Chapter Text
It was 5 years
The amount of time Cale tried to improve for him
Cale Henituse received a Severe Education to become the Prince Consort of the Kingdom
Liberal arts classes in Politics, History, Military Studies, as well as all kinds of arts and literature
And even courtly manners more difficult and esoteric than mathematical formulas
—I couldn't play or rest like other children
I just studied—
It was pretty hard, but Cale endured it all and tried not to die
It was all because of the boy I met for the first time on my fifth birthday
***
Alberu Crossman, Prince of the Roan Kingdom, a young boy with blonde hair and blue eyes
On his fifth birthday, Alberu gave Cale a necklace with blue gems as a gift
It was the —blue moonlight,— a treasure of the royal family received by the first Queen of the kingdom of a kingdom to the south
It was a sign of a commitment to the royal family
On that day, Cale officially became the prince's fiancé
How happy he was at that moment, his father Count Henituse had remarried and the collateral family despised the son of the new countess, Basen Henituse, Cale behaved like a shame, a drunken trash, so that all those who make fun of Basen, consider him a better heir than him, and thus be respected by everyone, he hated to play the garbage of the county, but thanks to Alberu...
The moment he hung the blue jewel around his neck, he got his purpose in life
Even so, Cale was not stupid, at all, he is aware that this compromise was possibly orchestrated by the Queen in the hope of lowering the position of the first prince in his succession to the throne, and positioning the second prince. But he was not going to behave like garbage, how could he? Even he knows that the Crown Prince is the most appropriate to inherit the crown than the rest of his brothers, as much as they want to use Cale to lower the prestige of Alberu who has no support from noble families by compromising him with the garbage of a family of earls, it is a good strategy
But Cale Henituse will not allow himself to antagonize the future king and to exert any punishment on his family for his bad manners, he will strive to be a good betrothed, so that this future monarch does not try to harm him or his family in the future
Another 5 years passed like this
As preliminary prince consort, he continued to strive to become king consort
As the queen, Alberu's mother, had died prematurely, she went to the royal palace to study in her spare time
He also fulfilled his responsibilities as a fiancé
He visited His Majesty the King and helped with the work of the Royal Palace
Everything was fine until then
As the seasons beyond the studio window changed countless times, the relationship between the two also changed little by little
The kingdom went to war with the neighboring empire, it was a long struggle that lasted a couple of years, returning with the kingdom of Roan as the victor and preparing for the ascendation to an empire thanks to the leadership of the crown prince on the battlefield, his return was not only received with joy, but with the assurance that the people and the nobles see the next monarch
Of course a celebration was organized for the triumph of the kingdom, with Alberu and the group of heroes that allowed them to obtain victory, there was the problem, the prince could speak and flatter each noble and Cale also if necessary, what he could not handle or was not allowed to handle was the closeness with the group of heroes, or three heroes in specific
Choi Han, the great war hero, a young man with black hair and slanted eyes, a swordsman, the crown prince's master and Cale's headache, happened 5 years ago, before his engagement to Alberu. He doesn't remember, nor will he make the attempt to remember what exactly triggered everything or what his words were, but long before Cale was known as the Prince Consort and Choi Han as the Sword Hero, they had both met in Henituse County.
Choi Han was an inhabitant of Harris Village, a village under the care of the county, and from what he remembers there was a massacre, and this young swordsman ran to report to the count, however he met the trash firstborn firstborn, a red-haired noble obviously in his role as a trash and at that moment he saw the opportunity to be known as what he was beyond the county, ignorant of the young man's state of mind, when he heard about the massacre his tongue was faster than his reflexes, even before finishing his sentence, Choi Han threw himself on him to hit him.
And the next two heroes are worse for Cale, a toothache could catalog him, Ron Molan and his son Breacrox Molan, former servants of the Henituse family, don't... Cale Henituse's personal servants, imagine his surprise when he learns after waking up from Choi Han's beating that his personal butler and son followed that stray dog.
To say that their reunion in the palace months later was uncomfortable is an understatement, Alberu who was unaware of the situation introduced him as her fiancé, the magician a fugitive princess, Rosalyn and a blue-haired teenager with wolf-like features greeted him cordially, instead... although Ron and Breacrox greeted him properly Cale could feel Breacrox's displeasure, Ron felt nothing, but he himself projects discomfort
—Young master— he said, and his voice was strange, as if the word were stuck in his throat.
And then there was Choi Han
The man who had hit Cale's body. Now he stood in front of him, his fists clenched at his sides and his jaw clenched. Cale watched as he struggled with his pride, how fury twisted within him, how every fiber of his being rebelled against the idea of bowing to someone he considered trash.
But he did. Choi Han bowed his head, a minimal bow, barely a gesture, and his voice came out cold as ice.
—It's a... honor, to meet the prince's consort...
Cale didn't respond. He just nodded, with the same neutral expression he'd rehearsed in front of the mirror for hours
Since their future interactions were null, he assumed that Alberu was notified about the event, surely by Choi Han, as he never asked for Cale's version, he assumed that he believed more in the swordsman, okay, he doesn't have much to differentiate
One day, ominous rumors began to sweep the capital, as the cold wind swept across the panoramic view of spring
The story of the crown prince wanting to break up with Cale slowly spread like a wet fog
At the request of the queen, who was the wife and most favored by the king, she accelerated their marriage to dispel the rumors, the two eventually officially became a married couple
The first night after the wedding
The prince asked that it be understood that he did not want to have children immediately
And for Cale, it feels like a kind consideration
—We're still young and the King is still here, so we have plenty of time. I want to have a child little by little after you settle into the Royal Palace
Cale was quite grateful to Alberu
It would have been harder to have children as soon as she became the Prince Consort
However, as long as the wedding took place, the first night had to take place
—I'm fine. Then, for the time being, I'll take medication
If you don't spend the first night together, people will misunderstand you
Cale then convinced Alberu that he would take the pill
Alberu said after agonizing for a while
—No. I don't want to overwhelm you
Alberu asked Cale for consent and he took the pill himself
Alberu treated the nervous Cale with affection and courtesy from start to finish
I was happy
Although it was only a political marriage, we will respect each other and live as a couple for the rest of our lives
So he believed
However, that dream was short-lived.
