He was awestruck the moment he laid his eyes on her.
The first princess of the Obelian Empire.
Princess Athanasia de Alger Obelia.
Her golden hair that shone like gold under the sun.The sincere and gentle expression on her face, void of any hypocrisy of nobility that he had seen and grew up with.The soft curve of pink lips that look so pure yet so attractive when she smiled.Her big jewelled blue eyes that glimmer like a thousand diamonds, a pair of orbs that can see beauty in the darkest things.The practised and elegant stride of her gait, a prove that whether she was an outcast or not, she is still the princess of the empire who prioritised the authority image to her subjects.The innocent and kind demeanour that came close to a saint, a trait that made everyone wondered if she was truly born to the heartless Emperor, who stained his hands with the blood of his own sibling to ascend to the throne.
He convinced himself that the princess was an angel sent by the heavens above, a personal messenger of God to purify his filthy soul. Tainted by greed and powerlust of his family.
And for the first time in his life, he wants something or someone for his sake. Not for his family's.
Not as the only heir of the Alpheus family but as Ezekiel Alpheus. An ordinary man just like the others around him. A man who would like a constant stability in his life, not the unpredictable life of a posh heir to the one of the most powerful family in the empire where he needs to give out fake smiles and be observant to the hidden knives behind polite words and flirtatious giggles.
But life never follows exactly as we all wanted it to be. Especially when your father calls the shots in every aspect of your life. To be the most important asset to help his father climb the ranks and gain power within the social circles.
Ever since he can remember, Roger had him trained and polished to be the heir to the ducal house and the most influential gentleman in the empire's youth circle. He obeyed his father, the only family member he has ever since his mother died when he was just a toddler due to an incurable disease. He digested every word of his father like a mere puppet, making sure every syllable was ingrained in his brain and locked inside his heart. Roger often comforted him, saying that everything is for his son's sake and their family's honour and Ezekiel will be the strongest contributer to all of it. Thus, he never disobey any of his father's orders, especially when Jennette came into their house.
Ezekiel, take care of Jennette. Get close to her. She will be your wife in the future. Alright.
Ezekiel, I will send you to Arlanta so you could receive the best education. I understand.
Ezekiel, go and accompany Princess Jennette at the palace. Try to appeal to the Emperor to take you as his son-in-law. I will, Father.
As the time passes by, the expectations began to suffocate him. The hopes of his ambitious father drained his spirit away. Jennette's eager blue jewel eyes for them to be married exhausted him. The Emperor's cold stare silently terrified him and he was tired and he needs to freaking breathe.
And what was more better of a salvation than Princess Athanasia?
She is the first person who didn't look at him with a leering stare of other young noble ladies, her gaze soft and kind as she welcomed her half-sister's official fiancé into her humble garden at the Ruby Palace when Jennette dragged him there to introduce both of them to each other. Just by looking at the two princesses relatively different appearance, one could tell that Jennette hold a higher position than Athanasia despite the latter much longer time in the imperial grounds.
Athanasia's modest and plain dress is a far cry from Jennette's lavish one, heavily laced with ribbons and laces. Her golden hair slightly messy on the top of her head while the brunette's hair seems to not have any strands out of place. The blonde's hands bare for the world to see while the second princess' was covered daintily with equally lavish gloves. Athanasia is free from any annoying accessories but Jennette is wearing a pair of pearl earrings and a sparkling pendant, undoubtedly gifted by the Emperor himself.
Yet in his eyes, Princess Athanasia is one of the most beautiful woman he ever seen.
No. She is the most beautiful woman he ever seen.
The infatuation is clear in him as he struggled to greet the princess after staring at her for a moment too long. At first, he thought that he was only charmed by her physical appearance and he was sure it will pass with time. He was destined to marry Jennette. He need to marry Jennette.
His attraction to her only started from there.
Every time he step foot into the palace, he found himself looking around for a certain golden-haired princess. He tried to catch any sign of her whenever he went for a walk with Jennette in her gardens and he will immediately felt ashamed to seek another woman when his betrothed is right beside him. The brunette talking happily without noticing that her fiancé is not paying her any attention.
Despite his attraction to another, Ezekiel is still a true gentleman. He love Jennette as his sister and it is unfair for her to be treated as a substitute when he himself had agreed to the marriage.
