It is the first time Saku enters the King's bedroom, and mixed feelings gush up his mind. The room is spacious and luxuriously decorated, but it is filled with an indescribable but very familiar "smell" – the peculiar smell of people who have been entangled with injuries and illnesses for a long time – King and slave alike. After returning from the South in early March, the King had a bad fall in the bathroom and could not even attend his birthday Investiture Ceremony and the King's Cup Race.

The King is half lying in bed. He looks a bit weak but nevertheless in high spirits, especially when Jaeyeon puts Yujin on the ground and lets the nine-month-old baby walk towards his grandfather bumpily holding the bedside. The King simply cannot stop laughing when he sees his grandson. When Yujin tries to grab his grandfather's hand, Jaeyeon picks him up and gently places him on the bed.

The grandfather and the grandson play for a while until the King motions for Jaeyeon it is time for him to leave with the baby. The King has developed a routine when greeting his family. The son-in-law and the grandson will have to go first when he discusses "serious matters" with the Princess Regent. It is always a boring session, but Eunbi knows that today is to be something else.

"The cloak looks good on you," the King turns to Saku after Jaeyeon left, "come closer and let me see your coat of arms."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the gift!" Saku immediately walked over to the King's bed and turned around.

The King examines the coat of arms carefully for a while and then asks Saku to turn to face him, "nice craftmanship. I asked the court artisans to design it for me. They had drafted five to six versions before I felt satisfied. Can you guess the meaning of the coat of arms?"

"Let me try." Saku humbly lowers his head. "The rabbit and the white wolf are on both sides of the Tokkiz shield, symbolizing that both Tokkizans and Arukasians will support the Tokkiz Kingdom and defend the way of righteousness. But the eagle on top of the shield..."

The King turns to Eunbi, "Eunbi, do you know?"

Eunbi says, "the wing-spreading eagle is the symbol of the King of Arukas."

The King smiles, "my good girl, you are really knowledgeable."

Saku frowns in confusion – did his biological parents have anything to do with the King of Arukas?

Then the King orders Eunbi, "go over to the altar cabinet and bring me the rectangular box inside."

Eunbi never thought that the wooden cabinet, which is decorated with gold leaves and jewelry, is, in fact, an altar. She opens the door and finds a rectangular box wrapped in brocade. She looks at her father to make sure, and the King nods. She then reaches for it, only to find it is very heavy.

Eunbi hands the brocade box to his father, and the King carefully opens the cloth, revealing an exquisite iron sandalwood box. He the box gently and orders in a whisper, "draw the boundary."

Eunbi and Saku look at each other and immediately cast the enchantment spell to "seal" the King's bedroom with double boundaries, so no human or other beings (except Heaven) can know what's happening here.

The King then opens the wooden box slowly. Everyone in the room suddenly feels a gust of icy wind gushes out from the box, dropping the room temperature abruptly. Eunbi even shudders.

"Saku, come here," the King says. His voice sounds like it is from another world.

When Saku walks closer to the King, the object inside the box attracts him like a magnet, making him unable even to blink.

It is a long sword with symmetrical double-edged blades converging into one point at the end; it looks very thin and light, glowing in a faint blue light. The hilt is wrapped in black leather, with a wolf head symbol engraved in the middle.

The King picks up the sword, sifts through it, then plucks a hair from his head, places it carefully on the sword's edge, and blows lightly — the hair immediately splits into two.

Both Saku and Eunbi gasp in surprise.

The King looks at the sword for a long while before he starts, "this sword was a gift from the Crown Prince of Arukas. I went to Arukas to study art and culture when I was young. I stayed there for a year and lived in his bedroom, so we practiced the art of swords together every day. He was merely eleven or twelve at the time, not even a teenager, but his swordsmanship was already excellent. When he grew older, he also came to Tokkiz to learn magic from Great Yoonjung a few times. It was then when he brought me this sword. It is an ancient sword used by Arukas celestials. Its name is Seungsu, which means to inherit excellence. We even took the blood oath swore with this sword, and became blood brothers. From a historical point of view, royal families in the Fourth Realm Continent are closely related through swore and marriages, so ours was not an uncommon practice."

Saku blinks, not understanding why the King tells him about this – but starting from reading mama's letters this morning, he is mentally prepared that even the most absurd and unimaginable thing on earth will happen to him.

"Saku," the King seems to know what Saku is thinking, and his eyes suddenly become moist, "Seungsu is the sword your father gave me."

Saku's eyes widened with his jaw nearly drops onto the ground – he must have heard it wrong!

But the King continues, "I never heard from him again since I retreated from Arukas. I only know that the Cistumonion Prince Tamazawa killed his parents, and he was forced to flee with the rest of his family. But they disappeared after that. Nobody has ever seen any of them again. The most reasonable guess is that his whole family has perished. I never expected...I have never imagined that...Heaven has mercy on me and lets my daughter bring you back to me. Ever since Great Yoonjung told me that you are his son, I wait and wait, every single day, until I can tell you this secret at your coming-of-age ceremony."

