Does Father Know

"Father, I have returned." Curtis said as he casually stepped into the throne room.

King Hamelot sat on his throne while lost in his own thoughts. There was so much going wrong with the realm lately. Things were usually not quiet, but it felt as if things were getting worse as of late. After the arrival of Dradel's king he had not gotten much time to rest. In order to find a solution he had even been offered the aid of another god to be his messenger.

What is going on with the world lately? King Hamelot thought to himself as he sat there. His eyes catching sight of his son walking towards him.

"Where have you been? At times such as these you dare to run off without word?" The King scolded Curtis. He had already lost one son to an assassin that was still yet to be caught. The crown prince, Leo, was not at home either. Yet his last son still had the nerve to leave without informing him in the slightest.

"I dare not." Curtis gave no expression of emotion towards his father's harsh tone.

"Where have you been?" King Hamelot heaved a heavy sigh at the lack of emotion from his son in the situation. He could see that there was something wrong with Curtis but he did not want to pressure his own children in more ways then he had to.

"I was simply aiding father in his investigation into younger brother's murder." Curtis slightly tilted his head in order to make his expression look more wronged.

King Hamelot was not blind to the fact that his son was putting on an act in front of him. It was his own child. After all the years Curtis had been alive the king had seen his act many times. There was no doubt in his mind that the prince in front of him was hiding something. Yet the king himself did not want to accept the truth behind what he knew was probably the truth of everything.

"Do not over work yourself. The general will handle matters about your brother. You have duties here to take care of before you waste your time with other things." King Hamelot had to use everything he could to calm himself down. The last thing he wanted was more problems to arise with Curtis getting involved in the investigation that he had his own men taking care of.

"Yes, of course. I shall always listen to father's advice." Curtis gave a beautiful smile to the king. Once their talk was finished the prince gave a respectful bow to his father and left the room.

As he walked through the halls towards his room he could see everyone glancing at him. It was clear to him that they were surprised to see him back. The servants were bound to begin gossiping about his return after disappearing over night.

Father has obviously caught on to something. He is not usually that on edge in front of me... This will make things more difficult in the future. Curtis thought to himself while walking.

Thud!

While turning a corner a young maid accidentally bumped into Curtis. The sudden body contact while he was deep in thought caused him to be completely caught off guard. Unable to keep her balance she instinctively reached out and grabbed onto his royal clothes and pulled him down with her.

"Y-Your Highness! I-I'm sorry!" The maid's body shook from fear the second she opened her eyes and realized what she had just done.

Curtis was not one who naturally enjoyed being touched by the servants. Over the years many of them had come to realize that. It was why all the servants tried to be cautious around him unless he personally requested their aid with something. The fact that he had been pulled down right on top of the maid had caused a dark shadow to cast upon his face as he glared down at her.

"Your... Sorry?" Curtis's voice was deep and low, sending cold chills down the young maid's spine. Fear was plastered all over her face and she looked as if she was about to cry.

"Your Highness...!" She tried to speak but before she could continue to try and calm him he had reached up and tightly grasped her throat with his hand. It was difficult to breathe and she could only instinctively hold onto the prince's wrists as she struggled.

"Y-Your Highness!"

"Prince Curtis!"

The sounds of other servants trying to calm him down and call out to him could be heard but his hand did not let up on her throat.

"Let her go, Your Highness." A voice said firmly from the side.

As Curtis turned his head to see who was speaking to him he caught sight of General Edgar. There was pure hatred in Edgar's eyes for the prince. Curtis felt he could sense even a hint of killing intent from the general towards him. General Edgar had never favored Curtis in the slightest and he was aware of it. The general was one who full heartedly followed King Hamelot and agreed with the king's choice in Leo being the crown prince.

"You're giving orders to me now, General Edgar?" The prince asked him with a hint of mockery.

General Edgar could see the girl could not stand it much longer at the rate things were going. Whether Curtis was a prince or not the king had given him permission to keep the prince in line. He could only hope his king would not get upset over his decision. Though he felt King Hamelot would understand if he knew of the situation.

Before Curtis had time to realize what was happening General Edgar had landed his fist into the prince's face causing him to stumble to the side off the young maid. With a slight hiss from the pain the prince held his hand to where the general had just punched him.

"Who the hell do you think you're hitting?!" Prince Curtis shouted.

"By order of King Hamelot himself, Prince Curtis, I am now in charge of keeping watch over you. You will be accompanying me to the battlefield." The General did not give the prince another look as he spoke those words. His focus was entirely on picking up the young maid that had nearly been strangled to death so that he could take her to get proper aid.

"What?! I just spoke with father! Why would he send me to the battle?!" Prince Curtis felt cheated by his own father. It had only been a matter of minutes since he left the throne room and the king had already made such a decision? Did that mean he had already planned on sending him away before he returned home?

General Edgar could hear the prince's confused shouts from behind as he walked away. But he had no interest in explaining things further. The king clearly had his reasons to remove his son from the area and he trusted in his king's decisions.

How much... Does that bastard know?! Curtis grit his teeth as his face darkened more then any of the servants had seen before. With such an expression on his face all the servants around them that had seen what happened could only quiver where they stood and pray that the prince did not cast his eyes on them next.