Bab 11: Current Situation
A few days later
Ismael was in his room. He was currently writing the scenes he'll do later on. His eyes and hands concentrated on the inked paper on his desk. His eyes thinned. Then his eyebrows creased. The plans he had written on a piece of paper could immediately tarnish his relationship with Calus. Ismael admitted that Calus had been a very dear friend to him. For everyone in their group, Calus was the one who always stood out. Ismael knew the reasons. It's not because he is the crown prince but because he is trustworthy. He would be direct to the point. He would hate those people who lie. But he wouldn't do anything to them unless they got on his nerves. Ismael couldn't stop himself from heaving a sigh
He put the paper he had been holding in his hands for a while now toward his desk. Then he tapped his fingers. It was the same mannerisms he had inherited from his father. The old man would always tap his desk whenever he would think something deep. Ismael, though, hated his father. If it was possible, Ismael never wanted anything to do with his father. He doesn't want to become like him. He would never hurt anyone just to satisfy his greed. In the first place, Ismael was never a greedy person. That was what he believed. He even thought that he would run away as soon as he had earned a lot from the household. However, that plan never materialized. The moment his sister got born, he immediately had a reason to live and postpone his plans. Since Herena was Ismael's hope in his dark world, he would never let anyone take the light of his life. Ismael knew he would protect Herena even if it cost his life.
With a lot of thoughts happening in his mind, Ismael averted his gaze from his desk. Then he looked toward the window from his room. Suddenly, he had this instinct in his mind. It's as if some voice was telling him to go toward the window. Before Ismael knew what he was doing, he had already stood from his seat. He only became conscious of his current situation when a cold breeze gently touched his face. He closed his eyes for a moment. Then sweet nostalgia of memories came flashing through his thoughts. They were the memories he had when Arianne was with him —they were his memories before everything became broken. Tears streamed down his face while his eyes were still closed. The sky was a witness to his silently cries and agony. That's why there was a God. Perhaps the holy being saw his pain and granted him a reason to live. It was enough if he had Herena. At the very least, he knew she would never betray her brother. Ismael thought of those things.
The wind gently blew his tears away. With no traces of the warm water in his eyes, he opened them. As soon as he cleared his mind, he saw Harlene and his little sister. The two of them were laughing and smiling at each other. Suddenly, the corners of Ismael's lips rose.
As long as her sister is safe, he's willing to cover the truth. He would take certain measures for his sister's great future. As they say, it's better to mislead his enemies by lying to his allies first. He would keep the truth to himself, even to Herena.
Ismael creased his eyebrows while his hands tightly gripped the window stool. He got worried. When he felt too much nostalgia and happiness at the same time, his heart would tell him that they'll be over soon. His heart was beating for all the wrong reasons. The bright scenery became dark, Harlene and his sister died, and he had blood in his hands. His eyes widened. He became deluded by his vision that he didn't know what was true or not. He stepped backward. Then he stumbled towards the floor. He was breathing rapidly. Bitter, warm water escaped his eyes. He stayed laid on the floor until someone knocked on his door.
His eyes roamed around. He's within his room, right? He wanted to verify everything that he had deluded earlier —about those crimson blood with the dark surrounding. If that premonition would ever happen, then he would commit suicide if his sister died before him.
"Young master, are you within your room?" A familiar voice asked. It was Harlene. Ismael only granted one servant to ask him even if the door to his room was still closed.
Ismael didn't think twice. He immediately got up from sitting on the floor and went to open the door. Then his eyes widened when he found that his sister was fine. She was currently giggling and smiling at him. Harlene did the same until the nanny saw how Ismael looked. She became worried instantly, but her worries faded when the young boy hugged and claimed Herena from her.
"My little sister, my precious one," Ismael kept murmuring those sweet words. He felt alive once again. The scenario he had seen was only in his mind. Those bad things will never happen. Ismael was sure to prevent it from happening.
Harlene saw Ismael and Herena giggling as they hugged each other. For a second, Harlene had already made the right choices. She would do everything she could to save these children. All her life, she had been an orphan. Harlene knew what it felt like to be unloved and betrayed by peers whom no one cared about. Harlene was once a nobody until the emperor took her. However, the mission she had was never easy. When she first met Ismael, she knew that the little boy's life was never easy. He might have grown to be a noble, an opposite to where she had grown. However, Ismael's noble status would matter if his parents would control his movements. They were controlling Ismael like a puppet. The value of freedom was never given to Ismael even after he had grown up. That's the difference Harlene had with Ismael. Even if she's an orphan that nobody would care about, at the very least, she had her freedom back then.
The nanny couldn't stop looking at the two. Then her sad eyes became pitiful. She suddenly imagined two young birds in a cage. The children's lives were destined to be tools for the Duke and Duchess. That's why she knew Ismael and Herena would need her more than what the emperor had ordered her.