Saku freezes at the King's bedside like a piece of stone. Inside his mind, however, he quickly processes all the information, putting all the missing pieces together like a puzzle.

Then he turns to Eunbi. Eunbi looks solemn but doesn't look surprised at all, and she starts saying something beyond Saku's imagination. "The Archmage discovered who you are when you first visited the South Castle. She knew because she was one of the persons who witnessed your birth in the wolf's den. The white wolf totem behind your left ear was the magic spell she tattooed there to protect you."

Saku is totally dumbfounded. "Wolf's Den?"

"Yes." the King continues, "When the Cistumons invaded Arukas for the first time, Yoojung went to the Palace to protect your mother because she was nine-month pregnant. When the Cistumon soldiers could seize the Palace, they managed to flee into the forest. The Princess was so traumatized that she gave birth to you that night. What they didn't know was that they were hiding in the cave of the southern wolf king. By coincidence, the wolf queen had also given birth to a litter of wolf pups, and she fed you as if you were one of her pups. Since your first mouth of milk was from the wolf queen, your mother named you Wolfgang. In Arukasian, Wolfgang means 'the one who goes to war with the wolf'."

"Wolfgang!" Saku doesn't know how to react. The only thing he knows about Wolfgang is that he is a comic book character.

Eunbi seems to be able to read Saku's mind, "Wolfgang is a popular name among Arukasian males. That's why the comic book has the character Wolfgang."

Saku feels mixed. "So noona, you know my identity almost from the beginning?"

Eunbi nods. "The archmage told me about it right after she met you that night. But she made me promise to keep it a secret and must not let you run out of my sight. She told the King about it later when she joined my wedding to ensure you grow up in a safe environment under the protection of the highest authority until you reach adulthood."

The King nods, "you were too young at that time; Yoojung was afraid that you might not be able to take it well. Knowing the truth too early might lead to undesirable consequences. More importantly, we must not let the Cistumons know that you are still alive."

Saku sighs heavily, "I owe so many people to be able to survive until today!" He then tells the King about mama Yeri, from how she saved him and eventually got herself killed because of him in brief.

The King listens attentively and says, "she is a saint! We must find the remains of your foster mother and give her a decent burial."

Saku bows deeply, "thank you, Your Majesty."

The King then led out a long sigh, "Saku, my days are numbered. What I regret most in my life is not being able to save Arukas from being annexed and destroyed. I don't dare to have the slightest hope that I can witness the revival of Arukas in my remaining life. But I still can do what I can, that is, to provide you with talents and resources so that you can build your own armed force. You will expel the barbarians when the day comes and rebuild Arukas with kindness and compassion."

Saku feels his chest swell with an emotion he has never felt. He kneels immediately, "I will do my best to realize Your Majesty's dream."

The King then takes the sword out of the wooden box, puts it on Saku's shoulder, and announces, " the King of Tokkiz now invests Saku to be Tokkiz's Prince of the Wolves – this title that you earned from the wolves can disguise your real identity as the heir to the Arukasian throne until the day Arukas is recovered. The coat of arms on your cloak will symbolize your principality. I will bestow you with Troop 319, composed of Arukas Volunteers to be your army. You will station at the west end of the Music Corridor in Northeast Prairie. Your mission is to recover the land illegally occupied by the Cistumons and establish the Tokkiz National Heavenly Horse Breeding Ground. The tax collected will be yours for as much land as you can recover. The appointment will be announced within a few days. Before that, you must swear that you will uphold the righteous path, support, and never betray the Tokkiz Kingdom for the rest of your life." When he finished speaking, the King hands Saku the sword.

Saku immediately raises the point of Seungsu towards Heaven and swears by the sword. He then turns to Eunbi.

Eunbi chuckles, "what? Are we going to be sworn siblings too?"

"It's up to you." the King laughs light-heartedly, feeling the weight on his shoulder gone. "Just remember, Saku, you must keep your identity a secret until the time comes."

Saku nods and hands the sword back to the King, but the King shakes his head, "from now on, Seungsu is yours. I lost the sheath in a battle, so I used an extra heavy box to protect it. Please ask the goldsmith to make you a new scabbard that suits your need – I'm about to rest. Can you perform the art of sword for me before you go?"

Saku bows and walks over to a more spacious corner of the room. He crosses the sword before him, bows again, and starts. In an instant, it looks like a thousand silver snakes are swimming across the room, hissing and breaking the wind. Faint blue lights emanated from all directions, making the room freezing cold.

When the three of them are totally immersed in the "sword dance", the surrounding suddenly changes, and they find themselves situated in a valley. Saku stops abruptly and looks around – it is by no doubt the valley that mama used to take him to pick the Ojas when they stayed in Arukas – now he knows it is also the valley that his birth family was killed!

He quickly steals a look from Eunbi and the King, and both are dumbfounded too!

