Beginning 2
The sudden movement startled the little child in his lap so much that for a moment, the fear competed with the shame of wetting himself, and ultimately, embarrassment won. Just in time, he managed to restrain himself and looked at his father with fear.
The elderly man comforted him by gently stroking his head and began to speak.
"Enough! Did I gather you all here to fight?" After everyone fell silent, he gestured with his head towards a man dressed in flowing yellow robes, seated in the middle of the table with a bald head and a gentle face.
With one hand, he picked up one of the large drumsticks from the table and began to devour it savagely while listening to the bald man.
The bald man stood up and started speaking in a voice as delicate as his face, raising his tone a bit. "Today, our purpose of gathering here is to determine the Crown Prince!"
When this sentence cut straight to the point, leaving almost no room for debate, everyone in the room pursed their lips. Everyone in the room, except for the little child, already knew the outcome of this decision. This banquet held merely as a formality, existed due to the tradition that had been continuing for centuries.
After a brief pause, the bald man continued his speech. "I am proud to announce that the First Prince Ernst Weiss is the future Emperor. He will be the future head of the Weiss House and the one to lead the Empire to victory."
After making this formality, the bald man didn't sit back down. Instead, he leaned toward the old man at the head of the table. The old man put down the bone-stripped drumstick from his hand and wiped his oily fingers on a silk cloth. Then, with his right hand, he gestured and the man seated immediately to his right, appearing to be in his thirties with short white hair, black eyes, and sharp jawlines, stood up.
This person was the First Prince, Ernst. He stood close to six feet three inches tall, and his sharp facial features hinted at his potential as a capable emperor. With an emotionless face, he approached the old man and knelt down towards his chair.
Later, the old man nodded and, despite wiping his fingers multiple times, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a seal. The seal was rectangular, measuring ten centimeters in length and five centimeters in width. It was made entirely of gold and had a sword relief between two eagles.
After Ernst kissed the medallion, he extended both of his hands as if expecting his father to place the seal on him.
After the young man kissed the seal, the old man placed it between his son's two hands. Then, Ernst stood up with the seal in his hand, and a smile appeared on his face that hadn't been seen in years.
The old man didn't miss this smile. "I had the same expression on my face when I received this seal from my father. I hope you won't lead as dull a life as I did."
"Thank you, Father." This was his last time addressing him as "Father." The real shining time was beginning now.
As a tradition of the Empire, when the current Emperor decided to retire, he would hand the seal to the First Prince, making him the Crown Prince. This was a legally protected matter, and the first prince was always chosen to be the next emperor.
Instances where the second or third princes became emperors were very rare. However, if a Crown Prince died during his duty, the next prince in line would become the Crown Prince. Therefore, no one in the hall, not even the servants, was surprised.
The other princes could only wear a sullen expression on their faces, unable to do anything except look at their eldest brother with envy hidden within them.
"Now go! Take Claus with you and complete your duty as soon as possible. I want a few years of peaceful life," the current Emperor said to the future Emperor.
Claus, the man mentioned, was one of the several imposing figures at the table. As his name was mentioned, he stood up and bowed. Following the excited Ernst, he headed towards the door to leave the hall.
Meanwhile, inside the hall, conversations had begun, but they were all casual, mundane, and lighthearted. Nevertheless, after the question from the current Emperor, the atmosphere suddenly grew quiet. Even Ernst, who was approaching the door, stopped and looked back at his youngest sibling, who was in his father's arms, having been posed a question over his shoulders.
"What do you want to be when you grow up? A general? Minister? Merchant? Or do you want to spend your life comfortably in a distant palace?" The little child hadn't understood any of the events happening in the hall. This question seemed just like any other to him, and he shouted out the first answer that came to his mind.
"I want to be an emperor like you, Father!" The little child's bright, blue-hued eyes revealed just how earnest he was about his answer.
The seven siblings remaining at the table almost simultaneously lowered their heads. Some let out small chuckles while others felt a twinge of sympathy for their youngest sibling.
Aside from his siblings, the most disheartened and nearly shouting to assure people that it was a misunderstanding was the little child's mother. She was on the verge of stepping forward to convince everyone that there had been a misinterpretation.
Just as she was about to stand up, the old man raised his hand, stopping her. "Then you must work very hard, young one," he said to his youngest son in his arms. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Ernst furrowed his brows at his brother's gaze from behind his back. If one could kill with a look, the little child would have been shattered into thousands of pieces by now.
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