Chapter 04: Truth in the Lies.

"What did you say..."

Khanin's voice randomly burst out dryly, as if not his own voice. Не walked over and stopped in the middle of the living room, causing the reactions of the two people in front of him to differ. Tattanai, who was constantly worrying in his thoughts, felt his soul suddenly shrink and disappear into a wide-eyed stare. The middle-aged man's face turned pale and clashed with the calmness on Charan's face.

"Nin..."

"I asked... what did you say?" The beautiful pair of eyes trembled, feeling confused, anxious, and worried, like a sharp sword that rushed in, intending to hurt the core. Khanin, still seeming out of place, looked at Charan and, not receiving an answer, turned his gaze to the man who was his father.

"Can anyone answer me what the hell is this all about?!" screamed Charan, standing up to his full height. The people who had been sitting in the conference room previously, shook hands and made gestures, turned to look at Tattanai before falling silent.

"I will give you time to explain everything to the Young-Prince." There was no question beyond that, and Khanin noticed that his father could only bow his head and not even meet the gaze of this man... the man who was walking straight towards them.

"Then I'll be back." The last sentence from Charan came with a gesture directed at Khanin. The young man raised his head and looked at the person who had just learned that he had royal blood flowing through his veins, before the long-legged girl left this house. Leaving a silence to engulf the room.

"Nin, I apologize..." It took Tattanai more than five minutes to relent. Some phrases came out, but they were not what he wanted to hear. For a moment, Khanin felt like he was choking on something he had swallowed. His nerves, senses, and body were all in turmoil because he knew his father's character better than anyone else.

Tattanai is abnormal.

"Dad... Tell me that the man is lying." The weakness and uncertainty were evident in Khanin's voice. Tattanai's pained expression was visible to Khanin through Khanin's tone of voice. The person known as "His Birth Father" had been taking deep breaths all his life as if he had never fallen down before.

"All of that... is true." It was as if lightning had struck Khanin's chest, followed by a strong feeling of nausea that engulfed him. His mind was full of questions, but he couldn't seem to articulate anything.

"..."

"Emmaly is a country governed by the Sovereign-King, whose current name is Sovereign-King Dhipabawon. He is the lead of the Atsawathewathin family."

"..."

"The Sovereign-King had only one son, Prince-Tarin. Over 20 years ago, Prince-Tarin married Princess-Consort Kunita, and they gave birth to a young prince... But before the young prince could reach the age of one, an unexpected event occurred."

"Why are you telling me this, Dad?"

As Khanin asked his questions, Tattanai told him a story that he had heard before. Khanin's brow furrowed in confusion, just like a fool.

"The procession of Princess Consort Kunita was targeted and ambushed, she was kidnapped while on her way back from her hometown. The incident caused Prince Tarin to lose his Princess-Consort and a Young Prince, but in reality, nobody knows what happened. The Sovereign-King helped the young prince escape and ordered the royal guards to take him out of the country for safety."

"..."

"The Sovereign-King ordered the lord of the royal guards to pledge to protect Young-Prince with his life, by pledging his blood oath."

At this point, Khanin's body trembled uncontrollably, and his two-tiered eyes looked down at the left arm of the man who was almost his father.

'Dad, I wanted to know why you like to sit and look at the scar on your own arm.'

'Because it reminds me of who I am and where I came from.'

"It's impossible."

The voice of the young man was shaking as Khanin stepped back, leaving a gap between them. When Tattanai lifted his shirt sleeve to reveal a long scar on his flesh, Khanin recognized it as a wound his father never spoke of.

Father said that no bravery can be greater than the bravery to accept the truth. The other side once said that accepting and understanding sometimes seems easy, but sometimes it is difficult to do. It is beyond explanation to make someone understand.

"I... I don't want to listen anymore, Dad!" At that time, Khanin was just a young boy without a voice. He simply listened to the teaching and let it pass through his ears. He thought that he was a brave person and not inferior to anyone.

"..."

"The young man's name is Tattanai, and the little prince is called..."