What happens following makes them more shocked. A group of men, women, and children appeared quietly, gathering from all sides. Among them, a young couple dressed in civilian clothes but with a graceful bearing walks toward Saku with bright smiles. Saku feels chills up his spine and freezes his brain, and he even drops the sword to the ground.

The couple seems to be talking to him, but their voices are so small that they sound like mosquitoes passing by. They happily wave at Saku and grimace as if he is still a child.

Then, the man turns in the King's direction and bows deeply. The King quickly sits up with the help of Eunbi and bows to the man as well. The couple then turns to Eunbi and bows again together. The King can't hold his tears and wails, "I'm so sorry!"

The couple immediately shakes their hands. Judging from the movement of their lips, they are saying, "please don't!"

They then turn back to Saku and say something. Apparently, Saku can't hear what they are talking about, but the King calls Saku, "Saku, kneel and thank your parents."

Saku immediately gets down on his knees and bows until his head reaches the ground three times. The couple looks very happy at what Saku has done. After Saku gets back on his knees, he walks toward his parents and reaches out to touch their hands, but all he can feel is air.

"That's an illusion," Eunbi hears himself saying.

Saku sighs in disappointment, and the valley gradually disappears, and the surrounding is changed back to reality.

After some silence, the King asks, "Saku, are you alright?"

Saku murmurs, "are they my biological father and mother?"

The King nods.

"I didn't expect you to look so similar." Eunbi casually finds a topic.

"I just heard them keep on saying...Wolfie, in Arukasisn." Saku is still muttering, "but why?" He then picks up his sword and starts the sword dance again. But nothing happened.

"Saku!" The King stops Saku and bursts into tears again.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Saku stops and lowers his head.

Everyone falls silent until the King stops crying and says, "the past is gone; we can only look forward."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Saku bows slightly.

And the King suddenly laughs from his tears. "Let's put it this way. The sun is still up, but everything comes to a perfect ending. I have no more secrets to keep, I've even seen those I missed, and there is no more regret. From now on, Tokkiz's future is in your hand, Eunbi. As for Saku, the recovery of Arukas will also depend on you. Will peace be restored in the Fourth Realm Continent? Will civilization reigns over savage and tyranny? It will be your duty. I will soon lay in rest and leave behind all the pain and sufferings, and I can go to the other world to meet my precious brother. From now on, you must love and support each for the rest of your lives."

***

After the King's edict was promulgated, Saku and his Troop 319, led by Colonel Sashihara Rino, began to prepare for the expedition. Troop 319 is a minor team in the entire military establishment, made up of Arukasian and Tokkizans of Arukasian descent, barely reaching the number of one hundred soldiers. Nevertheless, leading and caring for one hundred people is already a big challenge to Saku.

The King didn't make it clear in the edict about the purpose of Saku being sent to the Northeast Prairie – although both Eunbi and Saku know the reasons well. Thus, Eunbi must use all the means to camouflage this into something that will not arouse suspicion from the Cistumons.

On the other hand, right after the edict was promulgated, Eunbi and Jaeyeon fought over "Saku-chan's intensive training schedule" again. The two have quarreled several times over Yujin's upbringing, and one can imagine that their attitude towards each other can only worsen two years after marriage. Fortunately, Chaewon always got the news and stepped in before the situation escalated.

Under Chaewon's mediation, some agreement was reached – although Jaeyeon thinks he is always the one to compromise or to make the concession. At the same time, Eunbi doesn't understand why Jaeyeon always has to argue with her.

Nevertheless, the next day, the Princess Regent announces that Saku, Tokkiz's Prince of the Wolves, will no longer take care of the horses. As a special commissioner to the King, he has to learn about politics, diplomacy, administration, and decision-making by accompanying Eunbi to attend the supervisory meetings at all levels. He even has to sit in the discussions between the Regent and the prime minister and among the key members of the Privy Council (including Lee Dongwook). For the rest of the time, Saku will learn about all the military knowledge and tactics, participate in military drills under the supervision of Prince Jaeyeon, as well as build a trustful relationship with his troop.

This knowledge and skills have taken Eunbi four years and Jaeyeon six years to learn and master, but Saku is expected to be able to grasp the basics "as soon as possible". No one can tell how long it is "as soon as possible," but it seems that it barely took Saku three months to establish a trustful relationship& with the army. His army even praises him for his martial arts skill& and his humbleness. On the other hand, he started to participate in sophisticated discussions of the strategic planning of his settling in the northeast and the "Heavenly Horse Development Project".

However...

When Eunbi observes Saku's progress every day, she somehow feels an indescribable unsettledness in her guts. It doesn't feel better on Jaeyeon's side. He starts to feel lost. He has developed the habit of "having a drink" after their training almost every night (Saku doesn't drink), while Saku is a good listener to his agonies.

But both of them know well that the countdown to Saku staying in the Palace has begun.

Author's Notes:

It also means that the countdown of this story has begun...(cry) Please tell me you don't want it to end, and please stay with me until the end. Thank you for reading!