Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

Before leaving the Obsidian Palace, Ruven sought out his mother once more and found her leaving instructions to the gardeners. As soon as he approached, the gardeners tactfully excused themselves, leaving the mother and son pair to have some private time.

"Are you leaving?" Lady Saira asked with a smile. She reached out to straighten the slight wrinkles on his uniform. "Did you have fun with your siblings and grandmother?"

"Hmm," the young prince responded with a nod. "Shall we head back to Vermillion Palace with Ayira, Mother?"

"You two can go ahead. I have always kept your chamber ready for use and our servants will take care of whatever else you'll need," Saira lovingly informed her son.

The children of the royal family were mandated to live in the Vermillion Palace until their adulthood, and for the seventeen-year-old prince, though he was more a man than a boy now, his official residence was still the Vermillion Palace. Currently, he was the only male allowed in the royal harem, aside from the King. However, as he had been living in the dormitories of the Royal Academy for years, his chamber was mostly unoccupied except for times like this.

Hearing his mother's response, Ruven offered her displeased gaze.

"Mother, are you not going to keep me company when your only son has returned after so long?" He looked at various servants present around them, busy with their work. "Doesn't seem like this place cannot function if you take half a day off."

Lady Saira understood what her son meant and said, "I don't have to stay here for long. It's morning. After I finish some work, I will come to you."

Ruven sighed. "I hope your husband can see your dedication."

She threw him a scowl, but her face was too kind for it to appear even slightly threatening. "Do not address your father like this."

Ruven didn't wish to trouble his mother and quickly apologized. "We will wait for you then, Mother."

Lady Saira nodded and reminded him, "Don't forget to first visit His Majesty."

Ruven nodded and turned to search for his little sister, only to find out she left ahead of him. He could not help but sigh in disappointment and rode his carriage on his own.

His chamber within the Vermilion Palace was as he remembered, the paintings and sculptures he collected free of dust and well-maintained, and the place was neat and tidy as his mother had said. He felt glad to see the familiar faces of the servants and the servants were also happy to serve the youngest prince who they also cherished a lot.

Once Ruven freshened up, donning a new set of luxurious clothes, he called for a servant to prepare a carriage once more. He needed to visit his second brother, the King of Megaris.

As he was about to leave, he heard a gentle knock on his door.

"Brother, may I come in?"

Ayira, his youngest sister, came to his chamber. During the gathering earlier, their three older sisters had monopolized the flow of conversation, leaving the timid princess unable to get a chance to chat with Ruven.

He smiled at her as he gestured for her to come in. "You know I have brought something for you that's why you are here, aren't you, little sister?"

Ayira sweetly smiled as she nodded. "What did you bring for me?"

She was one who did not vie for people's attention, but she was the type of girl who loved receiving gifts. She could not help but glow with expectations of her brother.

Ruven pulled out a small box wrapped in a silk cloth. Just by looking at it, Ayira's pretty blue eyes brightened up and she immediately went towards her brother, eager for him to hand her his gift.

"What?" Ruven asked nonchalantly.

Ayira looked at the box in his hand. "This is for me?"

"Did I say it is for you?" Ruven teased.

Ayira's face turned sad but then Ruven held her hand and put the box on her upturned palm. "If not for you then who will get it? We only have one kid in the family who loves these sweet candies.

"I am not a kid," she pouted.

"My bad." He pulled the box back. "Then should I give this to someone—"

Ayira grabbed it from his hand. "Ah, I am not an adult either. I am just fifteen."

Ruven let her take the box and said, "I am going to visit our Second Brother."

"Must you go now? I thought we could see Her Majesty the Queen together," Ayira informed as she opened the box of candies. "I received a summon from her."

"For what reason?" Ruven asked as he watched her eyes twinkle, seemingly hesitating whether she should eat one now or later.

She shook her head distractedly. "Not sure."

"Hmm, tell me what the Queen is like ?" Ruven asked as he picked one candy and stuffed it in his mouth.

