The Tales of the Crimson Prince of Obelia

Part 21 Cale

  Raon wondered the halls, ignoring the grand decor and pillars made of gold. As if he had the time. He wasn't quite sure how long he had. An hour? 5 days? The magic he used may be unstable. It might break at any moment and send him back. So he had to be quick.

'Warn human, need to warn human, no time, don't waste time'

Before long, he stood before the vast imperial garden. Compared to that of the Henituse garden, it looked oddly similar. As if it was a direct copy. It was indeed strange to Raon. He looked up at the midnight sky, remembering the days he spent stargazing with his family. It was...peaceful. How long had it been since he felt so..relaxed? Months? Years? All the days he spent, the time wasted to fix things. Maybe he could rest after this. Yes.. A nice, peaceful nap.
.
.
.
Back in the palace, Athanasia searched desperately for the emperor. From the ballroom to the throne room, to the gardens and the corridors. He was nowhere in sight. Not a single person could even mention his whereabouts when asked. This was an unusual behaviour. Despite the emperor being cold-blooded, he would always make an effort to let someone know his whereabouts. Especially if his children were trying to look for him. A somewhat cute habit he developed during his days as a new father.

Athanasia still remembers the days she tried to gain the emperor's affection by expressing her desire to play with him. However, that plan disappeared when Cale came into the picture. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, just made it harder to find the emperor since he would almost always be with Cale.

"Perhaps he is with Cale.. But they said he was in the ballroom." Athanasia took a peak into the ballroom as she passed by. Cale stood there, casually chatting with the nobles, mostly young ladies seeking for his every affection. Maybe a chance to become the empress one day. Athanasia honestly doubted that since Cale is very reserved and doesn't quite have the desire for a long-term relationship. But as Athanasia was about to step away, Cale grabs one of the ladies hands and starts flirting with her. Athanasia notices and was in a state of shock.

"The heck is he doing?! Since when did he learn to flirt and why is he doing that?!" She couldn't believe the very scene before her. Probably only she was reacting this way, the other nobles seem to think that their crown prince was looking for a partner. Such a thought caused the many young ladies to swarm around Cale. Pushing away the young girl that Cale flirted with. Poor child. How embarrassing to watch.

Athanasia leaves the entrance to the ballroom to continue her search, not knowing the emperor was walking over to Cale as she left. "How long will you stay with those ladies?" Claude asked his son as he stood behind him. Cale was slightly shocked, surprised that the emperor was standing behind. Claude silently stood there after all. Not much of a sound to be heard. Cale turned around, their pure crystal blue eyes locked into each other's vision. Claude noticed the rather light shade of blue in his son's eyes. A cyan colour. But Claude didn't think much of it. It was probably the lighting in the ballroom.

Claude took the chance and asked his son to follow him to the nearby corridors on the second. Just some privacy to speak to his son about his crown prince duties. Since Cale wasn't quite as ready as many think. Cale still didn't know much of the nobles names and family background of the lower nobles. Something a crown prince should know before becoming the emperor. Cale was quite confused however. He was suspicious of the emperor's intentions, since he is dragging him to an empty hallway.

"..Who are you?"