WHO MADE ME A PRINCE
chapter eleven - reason.

1 YEAR PASSED. Claude has yet to give Arius an answer.

'He's stubborn. He doesn't answer my questions but asks me questions. He allowed me to drink coffee only if I answered his question. Unfortunately it was too tempting. He's such a tsundere. I'm just asking him whether he needs me for anything or could I travel the world? I mean I understand that a six year old kid travelling alone isn't normal nor safe. But why does he care? The original Arius died anyway. Why couldn't he care for him as well? ugh well anyways today I'm definitely going to convince him!'  Arius's thought as he crossed his arms.

"Dad!!" Arius shouted as entered Claude's Office without knocking.

Claude sighed. "You're here again."

Arius simply smiled. "If I'm going to hear your useless babble then I might as well get some fresh air." Claude stood up and walked out of the room

"A walk? Where to?" Arius followed him.

"Amethyst Garden." Claude responded.

When Arius heard that he froze.

'Why...is he going there of all places?'  Claude turned to see Arius standing there a bit spaced out.

"Aren't you going to follow me?"

"Uh..yes..."

Claude walked towards him and bent down.

"Do your legs hurt?"

'Eh.'

Claude suddenly raised him up from his armpits. They stared at each other in silence before Arius began struggling for release.

"No No My legs work just fine, I can walk."

"..." Claude ignored him and began walking while carrying Arius, surprisingly Claude had picked him up perfectly fine.

"No..Put me down." Arius said and kept struggling.

Claude then raised Arius in the air and then shook him up and down as if he was a stuffed toy.

"HE-UWAh-HA-I'M GONN-PUKE-UWAH!" Claude stopped.

Arius was dizzy from the ups and downs and clenched on to Claude's robes for support.

"Oh, didn't you just say you could walk on your own." Claude smirked.

'Psycho. WHO THE HELL DOES THAT.'

"Now stay still until we get there."

Arius sighed and moved into a comfortable position, resting his head on Claude's shoulder. It was quiet at the start. Arius was trying to recover from his dizziness and Claude was just walking silently. After a while Arius broke the silence.

"...So Dad, I want to go outside the Palace grounds."

"Permission declined."

"Why."

"Because it's dangerous outside."

"I know how to defend myself with magic."

"...Why do you wanna go outside?"

"Well, Why would I wanna stay here?"

"Did someone offend you?"

"You."

"...."

"...."

"....How?"

"Several reasons actually."

"State two."

"You neglected me until the assassination attempt. I would probably be dead right now, if not for my mana. You didn't even place a protection spell on me like you placed on Athanasia."

"..." Claude had a blank expression.

"You let Athanasia drown in the lake back then. "

"..." Claude didn't say anything.

"You-"

"I said two." Claude cut him off.

"...."

"...Do you hate me?" Claude asked.

"..."

'Do I ? I mean of course I do....or I did.... but the past year I spent with him. It strangely ......felt nice. I was happy. Claude was acting like a real father....'

"...I don't..."

Claude looked surprised. Arius shoved his face into Claude's shoulder, trying to hide his expressions. Claude lightly patted his head.

'Jeez, what is wrong with me?! Why the hell am I being so emotional?! So what if Claude suddenly began acting like a father?! He still neglected me and all.... great! I feel like crying now! WHY IS HE CARING ABOUT ME?! I Don't know why but when Claude acts like this I can't bring myself to hate him. He's.....annoyingly stubborn, can be extreme sometimes and overall has a pretty unlikable personality but he's..... my only father....'

"Arius." Claude spoke in an unusually warm tone as he hugged his son.

Arius moved his head back to see Claude's painful expression. That was the first time Claude had shown this expression to Arius. Arius unknowingly raised his hand to pat his father's head.

"...." Arius quietly patted his head.

Arius realized Claude had stopped walking and looked to the front and saw the entrance to Amethyst Garden.

"This place.. never changes.." Claude started and then began walking inside it.

"The reason I'm not willing to send you outside is because...that wench-ahem I mean your mother also asked the same thing from me."

Arius looked at Claude a bit surprised.

"She asked me to let her leave the Palace so she could explore the kingdom. I warned her of the dangers but she was too stubborn and ended up convincing me."

Arius was attentively looking at Claude's expressions.

"However , once she stepped foot outside the Palace , she faced many dangers. Assassins, pickpocketing and drunk men."

Arius couldn't help but make a small 'pfft' sound at the mention of the last danger.

"But she still didn't listen to me. She learned swordsmanship and still went outside. She was a strong woman, but the assassins got her when she was weak from childbirth."

Suddenly the atmosphere turned a bit gloomy over the last word.

"Arius. I couldn't protect your mother , but I at least have to protect you. No matter how strong your magic is or how intelligent you might be, I would still like to keep you near me. In my sights, where I can see and help you if any danger arises."

Arius was shocked beyond words. He didn't know what to say. After neglecting him for five years and coming to him when he almost got killed by the very Assassins he was trying to protect him from, he's saying he cared.

"You're stubborn , but I'm afraid I will never allow you to leave the Palace. You can hate me for it all you want."

"...." Claude now stopped talking. He didn't have the courage to see his son's face.

"....How. How can you say that to me?"

"You say you care about me and want to protect me... but then why , Why did I not have a protection spell on me? Why did it take you five years to finally visit me? Why did you marry another woman after mom died? You betrayed her, you betrayed me. They said Lady Diana was the prettiest woman in all of the empire. Did her blinding beauty make you forget about your late wife and son. You took on the responsibility of having another child without even being able to take care of your first one."

Arius was getting angrier each second, the more he thought about it the more angrier he'd get. He now struggled for release and managed to get on his own two feet.

He then clenched his hands into a fist and began hitting Claude with them.

Of course a child's hit wouldn't hurt him but what hurt him was the face of his son as he landed the hits on his lower body.

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!?"

Punch!

"You're so cruel!"

Punch!

"You-You!" tears began to flow down his cheeks , his anger turned into sadness and instead of shouting at Claude, he was now crying loudly before him

Claude kneeled down before him and pulled him closer into a hug but he pushed him away.

"Nwoo-Uwahh!"

"Stay away from me!"

Sniff!

Sniff!

"Arius , I had most definitely placed a protection spell upon you."

Arius looked surprised.

'He's..... not joking...right?'

"The reason I didn't visit was because I didn't want you to go through the dangers of Royalty, I kept your existence hidden for that very reason, but since assassins were still sent after you. There was no point in continuing to keep your existence hidden. So I announced it and warned those fools."

Arius had a conflicted look on his face.

"And as for that other wench....she... was a bad decision from the start."

"Arius, I.... I'm sorry... for everything. Even if you hate me... that's alright. You have a right to..."

Arius felt so confused about this. Seeing Claude's painful expressions pained him and yet he couldn't just ignore his wrongdoings of the past. Arius stopped thinking and just did whatever his heart told him to.

He suddenly hugged Claude who was shocked by his action. He hugged him tightly and then screamed and cried

"Stupid Dad!! How can I hate you!? When you're the only parent I have left ! I DON'T HATE YOU BUT I HAVEN'T FORGIVEN YOU EITHER!!!!"

Sniff!

Sniff!

Claude wrapped his arms around the small figure of his son. He held him tightly and picked him up. Arius showed no resistance, he just buried his crying face into Claude's chest.

Until.

"Ah! Brother! and Daddy!?" A mini figure from behind a few bushes came into closer view.