Once all the seats…at least the eight seats meant to be occupied, were taken, the door finally closed once more.
The six royal heirs sat across from one another, with Reis having the second princess and the youngest prince on each side.
The eldest, Ceron, was looking at them with a smile. "Switch one over, and it'll be the perfect lineup."
"Brother!" Lunive frowned, but Avena nodded in agreement.
The king and queen exchanged a look before picking up their forks. Everyone began eating at the same time. As did Reis. For he who lived off packaged meals, fresh food tasted divine. The flavors were distinct and warm. And there were many options.
Silence presided for a while, letting Reis enjoy the food peacefully. But a quiet meal wasn't in the books of the Vidalian Royal Family's long history.
"Brother Ann, have you lost your voice?" The young princess, Lunive, questioned, setting down her cutlery with a sound, and looking at him curiously.
"Hmm?" 'Ann' was definitely him. What again?
"I was wondering the same thing," the queen added, "Are you alright, Ann?"
Did he not look alright? He was only enjoying his meal.
"Avena thinks he's up to something," Ceron chimed. "I'm starting to think so, too."
Reis blinked, silently looking from one to another.
The wheels turned until a thought clicked in his mind, which made him turn to the system.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but am I right to assume this character was a major troublemaker?
|Memory Synchronization: 65%|
Reis couldn't even grumble properly. He just had to be matched with such a character.
|Personalities were taken into consideration when allocating roles. According to the data, your personality was a 90% match with this character. |
'So you're saying I'm the problem?'
|I'm saying you don't have to try too hard because you have similar characteristics.|
'And what's the point of that? You–'
"Ioannis," Aldric interrupted his string of thought. Unlike everyone else, the king's expression was neutral. "I don't know what grand plan you came up with this time." None at all. Really. He just got here a few hours ago!
Aldric's eyes narrowed as he looked Reis' way. "But it's futile trying to escape this time."
'Escape?'
He didn't even know the way out. Well, the original probably did, but why would that even come up?
'What is he trying to say?'
"Your Majesty, I don't understand what you are saying," he said, trying to maintain a similar flat expression.
"I've seen enough of your schemes to not fall for it anymore."
Scheme. S.C.H.E.M.E.
The word entered his head letter by letter, translating itself into every language he knew.
'This character was evil, wasn't he?'
|You're overthinking it.|
'Did he try to kill the king or his family previously? Ahh! Why must some characters run after power?'
|You would know that then.|
'How am I supposed to convince them now? If I'm considered a threat, it makes it complicated for me.'
'Should I just leave now? Waiting to gain strength seems to be a bad idea.'
Maybe trying to fit in was the bad idea. He should just tell them he wasn't the og and get kicked out. At least that marked out execution.
|You're over-analyzing things.|
'This much is necessary!'
If he were to be considered a threat to the crown prince later on, they might imprison him. It was better to leave on peaceful terms. He didn't plan to stay here forever to begin with.
|That would clash with your missions.|
To hell with missions!
"I've listed out every escape route," The king continued. "You won't find a single gap this time or anytime in the future."
Oh no. So he was already criminalized? Was it house arrest?
Reis was about to start pleading. Surely if he promised to leave for good, they'd let him go, right? He had no hand in his circumstances and thus was innocent. They couldn't harm someone innocent, right?
|This is the king. He can do whatever he wants.|
Damn it.
"This time, you can in no way escape from attending the banquet."
"I promise not to show my face in the Royal grounds ever again! Please have mercy!"
An eerie silence filled the room.
|...|
|I told you not to overdo it.|
Wait…what did he say?
Everyone's expression changed almost instantly. Even the ever so calm the king wore was gone.
"I knew it," Avena muttered.
"Father, you should assign more guards to his palace," Ceron spoke in utmost seriousness.
"If he gets to escape this time, I swear I won't attend any of the events from now on!" Lunive fumed. "It's unfair!"
"Or we could keep Brother Ann in our palace until the banquet, right, Lorcan?" The youngest chimed in.
It was chaos. One after another kept saying nonsensical things like accusations. The peaceful dining hall became a verbal battlefield with him being the enemy...as it seemed.
'What in the world is this…'
A banquet, as in a party. The word came up more than once. Nothing about murder attempts or evil acts of treason.
All this for a banquet? 'System?'
|Organizing...|
|Syncing.|
|It appears that the prince has a long streak of running away from events.|
Was that really a big deal? It might be something out of the ordinary, but it wasn't that big of an issue. Definitely not as big as these people made it seem.
Reis snapped back to reality. There was no time to analyze the whats and whys; the suggestions were getting out of hand.
"Wait!" He interrupted, "Of course, I'll attend this. It's an important event…I was joking."
They all glanced at him suspiciously before turning away and continuing with their ideas on locking him up.
"Perhaps we should just keep him at the main palace until the ceremony," the queen suggested, "It'll be easier to keep an eye on him that way."
God no!
Staying at the palace wasn't the issue. With how things were going, and how little he actually knew so far, it was risky to live in one of the key locations of the entire game. The Royal Palace. What if there was a sudden attack? No freaking way he would risk his life like that.
The king gestured for everyone to stop talking. "So, what will it be?" He asked, looking directly at Reis. "Will you listen, or do I need to lock you up in the palace?"
'What do I do now?'
|Assure him.|
'As if I don't know that! How??'
Before he could come up with something, the king looked at him sternly. "As much as I'd like to do that later, it goes against my conscience to lock you up before such an important event." Thank goodness. "But I also assure you, I won't tolerate even a single attempt to escape from you. Until the banquet, you will be under surveillance. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Good. Adonis, Lorçan, and Lunive, take him to your practice session tomorrow. He hasn't attended any until now, I presume?"
The eldest two nodded.
"It's decided then. Continue with your meals now."
Reis stared ahead in disbelief. How was he supposed to stomach the food now?