Several days have passed since the mage's visit.
The snow has now dissipated, and life has started sprouting from the ground. Springtime has finally come, and so was the day that Cleus despised the most.
Two years ago, on this very day, his mother died.
Standing outside the palace doors, the young prince stood and waited patiently. His clothes were mostly black, and his left hand was clutching a bouquet of Jasmine Flowers. Lastly, his face, underneath the hood of the robe he was wearing, was barely showing any emotion.
Suddenly, a carriage came and appeared in front of him. The child approached the carriage and climbed up with the assistance of the coachman. Cleus looked behind him before entering the carriage – an empty ground, and only the palace doors facing him.
Even if one's departure is quick, a person with nobility and royalty is greeted by their servants with a bid farewell and a gesture of wishing them well.
But no maid saw him out and stood by the door.
Not that he minds at all. Despite the sad view, the boy simply turned his head and entered the carriage.
This is the only day of the whole year that he could leave the palace. A privilege that his father, the emperor, has granted him. It was one of the two things he appreciated from his father.
The second thing he appreciated from his father was the mausoleum made solely for his mother.
The very controversial burial. One that many opposed and blatantly showed disrespect for. Reasons for that was because his mother was "a daughter from a fallen noble family". Usually, mausoleums are for people with esteemed titles and as for royals, it is typically made with marble and gold.
Cleus' mother had every right to have one as she was the emperor's legal wife. But many were against it for various reasons. The alibi was made because she came from a fallen noble family, a family banished by the previous emperor as traitors. However, the emperor insisted that his wife be buried in a mausoleum. Because of the number of oppositions, the emperor was forced to settle for a simple stone mausoleum. Having pushed his mother's mausoleum, his view of his father has softened a little.
A stranger of a father, yet a father he did not absolutely despise. That was the emperor to him.
However, he still blamed the emperor for the hell he had to go through.
"We have arrived, Your Highness."
Standing in front of a door three times larger than he was. Cleus took a slight breath before entering the mausoleum. When he came inside, a never-changing picture that he only sees once a year was in front of him.
The wilted flowers from last year, cobwebs in between the pillars, a blanket of dust covering the tomb and the utter silence.
After taking a good long look, the boy walked toward a storage room on the left and took out a brush and a pail.
"Let's get to work."
This was a yearly routine. A task that is supposed to be tended by a servant done by this small prince. With his rolled-up sleeves, his hands carrying a pail filled up with water from a well nearby and a brush with sharp thistles, he was all ready to clean his mother's resting place.
As he scrubbed the tomb continuously, his mouth was diligently speaking as well.
His sweat was dripping down from his head, yet his face showed no tiredness. And like an excited child telling his achievements, he told everything his heart had bottled up for a very long time. He spoke to his mother as if she were there, listening to him.
"Mother, I met someone strange several days ago. I know you told me never to speak to strangers, but this person seemed really trustworthy. He told me he'd help me leave that darn palace… Don't worry though! I won't be a fool. If I find his intentions evil, I'll immediately kick his arse and go far away on my own instead!", he spoke with such a determined tone but then fell in silence for a while after a sudden realization.
"This could very well be my last visit, Mother… I'm sorry. I can't stay in this place any longer… I'm sorry if I can't come and visit anymore.", he said, his tears slowly welling up. "I'm sorry for being selfish. Please, forgive me…"
"What are you apologizing for?", a familiar voice echoed.
Cleus turned his head and found Pieter standing on the doorstep, his hand holding a long stick.
"S-Sir Pieter? How-? Why are you here?", Cleus questioned, quickly wiping his tears and nose, his state very disheveled.
"I… guessed.", Pieter replied in such an unserious manner.
Without giving Cleus a chance to question, Pieter went to the corner of the room. With the stick he was holding, he took down the cobwebs that wrapped most of the walls.
"You might need help reaching high places. I'll take care of the webs.", the man smiled at him.
Cleus, despite being full of questions, stayed silent and continued scrubbing the tomb.
"I thought he'd stop me from cleaning as it is unbecoming for a prince to do this.", Cleus kept to himself.
Finally concluding their cleaning session, the boy replaced the flowers and stood in front of his mother's tomb with Pieter also standing beside him.
"I heard your talk with your mother, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I apologize, your highness.", Pieter spoke. "Even the words of you kicking my arse once you learn if my intentions are evil."
The child lowered his head, hiding his regret. However, his red neck showed his embarrassment.
"That's good! Cautiousness is a good trait! I will not tell you off for thinking that way, your highness. That shows your very smart mind!", the man attempted to reassure but the child remained in the same embarrassed state.
"Ahem! Anyway, about your last words that you spoke earlier… I do not want to pry as I know nothing about the relationship between you and your mother.", Pieter brought up, changing the atmosphere immediately.
"I think your mother will never think of you as a selfish son for wanting to leave this place. She would thank you for being so brave all this time… Your mother definitely will support any path you choose."
The tears that Cleus was desperately trying to hide started to flow out. The child sobbed and the man patted his back for comfort. It took a while for Cleus to calm down, and his eyes were swelling red.
Pieter wanted to laugh after seeing the boy's face but held back and wiped the child's nose with a handkerchief.
"Why give this to me only now?", the child spoke, grabbing the handkerchief from the man's hand.
"You're finally back to your normal state. You were very silent after I arrived.", Pieter chuckled.
"Any longer in this place, my entire face will be swelling.", Cleus said, walking outside. "Now, I'll have to walk far away to the gates where my carriage awaits-…"
Little did he know, the carriage did not come back to pick him up.
"I thought the carriage I heard outside was mine… Was it another passing vehicle? If so, then where's my service?"
