Chapter 354

"Beautiful isn't it?" Prince Chase uttered the question in a whisper as he admired the piano's craftsmanship in front of him. It was a strange instrument crafted by he elves and brought to the palace by guild master Seon for his father, King Vorbuk. Shipped all the way from another kingdom, it sat displayed beautifully in the palace as it was something important to the king.

What is his interest in such things that most would simply pass by? There were many things in the world that the king could become interested in. Why was Vorbuk so interested in elven instruments? Although I find it beautiful I do not understand father's interest in such things.

In fact Vorbuk had several instruments placed among the palace since taking the throne. Rumors of the King of Theapan's love for the arts had spread far since he'd become king. Though none were as treasured as the piano. It was the one that held the most value for him.

"Your highness," A voice called out to him from behind causing his gaze to shift behind, a familiar pink gaze was staring right at Chase while continuing to speak, "Why are you hiding out in the king's chambers?"

Prince Chase still did not enjoy talking after the months he had spent outside the dungeon. He found it exhausting when nobles gathered to him for conversation. The pressure of the nobles had only gotten worse since his father, King Vorbuk, had left the palace for Drethia Kingdom. His ability to talk may have gotten better but his interest in others had not grown that much.

"It is the only place others will not go needlessly to find me." With a sigh Chase replied, "Obviously that does not work when it comes to you."

"I am the king's servant~ I go where I want~" Aoki grinned at his own words as he stepped further into the room towards the young prince beside the piano.

Prince Chase briefly froze before asking, "What do you need, Aoki?"

"To see your frustrated expression is enough to energize me for the whole day, but," Aoki's smile faded as he spoke further, "I came to say there was word of trouble from the north."

"What happened?" Prince Chase asked hurriedly when he heard something happened from the northern side of the kingdom.

Aoki could feel how urgent the young prince felt to hear what happened. Is he worried about master? He flinched at his own thoughts as he realized how awkward it felt to think of the king as his master.

Aoki's expression darkened as he turned his back to the prince and said, "There was word that the dragons King Curtis sent out on a rampage have destroyed what remained of the Brolan mountain. It seems to be an attempt at striking fear into the people."

Prince Chase was silent as he thought about the situation.

"Should we send Daryl back out?" Aoki asked. After the way he came back last time it may be a rash idea to send him back out to the battlefield so quickly. It had not been long since his wounds were healed by the priestess.

Seeing how hesitant the prince was caused Aoki to feel curious about the things Chase could be thinking. He could see how the weight of the position the young prince was in caused Chase to feel overwhelmed. A lot of the time Chase spent avoiding the nobles as much as possible. Though he worked his hardest in training to become a strong fighter for the sake of his father.

This kid... Aoki grit his teeth momentarily before putting a smile onto his face. If it was this much he could help the young prince. Would it be overstepping? It would be only a nudge... Nobody had to know he got involved at all.

Prince Chase was startled when he saw the vampire Aoki take a closer step towards him. Glancing up at those bright pink jeweled eyes that gazed down into his own deeply. There was something hypnotic about the vampire's gaze that made his body go stiff. It felt like the world faded away as the only thing he could hear was the sound of Aoki's serene voice speaking to him.

"Listen to me carefully," Aoki kept his gaze connected with the young prince as he spoke, a feint light flickered in he vampire's eyes as he spoke, "Daryl can handle himself. You should send him out to battle again. Theapan needs him protecting them until King Vorbuk returns."

"I should send him out..." Prince Chase seemed to echo the words back after listening to him. It was something that Aoki often saw with those he used his influence on. There was something about seeing the young prince affected by his ability that made his chest feel tight.

"You do not need to worry about Daryl." Aoki said those words in hope that the weight on the child would be lifted even a bit. He had no idea how dangerous those words could be when absorbed by the child. A few words spoken on a whim were given under the influence of his ability.

"I do not.." Prince Chase began to echo those words back to Aoki causing the vampire to flinch.

Aoki quickly added, "While King Vorbuk is away!"

After releasing a sigh from his near slip up his ability faded away as if it had never been activated. He could see the young prince looking around as if to understand what he was doing in the room with Aoki. The young prince was unaware that he had been influenced by the vampire's ability. It seemed as if they had simply been having a conversation to the young prince.

What was I talking about with Aoki? Prince Chase tried to understand why his mind had gone blank during their conversation.

Chase mumbled to himself, "What happened?"

"Your highness," Aoki pushed the conversation as if nothing happened, "What should we do about Daryl? Brolan has already been conquered by Theapan and belongs to our territory now. We can not leave a dragon up there causing destruction to the territory."

"Send Daryl back." Prince Chase stated without hesitation or even a second thought. "He has had enough time to rest with the knights."

Aoki found himself become still at the cold demeanor that Prince Chase had towards the knight. Did I mess things up? Hmm.. This could be interesting too. Vorbuk would get angry if he knew I was meddling in this method.. He doesn't need to know unless someone realizes.

"Gyak!" Aoki felt a sharp pain in his chest suddenly. It was his servant's mark causing pain to his soul. It was not enough to cause him serious damage. He had felt worse pain growing up.

"Are you alright?" Prince Chase asked when he saw Aoki clenching his chest tightly.

The vampire steadied himself again and smiled, "I will be fine. It is just a bit of exhaustion."

Vampires get exhausted? Chase thought to himself.

Knowing that he needed to get out of the situation quickly the vampire bowed respectfully, the longer he remained by the young prince the more chance he had of getting caught meddling, "I will go relay your command to General Daryl."