But he could not help the eagerness he felt when he finally encountered the first princess at the royal library. They had the chance to discuss a lot of things and he discovered a few interesting things about the princess.
In some aspects, Athanasia is the same as Jennette. Both of them he decided are innocent and pure to actually handle the imperial affairs that filled with sharp jabs behind polite words and harsh rebukes underneath friendly jokes. But he also decided that both of them are really different from one another.
As innocent as Athanasia can be, she is certainly not an oblivious person. She knows about what is actually happening in the empire, which duke is siding with the rebels, the natural disaster that just unleashed its wrath on the nearest village a few days ago. She is concern with her people and she is certainly knowledgeable about the current political movements of Obelia.
The only innocent part of her is that her opinion that talks are better resolution than war. Discussion is more preferable than revolution. Everything should not be resolved with violence. However, she knew the difference between reality and fairytales. There are some things that simply could only be settled physically but she would always hope for an issue to be concluded peacefully.
Jennette, on the other hand, is the perfect advisory for innocent and oblivious. She is content to live in her own world, spoiled and cared for by her reunited father. The brunette doesn't bother herself with the supposedly boring affairs such as palace management or the poor people who need the imperial special funds to survive another day. She convinced herself that as long Claude, Roger and Ezekiel are there, everything will be done for her. And every time he tried to make the princess do her responsibilities, she will reply with the same answer with the innocent look in her eyes.
"You are more than enough to handle it, Ezekiel. You don't need me to do an easy thing like this."
Jennette is much more interested to host tea parties with the noble girls her age at the palace gardens. Enjoying the attention she gained as the beloved princess of the empire as other ladies fanned her with compliments. Talking about cute desserts and handsome noble gentlemen is more to Jennette's cup of tea than discussing about the empire's economy and the discovery of new technologies. The topics which Athanasia greatly excelled at among many others.
No matter how much Ezekiel care for the brunette, there is some time that he wished he could speak his mind out loud and reprimand his fiancée. If someone would ask him on what he thought about her, he desperately wanted to say that she is a dense idiot. Who care about nothing else but her own happiness.
That's why he was more content and relaxed in the blonde's presence. He could actually discuss something that worth his time and debate academically about things that broaden his knowledge. And not soon after, he needed to admit to himself about his feelings for the outcast princess.
He is in love with Princess Athanasia.
But he needs to keep it under wraps. Locked it in the deepest depth of his mind and shackled it tightly in the darkest room in his heart. No matter what happened, his father will be always Ezekiel's priority. No girls or anything else could ruin their bond as family. Especially when said father is the only living kin he has in this world.
Then Ezekiel forced himself to put some distance between him and Princess Athanasia. He can't let his love for her to bloom further than this. He can't let himself to reach a point where he would readily abandoned everything and anything for her. However he promised himself that he would always watch her from afar and help her whenever he can.
But that moment never came. He broke his own promise on the day she was executed.
When Jennette was poisoned, he busied himself with taking care of her. The Emperor was closely watching him and he need to show his care to his sick daughter, lest the ruler deemed his incompetence to be Jennette's groom. Imagine his surprise when Princess Athanasia was declared the culprit of poisoning Jennette.
He knew it wasn't true.
How could an innocent person like Athanasia who dislike violence could ever possibly harm her own sister? The thought is simply absurd but the Emperor convinced himself that his first daughter had tried to kill his beloved daughter out of envy. And ever the cold hearted ruler, Claude ordered her execution without delay. Unbothered by the fact he will slain his own kin yet again.
And he could do nothing about it.
Ezekiel had turned his gaze away and ignored the pleading look that Athanasia had given to him at the execution stage. He made his ears turned deaf and his eyes went blind at the blonde's demise to maintain his own seat. His father was apathetic to all of the gruesome spectacle. He said nothing when Roger simply patted his shoulder as the older man went to the waiting carriage. Leaving his son alone to stare at the corpse of his first love.
Ezekiel Alpheus is simply a damn coward. He did not deserve to mourn nor shed any tears for Athanasia's death so he simply put on a blank face and follow his father to the vehicle. He let his heart bleed and twist as he walked along the pavement.