"And I thought you walked here.", Pieter spoke, coming out from the mausoleum.
"The emperor ordered that I be escorted for this day. Anyway, the coachman is a good man. He has never done this before.", Cleus reasoned.
"Maybe he is not as good as you thought he was.", Pieter said, preparing a stance, suddenly showing a cautioned face. "Do you hear that?"
A sound of footsteps was approaching their way and so quickly at that.
"There seems to be two of them.", Cleus informed.
"Goodness! You can pick that up as well? You really are amusing, your highness!"
"This is not the time to be amused, sir! I can hear the sounds of their swords clanging against the ground as they approach! We should run!", the boy exclaimed, pulling the man's sleeves.
However, Pieter would not budge as Cleus hoped for. Confused and scared, the boy attempted to pull him again.
"What are you doing?! Run! These people are obviously armed!"
However, the man merely smiled and led the boy back inside the mausoleum. Pieter knelt down and looked at the boy face-to-face, his hands placed on top of the boy's shoulders.
"No matter what you hear outside, do not get out. Promise me, your highness.", Pieter spoke with a smile however, Cleus was not reassured.
"You'll get hurt!"
"I won't.", Pieter chuckled. "Allow me to take this opportunity to prove my faith in you. That I'm not a man you need to kick in the arse."
Pieter stood up and left the child inside the mausoleum, closing the door behind him. It didn't take long for the men to arrive in the mausoleum.
Both men were masked. Their weapons were sheathed, far from what Pieter expected. One of the men was holding a large sack. Just from that, Pieter knew immediately what these two men were after.
"What are you up to, lads?"
The masked men remained silent and charged at Pieter, unsheathing their swords. Pieter took off his cape and flapped it towards the men. He then twisted the cloth, wrapping their weapons.
With their weapons wrapped, the men could not budge. It was as if their swords were being sucked in.
"What is this? Who is this man?", one of the men thought. "They told me the people around the child were incompetent. Even the coachman was easily handled with. Yet, his aide seems very skilled."
One of the kidnappers took notice of a large emblem embroidered on the back of the cape.
"Is that? Ah, shit! Why is this sort of person here?!"
A sudden realization struck through the assassin's mind, immediately letting go of his sword and pulling his comrade.
"What are you doing?!", the other person asked.
"Fool! We are no match for this man! He's a mage of the Empire!"
Pieter released their weapons and held his cape over his shoulders. With a slight smirk, he looked at the men, with eyes boiling with bloodlust.
Despite not having emitted his mana aura, the atmosphere already felt heavy for the masked men.
"Run! Forget the prince! We may lose our lives here!"
The two men turned away from Pieter, running for their lives. Thinking they had run a good distance away from the mausoleum, they were stoked to see the mage right in front of them.
"How did he get to us so fast?!"
Planning to run the other way, they noticed that they could not move at all. As if it was being held back. They looked down only to see a pool of black miasma underneath them, their legs stuck inside it.
"What is this?"
[Shadow Devour]
The men felt the ground getting closer, their bodies completely immobilized.
"Please! Have mercy! We were only paid to do this! We were told to do this by Mr. Walter!"
"Yes! Mr. Walter Jones!"
However, Pieter looked down on them with cold eyes as their torsos have been completely sucked into the shadows.
"The fact that your client gave his name means that you men were meant to be disposed of after you've done your task. Well… unfortunately, they can't anymore."
The men felt a surge of relief when they heard the mage's last words.
"Yes! Yes, sir! Thank you!"
Pieter leaned towards them and faced them with a deadpan expression.
"What are you thanking for? The one who'll dispose of you is me. Unfortunately, being killed by me means you'll die without pain.", Pieter spoke in a monotone manner.
Chills went down their spines. The men began screaming for their lives. Their bodies up to their necks have been completely swallowed.
"We all like money. But kidnapping a child to kill him for a good penny is a different matter. Money-driven fools like you don't deserve another second in this world."
The mage walked away from them as their faces were slowly covered by the miasma, their screams slowly dissipating as they disappeared.
Pieter stood in front of the mausoleum door and because for many reasons, could not bring himself to come inside. His face was filled with worry, distinctly different from the face he wore when he faced the masked men.
"The child probably is now scared of me. He could even hear the steps of those men and sense my presence even when I had completely hidden it. He must have heard their screams-"
However, to Pieter's surprise, the child opened the door and looked at him with great worry.
"Y-YOU'RE OKAY!", Cleus exclaimed, all teary-eyed, embracing the man with no hesitation.
The man was confused. He doesn't know if he should feel relief or not. He placed his hand on top of the boy's head and patted him for comfort.
"Did he not hear anything?", the man wondered.
But unbeknownst to the man, Cleus heard every word that was spoken. Despite all that, Cleus did not find himself shivering in fear in the presence of the man. All he felt was relief, comfort, and peace.
He may not know how the men's lives ended but he felt it in their screams that Pieter was not an ordinary person at all. He himself is not certain whether this man is someone he should trust or to fear.
But in this moment, he was the only one he could rely on.
"GROOOOOOWWLLLL", a common sound could be heard from the prince's stomach.
The child pulled away and lowered his head once again in embarrassment.
The man stared at the boy for a while, his face evidently surprised, and laughed out loud.
"Are you hungry, Your Highness?"
"S-So what?! I was cleaning a mausoleum!", the child replied, his eyes averted from the man.
The man took a small paper from his pocket and held it between his fingers. The paper was blood red, with a circle and strange symbols written on it in blank ink.
"What is that?"
The man did not answer his question and smiled at the boy.
"Why don't we have a meal outside the palace?"
[The Previous Queen Consort's Mausoleum, Year 289]