Prince Jeremy, the third prince of Lusian, a man with a slender figure a bit taller than my own, wears a white dress shirt and a blue sapphire pendant that matched his blue eyes. A very charismatic figure, when I first met him there was a certain mood to him that convinced me to trust him. Out of all of his competitors, he is the most popular prince of Lusian loved by the rich and the poor alike under the persona of a young man with a heart of passion for the betterment of Lusian. No wonder he is the most fantasized character by young ladies of the kingdom. However, he is, of course, no fool, none of the prince or the princess are, the generous donations he made to the slums suggests only a portion of his undisclosed wealth.

“Mr. Ingalls, I’m so glad you made it, you are a bit early for our dinner but no matter, I have the restaurant booked for the entire day.”, the prince greeted me passionately.

“Please, have a seat.”

I sit on one end of the long dining table while the prince sits on the other, a brief moment of silence ensues as we wait for which one of us to start the conversation.

“Prince Jeremy, what business do you have with me by inviting me here so abruptly?”, I said.

The prince, like most of the nobles and royals living in Azlar, have the default expression of an inoffensive smile. That smile helps to mask the emotions hidden underneath, and while the prince also has one on his face his looks the most genuine and convincing, at least those that I’ve seen.

“Let’s not talk about businesses before we have dinner. The lobster rolls of this restaurant are quite good from what I’ve heard, you should try it. Now I can speak from experience the clam chowder is, well let's just say words don't do it justice.”, the prince says those words as if this is just a casual dinner between two close friends.

The servants bring in the food, they look wonderful. The red, white, and greens colors on those plates stimulate my appetite. They smell even better, I could only imagine how they taste. While the prince begins to eat as a host should, my food remains untouched as I demanded an answer from him.

The prince swallows his food and elegantly wipes his lips.

“You must excuse me, this is the only meal of my day. Normally I’d grab some quick finger food, but I learned that we must make time for the little joys in life, like dining our favorite restaurant.”

He looks towards me and sees how I didn’t touch my meal: “Despite what opinions you have of me, you really shouldn’t let good food go to waste. There are people in the slums that would kill for the food you’re having right now, something hot, and don’t scar the throat with every bite.”

I take one bite out of my food, he’s right, the food is delicious.

“Good food should be enjoyed with good company and Prince Jeremy, I wouldn’t consider you a good company, after all, we are neither friends nor family. So why don’t we drop this charade and you can tell me what you need from me?”, I said as I grew rather impatient with the prince.

“Irwin, is it fine that I call you Irwin? How long have you been living in Azlar?”

I gave some thought: “Outside of a few travels I’ve been living here for my life.”

“And what do you think of this city? Is as beautiful and prosperous as the nickname of the ‘sapphire city’ and ‘the queen's jewel’ would suggest?”

The prince continues: “No, despite being the richest city in the world, this city suffers its fair share of slums and its poor who barely get enough to eat. It’s perhaps worse, the nobles who got it all, freely indulging in their lust, gluttony, and greed. The common folk who don't want change think that it could always be worse, that at least they are not like those in the slums.”

“It isn’t right, the Lusian kids ended up dead on its sidewalk. The people being evicted from their homes because they didn’t read the fine print of a loan. The nobles that rape, steal, and kill without consequences. The constant assassination, corruption, and extortion that plague the people is a never-ending cycle. Yet people just walk by accepting that this is the norm? ”

The prince's eyes started to pool with sadness he felt for the state of the city, yet the gleam of determination shines bright in his gaze: “I want to change that, I want to create a kingdom where even the common man can live with dignity. Where people aren’t born into wealth, power, and success but earned through hard work. Where nobody, not even the crown can tell a man how to live!”

“Prince Jeremy, hold your tongue! What you said here could very well be taken as treason against the queen.”, I warned him.

“But you agree, don’t you? I’ve seen how you acted toward the other nobles, you despise them. Unlike most of them, you made your fortune, you didn’t grow hubris because you are born into the most powerful family in Azlar. No, you treated people with dignity, even to those who lived in the slum. I can tell that you, like me care deeply about Lusian and its people; you have the morals and principles those people lack. But you would have to put up with them any longer, trust me they wouldn’t survive in my kingdom, I promise you this.”

