The Empress's Knight

Chapter 2

A/N- Please, vote and give your opinion.

HAPPY reading!

Disclaimer : This is merely a fanfiction of mine.
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Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sounds of metal clashing was heard in the backyard of Rass Residence, a normal occurrence, really. Even the wailing sound from the youngest of the Rass family was considered as normal by  all occupants of the residence.

"I'll beat you next time, Kaysian! You're just lucky today." His light blue eyes was burning fiercely as he looked up to his brother, Kaysian De Rass.

To his dismay, his brother merely laughed. "Sure, sure, Sein. Make sure you trained yourself more if you wanted that to happen."

"Tch."

Their conversations however, were halted by the sound of his mother's voice. 

"Kaysian De Rass! Carsein De Rass!" His mother, the younger sister of the current emperor, was seen as an elegant woman by others. However, to her sons, she was, scary. 

Kaysian sighed, one eyes glancing at his brother. "What did you do again, Sein?"

"Me?" He repeated. "Why is it always me? I've done nothing wrong today." He furrowed his brows as his mother was approaching their spot. "Whatever. We'll find out about it right - now."

"Mother." Both of them greeted, as the duchess strode towards them, her expression was a bit complicated. It's not like Carsein has never seen his mother with this expression, but usually after coming back from the palace, she was a bit happy. That made him curious. 

So he asked. "What is it, mother?" 

The grim look on his mother's face was hard to miss, that it made him wonder if his mother had some sort of dispute with the emperor. But still, she answered his questions. "The Emperor would like you to go to the Palace tomorrow."

Him? Going to the Palace? While he's the son of Duke Rass, it's rare for him to be summoned so suddenly. "And why do I have to go to the Palace?" He said slowly.

"Apparently, the Emperor wished for the Crown Prince to have a playmate. Someone his age as a companion. And as you're my son, and practically, the Crown Prince's cousin, you're the best choice for that position." She snorted lightly after finishing with her explanation.

His mother may phrased it as an option, but all three of them knew it was a must. An order, more like it. So he nodded. "Fine, then. So I just need to show my face tomorrow, right?"

Despite being cousins, never had he interacted with the Crown Prince beyond mere pleasantries. He neither harbor like nor dislike to the only heir of the Imperial Family, but it seemed that his mother was unimpressed with him. 

Well, whatever.

Go to the Palace, chat for a bit, and return home. 

Easy. A piece of cake.

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"A piece of cake, my foot." He mumbled as he kicked a pebble on his way, his hands inside his pockets. 

He hoped that this is the first and the last playdate he had with the Crown Prince. It's not like there's something wrong, but because of the formalities between them, it's truly awkward.

Drinking tea, chatting about the future of the Empire? What the -

How boring. Carsein who valued freedom and detest the need of formalities, can't help but feel awkward as he recalled their conversation.