THE PRINCE'S SERVANT

"Yes, Your Majesty, as tradition dictates for our families, after my 18th birthday, I must serve as your personal servant and knight while you are a prince, and when you become king, I shall be your advisor, if that is your wish," says the young Haru, bowing his head, trying to appear as respectful as possible, which leaves the prince impressed by his devotion. In a cheerful tone, the prince responds:

"I, personally, do not like the idea of knowing that you have no choice but to serve the royal family, little Haru, but I am glad for your devotion to our kingdom. Your father told mine that you are a beginner healer. Is that true, Haru?"

I feel my cheeks burning as the prince calls me "little Haru," but what struck me most is that, like me, he doesn't agree with the tradition, yet he is still willing to uphold it for the good of our kingdom. I truly believe it's unfair that all descendants of my family have had to unconditionally serve the royal family for centuries. I myself dream of finding a way to break the magical barrier, but I must be here honoring my family's legacy.

I can't stop thinking about how many dreams my ancestors gave up to follow this tradition, but now I understand how many kings, queens, princes, and princesses also gave up their dreams for the greater good of the kingdom.

I am determined to honor my father's legacy and help the prince in everything he needs. I respond to Kota:

"May I demonstrate my healing magic to you, Your Majesty?"

Says Haru in a determined tone, which causes the prince to smile and then show a small cut on his left arm, just below his shoulder, caused recently during one of his many training sessions. The cut looked fresh and wasn't very deep. Haru places both of his hands on the small wound, then closes his eyes and concentrates.

At this moment, the young soldiers in training who were there watched everything like a curious audience, as seeing a healer is something very rare in Solaria. The only healers are from Haru's family, but for example, his father doesn't have this power. The last healer before Haru was his great-grandmother.

Everyone in the arena could see a faint greenish light emanating from Haru's delicate hands, resting on the prince's arm. The young servant kept his hands still for about 30 seconds, while the young warriors and the prince admired the gift of the young man. After finishing, the delicate young man removes his hands from the area, revealing that there is no wound or scar left.

Kota is surprised, as he expected there to be a scar. Admirably and gratefully, the heir praises Haru:

"Your gift is truly incredible. You will be extremely useful to me and the other soldiers of our kingdom."

While speaking, Kota notices that Haru has become paler than usual, with a lifeless appearance, and asks, alarmed:

"Are you alright?"

Healing is still very difficult for me. I don't have much experience. Ideally, I would take lessons with the elders, but there's no one I can learn from. There are no elders with my gift in the kingdom.

At that moment, Haru nearly faints. His fragile body can barely keep him standing, prompting his father to quickly catch him by the shoulders. The young soldiers barely saw the movement of the advisor, who then speaks:

"As I told your father, Haru is still a beginner. He will need a lot of training to learn how to better use this power without feeling dizzy or faint."

Says the advisor, already feeling his son regain his balance and strength. The young man apologizes for what happened to the prince:

"I didn't mean to worry you, Your Majesty. I promise I will train hard and be a good servant. My lord, I ask that you accept me in this position and honor the tradition of our families."

The prince was amazed by Haru's sweet nature, which undoubtedly showed that he would do anything for the kingdom, and his incredible gift would likely save him many times during future training, battles, and challenges that someone in the position of prince would face. However, he was concerned for the health of the jade-eyed boy, as he didn't want to see someone so sweet get hurt to protect him. Despite being the future ruler of the kingdom of Solaria, Kota had always been an honest man and never allowed the power of royalty to change his essence of chivalry and kindness. Even at just 20 years old, Kota was already known throughout the kingdom as the smiling and kind prince.

Confident that he would remain a good man, Kota says loudly for everyone to hear:

"From today on, I have honored the tradition of our families and hereby claim the eldest son of the Yoshida family as my personal servant."

All the young soldiers applaud the fulfillment of the century-old tradition, even though most of them hardly knew what it entailed. Anything the prince said would be applauded, regardless of whether it was good or bad.

Advisor Hayato smiles triumphantly, feeling accomplished that his son was following his legacy and that of his ancestors, who had followed this tradition for many years, even for reasons none of the families truly understood. But for Hayato, the reason was that his family was blessed by the Goddess Solaria, and that's why the nobles wanted them close. Hayato concludes the prince's words, saying:

"You two will have lessons about the entire empire, as well as intense training in the arena. It's important to shape your minds to learn how to deal with all the possible future problems of the empire. After all, our neighboring kingdoms are our brothers, but even allies sometimes fall out."

Hayato speaks in a somber tone, which raises some suspicion in Kota, who knows the mind of the advisor and his father, the great Solar King, well. Nonetheless, Kota's greatest desire now was to be a good king for his kingdom and, especially, for the fragile boy before him.

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While the two young men get to know each other, they can hardly imagine that in the Thunder Kingdom, the most technologically advanced of the six in the Nyray nation, something that could change the future of all was happening.

A man with brown skin, short white hair, and saddened gray eyes watches the construction of something intently through a large glass window. He wears heavy gloves made of metal and rubber, with wires seemingly connected to them. From a distance, he can hear the door to his room open behind him, but his expression remains neutral as he already knew it was his advisor and nephew, Kilua. He always recognized his footsteps, and Kilua informs him:

"Great King, according to the information from the kingdom's investigative sector, one of the scientists working on the construction of the anti-barrier missile has disappeared."

The king responds without showing surprise:

"It was expected that Solaria would try to interfere with the construction of this missile, but now we are certain that they already know what it is for."

The man places one of his hands on his chin, seeming to think. His glove is so large and heavy that it prevents him from feeling his own skin. He soon speaks again:

"How long until it's ready, nephew?"

He says, staring at the construction of the gigantic missile.

The young Kilua, with brown skin, a slender build, and snow-white hair, wears a confident expression on his face. While the air in the king's room mixed with the cold air from the lab, the young man's white cloak fluttered as the door was open. He responds with a smile on the corner of his mouth:

"Without major interference, approximately 10 days, uncle."