HIS HOPE

"Not one sane mage will pledge their service to me because they know I am the Doomed Prince." said Prince Aristo to the two men in front of him.

"Forgive me, Your Highness!" bowed the elderly butler. "I didn't work hard enough to find you a capable mage to aid you with your quest!"

The prince went to the old man and gestured him to raise his head back.

"On the contrary, Patrick," said Aristo. "you've done very well hiring people with the little budget we have to act as judges in our behalf on the mage selections across the Empire. Because of your effort, we managed to reach out to a lot of talented mages and give ourselves a sliver of hope. I truly appreciate that from you."

"But, Your Highness! I have failed you terribly!" said the butler. He turned to the middle-aged man at his side. "Didn't Sir Wright say that you need a mage to subjugate the monsters in the Grimcloud Forest?"

"That is true. My father said that the monsters in Grimcloud are invisible and they can only be revealed by a magic spell." said the prince. He then turned to the middle-aged man. "The expedition has become more dangerous now that we know there won't be a mage accompanying us. Perhaps it's best that you do not come with me, Lance. Stay at the manor."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" rejected the middle-aged man strongly. "I am Lance Wright! Your Highness's guardian! I will follow you wherever you go!"

Aristo put on a bitter smile toward the man's sign of loyalty.

"You don't need to sacrifice yourself for me, Lance." said the Second Prince. "It's best that you leave the palace and join a fine mercenary group where your skills will be more appreciated. You won't gain anything from serving a powerless prince like myself."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not here for the money?" asked Lance. "You saved my life. And now I'm intending to return the favor!"

"I've told you that your debt has long been fulfilled. There's no need for you to stay with me any longer." said the prince with a somber face. He turned his gaze back to the butler. "You too, Patrick. As well as Trudie and Linnie. None of you are obliged to keep serving me."

Without letting his subordinates to give him their reply, Aristo made his way back into the manor. The butler and the guardian could only stare at their master with a troubled look.

Later in the evening, Prince Aristo -now cleaned and fully dressed- was about to have his dinner in his modest dining room. It was then that he summoned everyone in the manor.

They were Lance Wright the guardian, Patrick Matthew the butler, Gertrude Cordell the head maid, and Lina Cordell the maid. Those four were the only people accompanying the Second Prince living in the most terrible manor in the Crimson Castle, for they, as far Aristo knew, the only supporters the prince had.

"What's the matter, Your Highness?" asked the butler, Patrick.

Aristo pointed to the empty chairs by the table.

"All of you, come sit down and join me for dinner!"

"Your Highness, we couldn't possibly!" responded the head maid, Gertrude.

"Please, Trudie." begged the prince with a warm smile. "Have a meal with me. You and your granddaughter."

Seeing the prince's persistence, the four people submitted to Aristo's request and sat around the table and dined together with him.

To be noted, just like their dwelling, they were all having a very modest meal. For each person they were served a plain broth soup, a bland corn porridge with steamed chicken breast, and a stale bread. There was no wine filling the cups, so the people had to be satisfied with plain water.

"So what's with the occasion, Your Highness?" asked the guardian, Lance, as he dined.

"What do you mean? I always asked all of you to dine together with me." replied Aristo nonchalantly. "You just always rejected my offer."

"Well tonight you were awfully persistent with your request." said Lance. "So we were just wondering what compelled you to be more persuasive."

Being demanded with a reason for his act, the prince put on a bitter smile and stared at the four people at the table with him. His gaze was dark. His expression was not cheerful. He spoke to them with a calm saddened voice.

"I suppose I was a bit more insistent tonight because…I wanted to at least have one last meal with all of you."

The prince's subordinates immediately turned their gaze to him in shock.

" 'One last meal?' " repeated Patrick.

"What are you talking about, Your Highness?" asked the servant, Lina (Linnie).

"I'm sure you all knew that I'll be departing for Grimcloud when morning comes." said Aristo. He let out a sigh. His gaze turned distant. "I simply think that it's highly possible that I won't be returning from my quest this time."

"Don't say that, Your Highness!" spoke Lance sternly. "You will return safely just like you always did in the past!"

"Lance, you and I know that going into Grimcloud Forest without a mage is suicide." said Aristo. "Let's not blind ourselves from the reality."

"Please don't give up hope, Your Highness!" begged Gertrude (Trudie). "Your late mother would be saddened if she sees you like this!"

"In honor of my mother, I will still fight to survive. You have my word on that." said the Second Prince. "But I just wanted to make sure that I've said my farewells to all of you in case I don't make it."

"Your Highness…" called Linnie. Tears began to stream down her eyes.

Prince Aristo then rose from his seat and bowed his head to his four subordinates.

"Thank you for your loyalty." said the prince with an earnest voice. Words that came from deep within his heart. "I'm saddened that great people like you ended up serving a pathetic prince like me. But I pray that the goddesses will brighten your future again once I'm gone."

The four people in front of Aristo were bewildered by the act he just showed to them. A prince, a son of the Emperor, just bowed to a guardian, a butler, a maid, and a servant. All were humble people and yet they received the respect from someone of exalted position.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me, I shall retire to my room early since I have a long trip tomorrow." continued the prince raising his head back. "Good night, everyone."

Once again, without letting his subordinates giving their reply, Prince Aristo stepped away from the table and went upstairs to his bedroom.

The four people left at the table then stared at the prince's empty seat. They all were thinking of the same thing in mind.

"(Dear goddesses, please don't forsake our prince and bless him with hope.)"

At the same time, away from the Playan Imperial Palace, far away from the capital, in a wild and dark forest at a secluded corner of the Empire…a figure cladded in hooded robe was strolling around with a lantern on their right hand and their left pulling the reign of the horse they used as a mount, guiding it to follow their track.

After treading through the dark forest for quite some time, the hooded figure found a large tombstone standing conspicuously in the middle of the forest.

It was definitely a mystery as to why such a large tombstone would be placed in that secluded location. But what was not a complete mystery would be the owner of the tomb.

[E*RE*E OF T*NT**M]

Such name was found carved on the tombstone. Some of the letters had already been eroded away by time, which made the identity of the owner a mystery still. But not a total one.

That being said, the hooded figure did not stumble upon the grave by coincidence. They certainly knew something about it.

The figure then placed their hand on the tombstone and immediately the entire stone structure glowed up in blue radiance. The light gradually dissipated and, while it was vanishing, the tombstone began to split into two, revealing something underneath.

When the tombstone completely separated, a long stairwell headed underground was presented to the hooded figure, to which the figure reacted with a sigh.

"Of all places, you had to pick the middle of nowhere to build your temple."

The figure then threw the hood back and burst forth from underneath it a flowing beautiful silver hair. The glow of the moonlight reflected on the figure's hair and caused it to shine with charming radiance which paired well with the figure's golden eyes.

"Well then," said Luciana Edelweiss staring at the stairwell beneath her. "Let's get this over with quick so I can come for my prince."