Chapter 2: Family

As Zen drove to the university, he decided to call Han to catch up.

"Hello, young master," came the voice of the old butler from the phone.

"Hey, Han. How's my favourite butler doing?" Zen asked, his voice filled with happiness as he realized it had been a while since they last spoke.

"I'm doing rather well, sir. I heard from Sir Jin that you got into the university, right? Congratulations, sir. I hope you will enjoy studying agriculture," Han replied with a happy tone, fully supporting Zen's pursuit of his passion.

"Anything I need to know about my family, besides my 6th goddamn 'death anniversary' thing?" Zen asked with a hint of annoyance, recalling the family tradition of celebrating his 'death,' which he found pointless.

"Well, sir, first of all, the king and queen are still doing well. They seem sad today, since it is, after all, the day of your 'death,' but besides that, they seem to be doing just fine," Han continued. "Master Raiden and Mistress Nina seem to be the same as well. Although, Master Raiden seems to have gotten himself into trouble with Miss Redwood. I heard that he is having an affair with a lady by the name of Kara Burns."

"Haha, good to know that my brother is still the same playboy as always," Zen chuckled after learning about his brother's escapades.

"Wait, Burns? Isn't that one of the most powerful families that know their Flame inheritance?" Zen asked with curiosity.

"You would be correct, young master. Master Raiden went to a royal party in Dubai and ended up having a one-night stand with her, and Mistress Kate found out from one of her servants who keeps an eye on Master Raiden," Han answered Zen's question.

"Well, thanks for the news, Han. I don't think I need to know any more about my family for now," Zen said.

"You're not going to ask your grandparents, young master?" Han asked with confusion.

"Although I'm the youngest, my grandparents dislike me a lot since I'm horrible at studying and learning academically. Which kind of makes me sad as I love and look up to them a lot, but they barely want to talk to me at all," Zen replied with a bit of a sad tone. Zen wants to be loved by his grandparents the way his father, brother, and sister treated him, but his lack of IQ or genius like them doesn't want anything to do with him.

"I'm so sorry, sir, for bringing up this topic. I shouldn't have realized this sooner. Please forgive me, young master," Han quickly apologized to Zen as he should have known well that the elders were not very big fans of Zen's academic skills.

"Don't worry about it, Han. I'm dead to them after all; I couldn't care less about that life I had left behind," Zen said with confidence. He doesn't care about being Alex Kings anymore. He is now Zen Caine living a life that he always wanted and not being a prince who serves no purpose.

"Sir…" Han said with a mix of a sad tone and pity. He knows Alex more than his parents or grandparents since they are always busy with their royalty work and never really give him that much attention. His siblings, Raiden and Nina, have more attention since they show more promise as leaders of the country than Alex. But Han loves and cares a lot for Alex as if he is his child.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're doing well. Thanks for everything, Han. Without you, I wouldn't be able to achieve this simple life and not deal with politics or marry a woman I barely know," Zen quickly changed the mood of the conversation as he didn't want to have Han or himself ruin their day.

"You are very much welcome, young master," Han said with a happy tone. He is willing to sacrifice anything to help Zen even his own life.

"Talk to you later, Han," Zen said to Han before hanging up as he now reached his destination. He parked his car, grabbed his backpack, and walked toward the main building.

"All right, the first lecture starts in 40 minutes; let's go see Jin and the others," Zen said with a big smile on his face, ready for his new life.