"To think a prince of a great empire would be a thief in his own house. Not that stealing is unusual for monarchs to do, but usually, when royalty steals, they don't bury it in a shallow layer of soil."
Such words would be treated like treason. However, the boy could not deny it. He wouldn't be hiding if he didn't steal the items. But he shrugged off the guilt, thinking the silverware and jewelry would've been stolen by the maids either way. The coins were something he had found stowed away from the several treasury boxes hidden all over the palace, though all that's left were only three, but finding them was difficult.
Those were gathered through hard work, and not one was taken because of selfish desires.
"How dare you accuse me of thievery when the most suspicious person between the two of us is you, who trespassed on my property.", the prince retaliated. "Who in the world are you?!"
The man took a small pause with his eyes on the boy and laughed in amusement. However, the prince found his reaction peculiar.
"W-Why are you laughing?!", the boy asked, frustrated.
"Hahaha! Haa… Nothing. I never expected such words come out from an eight-year-old boy.", the man said, taking a breather. "Anyway, I have been rude to his highness."
The man leaned his upper body forward with his right hand pressed against his chest and his left hand behind his back.
"I greet the 7th prince of Dhara. The 11th star of the empire.", the man said in the most gentlemanly manner. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Pieter von Hallwyl, a mage from the Imperial Mages' Tower. It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.
The boy's eyes widened when he heard the man's words.
"A mage?! From the Empire's Magic Tower?!"
Though his mind seemed so scrambled from the info he just received; the boy kept his face composed. His heart was beating fast. Though the man has introduced himself, he has no idea why this man came to his palace.
"What does this man want? Is he here to kill me? Did he introduce himself knowing that I will never be able to speak a word of his appearance since I would die anyway?", he panicked on the inside.
"I may not know what you are thinking, Your Highness, but I think I get the gist of it, and I assure you it is not that at all.", the man said, kneeling down on one knee, to be at the same height as the boy. "I mean no harm. Please, trust me. You need not be afraid."
His words sounded so sincere that Cleus wanted to believe him. But he's been scarred enough.
Not so long ago, he had a maid who was so kind to him that he almost saw him as his second mother. For once, he thought that life wasn't so bad until… he discovered she had been putting poison in his food every day. Luckily, he found out about it quickly and told his big sister, the first princess, immediately it. He was given an antidote, and the poison fortunately has not seeped into his system and he has been fine since then.
But he lost his ability to trust because of that.
"Please, let me live… I ask for your mercy.", the prince knelt down and lowered his head on the floor.
The young man found his reply unexpected. To think a royal would bow his head without hesitation. Even if the child did hesitate, it will still take him off guard.
"Your highness, please, raise your head.", the man spoke as he approached the child, feeling a bit guilty with the outcome.
Cleus took a while to raise his head. Pieter placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"You must never bow so low unless you've done something terribly wrong. You… have done nothing bad."
Pieter was slowly being seen in a different light in the boy's eyes. Though the boy seems to have been so mistrustful in his entire life, for some reason, the man was someone he felt like he could trust.
The boy blamed his desperate feeling to cling to life but there really was something about the man.
"Mr. Mage…"
"Pieter."
"Sir Pieter… Did you hypnotize me so that I'd feel at ease around you?"
Pieter found the boy's words astonishing and laughed.
"Though such a spell existed, the 'Taming' skill is not my field of expertise. However, even if I know how to do that, I would never manipulate his highness' feelings."
The young man smiled at the boy and squatted down to look at him face-to-face.
"But hearing you say those words gladdens me. Does that mean you feel safe around me and have trusted me enough to be your friend?"
The boy became flustered and looked away from the man's eyes.
"Absolutely not!", the boy exclaimed.
"Hahaha! Let's say you did not harbor such trust in me… yet.", the man chuckled. "However, can you please tell me the reason as to why you want to leave the palace?"
