Chapter 4 – Two Dragons

“How is the study session going?”

The King asks with an unmistakable hint of impatience in his tone. He picks up a scroll and skims through it mindlessly, eyes fully set on the Crown Prince sitting in front of him.

“It’s going very well actually. She is happier.”

The Crown Prince says with a fond smile, thinking of how his sister appeared to be in a much jovial mood these days and have even resorted to taking a break from her otherwise intensive daily sword practices.

“So who is the tutor?”

The Crown Prince looks at the King’s expectant eyes and takes a quick breath before finally acknowledging the elephant in the room. Oh well, it’s better to hear it from him first.

“It’s Minister Yu’s daughter.”

The Crown Prince states boldly, his eyes deeply focused on the royalty in front of him. The King widens his eyes before letting out a deep frown.

“I thought the two of you are on bad terms. Did you do this to spite Minister Yu?”

“No, the exam was conducted fairly without any bias. I cannot help it if Lady Yu turns out to be the best achiever among two hundred other women. From what I’ve seen, she is very different from her father.”

“Well, you shouldn’t strain your relationship with him any further. You know how much of an influence he has over the ministers.”

The King reminds with a stern face, picking up another one of the scrolls with a deep frown before giving the younger royalty a displeased look.

“You should work your way to be on his good side.”

Upon hearing that, the Crown Prince looks away briefly with his eyebrows raised in annoyance. He quickly relaxes his face and turns back to face the King with a straight face. The King takes notice of the royalty’s reaction but continues to speak anyways, eyes now focused on the scroll in his hands instead.

“One more thing, the selection will be this autumn. I hope this time, you will settle on one of the Princesses. You’re not getting any younger and I’m not going to be around forever.”

“I have yet to meet anyone that I have taken a liking to and it is my life, I should have a say in who I want to marry. This is a personal matter.”

The Crown Prince reasons, his voice void of any sort of emotion. He has heard this lecture for far too many times now and it is becoming more of a mandatory topic in their daily conversations, amongst many other matters that he thinks are of higher importance than his personal life. His personal matter.

The King frowns deeply before lashing out.

“No, this is a national matter! You’re the Crown Prince, not just some nobleman. This isn’t just about who you like. This is about ensuring that our country maintains a stable diplomatic alliance with our allies and more importantly, this is ensuring that the monarchy has a long lineage of future heirs.”

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