***
—Get rid of me
That afternoon, Alberu, who became emperor, told Cale, who became emperor consort, of his demands
—This marriage was what my late father wanted. I didn't want to marry you for a moment. So you'd better sign without further delay
It was an extremely pithy and indifferent look as if he were cleaning up the remains of his late father
—You never loved me anyway, did you?—
—...
At that moment, Cale thought about the necklace hanging from his neck
After meeting Alberu for the first time at the age of 15, she never took off the necklace he gave her
The formal letters exchanged while, I waited for him to return from the war, I remember every word and phrase we exchanged lightly at banquets
It was time to face the sad reality
Everything was memorable for him, but not for the man in front of him
He can now fully understand Alberu's intention to have the child slowly last night, as if he were considerate of him
He had planned to abandon Cale from the beginning
It was the moment when everything I had believed in for 5 years broke
Looking at his cold blue eyes, which didn't have a hint of affection, Cale decided to tell the lie he wanted
For the man who was the reason for her life until she was 20 years old, but only husband for a day
—Yes, that's right. I didn't love you
Thus ended Cale's one-day life as emperor, who made the record for being the shortest emperor in history
***
As soon as the new emperor was crowned, the emperor consort was expelled
It was something that caused a stir in the empire
Originally, the royal family could not divorce easily
If one party opposes the divorce, they will be taken to court and face a lengthy legal battle
Still, most divorces don't happen
Once they have exchanged their wedding vows, not even an emperor can break a sacred marriage without the consent of both parties
But Cale's divorce ended unexpectedly and easily
This is because Cale, the interested party, agreed to divorce without problems.
—Yes, I want a divorce too
The new emperor wanted a divorce as soon as he ascended the throne, but her husband agreed, so there was no justification for opposing it
The great nobles were stunned, but Cale took off the crown of emperor consort without hesitation
After becoming Emperor Consort, everything would have been easy
I worked hard, practiced, and prepared for a long time to become her husband
When he left the post of emperor, all he had left was comfort and relief
—Cale, you will always be my son,— said the -recent- Duke Henituse while looking at his eldest son with sorrow.
The man was received with hugs and resentment towards his ex-husband, Cale expressed to his family his desire to leave here he does not want to see his majesty again
An aide from the imperial palace came to send money to live on, but Cale refused. Instead, Deruth was the one who relayed the message
—Tell his majesty the emperor that the Henituse family has enough money to support their generations, we don't want anything from that man, get that message across and leave with your money
And Cale left the duchy
He occupied the old mansion of the barony of Thames, one of his mother's properties, near a forest, as it was very deteriorated and abandoned he used the money that his father offered him to hire a service that would put him in optimal conditions to live in that mansion, although he did not plan to hire servants, he only needed them to accommodate his new home
He was thinking of spending the rest of his life quietly there
He thought that if he could sell embroidery or paintings, he could make enough money for living expenses
Time passed quietly and peacefully, until a few days later, I heard some shocking words from a nearby pharmacist
—Well... I think you might be expecting a baby?—
***
The sound of footsteps came down
The ominous sound of stepping on the cold stone floor was fast approaching
Cale ran to the closet and found a wooden closet that was stuck to a damp stone wall
Except for the bed, it was the only piece of furniture in the room
He opened the door and ran through the crudely packaged packages to find a small bottle of medicine
It's been two months since he was on the run
For the past week, Cale has been on the second floor of this small bakery
During the day, she made bread or helped with chores in the store downstairs, and at night she slept with her son in a small room on the second floor
It was a difficult life, but I couldn't do anything about it on a tight budget
Still, this place wasn't bad compared to other places
The owner of the shop was good, and since it was a small rural town, there weren't many people
Cale lay down and shook the boy buried under the old quilt to wake him up
—Luca
The blond-haired boy lying on the bed slowly got up and opened his eyes
Sapphire-blue pupils were revealed in the delicate eyes
Please pray that you didn't have her eyes
However, the child was born to resemble his father's blonde hair and blue eyes
Even so, Luca was a charming child
The little face was cute like a doll. After waking up, the boy rubbed his eyes with a small hand
Cale affectionately held the boy's soft white cheeks with both hands and said, looking him in the eye
—Luca, do you remember what Dad said?—
The boy tilted his head and blinked his sleepy eyes. —Ooh... a play?—
—Yes
Fortunately, Cale's son, Luca, was smart for his age and understood well
Ever since the boy learned to speak and was able to understand the wordplay, Cale has been practicing with the boy for things like this
Cale lifted the boy's head and opened the medicine bottle he found in the cupboard
Then, she dropped every drop into the boy's eyes and gently lifted her face
As Luca blinked, his blue eyes gradually turned brown as if the paint was spreading
—Thank you for your patience
Looking into his brown eyes, Cale hugged the boy and kissed him on the forehead
The skin that touched her lips smelled of soft milk
¡Bang, bang!
At that moment, there was a knock outside as if to break the door
Cale hurriedly hid the medicine bottle in his arms
The door was knocked off before I could get out and open it
Knights dressed in Imperial Army military uniforms entered through the irregular door
—Young Cale?—
The man who seemed to have the highest position among the knights approached Cale
She held the child in her arms and spoke tersely to Cale, who was standing by the bed
—His Majesty the Emperor is looking for him