18 I Won't See You Again

That was a bold statement, but the knights had heard more obnoxious words coming from the mouth of this ward. Sir Heinz was the first to react. "Your Grace, are you forgetting that the soldiers of Middlemist sign up to protect the king—not the forests miles away from the country? Rations couldn't even reach the outposts properly, and you want more soldiers to be out here?"

Rodnir slid his eyes to the captain, but he didn't say anything anymore. He just turned to the other knight who was going to send the response. The knight just smiled. "Your Grace, the captain is right. No one wants to die, especially away from their country. Erm, if you want things to change, you should take it up to His Majesty. He decides on those things."

"…they're right, Rodnir. You can't force your soldiers to patrol dangerous places like this." Kanaru didn't move to look at the king's ward. "You can only ask for volunteers and pay them for their service. The countries this far also don't have enough resources anymore. If they don't have someone serving the harem court, the next best thing is to live closer to the ocean where King Fenris is.

"Of course, there are those who are too hard-headed to live their birthrights and the land of their parents and the parents before them." Kanaru only had a small smile. "I believe you just wanted to help, but disregarding a lot of other factors is not good. If King Fenris thinks the system is awful, he should have changed it long ago, don't you think?"

Rodnir hummed and leaned on an arm behind him. "Yes, but he never stepped out of the country for so long. What does he know about everything happening outside those massive walls and ocean?"

Pause. It was as if everyone stopped breathing at those words. Even Kanaru's hand froze halfway through a line. The bird prince then moved to face the king's ward with a terrified gaze. "Rodnir, you can't say things like that! You might be his ward, but you can't be caught speaking ill about King Fenris! You even have the captain of the Black Smoke Corps hear it straight from your mouth!"

"Why don't you just have him around you all the time, Your Grace?" Sir Heinz snorted as he balled his fist. "At least someone gets to stop you from doing reckless things. Another word against His Majesty, and you can be prosecuted by the very knights protecting you. We don't take insults to His Majesty lightly… not even from his ward."

"…I give up. I won't say things that will put me in danger." Rodnir sighed, however. When he looked at Kanaru, he just stared longer at the almost pouting concubine.

Kanaru just moved to assume his prior position earlier. "Private conversations with His Majesty should be very different from having them with his subjects, Rodnir. Even if His Majesty lets you say things like that, don't say them in front of his guards. No one wants anyone disgracing the beacons of their life."

Rodnir only stared at Kanaru's head because that was all he could see instead of the prince's eyes. He then sighed again. "I'm… terribly sorry for upsetting you…"

…

Strange. The remaining days of their travel back to Middlemist were spent in silence. There were occasional questions from Kanaru, but the prince only kept drawing without bothering Rodnir. The knights and the ambassadors didn't say anything to him, either. The unicorn felt like dying.

"…Kanaru, are you excited to finally see Middlemist? We've been traveling for two weeks now." Rodnir struck up a conversation while Kanaru was coloring some parts of his survival guide.

Instead of a silent collocutor, Kanaru responded with an enthusiastic nod. He then looked out and saw the massive ocean that separated Middlemist from every other country on all sides. Still, it didn't mean the country was the most isolated. Actually, Kanaru saw multiple ships crossing the ocean from Middlemist to the other harbors. However, the ocean was so wide he couldn't even see Middlemist yet.

Rodnir was a little satisfied. He then reached out another arm and wrapped it around Kanaru's shoulders. "The horses will soon enter another space path toward the palace grounds. Do you want to descend like how others do so you can see the lights?"

"Can't we see the lights from the palace?" Kanaru turned to Rodnir, uncaring of the arm around him. "I'm pretty sure you're also tired from the trip. Also, I can barely see anything from the carriage. Let's just go see them when we're settled in the palace. Is that okay?"

"…are you scared that I won't see you again when we get there?" Rodnir asked, and Kanaru looked away and continued coloring the book. However, the king's ward noticed how the prince's hand stopped moving. He would ask again, but Kanaru lifted his eyes to meet Rodnir's gaze.

"Yeah. You might become too busy when we get there… I just want to make sure we have reasons to meet up. Running into you might not even be possible." Kanaru chuckled as he stared at the book. He had already sewn the pages together, officially finishing its contents with the last stroke of the crayon. "Is it bad for us to see each other again?"

Rodnir's lips grew into a flat line before opening them. "It might be hellish for the first few days. Work must have piled up for the four months that I wasn't around. Don't worry, I will seek you when I'm free. Don't think that I have abandoned you, okay?"

Kanaru looked up and nodded with a smile. He then went to collect the ward's hand. "Do you mind lending your pinky to me? I know your thumb and pointer prints are used for important documents, so I can't ask for that. Let's sign the book with our names and our pinky prints."

"…right, this would mark the end of your journey from Burdett to Middlemist." Rodnir looked down at the book. He glanced at his hand and felt the urge to decline signing it using his name and his hand. However, Kanaru looked at him expectantly.

"Do you mind me signing it with an emblem instead? I use my name in important documents, too." Rodnir chuckled, earning Kanaru's approval. When Kanaru handed him the pen, Rodnir drew the family emblem of the Middlemist royals. Even if Kanaru noticed, he didn't ask or tell Rodnir off about it.

Kanaru then got the pen back and drew the Burdett family emblem next to the other. There was a certain blush on his face, but he just cleared his throat. "This should do it. I'm going to send the book to Burdett as soon as I get the chance." 

He closed the book and hugged it, his blush returning with a redder hue. He just hoped no one took the emblems for more than marks of ownership. Yes, it was nothing more than them signing the book with their family emblems instead of names.