Chapter 28: The Royal Patch Academy
The aroma of that morning's breakfast had filled the richly furnished dining hall of the school. Prince Ren hungrily made his way through a small group of girls who were engaged in an animated discussion about the latest fashion in the land. He was famished for he had a tiring journey last night. Fortunately, the headmaster had been informed about the date of his return by perhaps a telegram from his father and had made the guards wait for him until his arrival at the ungodly hour of midnight. King Yuan would surely berate him in a lengthy letter as soon as he found out that his return to the academy was delayed by more than six hours. It was his elder sister's fault. She had insisted that he stay longer in her mansion.
Prince Ren spotted his favorite seat from one of the wooden tables in the dining hall, ignored the astonished stares from his two noble friends as he began to feed on the delicious breakfast waiting for him.
"Now look who just came back from the sea," said a black boy with a fluffy curly hair who sat next to him.
"Don't start Chocolove," the Tao royal stuffed a piece of bread into his friend's mouth before he could even utter another word. "I'm not in the mood for one of your lame jokes."
"You just came back from home and you're already grumpy," his other friend chuckled.
"Renny is ALWAYS grumpy, Lyserg," Chocolove corrected him after washing down the piece of bread with milk.
"So why did you suddenly leave for Kaminari? Is everything alright with your kingdom?" the green-haired boy asked.
"I got engaged," Prince Ren muttered audibly without looking at them.
Chocolove's eyes sparkled. "Our Renny is getting married!" He exclaimed loud enough that every nobleman and woman in the dining hall directed their gaze towards the Kaminari prince.
"If you won't shut up, I'll stuff this whole apple into your mouth," threatened the Tao heir.
The black boy reclined to his chair. "Awww… I was just excited with the whole engagement thing."
"Are you marrying your best friend? The one you've been telling us about since we're fourteen?" Lyserg tried to calm Ren.
The prince nodded curtly.
"Congratulations then!" the green-haired noble held out his hand but the prince ignored it.
"Don't congratulate me yet."
"Why?"
With a hushed voice, Prince Ren told everything that had happened during his short vacation - the surprised engagement ball, the Kouku royal family's murder, the fruitless search for his fiancée. His visit to Kaminari had only ended painfully.
"I'm sorry for asking," Lyserg lowered his gaze. What was he suppose to say to his friend after losing a girl he was in love with ever since he was a child?
"You were widowed even before you got married. That's so heartbreaking!" Chocolove was teary-eyed though he appeared to be exaggerating.
"Anna's not dead yet. She's just missing."
Chocolove and Lyserg fell silent and threw each other meaningful looks. Somehow they had quietly reached to a mutual decision not to upset their hurting friend as he was still in a stage of denial over the death of a loved one. There's no arguing with Ren not when it came to Anna. They had known that over the three years they had been friends with him.
It was the Tao heir who broke the awkward silence. "Where is your cousin by the way?" he asked Lyserg when he noticed the empty chair beside him. He had to veer the discussion away from his missing fiancée for he knew his friends would only think that he had gone insane.
"Their butler Marco fetched her yesterday morning," Lyserg responded at once. "I heard that the duke's health is fading fast. Uncle must have asked for her presence. It'll make her feel better if YOU would comfort her when she returns, Ren," suggested the green-haired noble.
"Why? Can't you do it yourself?" asked the Kaminari prince who was oblivious to his friend's intention.
"Well, yes but I think you would understand her situation better than us." That was a smart way to put it. Lyserg thought.
"If Ren doesn't want to, I will gladly comfort Jeanne even if you did not ask me," Chocolove said dreamily.
"Thank you for your concern Chocolove but Jeanne would rather prefer her enigmatic fiancé over you."
"You are so mean, Lyserg," the black boy bit his lip. "… and I thought we'd make great cousins in the future."
"I am just telling the truth."
"I have all the looks and riches to compete for Jeanne's hand!"
"Hmmm… Though I have seen my cousin's fiancé only once, I do think he exceeds you in the first aspect."
"How come Jeanne never mentioned to me that she has a fiancé," Ren wondered out loud. "I've told her about Anna a couple of times but she did not say anything about her future husband."
"Maybe she doesn't want you to know because you'll stop being friends with her if you found out who her fiancé is."
Oh crap. Lyserg scolded himself. I have said too much.
The Tao prince stared at him with a baffled expression.
"Forget it, Master Silva is already beckoning us to follow him to class."
The three boys immediately left the dining hall and rushed towards the red carpeted corridor. A girl with a long light blue hair carrying a pile of books flurried alongside them. In her hurry she had lost her footing and fell face flat on the floor. Lyserg and Chocolove instantly went down to their knees to pick up the books while Ren helped the girl stand up.
It was the Kouri princess.
She was more flustered at being assisted by the Kaminari prince than having literally kissed the red carpet from her earlier fall. The two boys handed her the books and asked if she was alright. She hurriedly thanked them and went off to join the group of students trailing behind the tall brown-skinned instructor.
"That was Pirika Usui whom you have assisted, Ren," Chocolove uttered in disbelief.
"I know. So what?"
"Well she was like a disgusting cockroach to you. You NEVER went near her," Lyserg reminded him.
"She's in need. Besides, I'm not afraid of cockroaches. Come on," Prince Ren motioned them to hurry.
His two friends walked behind him trying to figure out if it was really the Kaminari prince who came back to the academy.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone