“Arkas, it pains me to be the bearer of bad news, but this you must hear.” King Arkas Lygandoria III frowned upon hearing the words of his old friend.

He was alone in his study when someone suddenly entered without permission. When he saw that it was the old court magician, he relaxed only to be surprised by the words that the other spoke.

“Speak, Darxis,” Arkas said as he regained his composure and emitted his usual regal air. Despite the gap in their age, they had been long time friends, but this was the first time he spoke in this manner towards the old man while they were alone.

“It’s about your son, the fourth prince. You must prepare yourself for what you are about to hear.”

Arkas’ face darkened. He knew that this old man meant what he says and never joked around about important matters.

“What is it about my son?”

“That thing on his back is not a birthmark.” Old man Darxis suddenly went silent after he spoke those words. It seemed like he was stuck on what to say next, unable to find the right words.

King Arkas remained patient and waited for the old man to continue. He already had an idea what the court magician was about to say, and it was a thought that had been lingering on his mind since his fourth son was born. He had seen that mark on his back personally, and he had seen something similar before. If the two were indeed related, then it was a truly dreadful conclusion.

“Our suspicions were not wrong,” the old man spoke slowly. His voice trembled with pain and grief. “The mark on his back is the mark of the curse.”

The room fell silent once again. The two were both looking down on the floor, their faces shrouded with darkness.

“Does anybody else know?” the king asked.

“No. Only his mother had seen the mark in its entirety but thought that it was just a birthmark.”

“Make sure that this news doesn’t spread.”

Old man Darxis realized what the king was planning, and he thought that it was foolish, yet he was unable to dispute him. If he were in the king’s shoes, he would do the same.

“Pretend that the mark doesn’t exist and let my son live a normal life,” Arkas said as he looked out the window. The sky was layered with dark clouds, and in the distance he could make out the sounds of a never ending battle.

“Ervan will not become one of them,” he said with a voice filled with resolution.

***

“There’s no way I would marry a scaredy-cat like you!” a high-pitched voice of a young female child was heard from one of the palace courtyards.

The patrolling guards and passing maidservants looked curiously at the source of the commotion and found an interesting sight. They all smiled at the scene before moving on to continue their tasks.

What brought that smile to their faces was the current plight of the fourth prince of Lygandoria Kingdom. It was not that they look down on the young five-year-old prince but because they were quite used to seeing such things happen on him and had already found it amusing. Of course, at first they were worried for the prince, but seeing that he had his usual companion with him, there was nothing left for them to worry about.

In the courtyard were three figures. The source of the commotion was a young seven-year-old girl dressed in a red and frilly noble dress perfectly matching her short golden hair. Her fierce eyes were like orbs of emerald. She stood with a proud and haughty demeanor as she looked down at the boy hiding behind his companion squire.

The name of this young girl was Jenika Bershifa, the second princess of the kingdom of Bershifa. She had come here along with her father to meet the boy she was betrothed to only to be disappointed.

The fourth prince Ervan was a timid boy. He had light brown hair which he got from his mother who was of common birth, in contrast to his father and eldest brother who had the regal platinum hair. His eyes were teary as he looked at Jenika while hiding behind the legs of Cenia.

Cenia was from a noble house of knights with a long history of service under the Lygandoria royalty. She was currently twelve years old and was in her second year of knight apprenticeship. Because her family was trusted and the recommendation of her father, she had been taken in by the royal family to serve under the fourth prince as his personal retainer knight. If she completes her apprenticeship without problems, she would be instantly be taken as the chief retainer of the fourth prince and all other retainers he will take in the future would be under her command.

But as for now, since the fourth prince was still a child, Cenia had taken the role as his babysitter instead. The prince was quite taken to her and instead of her following him around, it ended up with him sticking to her like glue.

“Cenia,” the prince whispered as he completely hid behind her, “Ervan doesn’t like this girl either… She’s scary…”

“I heard that!”

Cenia smiled wryly as she tried to placate the two. Jenika had been in a terrible mood since seeing Ervan, and the prince’s timid nature did nothing to help.

“Now, now, young prince. Your royal father and princess Jenika’s father have already agreed by the time that your mother was pregnant of you that you will be taking the princess as your wife in the future,” Cenia tried to explain.

“No! No! Ervan wants to marry Cenia!”

“Eh? I’m quite honored prince Ervan, but you must follow your royal father’s orders, alright? It was an agreement that was already established and known by all, so breaking the engagement would result in a lot of problems.”

“Hmpf! Who wants to marry this useless fellow?” Jenika snorted in a very unfitting manner for a princess.

“Cenia will marry Ervan! Cenia will be Ervan’s future wife!” the prince protested as he ran away with tears in his eyes. “I’ll tell father! I’ll tell father!”

“I’m really sorry, princess,” Cenia apologized with a bow and went to chase after the prince.

Cenia found the prince standing in front of the conference halls’ closed doors. His face was scrunched up in an attempt to stop crying but tears and snot still covered his face.

“Prince Ervan,” she called out to him in a gentle voice. She could hear muffled voices from inside the conference hall. Despite the room’s soundproofing, their voices were still barely audible from outside. They must be in a heated discussion.

“Your royal father is quite busy at the moment. It would be best not to disturb him, alright?”

The prince nodded dejectedly and walked towards her. He then hugged her legs tightly as he sobbed, “Does Cenia not like Ervan? Won’t Cenia marry Ervan?”

A gentle smile appeared on Cenia’s face. She separated from the prince and crouched down in front of him. Using her own handkerchief, she wiped the snot and tears on the little boy’s face.

“I like Prince Ervan very much, but our statuses are too far apart. I’m just a measly squire relying on her house’s name and prestige. I have no merits of my own. I’d be too ashamed of myself to be considered a woman fit for the prince,” Cenia said as she lovingly stroked his head.

“But Ervan likes Cenia very much.”

“I know, and I’m very happy for that. But the world doesn’t just revolve around you. You must make decisions so that not only you will benefit from it but also from everyone else around you, especially since you’re a prince.”

“Then… Ervan doesn’t want to be a prince anymore!”

Seeing the child’s serious expression, Cenia couldn’t help but laugh. She lifted the boy and hugged him tightly in her arms.

“You’re a very sweet child, fourth prince, but wait for another ten or so years, and if you still feel the same way towards me, then I’ll think about it.”

“It’s a promise?”

“It’s a promise!”

The two linked their pinkies and sang a song. Whoever breaks the promise would have to swallow a hundred needles.

***

The kingdom of Lygandoria was located in the northern region of the continent of Vullene. Snow-capped mountain ranges separate the kingdom’s territory from the frozen wasteland further north.

Currently, King Arkas and Court Magician Darxis were riding their horses over a hill. They stopped at the peak and cast their gaze at the tragedy bellow.

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An entire village was being burnt to the ground. Outside the village walls, makeshift barricades were made. Foot soldiers hid behind them.

There was tension in the air, and Darxis couldn’t help but grunt after smelling the foul stench of burning flesh carried by the wind.

“An entire village this time…” the king said with a low and deep voice. It was quite obvious on how pained he was at the plight that this simple village received.

“We still don’t know how it spreads. None of the cases in these past two decades match. They were all random and scattered,” Darxis said and sighed. He, too, was troubled and distressed by the tragedy that was slowly encroaching the kingdom.

“We’re lucky that the cases in the capital are extremely few.”

“If there’s indeed a pattern, it would be that the appearance of the curse is more concentrated in the northern areas.”

Upon him mentioning the curse, Darxis saw the King’s face darken. He must have been reminded of the fourth prince.

“The prince have not show any signs of turning. I have personally taken the task of tutoring him in magic to see if it could suppress the curse.”

“How was it?”

“The prince have a bit talent in the arcane arts, but I still haven’t seen if it had any effects on the curse.”

“Ervan will turn fifteen in a week’s time.”

“I’ve seen him practicing the sword with Cenia many times. It seems just like yesterday when he was easily bullied by the Bershifa Princess. The last time the lass visited, she was quite smitten with him.”

“People change as they grow. I’m quite glad that my fourth son had finally grown into the fine young man he’s supposed to be.”

“He still has a long way to go.”

“Compared to us old-timers, indeed he has.”

The mood suddenly turned sullen. Their unspoken words broke their heart. In their minds, they thought of how the prince’s future with be with the curse’s mark on his back. Did he even have the chance to grow up like in their expectations? They don’t know when he would suddenly…

The two shifted their gazes back on the burning village. They could make it figures of burnt humans walking within the village. Despite being shrouded in flames, they continue to walk and stumble, and groan in pain.

“This is a sight I’ll never get used to,” the king said.

“No one will be able to get used to something like this,” old man Darxis affirmed the king’s words.

Meanwhile, back in the king’s castle, a heated battle was on-going within the knight’s training grounds. A youth of fourteen years was facing off against five young knights. Even though they were only junior knights, their combat skills were top-notch compared to other youths their age. For the fourteen-year-old youth to fend them off as they simultaneously engage him was a testament to his ability.

“That’s enough!” a deep female voice rang in the air and the five junior knights backed off. They then bowed towards the youth in the middle and praised him. The surrounding spectators, the castle guards and maidservants, applauded as the sparring match concluded.

“Whew!” the youth sighed as he found a bench to sit on. He was Fourth Prince Ervan. A maidservant approached carrying a tray with a glass and pitcher. She then poured him a glass of cold water.

“Well done, Fourth Prince,” a female knight said as she stood before him. Her dark-red hair and deep blue eyes were all familiar to the fourth prince. After all, she had always been by his side as long as he could remember.

“The training’s getting harsher by the day… Do you have a grudge against me, Cenia?” Ervan said after downing a glass of water in one go.

“Indeed, I do, prince. You have stolen my youth from me. I had been forced to slave under you since I was ten.”

After she said that, the maidservant felt like there was something wrong with the atmosphere and ended up holding her breath. She was not sure whether the knight Cenia was speaking the truth and if she was, then wasn’t her words a major offense to royalty?

This maidservant was still quite new within the castle. If she had known the relationship between these two, then she would just be like the other bystanders wryly smiling at the scene.

The prince and the knight stared at each glaring daggers. It was as if electric currents were flying out of their eyes and clashing in the air between them. After a long awkward silence, the two laughed out loud.

“What forced? I once heard your father mention that when you found out that you would be working under me, you were quite excited,” the prince said with a sneer.

“I was only ten back then, and I thought that the he meant the second prince. I never thought I would be babysitting the fourth prince,” she retaliated.

“Oh? So you actually liked the second brother? Should I put in a good word for you?”

“That was back then. He was the idol of kids my age at that time.”

“Just back then? How about now?”

“It’s not something for you to care about.”

“As the fourth prince, it is my royal decree that you tell me right now!”

“Unfortunately, only the king can use the royal decree.”

“Tch!”

Hearing the back and forth between the two, the maidservant was bewildered. She didn’t know what to make of the current situation.

The two ended up laughing once again, but the prince started groaning and grumbling when Cenia suddenly declared another sparring match.

By night, Ervan was in the bathhouse. He had three maidservants washing his body. Just outside, Cenia was standing guard by the entrance.

The maidservants were young and pretty but the fourth prince never laid a hand on them. They were quite disappointed at first. They wanted to take this opportunity to gain the fourth prince’s favor and maybe become his concubine in the near future. After all, fifteen was the marriageable age within Lygandoria, and the prince was just a few days away.

They had used all sorts of subtle tactics as well as blatant seduction to gain the prince’s eye, but they failed. Sometimes they wonder whether the prince was even interested in women. They knew that he already had a betrothed and that she would visit from time to time, but they never heard of any story about them acting intimate at all.

Could the prince possibly be…? That would be a major scandal!

“Cenia,” the prince called out, disrupting the thoughts of the maidservants. “Are you there?”

“Yes, Fourth Prince. I’m here,” came the knight’s voice from outside the closed doors.

“Do you… uh… remember?” the prince asked in a not so confident manner.

“Remember what?”

“…”

“Fourth Prince?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

The maidservants saw the prince’s dejected expression and they realized that their thoughts were mistaken. It was not that the prince was not interested in women, but he already had someone in his sights.

Outside, Cenia was staring blankly into space. She knew what the prince was asking her about, but she couldn’t bring herself to raise the prince’s expectations.

It was not meant to be.

Her father had reminded her again and again that she should never develop intimate emotions for the prince. Like the prince, she too, was already engaged. This had happened right after her promotion to a senior knight a year ago. She wanted to tell him but couldn’t bear to see what the prince’s reaction would be.

“I can’t delay this any further,” she murmured. The prince would turn fifteen in a few more days. By then, he would surely bring up the promise again.

That same night, dark clouds covered the stars. From villages and towns in the north of the kingdom, people were dying from an unknown illness. A strange aura of death was slowly spreading.

Within the surrounding forests, similar incidents were happening to the wild beasts that inhabited the area.

They all had one thing in common: a strange black mark on a part of their body.