NOBLEMAN ADVENTURER

Prince Edric

Lady Bromwell said, "But His Majesty has approved the permit six weeks ago, when Prince Edric asked for an audience."

A frown quickly appeared and then quickly disappeared on Lord Crohn's face. "If that is the case, then Prince Edric ought to be entertained by the Imperial Chancellor. After all, the Nillah Kingdom's prince, and an unnamed heir, could only be on par with a royal, not worthy of His Majesty's direct welcoming. Even more so, now with the future heir apparent here, how can we expect our future king to greet foreign royals. Would this not send the message we don't respect our prince?"

Lady Bromwell felt there was something wrong with Lord Crohn's speech, but she did not do anything to him. Instead, her grip on my shoulder tightened and I knew she was angry.

"Indeed, one would normally agree with Lord Crohn, however, royal relatives need not stand on the many expectations of etiquette. If etiquette is more important than family, than one does not need to keep up with familial ties."

"Your ladyship has mistaken my concern and high esteem for your son. One is a loyal subject, who only wishes to protect the new found prince from any harm. How many intrigues are there among the royals. If one were to look back, the Nillah Kingdom has intermarried with our kingdom's royal family for several hundred years. It is commonplace to think of familial ties, but it also much more important to follow the established etiquette among royalty. If one were to disregard the etiquette, then what sets us apart from the commoners?"

With pouting lips, Lady Bromwell turned to His Majesty and urgently exhorted, "Your Majesty would allow Lord Crohn to dishonor me at court?"

His Majesty thought for a moment, before saying to Lord Crohn, "Let the Imperial Chancellor receive the Nillah Prince. Then we shall prepare a banquet to which we will invite the Nillah Prince and allow him to be introduced to his cousin."

"We are suddenly reminded, that We've forgotten a very important matter," His Majesty said to me, "Son, what is your name?"

The word Casper entered my mind, and thus I was ready to answer as such, when Lady Bromwell rushed to answer for me.

"Caspian," Lady Bromwell replied. "We named him Caspian."

My name sent ripples of startling whispers among those present.

Just why would the crowd find my name so shocking?

Lord Crohn laughed jovially. "As expected, Lady Bromwell knows how to truly surprise others."

I didn't dwell on what Lord Crohn said, nor the meaning behind his words, as I was focused on the young girl who was said to resemble Lady Klein. When my name was pronounced, she stared intently at me, as though she was expecting me to say something to her.

Could it be that this young girl knows me? If so, perhaps I should speak with her.

I edged over to her and whispered, "What is your name?"

The girl looked at me with wide eyes and said, "You don't remember?"

Note:  This is what Prince Edric might look like.  The image is AI (Dall-E) generated.