She reminded herself that if she had killed the children, the Duke and Duchess wouldn't stop. Besides, Harlene would never destroy innocent lives, especially children who were nice. The two were just victims of the noble household for being a puppet. They were just sufferers from the noble's household they were born. They didn't choose from whose family they would live. They were just fated to dwell within an evil noble family.
For the sight she wanted to protect, Harlene would do anything to hold it dear and save it even at the cost of her life.
***
Meanwhile, Calus was within his household. He was with his friends. Gavin, Servous, and Victor visited him as soon as they knew what Ismael had done with the plans they had exacted toward Calus and Arianne. The noble young boys were sitting across from each other. They were within one of the imperial guest rooms. It was the room that Calus would usually take them. Gavin, Servous, and Victor, all three of them, have their hands shaking. Their eyebrows were creasing. Both their mouths were trembling. They don't know what to say. They were looking toward the floor. They avoided gazing toward Calus. All five of them were friends. However, they would never expect Ismael to interrupt Calus and Arianne that night.
The three young ones felt as if it was their responsibility why Ismael suddenly popped up at Calus' moment together with his lady. That's why they couldn't talk directly.
Calus, on the other hand, was silently reading his book. He sat in front of the three people in the middle beside them. His legs were crossed. He was silent while pointing his sight to the words from the book. But then, he halted his hand from moving a page when he sighted a word of love from a historical book of the empire
As a crown prince, he was tasked to learn a lot of knowledge beyond what an average noble could learn, from historical events within the empire, the etiquette of an imperial member, ornaments, and clothes used for different occasions. The most important teaching that the tutors of the crow prince always emphasized was to approve all the noble officials' queries without questions. That's what he had learned. From the very beginning, Calus couldn't depend on his weak-minded father. That's why he was led to the same circumstances as him. The noble officials already had their eyes for the next ruler to be their mere puppet —a future emperor only in papers.
Calus' eyes thinned. He had never seen the word 'love' in historical books. He blinked. But the words didn't seem to be his imagination. It was truly inked within the book. Then he read the phrase
~Queen Margarette sacrificed herself for the person that betrayed her. King Alpheus had a lover and never loved the Queen. The history points out back to the early Gormenia. It was the age of the ritual era. King Alpheus wasn't satisfied that his lover was second in rank, so he pushed Queen Margarette to death. Only did he regret it later on after reading the Queen's diary. But it was too late for him. The King then asked one of the powerful mages from the land of Ferzius. There was one. It was a young man that helped King Alpheus. He had given a magical thing that was soon to be the heirloom of the empire. One day the king disappeared, and no one knew where he went. It's the same for the magician.~
Calus' heart seemed to feel pain. He nearly stopped breathing. He widened his eyes. He forgot it was a famous story of a once King and Queen. As time passed, the place became ruled by an emperor and empress. The tile significantly changed, but it was still beyond belief that it had something to do with the late King's decision.
Calus closed the book. Then he looked at the people within his room. He thinned his eyes. The three people whom he considered his companion seemed to be scared of him. Their eyes and eyebrows were widened and wrinkled. They had the impression that they nearly jumped out of their places. Calus raised one of his eyebrows
"Go on, talk. It's already been hours since you three came here, but I never heard any words from you," Calus said. He knew what the three came for, but then, it seemed as if he wanted to torture them, so he started reading for a while.
"Calus, it's not what you t-think. I don't know what had happened to Ismael all of a sudden," Gavin said. His hands and feet trembled.
"H-Honestly s-speaking, we don't have anything to do with I-Ismael's actions. Believe us, Calus, we didn't plan for it," Victor said. Same with Gavin, he was also trembling
"I-I know Ismael wouldn't do something without any reason. He may have one for the very least," Servous said. He's also trembling
"You're probably right, Servous. I know Ismael knew about Calus' love for the lady," Victor said. He had finally engrossed himself in the topic.
"I think I just have an idea for it," Gavin said. When it comes to planning, Gavin would always presents himself with ideas. Calus looked at the three. He put his book on the desk in front of him and tapped the handle of his chair. His eyebrows were still raised.
"Alright, let's hear your idea then, Gavin," Calus said. He had a soft, calm voice, but the three people interpreted it as dangerous. That's why they looked at Calus with tamed gazes. Like they were pleading for mercy to spare their lives. However, Calus remained in his current situation
Calus had a predatory look in his eyes. The three portrayed that in their minds. But for Calus, he was simply looking at them. It was his natural expression when he was in his deep thoughts. Like a mystery, Calus was indeed the mysterious one within their group.
