That day, the king had organized a festival in the capital. A large crowd had gathered, eager to participate in this grand event.

Nicholas, a nineteen-year-old boy, had come to the capital for the first time to see the city up close. He wore simple clothes and covered his face with a shawl, coming to see the festival up close.

The crown prince was passing by the townspeople on horseback. Nicholas raised his head and looked at the prince; he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Nicholas thought: "Why does the crown prince's face... look exactly like mine?"

In a kingdom from a faraway land, a king had twin sons. Unfortunately, the king's wife could not survive and passed away.

When the king saw that his children were twins, he was deeply saddened. These two sons were the king's firstborn and had a high chance of becoming the future king. However, this situation could potentially lead to chaos and division among the people in the future, and the two brothers might start a great war to claim the throne, causing much bloodshed.

To prevent this undesirable future, the king accepted his fate and ordered the most trusted male servant to kill one of his sons, keeping this secret between them.

The man took one of the king's sons with him but couldn't bring himself to kill the fragile, newborn baby. The man's name was Michael, and he decided to take care of the boy himself. He took the boy to his forest cabin, and after a month, he resigned from his job and never returned to the palace.

Nicholas was running quickly through the forest, heading back home. He was incredibly shocked by what he had seen and wanted to ask Michael everything.

Nicholas was thinking: "Why does the crown prince look like me?! Could it be that the crown prince and I are twin brothers?! Does this mean I am a prince too? I must ask Michael to be sure!"

Nicholas returned to the cabin and opened the door restlessly. Michael was sitting behind the table and looked at Nicholas with surprise, astonished by Nicholas's excitement, and said: "Did something happen? Why are you so excited and can't calm down?"

Nicholas quickly approached Michael and said: "Michael, I went to the city today and saw something unexpected."

Michael: "Could it be that you saw the prince?"

Nicholas, in surprise, said: "Did you know the prince looks like me?!"

Michael stood up and said: "The resemblance between you and the prince is a coincidence, it's better not to get close to the palace."

Nicholas: "If the prince and I aren't brothers, then why do you always tell me to cover my face with a shawl and not to approach the royal guards?"

Michael crossed his arms and said: "Because I don't want you to get into trouble. If the guards see you, they will arrest you and the king will kill you."

Nicholas: "Why would the king want to kill me at all? He can't kill me just because I look like the prince!"

Michael thought: "He's very smart, it will be hard to convince him."

Nicholas: "And besides, the prince is also nineteen years old like me, I'm sure he's my brother."

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Michael put his hand on his chin and sighed, then sat down on the chair and said: "Alright, it seems the time has come to tell you everything. Sit here so I can explain it to you."

Nicholas sat next to Michael, waiting curiously for him to explain everything. Michael explained how the king had ordered him to kill Nicholas and that he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he decided to take care of him instead, and why nobody should know about Nicholas's existence.

Nicholas stood by the river, thinking about what Michael had told him.

Nicholas put his hand on his chest and said: "To prevent war and bloodshed in the future, the king chose me to no longer exist."

Nicholas laughed sadly and said: "I hope Lucas has a good life without me. He will become a great king one day."

Two months had passed, and Nicholas had managed to accept the truth and come to terms with his situation.

Nicholas came to the cabin with a bundle of firewood, placed the wood next to the fireplace, and said with a smile and pride, "My archery has improved a lot. Today, I'm going to hunt a deer."

Michael approached Nicholas, chuckled softly, and said, "You're still a novice; you can barely hit a bird."

Nicholas said proudly, "You're underestimating me. Let's make a bet on it."

Michael: "Alright, if I win, you have to treat me to a drink."

Nicholas crossed his arms and frowned, "No, if you get too drunk, you'll get us both killed, and there will be no one to pick you up."

Michael: "Why? What do I do?"

Nicholas got angry and frowned, "Last time, you attacked the tavern in town with an axe, and I had to work day and night for two months to pay off at least some of your debt."

Michael laughed and said, "Ah, you mean that restaurant with the grumpy owner?"

Nicholas grabbed a slingshot from the wall, smiled, and proudly said, "I'm going to hunt a deer for dinner."

Nicholas left the cabin and closed the door.

Michael: "Be safe."

Nicholas was walking along the forest road, hunting for something for dinner, when suddenly he saw someone injured lying on the ground next to the bushes.

Nicholas was shocked and shouted, "Hey you, hang in there, I'm coming!"

Nicholas approached closer and said in surprise, "Lucas?!"

Lucas opened his eyes, surprised, and said weakly, "Who are you?"

Suddenly, a guard saw Nicholas from a distance and shouted, "I found him! The prince is here!"

Nicholas picked up Lucas, threw him over his shoulder, and ran away quickly.

A guard shouted, "He's escaping! Don't let him get away!"

Nicholas ran into a cave, laid Lucas on the ground, and went outside, hiding behind the bushes to assess the guards' positions.

Nicholas thought, "There are only five of them, I need to get rid of them before they figure everything out."

A guard came next to another guard and asked, "Are you sure he came this way?"

The other guard: "Yes, but it seems there were two of them."

The guard laughed and said, "Two? You must be joking."

Suddenly, an arrow struck the heart of that guard. The other guard was shocked and said in surprise, "I need to run!"

The guard ran quickly to return to the queen and report everything to her, but suddenly he saw Nicholas standing in the road, aiming his slingshot at him.

The guard, shocked, said in surprise, "Who are you?"

Nicholas angrily said, "That's the question I should be asking. You suddenly invaded our forest, and I'm just defending myself."

The guard laughed nervously and said, "Your forest?"

Nicholas, irritated, frowned and said, "I have no interest in trespassers."

Nicholas fired an arrow and killed the last guard.

Nicholas, panting heavily, returned to the cabin with Lucas on his shoulder.

Michael was shocked to see Nicholas and said in surprise, "Nicholas, what happened?!"

Nicholas frantically shouted, "He's badly injured, go get bandages and medicinal herbs!"

Michael: "Alright!"

Michael hurried to get bandages and herbs, and Nicholas took Lucas to his room and laid him on the bed. Lucas had a fever and was breathing heavily.

Nicholas sat on the ground next to Lucas, took his hand, and said, "Hang in there a bit longer, I'll save you no matter what."

Nicholas dressed Lucas's wounds and placed a wet cloth on his forehead to bring down the fever.

Michael came to see who Nicholas was saving and was shocked to see Lucas. "Nicholas... why is Lucas here?!"

Nicholas said sadly, "Apparently, he escaped and came to the forest, and the guards wanted to kill him."

Michael thought for a moment and said, "Someone in the palace doesn't want Lucas to stay alive; it's probably someone high-ranking."

Nicholas gave a faint smile and said, "It doesn't matter, the fact that I found him and he's still alive is enough for me."

Michael: "I understand, it's best to keep this a secret between us. We should keep Lucas here for a while to keep his life out of danger."

Nicholas: "I know, I'll protect him, even if I have to keep him here forever."

Nicholas was happy with this fate because if he hadn't found Lucas in the forest that day, Lucas would certainly have been killed.