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“Why are you telling me this? I am a noble of Azlar, the kind that you so desperately wanted to get rid of. Do you think that just because I share your sympathy for the poor and the weak I’d risk everything my family has built? ”

“If you don’t want to, I won't force you but I still want to give you a chance, an opportunity to serve in this new kingdom of mine. As you know I have a ship ready to dock but have run into some inconveniences in the process. I need that ship to be docked as soon as possible preferably by the end of this week, an easy task for you I’d assume. Do that and I can guarantee your house’s safety and prosperity when I start clearing Azlar of those leeches.”

I thought there were weapons on that ship but now it seems wherever on the ship is way more essential to the prince's plan.

“Just out of curiosity on the ship, Prince Jeremy?”

Prince Jeremy examines the content of his glass, swirls around a bit, and gives a final sip.

In a low unfeeling tone, he spoke: “Lusian is sick, the gold running through its veins has turned the people against themselves, its shine blinded them to the problem with the city and the ship…….the ship contains the cure.”

A cold chill shivers up my spine as I grasped the magnitude of what he intends to do.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m afraid I must reject the offer. We, Ingalls, have abstained from siding with an heir of the throne since the kingdom's founding, a tradition I don’t intend on breaking.”, I said to the prince, realizing how dangerous this man is.

“Ahh, I see you’re thinking like the head of the Ingalls already I see. Sure, your house will probably survive but what about you? I’ve heard that your brother, Kaine is it? Do you know that he’s siding with the Royal Bank of Lusian, the same bank that’s supporting my sister in secret? I wonder what he has to gain from this, does he want to be the head of the family himself? If so, he’ll be coming after you and strike the first chance he gets. Knowing you, your brother shouldn’t be much of a problem, still, if you find him to be too much to handle, I could get rid of him for you, after all, that’s what friends are for and I'd be glad to have a friend like y—.”

A wine glass flies across the room and shatters on the wall, abruptly shutting his mouth. It’s shattered fragment leaves a small cut on the prince’s face.

He had just threatened the one thing I value above all else, my family. I felt an emotion long forgotten, anger, and before I know it I’ve acted without thinking.

Prince Jeremy wipes the drop of blood from his cheek, examines the crimson on his finger then looks at me with an innocent-looking smile: “Assaulting the royal bloodline, it seems we’ve both committed offenses against the crown.”

“Don’t you try and turn me against my family, Prince Jeremy. You do not want to make an enemy out of me.”, I stared him dead in the eyes.

“Did I say something wrong? If so I’ll apologize,” prince Jeremy said, obviously he’s playing dumb.

“I’ll be taking my leave now. Thanks for the meal, the food was good. I wish I could’ve said the same for the host.”, I threw the napkin on the table and swiftly left the restaurant. I felt that if I stayed a moment longer I couldn’t control myself from punching his smug face.

“I’m sorry if I said something that offended you, but know, that my offer is always available should you change your mind.”, the prince stood up to see me out.

After Irwin left the room, the prince watched through the windows as the carriage carrying him drove away. He then returned to his seat to finish his food.

A dark figure emerges from a part of the room covered by shadows, then proceeds to sit on the same seat across the prince.

“Your brother didn't take the offer, just like you predicted.”, the prince said.

“No surprise, he’s the one who took after our father the most, along with his outdated ideas.”, the dark figure responded.

“You do understand what you have to do if he doesn't change his mind, right?”

“I do…….”

“Is there something on your mind? You aren’t mad that I’ve cast his suspicion on you, are you ?”

“...”, for a moment the dark figure stayed silent then spoke:

“Usually he’s so calm and collected, this is the first time I’ve seen him lose his composure. Ironic, all he talks about is doing what benefits our name but just then it seems we hold a bigger place in his heart than I thought.”

“It seems your brother cares about you. I wish I could say the same for my family, they’d love to see my head on a stick.”, the prince said.

He stops eating, his face turns cold as he thought of a possibility, gone was the ever-present smile:

“Don't tell me you want to stop.”

“Of course not, even if I wanted to, our plan has already been set in motion, none of us can stop now.”

The dark figure grabs the fork from the table and dines on the barely touched food.

“I could order a fresh plate for you.”

“No need. You are right about one thing, you shouldn’t waste good food.”, the figure stabs the food and sallows forcibly as if swallowing the guilt of what they are about to do.

Our protagonist Irwin unaware of their interaction arrives back at his family mansion.