Chapter 1 - Heir to Peasant

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~3rd Person POV~

"Sir, this is the third time this week...." Mr. Shion, one of Kagamine Len's personal assistants, quickly pulled the sheets from the heir's bed and folded them inside out. "You mustn't continue to woo ladies into the castle.... Are you even using protection, young master?"

Len rolled his eyes, leaning back in the chair that was neatly placed in the corner of the room. "Yes, yes. Instead of scolding me about finding a wife, why don't you make yourself useful and give Father another excuse for me?" He twirled a lollipop in his fingers before sticking it back in his mouth and raising an eyebrow at his assistant.

Mr. Shion's eyebrow twitched slightly as he gave a wry smile. "Yessir," he mumbled, pivoting and leaving the room. He paused, his hand resting on the doorknob. "Oh, and, young master, it would do me much favor if you would not ask me to buy such things for you anymore." With that simple request, he left the room.

The heir tilted his head a bit to the side before laughing. "Like hell I'll do that," he muttered, shaking his head. "My reputation would drop drastically if anyone knew I was buying those pleasure toys.... That's why Mr. Shion, you will continue to buy them for me." He nodded a bit and then resumed gazing out of the window at the village below.

---

"M-Ma'am, would you like a flower...?" A small boy, looking about fifteen, held up a small basket of assorted flowers to the woman before him. "I-I have carnations, hydrangeas, irises, orchids, roses, and asters."

The woman looked down at him, smiling slightly. "Oh my.... How much are they?"

When she said that, a small shimmer was clear in the single golden eye he had. "Two per flower, m-ma'am...."

The woman hesitated. "Two per flower?" She repeated, quieter than he had said, and bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to come by another time."

The boy looked down. "Oh, that's fine." He smiled and then nodded before turning to someone else.

Oliver. The boy selling flowers in the village market. Him and his older brother, Yohio were the only ones in their family. Thus, they both worked like dogs just to eat for one day.

Oliver would stay in the market all day selling flowers to the villagers and travelers while Yohio set up a stand nearby and sold fish that he had caught from the river that their small house was stationed near.

Since the sun was already fading down the horizon, Oliver let out a soft sigh and met Yohio back at his fish stand. "A-any luck?" He asked softly, setting his flower basket on the damp cloth that was laid over the table. The stench of the fish being cooked in the sunlight from before still lingered in the air, and it made Oliver scrunch his nose a bit.

Yohio looked down at him, pulling down a larger fish that he had tied to the long bar of wood that stretched across the top of the stand. "I got a busier day today than all week," he replied, his eyes shimmering with excitement. "With this, we might be able to eat for two days and things will look up."

A small gasp escaped Oliver. "Y-you're serious?!" He exclaimed, earning the attention of a few other stand-owners nearby.

"Yes, yes, now quiet down, Oliver." Yohio packed up what was left of the fish and then sighed. "Don't you think it's a little unfair?" He suddenly mumbled.

Oliver tilted his head a bit. "You mean the fact that we can't eat what we catch, right?" He grew a bit depressed again, looking down as he snatched his basket of flowers up again.

"Yeah, that," Yohio sighed softly. "The damn king."

"Hio!" Oliver whispered cautiously. He knit his brows together. "Don't say that! If someone heard you talk about the king in that way, you could get executed.... And then I'll have to live at the orphanage, and—"

Yohio cut Oliver off quickly with a wave of his hand. "You're right, I'm sorry, Oliver. I should think before speaking rashly...." He nodded and then pulled a bin up. "Let's go home, okay?"

Oliver pressed his lips together in a thin line but nodded back and pulled his hood up a bit so that the shadow would cover his face. Without a word, they both head out.

---

"Like I said!" The king slammed his fist on one arm of the throne. "I will not have my son be such—such a wolf!" He grimaced, leaning back and tilting his head up a bit. "Worthless brat...."

Mr. Shion flinched a bit at the term the king had used for his own son. "Your Majesty, in his defense, all the women who fall for him quickly leave after...well, taking a look at his true personality.... It would do well for him to live a day in the life of a—forgive me for this, if you may—peasant, would it not...?"

The king raised an eyebrow at Mr. Shion, his interest piqued. "A day in the life of a peasant, eh...?" He repeated, seemingly considering the offer. Mr. Shion's eyes widened a bit just from the king's reaction all-together. Surely, he would be rejected, was what the butler thought at first. But maybe there was a chance after all?

After another moment of thinking and muttering some things to himself, the king nodded slowly. "Alright, Shion." His chilling glaze was set back upon the blue-haired man and it sent a shiver down his spine. "One day. But you are to accompany him, in case anything goes wrong. I wish to speak to him before he leaves, however."

"Y-yes, Milord...." Mr. Shion bowed and silently cursed at his stutter before running off to Len's room and knocking. "Young Master? The king wishes to speak to you. There has been a change in plans for tomorrow, I'm afraid."

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