Tattanai refused to stop his request. The middle-aged man continued to speak out and fulfill his duty. Contrary to the firmness of his gaze in the past, it was now uncertain as if he wanted to hide his weakness, but he could not avoid the truth.

"His name is Young-Prince Khanin." The truth that Khanin never expected...

He didn't even think that it could hurt so much...

The tall and majestic figure walked along the path with a steady pace, reminiscing about the situation that had just passed.

It was a scar that Khanin had never heard about before, but he knew it was important from the way his father behaved.

"Do you remember the lesson about courage, Nin?" The beautiful pair of eyes were hot and teary, and drops of water fell from the corner of Khanin's eyes as he touched his finger to the scar. He remembered the lessons about bravery from his father well.

From a young age, Tattanai always reminded him to be a brave person.

His time calculation was not wrong, Khanin came back on time, and the important time was just right as Charan had planned.

The young man remembered the owner of the cute face who often looked his way. Beware of danger and be cautious, that child has the bloodline of the Atsawathewathin dynasty. If he had to rate their intelligence and charm out of a hundred, he would give them a seventy.

It can be said that Tattanai taught him very well in preparation for turning Khanin into a complete Young Prince.

However, the matter of manners need a subtraction of its own.

Sneaking into the house smoothly was an interesting survival skill, but Khanin was not vigilant enough. Charan even saw the reflection of the other party's shadow from the stainless steel sugar bowl that Tattanai had placed with the tea set, the more the child moved closer, the more the mirror in the middle of the living room reflected his image more clearly, suitable for young eyes to observe.

Subtract twenty points for impoliteness.

Even Tattanai himself was constantly worried and hesitant. Despite his efforts to negotiate, he could not even hear the sound of the intruder's footsteps. The efficiency of his high-ranking guard position disappeared completely.

Charan stopped in front of the old church, he looked at the landscape of the town that was mostly built with orange bricks. It was an unfamiliar sight... The young man took a deep breath and organized the next steps in his head.

Because he didn't want to waste time and have to resort to ruthless methods to invest, Charan knew that younger people had to run into traps. Even if he didn't want to rely on it, at that moment he spoke out the most important thing.

Everything was just following the path that he had set out. Everything, including appearing in front of Khanin's eyes to talk. All of it was to make Khanin suspicious and uneasy.

In the past, he didn't think of ways to soothe and flatter like Tattanai did because he didn't want to cross the line and show too much respect to his seniors. So, he didn't say much. But today, Tattanai made it clear that he wanted to save time. Therefore, Charan had to react quickly to end this dragging story.

It may sound like a cruel act to the "Cicada Caretakers", but he thought this was the best way out. For the remaining time...

Charan returned to Tattanai's house again in the morning.

It was another time that Earl Grey tea was served in front of him. However, the demeanor of the middle-aged man sitting on the other sofa was different from yesterday. Tattanai looked sad when he spoke in a whisper that sounded like a murmur.

"The Young-Prince has a strong opposition, what would happen if you give him a little more time to adjust?"

"He should have been adjusting for almost two weeks now. But, this is my first time meeting you." Charan said with a cool tone before lifting his teacup to drink. "I can't wait any longer... As I've previously informed, Sovereign-King's condition has been deteriorating day by day, and if other news outlets know, they would also know... It might make the competition come sooner."

"Young-Prince Khanin is not yet ready to compete..."

"I understand."

"According to Emmaly's old government regulations, if the current Sovereign-King relinquishes the position, there must be a competition to compete for the position of the next Sovereign-King. So, Khun Tattanai, you must know who will have to compete to make Prince Tarin the next Sovereign-King. That's why I have to come here." [So grandfather generation rule, the grandson generation secure the power type of thing]

"It's a long-standing tradition passed

down from generation to generation. All Emmaly citizens know about this competition to become Sovereign-King. Each family must send their heirs to participate. The one who wins will have a good impact on their fathers, as Prince Tarin once won this competition for his father... When Sovereign-King Dhipabawon ascended to the throne of Emmaly. They called it a system of supporting fathers to the throne to solve the problem of family competition. The Emmaly family used various means to maintain the position of the country's leader for their fathers. At the same time, the person who holds the position of Sovereign-King must govern the country firmly."

