The Serpent's Enigma

27 | The Pickle Emperor

Cal Junior stood there, jaw dropped. He knew what those words meant in Prajan.

"...Excuse me?"

"Will you marry me?" Aravin repeated, reaching his hand out toward Junior.

Frowning, Junior looked like he was going to respond at first but instead, he turned toward the Empress. "Gigi, who is he?"

Gigi, completely taken aback by what his brother said, eventually got a hold of herself. "Erm... he's my brother. Your father invited him to stay over for the summer. I'm sorry, he seems a little bit excited to see you. He can only speak Prajan for now, but I can teach him Anglese as he stays."

Turning his gaze back towards the other boy, Junior held his chin up and gave him the 'business' look he'd always used in public. "Pleasure," he said pompously.

***

The sole Heir of Angletonia wasn't expecting the other Prince to continue his pursuit at dinner. As he sat by his father's side, Aravin continued to stare at him with a pair of goo-goo eyes. Sighing, he diverted his attention by gazing down on his appetizer.

Although Gigi was thankful that her brother wasn't being rude to her husband, this was entirely new and left her unprepared. Who would have known that Aravin would develop a crush on Junior?

"You know, you won't have to prepare two kinds of meals, Gi. Junior and I would be content with dining over a Prajan meal, right Junior?" Cal grinned. "As long as there's ca-roo-puk, of course."

"...Right," answered Junior, still averting his gaze from Aravin's.

"Alright. I will ask the servants to prepare only one set of dishes tomorrow." Gigi smiled. "But I think my brother could also try Angletonian food every once in a while."

"It's good that you now have a friend around your age. You can have someone to play with! I heard that you've been spending a lot of time outside lately."

"Oh... that." Junior scratched the back of his neck.

"You... like staying here...?" Cal asked, trying to speak in simple Prajan. He only knew some really basic words.

"I love Angletonia!" Aravin exclaimed; completely forgetting the animosity he harboured for the Emperor, wiggling his brows at Junior. Gigi was a total loss for words.

Junior squeaked, sneaking under his father's arm. A gesture which he would normally only make when he was scared, which was rare.

The prince just threw away his pride.

"Junior? Baby, what's wrong?" Cal stroked his son's back, as Gigi looked at both boys with concern.

"Your Majesty," the butler suddenly came in with a piece of paper, interfering with their little affair. "I received a response from the phone call you asked me to make to Dr. Jaeyr. She said that her appointments for this week were full, but for you, she was willing to make an exception."

Taking the piece of paper from his hand, the Emperor thanked him before he was dismissed.

"Doctor? Why are you seeing a doctor? Are you sick, Sire...?" asked Gigi, feeling a bit worried. How could she not notice him feeling unwell? And he had to speak to someone other than their private physician?

Looking up from the message, Cal smiled at her weakly. "Not physically, Gi. I need to get better for us, remember?"

Giving him a perplexed look, Gigi failed to catch the meaning of his words. Then her eyes lit up, hand raised over her mouth, preventing her from letting out a surprised 'Oh!'.