She threw a frustrated look at him before eating a piece of candy as well. "Umm, I didn't get to interact with her much but she seems to be a good person. Mother likes her."

"It's Brother Drayce who chose her. To be able to snag his attention, she must definitely be an amazing woman," Ruven said.

Ayira agreed to it and both of them went out of his chamber.

Riding a royal carriage this time, Ruven left for the Grand Palace. Just as his carriage departed from the gates of the Vermilion Palace, it happened to meet a particular carriage coming from the opposite direction, heading towards the place he just left.

He recognized the phoenix crest on it. Noticing that the curtains were drawn open, he immediately stuck his head out of the window to check the person sitting inside the opposite carriage, but he missed the timing and he could only see the reddish gold hair which caught his attention.

"Tsk, I could not see Her Majesty," he complained as he moved back to his seat.

It was the Queen's carriage which was going to the Vermillion Palace.

-----

Inside the King's study in the Grand Palace, Slayer announced the arrival of the Third Prince. "Your Majesty, Prince Ruven is here to seek an audience with you. He is currently in the waiting room."

Drayce was aware of his youngest brother's arrival. He simply flipped the documents in his hand to side with nonchalance as he said, "Send him in," without lifting his head.

Slayer left, and after a while, Ruven entered the study. He saw his brother was busy working and quietly walked forward and saluted him like a knight.

"Ruven Ivanov greets Your Majesty the King of Megaris."

Drayce rolled back the scroll in his hand as he asked, "After going to the Royal Academy, did you forget how to greet your family?" Only then did he finally raise his head to look at him.

Ruven straightened his body and smiled. "Do I not get compliments for showing off the etiquette I learned from studies, Brother?"

Drayce preferred it when Ruven called him 'brother' instead of calling his title when they were alone.

"You've grown brazen." Drayce stood up from his chair and walked towards his brother. As he stood up in front of him, he realized how much Ruven had grown taller. He almost caught up to his height. "How have you been?"

"I am good. Thanks to you, I can pursue what I like." His expression slightly dimmed. "If only Father and First Brother would also support me like you do and not force me to train in swordsmanship…"

Drayce caressed his hair gently with the warmth of loving older brother. "Do what you like."

"You are the best brother!" Ruven exclaimed happily and said "I have a gift for you" and held out a small scroll in front of Drayce.

Drayce took it and pulled out a rolled canvas from the cover. "I hope it's much better than the previous ones."

"I am sure it is," Ruven said. "It took me a week to finish this painting. The details are…"

As he listened to his youngest brother's proud remarks, Drayce unrolled the canvas.

It was a drawing of a vast dandelion field surrounded by mountains, with a view of a clear blue sky with birds flying freely. A proud Red Dragon was standing in the middle of the painting, its head lowered towards the flowers.

Drayce could not help but appreciate the effort his brother put into his artwork.

Contrary to expectations, the youngest prince of Megaris was more interested in the arts rather than learning swordsmanship and warfare. Ruven loved to draw and paint the most, and he was really good at it.

However, with Megaris being a kingdom renowned for its military might, there were many expectations on his shoulder as a person born with the Ivanov bloodline.

His family was aware of his talent, but they thought it was a mere hobby of his, nothing serious. Especially Theron and Keiren, these two men looked forward to Ruven's future achievements in the military after he graduated from the Royal Academy. Drayce was the only one who supported what Ruven truly liked.

"...I hope it's as close to what you see in your dreams, Brother," Ruven said.

Drayce observed it closely. "The colors are well-balanced, but next time, you should try drawing this dragon with less dark colors. And the scales should be like this…"

"For that, Brother has to tell me in detail, better if you can sketch a draft so I can draw it exactly the same as in your dreams."

"Later," Drayce said, and just then, Slayer knocked again bringing another news. "Your Majesty, Prince Keiren has arrived to see you. Should I also allow him in?"

Draven nodded, while Ruven's face turned anxious. "Brother, roll it back. If our eldest sees it, he will nag me to focus more on my sword training."

Drayce smiled and started to roll back the canvas just as Keiren entered his study.