One of Charan's life goals is to make sure the sovereign position stays in the Atsawathewathin-family.

"..." With narrowed eyes, Charan observed the conversation between the two, placing his tea cup down on the table. He seized the moment when Tattanai sat in silence and calmly explained the important reasons that necessitated being ruthless with the other party. It was not in line with the soft compromise that he had initially intended.

"We have many things waiting for Young-Prince to learn because as far as I can see, he seems to know almost nothing beyond his national language."

"Yes, Khun Charan, you are right... Young-Prince still needs to prepare himself more." Until an objection came to mind, Tattanai could only bow his head in agreement and speak in a low, hesitant voice, his words trailing off like someone warning themselves.

The elderly man exhaled slowly, no longer caring about protecting the past. He resisted the young man more than before, standing up from the sofa and walking out of the guest room. He then returned with a medium-sized backpack.

Charan glanced at the backpack that had been slid down in front of him before raising his gaze to meet the dark-eyed man's gaze, who was older than him. He asked nothing, remaining silent and waiting for Tattanai to explain.

"Inside this bag are things that are necessary for Young-Prince's life, all of them." the middle-aged man's eyes looked more suspicious as the other side's hand moved away from the object in front of Charan.

"Would it be better to keep it with me? Actually, keeping it with you might be better." the younger man with a higher rank than the older man asked, still sitting upright and not thinking of leaning forward to touch the bag.

"It's better to keep it with you. If I keep it... I might not be able to hand it over to my son."

The pronoun 'son' Charan used to refer to Khanin showed that the past guardian had given Young-Prince little pieces of his heart. The young man could see the sadness in both their eyes, clear enough to reflect the heart. Where there is love, there is pain, no matter what form of love it is. When the time came to let it go, it would hurt deeply.

Charan thought that love was difficult and often brought about loss and chaos. He had never thought of giving his heart to anyone, but it did not mean that he would be cruel and heartless towards others.

He would have to let it go at some point.

"I will give you time to say goodbye to Young-Prince as your son... but don't take too long." Charan said after pondering with himself and accepting that Tattanai probably needed time to adjust after waking up from a long dream. Even if they were to return together, the relationship between Tattanai and Young-Prince Khanin could never be the same as before.

"Thank you very much." Tattanai said in a stiff, subdued voice. His face seemed more relaxed than before. Charan looked at him, as if he was about to stand up, but then he stopped and remained still, thinking about another important matter.

"There's another matter that His Sovereign-King has ordered me to tell you about."

"What is it?" Tattanai asked.

"It's about the tea, sir." Charan looked down at the teacup in front of him, frowned slightly, and then reached into the pocket of his shirt where a small envelope was hidden.

"..."

"His Majesty has ordered that the best tea be sent back to Emmaly along with this letter for you, sir."

The letter was put into a sealed envelope and handed over. Charan was responsible for delivering the message and had fulfilled all the orders perfectly without any flaws.

"Thank you."

Charan had no idea how important the contents of the letter were, but the sealed envelope indicated that he should not pry or interfere. Despite his hidden doubts, the young man could do nothing more than be vigilant and observe everything from now on...

Duk-Duk-Duk.

The sound of a door opening followed by heavy footsteps interrupted the conversation, and everything came to a sudden halt.

Charan's gaze shifted from his conversation partner to the hallway of the house, where a cute face of Khanin suddenly appeared before quickly disappearing, as someone of higher status passed by and caught their attention.

"Nin."

"..."

"Come eat first, my child."

Before.

Khanin had already left, leaving behind an awkward atmosphere. Charan remained silent, holding a cup of hot tea until he stood up and issued another warning about something important.

"The letter..."

"Please open that letter after I have left."

"Where is Khun Charan going?" an older person asked with curiosity. Charan buttoned up his suit and bent his head slightly to the elderly person before turning to face the other party and speaking with a sincere voice so that Tattanai could not hold back anything.

"I didn't forbid you from buying time... but my time is just as valuable."

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