Inside the Leal’s office in his mansion. Leal sat on his office chair while his eyes were attentively watching the 2 people with him in the room. Both of them wandered their eyes in every corner with such enthusiasm on their faces.
Prince Alric stared at him while furrowing his eyebrows. “Isn’t your little house here, quite a bit too simple? There are no signs of prestige in this place. How can you live in such a destitution like this?”
“Don’t say that, Brother. Perhaps Leal has adapted to how the people outside of our kingdom live. It’s not quite like what we expected from our little brother, but we should be glad that he managed to strive on his own. I would say this place is not bad.” Prince Hien smiled at Leal.
Prince Alric nodded. “Thanks to your explanation, I finally realized. You are right.”
Leal closed his eyes as he slowly exhaled and opened them again. He stared directly at the 2 with such seriousness on his face. “What may be the reason for the princes of the kingdom of Erela to go all the way here? Although I can tell that visiting me to see my house is not it.”
“My, my. We have traveled from a very far distance. It would be great if you at least express your happiness of seeing your older brothers after 10 whole years.” Prince Hien sat on the gray sofa in front of Leal’s desk and expressed a gentle smile. “We’re glad to see that you are fine, Little brother.”
Leal just stared at him while not changing the stoic expression on his face. “The barrier of Erela, what happened?”
Prince Hien leaned his back to the backrest of the sofa. “Our journey was awfully tiring. I must say, the roads towards here were quite hard to travel on. A cup of tea would be great after that rigorous trip.”
“I thought the barrier was indestructible?”
Prince Hien tilted his head. “Oh my. How cold, Little brother.”
“Nothing is indestructible, My little brother. Don’t forget that it was not the very first time the barrier had collapsed.” Prince Alric answered while staring at the glass window in the corner of the room. “However, I would be lying if I said that we expected that to happen and it didn’t cause a great problem for us.”
For a few seconds, both of them remained silent. Prince Alric was staring outside, on the other hand, Leal rubbed his palm on his forehead.
“How’s that happened? Does that mean there is an individual in the force of humanity powerful enough to collapse the barrier?”
Prince Alric shook his head. “Lowly humans can’t break the barrier of Erela with just their raw power. Humans still have a very long way before they can reach that point… Though, not everything is all about raw power.”
“Then, what is it?”
Prince Alric veered his gaze to Leal. “The forces of the kingdom of Nardia.”
Leal narrowed his eyes. “What about them?”
Prince Hien in front of him dramatically raised both of his hands. “One of them touched the barrier… and the next thing we knew the barrier was already collapsing.”
Leal leaned on the backrest of his office chair while slowly nodding. His eyes widened as he stared at his desk with great concern. “It’s the skill of one of the personnel of that kingdom. I heard things about that kingdom, but I didn’t know that someone from that kingdom has that ability.” He raised his head and faced the two. “Then, why hasn’t the barrier returned yet?”
Prince Hien shook his head. “It’s easier said than done, Little brother. The barrier requires a high amount of magic energy to be brought back again. Although we have enough energy to do it, the procedure of bringing it back will still take a while to accomplish. And I believe that the enemies know it too that’s why they retreated all of their forces the moment the barrier collapsed. The battle is halted for now, but we’re expecting more devastating attacks are about to come.”
“And if you are wondering why we are here.” Prince Alric walked towards the desk and stared directly at Leal. “Our father and mother received the rapidly circulating stories about the recent battle between this town and the kingdom of Milana, and they want you to go back home. Moreover, we need you back there. To your home, Leal. Where you belong… not here while serving under a mere demon.”
Leal’s eyes darted to Prince Alric’s eyes, for a few seconds they shivered but calmed down afterward. “So the news has reached the kingdom of Erela. That’s surprisingly fast.” Half of his lips rose. “While staying in our humble town, let me give you a fair warning, don’t ever speak in an inappropriate manner addressing our ruler. You are lucky that I’m the only one who heard your foolish mockery or else… you will regret it.”
All Prince Alric could do was stare at him with confusion.
Leal snapped his fingers. “With that said, I don’t think I belong in that place anymore. haven’t you forgotten? I was banished.” His face shifted back to a stoic expression. “Since that day, this place is where I belong.”
Prince Hien’s gentle laughter resonated throughout the room. “You were banished by the Elder council, not by our father and mother themselves. Maybe to the people of our kingdom you are no longer royalty, but in your families’ eyes…” Prince Hien spread both of his arms. “To us… you are still, Leal. You are part of our family, and no one can change that, Little brother.”
Leal paused for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head. “I can’t.”
Prince Hien’s eyes furrowed. “What do you mean you can’t, Little brother?”
“I knew this would happen, negotiation is futile. Pursuing him this way won’t work.” Prince Alric asserted. “I know exactly the reason why you are hesitant to go back to our home, Little brother. I will tell you now, what happened in the past is not important anymore, I have been atoning for the great sin I have made and I no longer have any hatred towards anyone. If that’s what you are worried about, I will assure you, my Little brother, the kingdom is now a safe place… I promise I will help you protect the things that you want to protect.”
Leal raised his head and stared directly at Prince Alric’s eyes.
Prince Alric smiled. “I am correct, right? That’s the reason. The kingdom is different now, I can protect you there, unlike here where you have been living every day with the fear of losing someone very important to you. In Erela, you can now live in peace… with your friend…” Prince Alric raised his hands and put them over the table. “What name were you calling her again… Kuro?”
Leal’s gaze dwelled on Prince Alric’s black metallic hand and narrowed his eyes. “If you know the reason why I don’t want to go back to that disdainful kingdom… then… why have you bothered to come here?” Leal stood up and expressed a puzzling smile, but his eyes were filled with intense anger. “You are full of arrogance asking me that way and expect me to trust you? Of all the people? The very last person I should give my trust to. Especially that you were the reason why all of these happened… Prince Alric.” He said in a very calm but restrained manner.
