366: Making history together

Making history together

"The hell we are."0

Adela's jaw nearly dropped when she heard the Crown Prince of Emoria use such language, especially in front of his father. She felt a little better when Noctavian's eyes, filled with apology, met hers. Still, she responded with a stern look to let him know she did not approve.

"That shield was for decoration! It was completely useless, and you know it!" Egon argued passionately. "Falcons may not match the size or power of creatures that could challenge those witches, but they do possess the ability to detect them the moment they cross your borders. You must have arrived at that conclusion already! Your falcons are the game-changers; they can reveal the warlocks' hidden cells!"

The Crown Prince clenched his teeth, silently acknowledging Egon's every valid point but unwilling to concede the argument.

"Let Emoria take the offensive instead of always being on the defensive, Noctavian. Don't allow your pride to hinder progress, your mother's pride and mine have already done enough damage to our family."

When Egon's dark, remorseful gaze locked with Adela's, her heart raced so rapidly that her chest's rhythmic rise and fall were visible. 

Noctavian's eyes were also on his mother. He had displayed one countenance when Egon discussed Emoria's affairs, but his expression took on a starkly different aspect when the subject shifted to his mother's pride.

"Mind your language when you talk about her," Noctavian warned.

"What else could I have expected? You're our son," Egon murmured bitterly, completely ignoring the last thing the Crown Prince had said. "Just because you've inherited an abundance of pride doesn't mean you can't be wiser than us. Consider this: How long are you willing to expose her to a threat like the one she faced yesterday? Sooner or later, your mother will find a way to harm herself while trying to protect others."

Fear coursed through the seven-year-old, his startled eyes finding his mother again as she stood frozen, enduring the presence of the man who had abandoned her and her son years ago.

The Archduchess had clung to the misguided noble notion that she could heal Egon von Conradie, a self-proclaimed Beast who couldn't have described the Archduchess more accurately. She would always hurt herself while protecting others, but that blind, arrogant man couldn't see that she was doing just that at this very moment for someone as undeserving as him.

Reconstituting his countenance into one of calm sarcasm, Noctavian eventually retorted, "It appears your caveman mentality extends beyond the battlefield. In the modern world, when your Crown Prince advises a civilian to mind their own business, the civilian heeds it."

Recognizing the necessity to disengage from the heated exchange and strategize his next steps, Noctavian turned on his heel, his royal violet cape billowing behind him in the brisk wind that had suddenly picked up, causing it to flutter right in front of Egon's face. On an impulse, Egon seized the hem of the cape.

Noctavian, who had immediately sensed his cape being grasped, displayed an exasperated expression, pivoting slowly to face his father once more.

"You were correct; it is the expected behavior for a civilian in this Kingdom," holding the royal cape in his gloved hands, Egon beheld his son with nothing but love in his brown eyes. "But I am not a civilian. I have long been appointed as a knight in Emoria, Noctavian."

Flabbergasted, Adela witnessed the high and mighty Egon von Conradie as he knelt before his son, a gesture that exposed his vulnerability and placed him in a position of weakness. He clutched the edge of Noctavian's royal cape between his gloved thumb and forefinger, a scene that she knew all too well, as she had been the one on the receiving end of such displays for the longest time.

Is he out of his mind?

"What are you doing?" Noctavian couldn't conceal his curiosity. Although Egon von Conradie appeared as if he were about to swear an oath of loyalty to a sovereign, the Crown Prince couldn't discern the man's true intentions.

"I, Egon, son of Atticus and Hanna, grandson of Opheleos, the last Emperor of this continent, do solemnly swear my fealty and allegiance to you, Prince Noctavian," Egon recited with his eyelids lowering, veiling the love in his eyes as he kissed the end of his son's cape.

The Prince regarded his father with a cold and unsympathetic gaze.

"Noctavian," Adela held her breath as she whispered, her heart ached for her son believing he faced a painful decision. In reality, it was an opportunity for the Crown Prince to reject his father in a new way and strike a blow where it would hurt the most, leaving a long-lasting stain on the man's inherited arrogance.

Noctavian shifted his gaze toward his mother, intending to provide her with a reassuring glance before he asserted his dominance over Egon von Conradie once more. However, what he saw made his determined heart waver.

The Archduchess's pale face, the way her fist clenched against her brown leather riding vest. Though she wasn't crying, he couldn't recall a time when she had allowed herself to appear so vulnerable in front of him.

Noctavian's anger surged like a tempest as he glared at the man kneeling at his feet once again. It was all because of that Beast.

But wasn't Egon in his own way offering Noctavian a chance to place him on a leash now?

Regardless of how much he despised the idea of allowing the man any closer to him, the prince recognized that it was a chance he needed to seize to protect his mother. Sacrificing his own comfort was a small price to pay for her well-being.

"...I, Noctavian de Lanark, accept your oath of fealty," he stated curtly.

There were no additional words spoken about forming an unbreakable bond or forging a strong partnership for the sake of Emoria, and later on, Noctavian's response became known as the most concise acceptance of a knight's oath of fealty in the kingdom's recent history.

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