COMING OF AGE | Nishimura Riki

015 | life is unfair

nishimura riki
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I may not be involved in any political decisions once I become a King, but I still have plans to involve myself with society as much as possible. I want to do more than just cut ribbons and travel around the world to promote Japan with my face.

I have found what kind of King I want to be remembered as. I want to be a King for and with the people. I want to engage in society as much as possible by holding important speeches regarding society and participating in charities and other important events.

After a long time consisting of identity crisis and worries about the future, I have found a purpose to continue my legacy. I guess you can say that I found my purpose when I found Mai. She has allowed me to see the world from another perspective which is something that I am very grateful for.

My wish is to return the same experience to Mai. I may not be able to give her the ideal world she wants, but hopefully, I will be able to give her some parts of it. I wish I could give Mai everything she dreams of, but we all know life is unfair, and it's a waste of time to fulfill the impossible.

Just like any other day, Nicholas greeted me by placing his arms around my neck, except for today since he also pushed up his phone against my face.

"Who is this?" Nicholas asked out of curiosity.

I grabbed his phone to take a closer look. It was a picture featuring me and Mai at the welcoming party. The photographer had only captured my face since I was blocking Mai's face, but you can see my hand on her wrist.

"I don't remember" I lied as I returned Nicholas's phone.

"Why post that picture now? What has it been, a week since that party?" I questioned.

"Good question" Nicholas stated.

It doesn't matter for what reason the picture was uploaded, I have to protect Mai no matter what. No one will figure out it's her and probably not even suspect it to be Mai, but I still have to protect her.

I have to be more careful wherever I go, especially when I'm with Mai. Everyone has a camera on their phones these days, and being exposed to media as a public figure is easy nowadays. That's why I have to protect Mai, protect her from being exposed to the media.

I am not scared of confessing my true identity, I already had plans to do it someday, I just don't want the media to do it before me. However, I am scared of the after-effects for Mai if she is exposed under my name. Being suddenly pushed into the headlights can be terrifying and exhausting at the same time.

Mai doesn't deserve to go through a hard time because of me. That's why I have to protect her.

⛅

People who say that the library is the quietest place, have not visited a castle. If you are inside a castle, don't be surprised if you hear a needle fall.

My footsteps echoed through the castle. To reach my room you have to pass by the dining hall and His Majesty's office, the of the most popular places in the castle. When I reached His Majesty's office, I noticed the door is slightly open.

I decided to peek in through the space in between, seeing His Majesty looking out the window. He noticed me and smiled. His Majesty singled me to come inside as he sat down.

"I want you to be honest with me, Riki. Is everyone treating you right?" His Majesty asked me as I sat down.

"Yes, they are" I answered.

"I'm asking to make sure you are treated equally. People can easily put on an act, pretending to be another version of themselves by hiding parts of their personality. That's what happens when someone encounters a person with high status, they put on an act" His Majesty said.

"Most of them act more polite and respectful which I have nothing against since they don't hurt anyone. It's the people who act friendly that should look out for. Those types of people can seem to have good intentions since they act friendly, but the majority of them will hurt you in the end" He added.

I'm analyzing the words from His Majesty by reading between the lines. Listening to his words made me question if His Majesty knows about Mai, the picture, or if he just reminds me to be careful around people.

"You don't have to be worried" I said with a smile.

"You still have to be careful. It's easier to avoid your classmates than journalists and reporters" His Majesty reminds me.

He knows.

I nodded back and then left the office. There are questions I would like to ask but I choose to keep them to myself, that way I can make sure Mai is protected. Continuing the conversation would lead to me needing to expose Mai's identity to His Majesty.

This conversation is coming back soon. His Majesty will wait while gaining more knowledge before starting up this conversation with me again. This means I have to be more careful whenever I'm with Mai. The best advice is to stay away from, something I should initially have done in the first place.

Me staying away from Mai would be the best choice for both of us, especially for Mai. Staying away from her might be the only way to keep her safe and protected. The only problem is that I like Mai too much to stay away from her.