Cleus realized he had his guard off easier than he thought. He refuses to let things go the way the man wants. It seems that the man has become so confident that he has started asking him very personal questions as if they had just met a few minutes ago.
"The reason does not concern you, sir.", the boy replied. "Morning's about to come. Please, leave."
Pieter knew he couldn't force himself into the boy's heart again, so he had to use another tactic to get some information from Cleus.
"Really? Even if I give this back to you?", he said, waving around the prince's precious box.
"Ah! Right!" the boy remembered, stoked at the same time.
"Please, give it back…", the prince said, with his face down.
"I will if you tell me."
Cleus knows that the man is adamant of knowing his reasons. No matter what he'll do, Pieter would never give him the box. He considered throwing a tantrum like any normal kid but that would be too unbecoming of him. He'd rather tell him his reasons than do that.
"Fine. That's because I want to live longer. In this hellhole, I don't know whether I'll live or not. While most children think about what to play and what to eat, well, I am thinking about whether I'd live another second of this day! God knows what will happen to me in this place! Even though I am not ill, or do I hold any diseases, as long as I am in this place, I am a dying person!"
Silence surrounded the two for a while. The man looked at the boy, who was currently trying his best to hold his tears.
"What made you think living would be easier outside of the palace walls?", Pieter raised his right brow.
"Living out there might be more difficult, I am aware of that. Outside these walls is not a paradise but a challenge. A survival of the fittest. But at least… at least I actually have a bigger chance of living."
"And how about your eyes? Your eyes could sell for thousands of gold coins.", the man asked again.
"About that… I-I'll find a way somehow!"
Pieter walked towards the child and handed him the box to which Cleus took immediately.
"If that's what you wish, then I will help you."
The boy's green eyes brightened. Those words sounded like music to him since he needed all the help he could get.
Even from a stranger whom he had just met.
"Really?!", Cleus spoke in such an excited manner.
But that emotion faded when he had a little fact-check with himself.
"But how?"
"You'll see… However, the help will not come immediately. We'll have to go through trial and error. But I assure you it will be done in a month, and you can go live your life however you want."
Those were words that Cleus always wanted to hear. To live life however he wanted. But something bothered the boy. Why would a stranger help him? Why would this man concern himself with his troubles?
"Why would you bother yourself with my plans?", the boy asked.
It took a while for the man to reply. It seemed like the man had so much to tell him but can't tell him yet.
"Because I want to be your friend. And friends do what they can to help their fellow friend, don't they?"
"But we are not friends yet."
"Then, we should be one."
The man knelt down and lower his head. And like some knight preparing for an oath, Pieter declared.
"I, Pieter von Hallwyl, vows to be a good friend to Prince Cleus Dominique von Fermielis."
The gesture seemed exaggerated, but Cleus did not speak a word. Instead, the boy let out a chuckle though he made sure it was silent and hidden behind his hand. The man noticed it nevertheless though.
"Why the laugh?", Pieter asked confused.
"Nothing.", Cleus replied. "I'm not going to do the same thing, aren't I?"
"Well… I won't force you. It was more of a voluntary whim on my part."
The man stood up and looked at the boy with a serious expression.
"But what I said was true. Though I don't have any Mana Seal with me, I guarantee you that I am serious in my words."
The child looked at Pieter and came closer to him, offering his smallest finger to the man.
"What is this?", the man asked.
"A 'pinky-swear'. My mother and I have done this as a seal of promise and trust. She promised she'll protect me until her death. She kept her promise until the end.", the boy explained. "Though it has no magic in it, it's a pretty strong seal- …I think."
The man smiled and locked his smallest finger with the prince's.
"Then, here's to the beginning of our friendship.", Pieter spoke.
The boy gave his approval with a slight smile.
And such a friendship was formed between a young prince and a mage. A friendship that started off strangely underneath the snowy night sky.
A friendship that would lead to a series of unusual events that Cleus never thought he'd be involved in.
[The Black Palace, year 288]