6. The Rise Of Claude

Claude struggled to distance himself from Kane, but instead of getting farther away, Kane only drew closer. In the palace, Claude felt unsafe; he could die multiple times if he stayed there.

"I want to go home," muttered Claude inaudibly. Kane could only see Claude's mouth moving without hearing his voice.

"What?" Kane brought his ear closer to Claude's mouth.

"Home," Claude muttered once more.

The king and Kane exchanged glances, both worried about Claude going home, especially reencountering his mother.

"Is this child looking for trouble?" thought the king.

The king tried to devise an idea to keep Claude here, under his protection, so that the boy wouldn't go home. The king sensed Claude wanted to escape the crocodile's den and enter the tiger's cage, not realizing his mother was even more dangerous.

"Wait, I want to give you a gift. Because of this incident, I've learned that evil people are trying to poison the Crown Prince," the king said, restraining Claude.

"What if you become the Crown Prince's friend, his protector? I heard you can withstand poison. Just look at how you survived this poison. What if you become his companion, tasting the food first before the Crown Prince tries it? Isn't that an honor? You're the luckiest person to be the Crown Prince's friend," explained the king, an idea that didn't sound good to Kane.

Claude thought for a moment; it was a good idea, but if he didn't refuse, it meant following the novel's plot and ending up dead later.

"More accurately, you'll use Claude as a scapegoat, right, father?" Kane retorted, disapproving of the idea.

'In the story I created, Claude wouldn't refuse because he greatly admired Xavier, but for the sake of survival in this world, I better refuse regardless of how the plot unfolds,' Claude thought.

After much contemplation, Claude shook his head, rejecting the king's request.

"You refuse?" the king asked in surprise. Approaching Claude, he sat beside his bed and said, "Why? Isn't it an honor for you? For your family, too."

'I have to pretend to cry, play the child card.' Claude's eyes welled up with tears.

"Don't make him cry. What honor is it to sacrifice a child?" objected Kane, unable to stand seeing Claude sad.

"Just rest; tomorrow, I'll have someone contact your family," Kane said, gently stroking Claude's head.

"Th-thank you," Claude said, touching his throat. He thought his voice had returned, but there was no change.

"Of course, you're welcome," Kane replied.

'Kane, you're overdoing it.'

In the end, the king couldn't force Claude. Claude was happy for a moment as he successfully deviated from the novel's plot. This meant the friendship between Xavier and Claude would never happen, especially not due to this rejection.

Claude's joy was short-lived as the queen arrived with her son shortly after. The woman approached Claude, holding Xavier, who continued to whimper.

"Mama, I don't want to, I don't want to," Xavier whined.

"Thank Claude, dear, because of him, you're safe. Imagine if you had eaten that cake; I can't even imagine," explained the queen. She then sat Xavier on Claude's bed next to Kane.

Kane's expression changed instantly upon seeing Xavier, filled with hatred. Quietly, Claude noticed Kane's clenched fist as if ready to strike Xavier at any moment.

"Thank you!" Xavier reluctantly said.

Xavier touched Claude's right hand; they shook hands, but gradually, the handshake turned into a grip. Xavier squeezed Claude's hand as if wanting to crush it anytime.

Oh, Claude began to grimace.

"Xavier!" Realizing it, the queen quickly moved Xavier away from Claude.

"Because of him, my cake is ruined! Why should I thank him?! He should be the one apologizing!" Xavier shouted, still not accepting the situation.

Xavier's anger made the air in the room oppressive; Claude couldn't breathe, and everyone else felt the same.

'I understand your feelings, Xavier, but seriously, are you going to kill us over a cake? Crazy!' Claude wondered.

He couldn't stop Xavier's power from continuously pressing on the air in the room.

'Do I have to apologize? In the story, I do apologize, but... if I apologize, it means I have to distance myself from him, meaning I have to oppose him.'

"Apologize!" Xavier shouted.

Everyone urged Claude to apologize, but he refused.

"Don't force him," Kane said, feeling the pressure.

"Apologize!" Each time Xavier pressed, people in the room bowed.

"Ah, Argh!!!" Claude screamed, feeling an extraordinary pressure. His neck felt choked, and strangely, he could hardly breathe. People in the room no longer felt the oppression; it seemed like all the pressure was transferred to Claude.

'Damn you, Xavier! Just because I didn't apologize, you turn into a villain. Shouldn't Kane be the one mistreating me? Why is it reversed?'

'Am I going to die?'

'The power Xavier is using should be used against Kane to protect me,' Claude thought, disappointed.

'But why is it—'

Claude's face turned blue; his blood vessels felt like they would burst before he finally fell unconscious.

Crash

****

"Ka-ne, Kane,"

"Kane..."

'Why am I crying saying Kane's name?' Claude began to open his eyes again; the suffocating feeling was gone. However, Claude didn't see Kane, the king, or the queen in his room. Xavier, the cursed one, was also absent.

"Ka-ne." Claude looked around his room; wait...

This wasn't the palace room; it was his room in the mansion. Claude also saw his mother entering the room with an angry expression.

"You're shameless, causing trouble! Why did you reject the king's offer?" scolded his mother. She must have heard the news from the palace people.

'Wait, Claude's mother?! Did the palace people immediately send me back? There's no such scene in the novel; maybe the plot is changing because I rejected the king's offer. If I followed the plot not to reject the king's offer, I'd probably be back in the palace by now. Besides, I did want to go home,' Claude thought.

'Don't tell me the plot has been broken?'

"Why are you silent? Ah... you're mute," Amber, his mother, said. Claude almost forgot that he was now talking to his mother.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about the incident at the party. You embarrassed me." His mother released blue flames from her hands. Flames that gradually grew larger.