Arin Helev was quietly sitting alone in his room after meeting his father.
The King's decision still bothered him. Ever since he was young, he was taught how to rule. However, now that the time was near, he somehow felt uneasy.
While the Crown Prince was busy with his thoughts, the door to his chamber was opened and someone entered without even knocking. Arin knew who it was right away as only one person in the whole palace used to do this.
The young Prince walked towards his brother and stood right beside him.
"Morin," the Crown Prince muttered. Looking at his younger half-brother, he forced a little smile.
"Is our father going to die, Arin?" the young Prince asked. He was always the one who welcomed back his brother with a smile whenever he returned but... this time, he appeared so sad.
The Crown Prince shook his head and holds his brother. "No. He will be fine."
"I heard Father discussing about you with Mother. He said that you will soon become the King," Morin Helev said.
Arin Helev stood up and make his brother took his seat. Then he crouched down beside him. "Father is ill. He wants to recover and rest in a quiet and peaceful place. That's why he wants me to become the King," he explained.
Hearing out his brother, Morin's face brightened up a bit. "So, Father won't die?"
Arin Helev nodded his head. "He won't. You should take good care of him while you have the time."
"Alright," Morin replied. Now that his brother assured him, his sad face was slowly replaced by a happy one. "But where do Father plans to rest?" he asked, curious.
"In the South Palace," Arin informed his brother. "The atmosphere is great and peaceful there."
"That's too far," the Prince complained. "Does that mean you will be here alone?"
"What do you mean, alone? Won't you stay with me?"
Morin shook his head. "Father will stay at the South Palace and Mother will surely be with him. I want to stay with them."
Parting with his little brother too? Arin never thought of that. But when he thought about it, Morin was still young to be away from his parents.
"There is a way for you to not be alone," the young Prince suddenly said in a pretty excited tone.
"How?"
"You can just bring back your wife to live with you," Morin simply said as if it wasn't a big deal. He had no idea about how challenging of a task it was!
Arin Helev chuckled at his words. "Who tell you that?"
"Father said that you two have some misunderstandings and you travel to solve that," Morin replied. He leaned towards his brother and whispered, "Did sister-in-law still refuse to come back with you? Why did you return alone?"
The Crown Prince finds himself struggling to answer his little brother! His situation was too complicated and it will need a lot of explanation to make his brother understand. Then he sighed and said, "It seems like I will still need some time."
Morin Helev blinked, surprised. His brother actually had something which he couldn't solve easily? This was news to him!
"Just what did you do to her? Sister-in-law is so kind and if she is this angry, I think you do her really wrong," Morin said in a pretty stern voice as if he was a father reprimanding his son. This made the Crown Prince blinked!
How did he become the perpetrator?
"How can you take her side, Morin? Don't you like me the best?" he complained with an annoyed face. If only he could explain!
"Of course, I like you the most," Morin Helev said and added, "But I hate men who make women cry."
For the many times in a few minutes, the Crown Prince was taken aback once again. How did his brother learn to say that?!
"What do you mean?" he asked, confusion written all over his face.
"I hate it when my mother cries because of my father," Morin Helev said. However, the disappointment in his face was gone when he said, "But these days, my mother is really happy. I never see her cry anymore and that's also because of Father."
Hearing out his brother, Arin Helev was in a daze. Once again, he was reminded that even children noticed everything. It was the reason why he was always so careful. He didn't want Morin to notice the bad atmosphere between him and his mother. However, he just realized that Morin might already notice everything.
"Don't worry," he said to his brother in a gentle voice. "Once they move to the South Palace, there will be nothing that will disturb them. Your mother won't be sad again."
"Really?!" Morin exclaimed with excitement.
Arin nodded. "Really."
He felt the reluctance to take over the throne just a while ago. But now, he understood that it was the best decision. This way, his father will finally get to rest and spend more time with his wife and Morin. His brother will be happy and the Queen won't be filled with hatred anymore.
Everything will be for the better, except one thing.
He will be left alone in this huge palace.
However, it will be worth it. At least, his brother will be happy.
Morin left after a while and Arin sat alone in his chamber for almost a day. It was morning when he arrived in Qalagon but he still hasn't eaten anything as he was too concentrated on his thoughts.
If he became the King, he will become busier than ever. With his father not around, everything will fall into his hands and he won't have time for himself anymore. However, this was bound to happen one day. It's just that... everything was too sudden.
Just before the sunset, the Crown Prince walked out of his chamber and went to see his father in the main palace. The Queen and Prince Morin were also in the chamber.
King Regan was happy to see his son again but he was confused at the same time. Maybe because the Crown Prince's expression was too serious.
Halting beside his father's bed, Arin said, "I will take over the throne as you wish, Father. But first, allow me to solve the matter of our officials who are still in the hands of Nardodians. I should do it while I'm still the Crown Prince. After that, you can begin the coronation process."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l