The First Princess's Birthday-Part 4

"I am sure my daughter and your son will become very good friends Mr Runewalker."

The rotund merchant rubbed his hands together greedily as he gently pushed a young girl around Kye's age towards him. She was cute enough but compared to Nadiya, she wasn't nearly attractive enough in Kye's eyes. Despite having no interest in her, Kye gave her the best smile he could and kissed her hand. Her face turned bright red but she giggled at Kye's actions. Kye was simply stalling for time until his father could dismiss the noble merchant. Kye had repeated this event several times since his brief audience with the king and he was growing tired of it fast. Seeing the fatigue settle on his son's face, Frey hurried things along.

"I am deeply sorry, but my son has been meeting many people this evening and hasn't had a chance to enjoy the festivities. If you would be so kind to let him rest for the moment, I would be grateful."

A flash of annoyance crossed the merchant's face but he quickly regained the large smile on his face and led his daughter away from them and the nobles behind them who heard Frey's words dispersed. Kye and Frey sat back down at their table where Kye concealed a heavy sigh by taking a sip from his glass. Layla grabbed one of his hands and gently rubbed it.

"I know you hate it but you're doing very well. Your conduct is very befitting of your station so you're earning a lot of good points among the nobles. Although, your charming of the ladies has made several of the young men here hate you."

"If their best efforts at wooing a lady cannot beat my simple platitudes then they need to work on themselves, not blame others."

Alicia, Elena, Mary, Poppy and Iris all nodded their heads at Kye's words while Layla laughed. Frey looked at his son with amusement as he recalled very similar words being spoken by himself when he was younger.

'He really is a smaller version of me but smarter. I pray for whoever becomes his enemy.'

Of course, Frey knew that his son was guaranteed to make many enemies among the nobility of the Alioth Kingdom, just as he had done when he reinvigorated the Runewalker house. Frey just had to make sure Kye was ready to tackle whatever came his way, which meant putting him in very dangerous situations at a young age to gain experience. It was something he had been discussing with all his wives over the past few months and they had all come to an agreement that once they returned, they would call up Kye's friends he made from the previous party and make them go through basic soldier training. That's why Frey wanted Kye to enjoy what he could of this party, yet Frey had a sneaking suspicion that Kye would enjoy his time serving more than this party regardless. Frey's thoughts were interrupted when Kye stood up with his glass.

"I'm going outside for some air. I'll be back in a little while."

Frey nodded and Kye walked away, beelining for the large glass doors on the left side of the hall leading to a balcony. He walked through the opened doors and leaned against the stone ledge that surrounded the platform. Taking a small sip from his glass, Kye watched the night sky with great interest and thought of things to make once he returned. It was something of an escape mechanism for him, to retreat into his mind and think over invention plans. His thoughts were disrupted by someone tapping on his shoulder. Spinning around to see who it was, he saw the smiling face of Conrad Friedhand.

"Kye, nice to see you."

"Conrad, what a pleasant surprise."

The two young men shook hands and Conrad joined him leaning against the edge.

"Having fun?"

"Not really. It's really stuffy in there. Like everything you say will be remembered."

"Hahaha, it will. Nobles that like this sort of thing don't forget. I've been to a few things like this but it's your first time right? Why not mingle with some of the young ladies? They all seem to like you."

Kye stayed silent for a while before turning his head to stare at Conrad.

"You ever felt like you really connected with someone? Like, in the face of everything, even death, you just wanted to do something to see someone smile?"

"I haven't felt that, no. Have you?"

"Twice... and it wasn't with any of them."

"Then... do you love those people?"

"I don't know Conrad. I don't know what love feels like. I guess I'm trying to figure it out."

Conrad looked at Kye who was now staring out over the balcony.

"You know, my father said 'son, one thing you have to realise is that even if you're the brightest kid in the world, you'll never understand everything'. I think about that statement a lot these days. When I went to visit you, I thought I'd completely school you but you showed me that I wasn't even thinking about what I didn't know."

"Well, I know this might sound weird, but it's perfectly fine to focus on one thing. Having multiple solutions to the same problem is the best-case scenario."

"Right, I came up with that answer as well. So, why are you stressed over figuring it all out before running with it? You aren't telling me you've never done an experiment on shaky fundamentals and just ran with the consequences, right?"

"Hah, true. So you think I should just... give a relationship a try?"

"Well, not just with anyone I guess. But if you're into someone, why not? I don't think you'll learn about the feeling of love without going through a relationship."

Kye thought about it for a few moments before nodding several times.

"Yeah, alright. I'll... give it a shot. What about you Conrad, got a girl you like?"

"Me? Not really, I guess there are some girls that have caught my eye but if they can't keep up with me mentally, I probably won't consider them. You ever thought about being a girl?"

"Fuck off."

The two of them laughed at Conrad's joke and he held his glass up to Kye.

"To trying."

Kye clinked his glass against Conrad's.

"To trying."

They both finished off their drinks and sighed contentedly as the non-alcoholic wine rushed down their throats.

"Well, I better get back to meeting everyone. Thanks for the talk, Conrad."

"Anytime Kye. I'd like to keep our friendship up."

"Me too. If you've got time tomorrow, come swing by the Runewalker mansion and I'll give you something."

"No need, I heard about you entering basic training soon and begged my father to let me join as well. The Friedhands and the Runewalkers are getting along quite well now, letting certain people train with the other's standing forces. Not that you guys use mages much but, it's something right?"

"Then, I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, take care, Kye."

With that, Kye went back into the hall, gently closing the glass door behind him and leaving Conrad out there. Before he could make it back to his seat, a beautiful maid intercepted his path.

"I am very sorry to disturb you, but my lady, the first princess would very much like to talk with you. She is just finishing talking to the heir of the Ardenal family."

"Okay, lead the way then."