Julian spent his days disguised as "Elias," a displaced European man looking for odd jobs around the docks. In this way, he could observe Adrian without standing out. He stood behind a stack of tea crates, watching twenty-year-old Adrian leading a group of porters at the Sunda Kelapa docks.
Adrian did not command with shouts or bayonet threats like Friedrich. He lifted the same heavy sacks as his men, his sweat mingling with the harbor dust. When an old porter collapsed from exhaustion, Adrian was the first to stop, offering water from his clay jug and carrying the old man's burden without complaint.
"Tuan Elias, are you still here?" Anne Marie's voice startled him. The eighteen-year-old girl was carrying a basket of Kue Pancong to sell to the laborers.
Julian gave a faint smile. "I just like watching how your brother works. He seems to be very well-respected here."
Anne Marie looked at her brother with pride. "Adrian doesn't just work for food, Tuan. If a neighbor is sick or their house collapses, they come to him. He is no official, but he is the heart of this place."
That afternoon, Julian followed them to the market. He saw Adrian mediating a dispute between vegetable vendors and sharing the remainder of his day's wages with orphans in the narrow alleys. There was no protocol, no porcelain crown, yet everyone bowed in respect as Adrian passed.
Julian compared this scene to his uncle in The Hague or Friedrich in the palace. They sat on gold-plated chairs yet were loathed by those beneath them. Meanwhile, Adrian, standing in mud and dust, possessed a natural authority that royal gold could not buy.
He is more worthy of being a king than I am, Julian thought bitterly. He knows hunger, he knows the sweat of his people, and he knows how to protect without having to oppress.
Indecision began to poison Julian's mind. If he brought Adrian to The Hague, his brother would only be a political pawn to be caged or eliminated. But if he left him here, Friedrich would soon destroy him.
While enjoying a plate of Gado-gado on the roadside, the spicy peanut sauce and fresh vegetables seemed to wake him up: his world all this time had been a massive lie. The true crown was not on the head, but in one's actions.