little stalker. He quickly composed himself though, and responded while looking into his eyes, "He left."

The king seemed surprised, but then a smile overtook his face. "Is that so? That's unfortunate, Esmond." His tone was a bit regretful, but there was a sense of ridicule as he looked at Esmond.

Esmond felt his back run cold. There was a bad feeling in his heart, a bad premonition, and just like to confirm his feelings, the King excused him away with one sentence.

"You're position as Crown Prince will be absolved. Leave."

His world seemed to have been melting. Leave? Absolved? What? His sense of hearing numbed as the sharp sound of a ring reverberated through his head; he found his vision slightly blurring, and his sense of balance tilting.

"...Why?" After an unknown amount of time, Esmond couldn't help but ask. "The position, I was born for it...I was created to rule over...No, I can't accept this. Tell me, why am I being absolved?"

The king stared blankly at his son, his amber eyes was cold and without sympathy for the son he raised.

"Your performance for the last 3 years shows me everything, Esmond. It's a shame, I truly thought you had potential. I won't repeat myself a third time, Esmond, Leave."

Esmond stumbled out of the room without another word, his eyes were blank, but the loss in his chest created an obvious dissonance in his emotions. Right before he passed the doors, Esmond looked back and asked him a question. "Who will take my place then?" 

The king didn't look at him. "I will raise a new heir, starting from scratch. One that doesn't have a such obvious weakness."

*Thund!*

The doors slammed behind him, but Esmond continued to stand behind the doors for a while. A certain word circulated his head, and the image of a certain black-haired teen who was painted burned his brain.

Weakness...Weakness...Weakness...I can't have any weaknesses. No, I have to destroy it, destroy this weakness.

Esmond took a deep breath and walked forward, a dark glint in his eyes.