When he look back at the trail before climbing up to his seat, he thought he saw a trail of crimson liquid that started from the place he stood to the stone between his shoes.
He blinked and the trail is gone.
***
20 years passed by and Ezekiel's life remained the same most of the time. He takes over the royal responsibility that Jennette refused to do after their marriage and gained the trust of the Emperor after proving his capability to contribute to the empire. His daily life now consists of mountains of paperwork, noble meetings and other royal affairs he didn't want to think of.
After his marriage with Jennette, his father was quite enraged to know that Ezekiel only would be crowned imperial consort to the crown princess. Not as an official prince of the empire which means he would never gain the title of Emperor when Jennette ascend to the throne. He will use only the title of 'Emperor Consort' when Jennette become the empress and that means he has no authority over the empire unless he was given the empress' permission.
All of them relatively still the same as he, ever so slowly, began to forget about Athanasia's death and move on to his new life. The dead would never come back to life and he now has a childish wife to take care of. He began learning to love Jennette honestly and leaving the past behind him.
The dull routine was finally broke when Claude fell sick and went comatose in bed. The palace officials and nobles all freak out when the Emperor is not there to settle the heaps of issues situated on his desk. This is when Jennette should step in and continue her father's work but unfortunately, she has no skills nor interest in governing whatsoever. In the end, Ezekiel was forced to handle both of the Emperor and his work that was supposed to be Jennette's responsibility.
Jennette finally searched for a magician who can heal his father-in-law when even the royal magicians of Black Tower failed to do so. Summoning every single magician from every crooks of the empire to come to the capital to heal the Emperor. Each one of them was strictly tested by the official imperial magicians that Ezekiel himself admitted that the exam was beyond his league as he did not do very good in magic himself. And most people hailed him as a genius.
In the end, out of hundreds of magicians presence at the capital, the lone victor finally declared with the chief magician of Black Tower himself involved.
A young teenager, barely 20 of age, with the name of Arius Glemt.
At first glance, the teenager did not catch his attention very much despite the eerie resemblance between him and the Emperor. Simply a normal boy, with kind red eyes, who kindheartedly heal the Emperor as much as he could before the curse on Claude became a hindrance to his full recovery. But the boy insisted that there was nothing to worry about as he could slowly lessen the curse once in a while.
As he got to know the young blonde, Ezekiel was surprised to find many similarities between the late princess and the magician. His manners are perfect, his etiquette is quite excellent for a mere commoner and his broad knowledge can easily equal his own. He knew about things that nobles couldn't care less about but highly regarded by scholars.
He intrigued him.
On one evening, the Consort casually talked about one of the most advanced topics of the empire and Arius easily followed along. His expression told him that the youth actually understood what he was talking about and he didn't just nodded blindly to his words.
Ezekiel's golden eyes stared at the blonde. "You know, most noble kids your age can barely understand about tax revenue and its exact effects to the country. Yet, you talked about it as if you had learned from the lecture that only the prestigious Arlanta Academy could provide. Tell me. How did you receive your education? Who is your teacher?"
The blonde warlock blinked at him before pulling a slight mocking smile. "Oh? The noble kids did not receive this kind of education when they had a lot of money backing them? I overestimated the Obelia's nobility then."
"As for your question, I was mostly homeschooled throughout my childhood. Child education is not a very popular business in the east. Especially in my area of living. I was taught by my parents obviously." Arius shrugged nonchalantly as he sipped his tea.
The consort hummed in understanding before he turned his gaze again to the youth. A frown on his handsome face. "To think that your parents could taught you such advanced subjects. Does your parents worked as scholars in the past?"
Red eyes glanced at him momentarily before focusing back to his snacks. "You could say that. My mom taught me all the subjects while my dad trained me in magic. I guess you could call my mom a genius with all the things she know. An underrated one that is. Some people threw her out before she could show her talents."
"Who?"asked Ezekiel curiously.
This time, Arius' red orbs stared directly at Ezekiel's golden ones.
"Ungrateful bastards and idiotic airheads."
Ezekiel never asked anything about the warlock's education again.
But that didn't stop him from discussing about politics, science, mathematics and many more with the young blonde. For the first time in forever, he felt relaxed and content to discuss something he enjoyed without restraint. The same feeling he felt with the late princess.
