He leaned forward, resting his head on his palm, absently gazing ahead in the empty throne room. The flickering light of a torch casted dancing shadows along the cold, stone walls.

Around a decade back , his father died in the war, leaving him as the new king.

Though wearing the crown, his people still suffer from discrimination from other races, causing them to mostly keep to themselves in the east.

‘Heavy is the head that wears a crown.’

Occasionally, they would meet for trade with the elves, who respect them, regarding beastmen as fellow children of the forest. Yet even that at times feels strained, a pale comparison to the relationship that their people used to enjoy.

Felix exhaled deeply, letting the cold, night air cleanse his mind.

When his children reached the age of 10, they were expected to join the battle for inheritance, a brutal tradition to determine the next ruler. However, one of them has already slipped beyond his reach.

Felix knew that as a child of a commoner, Yuki would experience much harassment from the other factions, but even knowing this, he did not expect it to this extent.

‘Such an innocent child,’ he thought bitterly.

Yuki, untainted by the cutthroat politics of the court, with a disdain of killing, has always dreamed of following in her mother’s footsteps as a scholar. Like her mother, Yuki has always loved books, spending hours each day in the library, while the others would rather hunt and train. She had no interest in the crown, but that did not stop the other factions.

The world doesn’t care about dreams.

It just seems like a fleeting fantasy of a child.

“Dada,” she asked. “Why do I never see you and mama together anymore?”

He stayed silent.

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Felix couldn’t tell the young Yuki that it was due to the pressure from the other factions.

Clenching his jaw, he balled up his fist in rage.

However the laws were clear. The king is forbidden from favoring one child over the other. He must remain impartial.

He shut his eyes.

“Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.”

The words echo through his head. Unlike his children, he was born an only child, spared from the infighting and betrayal.

Recently, the princess had fled with her mother the moment she turned 10. Deep down, he hoped that they got far away, away from the drama and politics.

Felix had hoped that he would be the one to abolish this long lasting tradition, but to no avail.

In short, he was afraid.

Afraid of what his people might think.

Afraid of the spirits of his forefathers staring down from above.

He glanced at the portraits lining the wall, feeling their silent judgement weigh heavily on him.

Great conquerors, rulers, tacticians, and most recently, his father.

‘Could I ever hope to one day live up to their expectations?’

He couldn’t even protect his children from each other.

The Vulpine family was unusually pious, holding elaborate celebrations year after year in honor of the goddess. Even in the darkest times, she would watch over them.

However, soon after inheriting the crown, he stopped hearing her voice.

No matter how fervently he prayed, all he received was silence.

He had searched for answers, fasting for months, even taking a pilgrimage to the holy land to meet with the pope.

Felix tried to convince himself that it’s not his fault, but deep down, he had lingering self doubt.

‘Is the goddess angry? Was our celebration not enough? Are we not pious enough?’

Had the goddess really abandoned him, silently withholding her guidance?

The thought shook him to his core.

Felix tapped his fingers impatiently on the cold, metal throne.

The sound of footsteps echoed faintly through the hall outside, but he didn’t move.

He heard 3 knocks, interrupting him from his train of thought.

He sighed.

“Come in.”

In walked his court advisor.

“Your daughter has been located in the City of Wesclim. She will arrive shortly, along with the adventurer who has been taking care of her.”

Felix stopped himself from leaping in excitement.

“Good,” he said, his voice steady with a hint of anticipation. “Tell them both to meet me in the throne room immediately.”

The advisor bowed politely and exited, leaving him alone once more.

Felix leaned back into his throne, shoulders slumping and his heart racing.

He hadn’t seen Yuki in months, and though he longed to pull her into a long embrace, he would be lying he didn’t mention the doubt gnawing at him.

Would she even recognize him? When they went missing, Felix appeared to age several years, with months of worry and sleepless nights etched into his face.

Would she be proud? Angry? Heartbroken?

These questions swirled in his head as he eagerly anticipated her arrival.