The Sweet Scent of Flowers and the Bitter Aftertaste of Betrayal
The sweet fragrance of flowers tickled the nose. It made one want to sneeze yet strangely dulled the mind. Arkin could barely distinguish roses from lilies. The scent of nameless tropical flowers mingled, overwhelmingly covering his already dizzy vision.
“Romance and love!”
People throwing flower petals and dancing and singing wore clothes with sleeves thin and puffed like flower buds. The garish colors hurt the eyes. The noisy music, cheers, and foot-stomping, small drums beating as they danced, suddenly gathered a crowd that laughed boisterously.
“Everyone! I love you!”
On the flower carriage, the girl in a dress all pink shouted, hands cupped like a trumpet. She didn’t need to say where she came from; one could tell it was the Flower Kingdom of Floria just from her looks. Princess Amalfi of Floria, pink hair flying, waving her arms enthusiastically and laughing as she tossed flower bouquets to the people around her.
Her sweet, high voice egged on the dancers, and the procession of carriages continued endlessly. Arkin, doused in the flower rain from the Floria folk, backed away with a disgusted grimace.
“Your Highness! You’re here!”
Magnus came running, panting. “I’ve brought the tribute. Shall we head inside now? The opening ceremony is about to start.”
“Alright.”
After the great bunch of flowers passed, the ground was covered entirely in crushed petals. Nepetia and Draconis were nowhere to be seen.
“Did you see that? Princess Amalfi came by.”
“…I only know her name.”
“Aww, Princess Amalfi is popular everywhere. She’s so cheerful and adorable. She keeps saying ‘I love you’ and all that…”
The weird sensations and headaches and nausea from earlier vanished the moment Nepetia disappeared from view. Strange. This was getting troublesome. Arkin shook his head vigorously.
To the Princess of Kepet, he was nothing more than a strange spectacle or a pretty little plaything she wanted to take to her bedroom. It wasn’t surprising that she felt the same way about Draconis.
No matter who the Princess of Kepet met or what she talked about, it had nothing to do with him.
The training tournament. The successors of the allied kingdoms spent six months living together, getting to know each other, and proving their talents through various tests. As long as they did their job, that was all there was to it.
Maybe the symptoms earlier were just an overreaction?
Because the aftereffects of a terrible seasickness still lingered, or perhaps because he had stood in the hot sun wearing thick clothes for too long, or because he had been unable to sleep lately?
***
The vast courtyard of the Solinar was pure chaos. Countless people from each kingdom chattered in their own voices and accents.
Servants constantly fanned the lord’s precious body or offered water and fruit. On the right side of the pillars, workers were arguing while setting up a canopy for shade.
Arkin sat on the semicircular stairs, watching the chaotic scene intently. Just a little earlier he had been envious of their splendid procession, but now that he was looking at it up close, it didn’t look so great. Maybe it was rather amusing.
“You useless lazy bums! You good-for-nothings!”
Why was he so irritated? A prince in a pure white ivory chair had been shouting in a rage since a while ago, face flushed. His skin was as white as pure marble, so white that his hair and even eyebrows looked bleached white. When he got angry, pale yellow light would occasionally shoot up from the strands of his hair.
“It took forever just to fetch a glass of water! No good at all! Move it!”
What was so urgent? Arkin watched the boy rolling his feet for a long time but couldn’t understand why he was shouting so aggressively.
Arkin turned his head and noticed another group. This time they were people he knew well. The only ones who spoke little and kept silent in the courtyard like a marketplace. These were the people from the Lake Kingdom of Lakelium.
Right next to them, a white-haired prince was furiously scolding his servants as if they were going to devour him, but they stood motionless without a twitch. In the scene that made his chest tighten, Arkin found the calm face of Princess Serena, the one he was familiar with.
Princess Serena sat on a silver chair made only for her. In a dark green tunic, silver beads decorating her glossy black hair shone like morning dew.
The maids surrounding the princess stood with heads bowed, motionless, expressions blank and quiet as if connected to some unknown space, like shadows.
Both nations that avoided flashy and noisy atmospheres and pursued the maturity and simplicity of the spiritual world had similar customs. However, the people of Lakelium were far more introverted than those of Solinar, so one often saw the Lake Kingdom folk lost in their own thoughts wherever they went.
…Of course, the royal family’s reality was a bit different.
Arkin observed Princess Serena carefully. It was her face he hadn’t seen in a long time, but since they had known each other since childhood, he was confident he knew better than anyone what she liked and disliked. Even though now they were not on the best terms.
“Uwaaaaa!”
The nervous white-haired prince shouted again in a tantrum. “No good at all!”
The slender eyebrows of Serena, who had been looking down gracefully, twitched slightly. She quietly opened her eyes, aware of the maids, and glared at the white-haired prince as if she wanted to kill him for shouting.
Same as always. Arkin smiled and watched the scene. She should maintain her dignity but was getting irritated again. The princess sighed, hands tightly clasped, then secretly turned her head and met Arkin’s eyes.
The gaze that collided in mid-air carried many meanings and had been entangled for a long time.
***
Princess Serena of Lakelium is Arkin’s former fiancé. At least until a few months ago.
The connection between the two dated back to when they were seven. Since Solinar and Lakelium were long-standing allies, the two kingdoms arranged a special friendship through a marriage proposal. At the time, their children were the same age, so it was a perfect match.
“Even though they are still young, they already look like a splendid pair!”
As was the case with royal marriage proposals, there was no need for the parties’ consent; it was a unilateral decision. Arkin had been informed that Serena would be his future wife before he even had any concept of the opposite sex.
Arkin had never found it strange. At the time and now, Arkin’s goal was only to be the great successor of Solinar. He had simply accepted it as a necessary duty. It was something done for the country.
A bit later, on a large lake beside the tree, there was a ceremony to promise their future together. “Water nurtures trees, trees purify water.” They chanted the beautiful phrase, and the priests of both countries placed branches on Arkin and Serena’s heads and shoulders, sprinkling water from the lake while chanting.
Every summer, Arkin attended the Lakelium grand festival, and every winter, Serena visited Solinar’s snow festival. No great upheaval like the quiet lake in the winter forest; a suitable level of relationship through periodic, formal greetings.
However, after that night when the arrowshrew elders came to find Arkin, the King of Lakelium suddenly sent a message to break off the marriage proposal. Just bringing up Serena’s lack of virtue was just an excuse; anyone could see the reason for the annulment was clear.
My brother Seilir, I am truly sorry, but I ask that the marriage between Princess Serena and Prince Arkin be indefinitely postponed. I know Solinar Kingdom wishes to hurry the marriage, but Serena is not yet ready and lacks virtue, so as a father it is embarrassing to show her off.
I will take more time to teach my daughter well, so please do not decide anything for now. I have already spoken well to my daughter, so please tell Prince Arkin.
Also, I ask that you do not make mistakes during the upcoming World Training Tournament. Since the engagement is postponed, there is no need to publicly reveal their engagement relationship between the two of you.