When Jennette proposed the idea to adopt the young wizard, he was skeptical at first. Arius has a loving family waiting patiently for him at home in the east and Ezekiel felt that they should not use their power and authority to force someone to be their child. However, as he discussed with Jennette in the night, he found himself in a daze and slight trance before he finally agreed to follow her wish. With Arius' vast area of knowledge, he thought that the boy is the perfect candidate to be the child of future rulers of the empire. The fact that even Claude has taken a liking to the teenager made it more easier for them.
But the plan failed. Horribly.
The blonde warlock absolutely loathed the idea of being a part of the imperial family. The teenager avoided him and Jennette as much as he could and would only approach them if there are some matters that need to be discussed about the Emperor's health. His polite demeanour remains but now his kind words hid subtle rebukes that Ezekiel sure that Jennette is completely oblivious about. The youth always makes sure that he spend as little time as possible at their palace when he needs to greet them.
Once again, the consort felt a slight emptiness that the boy refused to discuss anything unnecessary with him ever again.
Then he found out that Arius has been spending his time more at the Ruby Palace with the headmaid Lilian York from his wife. He listened patiently to Jennette's complaints and ramblings on how should Arius spend more time with them than the forgotten nanny of the late princess. And that the magician always has an unusual brown-haired knight with grey eyes following him around. For a moment, he almost thought that it was the Emperor's former righthand, Duke Felix Robane, who left the palace years ago but Ezekiel pushed the thought away.
It is impossible for a man who supposed to be in his early 50s to look like he is still in his mid-20s. In the end, he assumed that Arius simply has befriended a random knight that guarded the Sapphire Palace.
The knights he requested to report the conversation Arius held with Miss Lilian ended up as a failure as the warlock apparently set up a soundproof spell around the Ruby Palace every time he entered the premise. The guards also reported that their sight became hazy each time they tried to observe the duo tea time together, only managed to see an absurd sight of a third cup on the table and a third chair. A bizarre thing to do when no one else is presence than the young blonde and the adult brunette. Yet, it happens every time the magician spend his time there.
The imperial consort is very close to give up and abandon his wife's wish to take the now hostile teenager. Every single time Jennette dragged and forced Arius to visit them at the Emerald Palace, the white-haired man could see the strings of patience in the boy is slowly threatening to snap. The youth would obeyed and followed the brunette princess without a hassle if he can't think about an excuse to avoid them but as Jennette desperately tried to appeal to him with funny stories of her noble friends, the blonde's face would remain apathetic and uninterested. He suspected that her words didn't pass the magician's head at all as Arius simply tuned her out and often seemed to daydream about other things.
The routine repeated every single day until an incident changes everything. In the middle of the night, Ezekiel woke up startled from his sleep, his breath ragged and his temple drenched with sweat when a powerful wave of mana pulsed strongly through the air of the imperial grounds. It seems that every servant seemed to be woken up by the shocking outburst as the maids cluttered the halls with lanterns, confused and slightly terrified of the overwhelming mana wave. Beside him, Jennette remained sleeping, completely oblivious to the chaos.
A few days later, he found himself kneeling on the ground. Nervous, scared and absolutely terrified. His dignity and honour as a member of the imperial family disappeared into thin air. His father in the same position on his left, trembling as sweat drips from his brows. His wife, yelling like a madwoman when the knights pushed her down on the floor and completely shocked into silence when something appeared infront of her.
There on the throne, the Emperor sat with the coldest face he ever show to his beloved daughter. His blue jewel eyes brimming with rage, disdain, and hatred as he glared at the three people kneeling before him.
And by his side, an ice sculpture which encased a blonde man with blue jewel eyes. The red velvety cloth which hid the sculpture, pooling on the floor. The man carrying the traces of the Emperor's face himself. A trait that made Ezekiel recognised the man and in his horror, the link between the man and Claude.
The former Emperor Anastacius.
***
Author's note: Hello everyone!It's been quite some time, isn't it?😅My bad.Please don't hunt me with spears.My dashboard explained my tardiness in uploading the story.Once again, I'm really sorry.
I hope you guys look forward to the next chapter.I might upload a bit late again since my online lessons already started earlier this Monday and I have to prepare myself to handle alot of incoming assignments.😭Don't forget to comment and vote!