Chapter 4 Cries of the People

Nikolay Valentin

I got up at dawn this morning and took care of myself so that I would be ready for another official day as the Lycan Prince. I gazed down at the clothing that had been laid out for me on the table made of white and black marble that our palace maids had prepared for me in accordance with my preferences. A deluxe long cloak with a collar that has been pointed, gray silk trousers with a thin sheepskin cotton backing to provide comfort to my delicate skin, sky blue long sleeves, and a red checkered necktie that has a black line highlighting it are all part of this ensemble.

I gave them a sly grin and a nod, which was my way of subtly praising them in the backdrop even if they weren't physically here. After taking off my clothing and wrapping the robe over my arms, I waved my shoulders with my hands dropped down, and as I moved them in a circular motion, I could feel the muscles in my shoulders contracting against one another. Before I went into the restroom, I jumped off the ground twice and bent my head from left to right.

My piercings, which were created from genuine silver and garnet, were neatly organized and positioned in the proper alignment within the white marble drawer that was located over the mirror with a sink below. Before I turned the shower head to the right side to turn it on, I brushed through my hair with my bare fingers. The icy drops of water trickled down my bare face. The surroundings went blurred in my sight. I purposefully wanted to stay here for a longer amount of time than I should have, thinking about how, as the future king of this realm, I would be required to do more formal tasks. I sighed deeply while keeping my lips slightly parted.

Ah, I hope that the blissful sense that this cool water is delivering into my body might be representative of my whole existence.

After disobeying the royal regulations and evading the butler hundreds of times, my sister ran out of the palace and ended up soiling herself on the way out. My mind keeps going back to that woman I met in the outlying part of Heart Stella, and her face won't leave my imagination alone. The combination of those unique amber eyes of hers and the soothing sexual appeal she exuded was so pleasing to the eyes that I had suddenly forgotten my responsibilities as the lycan prince.

I had met a number of different women in the past, but her looks is the one that sticks out in my mind the most. It seemed as if there was no way that I would ever be able to forget the atmosphere that I had inhaled as we stared into each other's eyes.

I was in the middle of deep thoughts when I was startled by the doorbell in my room. The jingling sound it emitted went far beyond the confines of this restroom. I smacked my hand on the wall and used brute strength to turn off the shower. After giving my head a quick wipe down with a fresh towel, I grabbed my robe and proceeded to the main door. I let a few of the drops of water that were on my skin fall to the ground below me.

When I looked through the peephole to see who the heck was pounding on my door thus early in the morning when the sun had not yet fully risen, I couldn't help but let out a breath of relief when I realized that the person standing there was our family's veteran butler. He was dressed in a black coat and tie, and he kept looking down at his wristwatch. When I realized that it was definitely my mother who had ordered him to wake me up and bring me to her at a time that she had specified, I made a moan between my lips.

I moved behind the door and pulled the door knob towards me while maintaining my position behind it. I casually poked my head through the crack to get a better look at the whole entrance, and then I asked the butler, "What are you doing here?" I enquired that would give him the impression that I am uninterested in what he was going to report.

Before standing up and providing his response, the butler, as is customary, bent his head halfway to his body in my presence. "Your mother asked you to join the rest of the family at the dinner table." I clamped my lips together and wanted to complain, but I knew that if I did so, she would shout at me and reprimand me once again. Instead, I simply pushed my objections to the back of my mind and tried to ignore them.

"Ah, what's new?" I informed him, but all he did was smile at me in a civil fashion when he looked at me. "I'll be there for a couple of minutes. Just give me a moment while I go take a shower and change. Tell her to be patient," I added, and without waiting for the butler's reaction, vocal or otherwise, I hastily closed the door.

I returned to the bathroom at my typical pace, and once I was there, I bathed in the way that is customary for me.

After some time had passed, I found myself standing on the mirror next to my bed as I adjusted every aspect of my getup, most notably my tie, before throwing the long cloak over my shoulders. After that, I accessorized with my piercings and several other items often associated with men. After that, I exited the kitchen and headed towards the dining room while keeping my hands inside the pockets of my coat. I lowered the volume of my whistle and slowed down my walking speed. The staff members and maids who came across me immediately stopped within their tracks, bowed halfway, and waited for me to pass them before continuing to walk in the opposite direction.

During the time that I was making my way slowly to the place, I eavesdropped on my parents as they conversed with one another. They are now, as usual, discussing the matter of the missing women, which had been circulating around the whole Valentin. My dad called out to me as I walked past the entrance to the dining room, which was where the doorway was situated. This caused me to back up from my tracks and coerce myself to join them in their breakfast.

