When Drayce and his group reached his personal study, Slayer opened the door for them without announcing their arrival. Drayce entered the study first and witnessed his younger brother pacing here and there restlessly while mumbling complaints under his breath. The moment he saw Drayce, his dark eyes lit up and he immediately hurried toward him.
"Brother! Our Eldest Brother bullied me today. You need to help me—"
"You should learn to handle your things on your own," Drayce replied and walked towards the lounge area to sit on the couch.
Ruven followed his brother to the couch and immediately sat next to him, not realizing that Drayce had brought others with him.
"Brother, you need to practice the sword with me. You are the one most familiar with his swordsmanship aside from Father so you can tell me how to beat Eldest Brother," he sounded like a complaining child. "I'm so annoyed right now. He brought a sword for me but didn't give it to me—"
"He wants you to earn it," Drayce replied.
"That's why I want you to train with me! Teach me a few nice moves so I can defend his attacks."
"Few moves? You think cheap tricks will work on him?" Drayce gave him a displeased look.
Ruven pulled out an awkward smile. "Well, I mean, I am still learning the royal swordsmanship, but it's not that easy to master our family's sword. And not only that, it's not like I can bridge the gap between our eldest's more than a decade worth of practice…it's not easy to receive his attacks with basic swordsmanship techniques…"
Drayce turned serious. Though he fully supported Ruven with what he liked, that didn't mean he could not see Keiren's perspective. He knew Keiren was merely being strict with their younger brother not simply because he wanted Ruven to do what a prince should do, but also because of safety concerns.
"Ruven, listen to me," he pressed. "Our brother insists that you take up a sword seriously because you are a prince."
"I know because the reputation—"
Drayce interrupted him, "Because as a member of the royal family, your life will always be in danger."
At those words, Ruven shut his mouth.
Drayce continued with a serious tone. "What if you only have a single knight as a guard and you're surrounded by tens of enemies? What if there's an ambush? You need to learn how to protect yourself when someone attacks you. An assassin won't care whether you are a beginner with the sword. They will even be grateful because that makes attacking you easier for them…"
Ruven lowered his head, but Drayce was not yet done.
"...and not just yourself. Think about our sisters. What if you are attacked while on an outing with them? What if an enemy is able to break through your knights? You will need the strength to protect the ones around you. Or at least, be skilled enough to defend them until reinforcements come. If you can't even protect yourself, how will you protect others? What you need is proper swordsmanship foundation, not tricks on how to defend our Eldest's half-hearted sword."
Hearing such a long scolding from his brother, Ruven realized he was in the wrong. He understood there was no use in buttering his brother.
Thinking about killing enemies in the future, Ruven shuddered. But that was reality. As a prince, though he had no plans to meddle with the kingdom's politics, that didn't mean others wouldn't use him for their own interests.
"Umm, I understand but, I know I won't be good at it." He looked up at his brother. "Will you practice with me?"
"I will have Slayer help train you. The commander of the royal knights can teach you better than me."
Ruven could not say no. His gaze flickered towards the stern-faced knight. He knew Slayer was one of the most renowned swordsmen in the kingdom and to learn under his tutelage would help him grow tremendously. However, he could not help but sigh.
"...I guess thank you, Brother."
He also didn't want to disobey Drayce who was always lenient with him. With him being all serious like this, Ruven had to listen to him.
Meanwhile, Seren and Ayira were still standing by the door, not willing to disturb the brothers' conversation.
Drayce looked at them. "Why are you two still standing there?"
Only then Ruven looked at them and realized that those ladies within the study weren't the King's aides or attendants.
"Ayira is here, and the lady is…?"
There was someone else next to his sister. The woman was a little taller than his little sister, the lower half of her face covered with a veil. Aside from her beautiful pair of purple eyes, the only notable feature that could be seen on her face was a blue-green colour patch at the right corner of her forehead.
Queen Seren Ivanov.
Her trademark purple eyes and veil gave out her identity. Though Ruven had been staying in the Royal Academy, he was able to receive news from the letters of her mother and the stories spread by his instructors and classmates. He had heard many rumours about their current Queen, but he didn't mind them since his brother chose her to marry him.
"That's your sister-in-law," Drayce spoke as the two women walked towards them.
It pulled Ruven out of his daze and he quickly stood up. "Sister-in-law…I mean…Y-Your Majesty…" He wanted to make a good impression, but the sudden encounter with her made him unable to decide how to talk to her.
Would she like it if he showed proper respect and courtesy? Or perhaps, it would be better to be casual since they are now family…?
Seren smiled at him under her veil. Though he could not see it, her eyes showed she was pleased to see him. "Prince Ruven, you can call me whichever is most comfortable for you."
Ruven didn't know how to respond exactly as he was still at a loss for words and just agreed. "Ah, thank you, Your Majesty…I mean sister-in-law…I will call you sister-in-law, will that be fine?" Seeing her nod, he then relaxed. "Oh, please have a seat."
Seren walked to sit on one of the chairs while Ayira sat on the one next to hers. By then, Ruven returned to the couch and moved closer to his brother to whisper to him.
"She has such pretty eyes."
Drayce simply smiled, fully agreeing with it. His wife had the prettiest eyes any woman could have. It was not simply due to their unique colour; her innocent and kind soul reflected in her eyes made them enchantingly beautiful.
An awkward silence momentarily enveloped the study, making Ayira fidget. "Right, Brother, you said my gift is here? Where is my gift?"
Drayce pointed towards his desk and she immediately went there.
'Papers, papers, so many stacks of papers…oh, is it this one?'
There was a circular wooden container the size of a tray, and she had to hold it with both her hands. It was her favourite candies, the same ones that Ruven gave her earlier. She let out a squeal, before immediately covering her mouth in embarrassment.
Ruven made a passing remark. "I gave you candies as well, but how come your reaction isn't the same? This is unfair."
Ayira waved the container towards her third brother. "See, Brother Drayce brought lots of it, unlike you."
He sighed. "You will get fat from eating too many sweets so I bought a small box, but it seems like Brother wants our sister to turn fat like a little piggy."
"Even if I turn into a fat piggy, I will be the cutest fat piggy in the kingdom and will be Brother's favourite." She then looked at Drayce. "Right, Brother?"
Drayce chuckled at their exchange. "Eat as much as you want."
Ruven sighed at the two and looked at Seren who seemed fascinated with what was happening. It was her first time seeing her husband behaving carefree with his siblings, and it showed that the affection was not one-sided. She felt like she would enjoy simply sitting here just like this, watching their interactions and listening to their chatters.
Seren also noticed that Ayira was usually so quiet and talked less. She had observed her in Vermillion Palace on her visits and even when she summoned her to teach Zither. But in the presence of her second brother Drayce, this quiet girl looked carefree.
Because of his siblings, Seren was getting to know more about Drayce. She could not help but feel amazed seeing another new side of him.
"Sister-in-law, apologies that I could not be present at the wedding. I do not know if you are aware but I am in my last year at the Royal Academy. That time, we had the examinations going on for the entire week and I could not leave," Ruven said. "After that, we had an excursion outside of the capital…"
"It's fine." Seren replied. "I am glad that you had a chance to return."
"...but I sneaked out though," the prince admitted. "I will probably get an earful from the disciplinary committee once I return."
"They dare scold a prince?" Seren asked.
"Sister-in-law must be unaware, but royalty needs to hide our identities in the academy to make it fair and more comfortable for the people within. As far as they're concerned, I'm a son of a countryside viscount."
"Fascinating…"
Seren now found it comfortable to talk with others even if she had never met them before, unlike how she used to be reserved before. After becoming the Queen, she had started to change.
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