Eren Walden never completed 'The King's Return'. It was a pleasant escape from his daily struggles but never his top priority. He got far along the main storyline but never uncovered the underline reason why Rei was expelled from the royal family. Jasper's revelation of Daymon being a threat to his own son's life came as a shock to everyone. It's easy to see how shaken Rei is by this news. He must have always pictured a normal family out there somewhere waiting for him. Never in a million years would he have guessed that he was in fact royalty or that he'd have to face the strange power struggles of wealthy nobles.
"Why is he looking for me?" Rei can't even begin to phantom what he could have done to cause his father to want him dead.
Jasper sighs, roughly running his hand through his dark hair in frustration. "I wish I knew as well but Vaiya has been very tightlipped about the matter. She won't talk until I bring you to the capital to see her."
"How are you so sure she isn't deceiving you and making you bring me to her only to offer me up to him?" Arie could see the guards go up, standing behind him, she can see his shoulders tense up.
His defensive posture isn't missed by Jasper. The older male simply rolls his eyes. "If she wanted to do that, she could have done it years ago, before you ever learned to defend yourself with a sword. It would have made my job a whole lot easier. Think, what mother would harm her child?"
Plenty.
At the orphanage Rei's world views on life had been warped and morphed, his moral bottom line constantly being eroded by the things he saw. If what his uncle is saying is true, then his birth mother went to great lengths to save his life and keep him hidden from his father. For this, he at least owes her an audience. Only once he's seen and heard what she has to say can he give his final judgement.
"I'll go…I'll go with you to meet my mother." The very word 'mother' is foreign to him, it doesn't roll off his tongue as easily as it should.
"Great! I knew you'd say that. A man shouldn't run from his troubles for too long. You're old enough to confront your old man now." Jasper looks thrilled that he finally agreed. He begins to rummage through the satchel around his waist.
"You can't!" Ariellia cries out in alarm, rushing out from behind Rei. Knowing Jasper, he might actually have a way to teleport them to the capital right away.
She's been the silent observer for so long, her sudden intervention startles both men. She belatedly regrets her strong reaction, realizing how odd she must look in their eyes. Embarrassed but unwilling to let her chance slip by, she endures their curious gaze and clears her throat. It's obvious she has something on her mind, but she doesn't know where to begin, it's a strange site to see a social butterfly struggling with her words.
"I m-mean you don't have to go right away do you?" she stammers while looking to Rei with a pitiful look in her amethyst eyes. If he leaves now, she'll lose her golden thigh. Her days of easy farming would be over. "You promised to train me till the end of the month. Can't you wait till the end of the month? I-If you go now, it'll be a breach of our contract. Don't you want to divorce me!"
He frowns at her words, even Jasper stops his fruitless search of his inventory to gap at her. Why is she so persistent about training till the end of the month? Worse, when did the sound of the word 'divorce' become unpleasant to his ears all of a sudden? Rei can't place where or why he's overcome with a sudden feeling of discomfort at her words. For a noble, she should be overjoyed by his meteoric rise in status. He can't help but find it strange that she's still determined to fulfill their contract and divorce him despite finding out that he is the sole prince of the kingdom. What noble woman would be willing to let such a precious opportunity slip away?
"What's a few more weeks right?" She's giving him the same puppy-dog eyes she gave the duke a few days ago. He hates to admit it, but he can understand why David finds it hard to refuse her wishes, they are very effective. He even feels a bit guilty as she continues to persuade him.
"You're not seriously gonna abandon me just because he says you need to go. What about the kids at the orphanage, don't you need to explain things to Lady Oya?" Arie's biting her ruby lips, unsure if she'd overstepped her bounds by bringing in the kids at the orphanage. She still remembers how they got married in the first place with her holding Anya hostage, bringing up matters of the orphanage might flip his reverse scale and blow up in her face. She waits for his final decision with bated breath.
Rei watches his wife carefully, catching her nervous fidgeting and uncertain darting looks. She looks nothing like the selfish tyrant he grew up with. The more he sees the less he recognizes, her mannerisms becoming stranger to him by the day. It's not like he's never considered she might be lying to him just to gain his attention. There had been times in the past when she approached him like a regular person. Each time he'd let his guard down, in a matter of minutes she always reverted back to her wicked ways.
There was a time when he even considered her to be a friend growing up. Their problems came after puberty, once he'd grown into his looks, and her affection became more apparent. Her demeanor towards him suddenly shifted, becoming unreasonably possessive. Back then she wouldn't let him befriend anyone else, her childish antics nearly crippling his ability to communicate with others. What began as an innocent friendship between children morphed into a toxic relationship, only Ayna had the courage to save him from. If Ayna hadn't told him it wasn't normal for a friend to cave to every demand, he might have become her mindless pet years ago.
This is why he's so cautious now when it comes to Ariellia. He doesn't want to fall for her tricks like before…but he can feel his resolve beginning to crumble. He doesn't see the harm in fulfilling her wish as her husband.
"Fine, we can leave for the capital after at the end of this month."
"Wait what?" Jasper looks confused by the sudden turn of events.
"Yay!" Arie couldn't be happier, forgetting her prestige and bursting into a little victory dance. She's so delighted she fails to notice the plurality of his statement. Rei watches her frolic about in joy with amusement. He suddenly finds her lively nature to be quite cute and endearing.