Calus had a strong influence on his friends. He could give them what they want, but he could also destroy those things at the same time. He may be considered powerful within the empire. But that was for show. However, his movements weren't for show. He had the talent to become a ruler. He had a great sense of himself. Though, he would rather lie low with his plans for the current time. He still needs to find a loyal servant that would serve him without a doubt. His friends couldn't resist respecting Calus and being afraid of him. Though for Ismael, he wasn't like the three. He could disobey Calus. But the crown prince never did anything to hurt Ismael, either physically or mentally.
Calus waited for a long minute before heaving a sigh. It seemed as if the three would prefer silence over words, Calus thought.
Then he spoke
"Since you've come up with a great idea Gavin, I would like to give you something. However, before that happened, I would have to ask you first..." Calus said. He paused. He brought his other hand to his chin and thought. Then he smirked to look at Gavin, who seemed to be sweating a lot.
"What would you do when you wanted to tame a little wildcat?"
***
"Herena, I'm always proud that you're behaving well. I guess you were nice to Harlene. The nanny seemed to be truly fond of you," Ismael said. He was currently holding his sister, who sat on his lap. He then smiled afterward. Then he gently pinched his little sister's chubby cheeks to become rosier. She's such a cute little sister, Ismael thought. He wanted to talk to his sister. It's the only way he can relieve himself of his stressful days. Especially from the imagination, he had earlier.
He needed to confirm if it was an illusion, so he did enjoy teasing his little sister. When he finally thought that the scenario earlier was just an illusion, he would ultimately rest with his sister and just take care of her.
"Asdfghjk!" The little one exclaimed. Then she giggled. She placed her little hands on her brother's chest. Then she stood up to face her brother's gaze. Her brother had a soft concern toward her. Herena suddenly widened her eyes. She felt like she had met the future self of her brother. The one that died. That's when she couldn't stop her hands from tracing her brother's face, from the corners of his eyes to his nose, jawline, and lips. Herena knew that she got reborn to protect the young boy in front of her with the premise of knowing and hindering what his father might do in the future.
"Did you miss me that much, my little sister?" Ismael asked. He was smiling while he held his sister carefully. Herena then nodded like she understood her brother.
"You truly have my intelligence, Herena. Even if you're a baby, you still managed to understand me," Ismael proudly said. Herena just giggled. That's when Ismael realized something. His little sister is never a normal baby.
They were currently within Ismael's room. Harlene left them for a while as she still needed to do her other task. She still needs to clean the baby's room. After that, she would prepare her food and clothes after she takes the baby for a bath.
Within Ismael's room, the sun gently descended on the place. It was a bright warm light. It made the room enough with the lighting. The two figures within got engulfed by the sun. Though they never mind. As their golden blonde hair shone with their emerald eyes, the two laughed and smiled as they enjoyed their bonds with each other. No one could take the bonding of a sister and brother. It would always be stronger than anything because they knew they only had each other at the very end.
"Herena, always remember that brother will always protect you no matter what happens, alright?" Ismael said. He halted his movement. He was already patting his sister's head. As if response, Herena cried. It's when Ismael became worried that he searched for his handkerchief in his pockets. He only realized that he had given it to Herena. So he gently wiped the baby's tears with his sleeves.
"There, there. There's no need to cry. I'm always here, Herena," Ismael said. He hugged his sister. After that, Herena calmed down
The reason why Herena cried was evident because she didn't protect her brother in the past. She didn't know that her brother would die. She always knew he would be safe and sound. But, she was wrong. Now, because her brother was alive and well, this time, she would do everything to protect him. She never knew what the future holds, but she's decided to take her steps toward the unknown and create changes that would make her future self proud of
***
"Greetings, Your Highness and young masters Gavin, Servous, and Victor," the old butler said. He bowed respectfully toward the young nobles.
"Good morning. Did you see Ismael this time?" Calus asked. The other three kept their mouths silent
"He has his hands full today, Your Highness," the old butler responded.
So he was busy for today, Calus thought. He smirked inwardly while the three others were already creasing their eyebrows.
"It's fine. We can take it from here. Do what you must do today." Calus said. He then respectfully smiled at the old butler.
While the old butler, who seemed astonished for a second, nodded respectfully before them. He left the place, but for Calus, he knew they were constantly being eyed. Though, this time, he doesn't care.
"The three of you can come inside," Calus said. It was his command and never his request.
Unconsciously, the three young boys nodded. They didn't want to anger Calus, so they proceeded within. However, the three of them seemed to be stunned after hearing what Calus had added
"For now, I'll need to tame the wildcat," Calus said. Then left the place while closing the door. The three stood numbed in their places. They didn't know, but it was the second time they saw Calus smile like that other than speaking about Arianne.
"Did you two see what I just saw?" Gavin asked. His mouth still hung open
"I saw it. It was clear enough," Victor said. Then he elbowed Servous
"Is he even the Calus that we know of?" Servous could only ask
Hadiah
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