"My son! Come and join us!"

As I walked slowly, I looked down to see my younger sister, Xenaia, grinning at me with a sardonic expression on her face. I turned my head away from her and pretended that her approach would be of little significance to me. As soon as I took a seat at the rightmost end of this long glass table, my mother made a hand signal to me to sit closer to her and take a seat next to her. I got up from my seat, and despite having heavy shoulders and a sore heart of going against my will, I moved towards her and took a seat right from her side.

Now, Xenaia and I were facing each other. She smiled playfully at me while gesturing with her feet and looking down at the ground below us. After making a noise with my teeth for a while, I then arched my eyebrow in her direction. Xenaia laughed and continued to torment me, but I was able to get her to stop by just tilting my head to the side and partially closing my eyes. Even though she is twenty years old, she has not outgrown her childlike behavior like a preschool.

"What are your thoughts about this, my son?" My dad sprang up beside us and asked me a question out of nowhere, and I have no clue where he got the thought for that topic. I looked at him with a puzzled expression, blinked my eyes twice, and narrowed the space between my eyebrows.

"Huh? What exactly is the condition for that?" I questioned, still confused. After discovering that I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying, my mother heaved a sigh while my father turned his head away while keeping his chin on top of his fingers and placing his elbow on top of the table. I had no idea that they were still carrying on a conversation.

I sneaked a peek at my sister and gave her a murderous glare as I observed her. I mumbled something to her and blamed her for grabbing my attention through the configuration of my lips, even though I didn't use my voice. But, my sister is just lowkey laughing.

My father took a drink of his wine and then motioned for the maid to bring him another serving. The housekeepers and the bodyguards were providing security for us by standing in a formation of a ring around us. They stood there like statues. The dripping sound of the wine slowly dropping into his glass gave me the chills, and I felt as if I needed to compose myself before I could listen to what he had to say.

My grandfather took a moment to clear his throat before turning his attention back to me. In the beginning of his explanation, he said, "Your mother and I are discussing our project plan for this year towards increasing our bio-oceanic resources and employing them for a purpose of both prosperity and stability of the kingdom," and then he stopped before continuing. I kept nodding. "At the same time, the problem regarding the missing ladies had also surfaced," he added. "This was a concern for everyone." He relaxed his posture by leaning back on the ancient chair with a red caution to give comfort to our backs and sits.

"So? The question is?" After seeing that my father seemed to be unable to get on the frame of the sentence that he wanted to convey, I questioned him about it.

My mother replied to him, "We are divided between two possibilities on which one we should prioritize first. You may be able to help us in determining which of these should be our primary emphasis before the others in the list. What are your thoughts?" This had risen up my eyebrows.

I took a sip of this lemonade juice in front of me before giving him my nonsense answer. "It depends on which one of the two of you are comfortable with. What do you think?" I asked her back while I kept looking back and forth from her and to dad. My mom stretched her neck and gave me a disappointed look.

"Nikolay, you have already reached the age of twenty-seven. You ought to have the opportunity to weigh in on important policy issues facing our nation. You are the oldest member of the family as well as the sole male child we have." My mother stressed this to me as she looked at me with a worried expression streaming down her cheeks and her eyes fixed on mine. "You are the future king," she reminded me.

I took several deep breaths in and out while she continued to speak, and I pondered about what she was saying. However, all of a sudden our butler as well as the prime messenger of the kingdom appeared at our doorstep. Their expressions made it clear that they were about to deliver some dismal news to us. They entered without first drawing our attention to themselves or the fact that they were approaching. They came around to the other side of the table and came to a halt in front of my dad. All of our attention was focused on them.

"Your highness," the butler started. "The prime messenger had news for you," he added. The way that he speaks with a faint clicking sound and an unstable tone tells it all.

"Go ahead," my dad signaled them.

Before conveying the previously mentioned news, the primary messenger interceded and coughed. He explained, bringing us news that made my parents stilled, "According to the report from the chairman of the Ministry of Aquatic Treasures, most of their women did not go on duty for approximately a week or more, and this situation could be part of something you should be considering about the project planning."

"Is it possible for us to get in touch with the industry's leading marine biologist as well as one of the oceanographers?" My father hypothesized, but the prime messenger looked at the butler for a moment before giving my father a sheepish expression.

The prime messenger provided a response in which he said, "The chief marine scientist and at the same time the oceanographer of the same industry has also been missing for a week, and the chairman claimed that her family continued sending them mails about the lady not returning home for a week likewise."

My eyes widened as I looked down on my plate. On the other hand, my sister continued to swallow and chew slowly on her meal as if she was not paying attention to the report that was being presented.