True Alpha’s Chosen Mate

Chapter 61 – The Story Of The Five Princes

"Is this what you call hiding?" 

I turned my head to my left, setting my eyes on Hugo, who sat beside me. When I asked him if we should hide together, Hugo was a little… puzzled. The reason was, he told me he wasn't used to hiding unless Daniel hid him for a talk. That was the reason he took me to one of Daniel's favorite hiding spots; it was an empty room that no one used with white sheets covering the furniture. 

Now the two of us were sitting on the windowsill. My feet were swinging back and forth, holding the blanket he offered me to cover myself. Meanwhile, Hugo rested his back against the frame, facing me with his one knee up. He rested his arm on his knee, shrugging as an answer to my previous question. 

"Will they really hunt you down until sunrise?" I asked once again, seeing that there were still a few knights running outside. Good thing they couldn't see us up in here because of the lack of light in the room. Our only source of light was the moon; it was shining so brightly and softly. 

"Mhm. Until sunrise." Hugo's voice was low as he turned his head outside. 

I pursed my lips into a thin line. "So, you can only sleep after sunrise?"

"No. I'll be able to sleep tomorrow night." Hugo arched a brow as he slowly set his golden eyes on me. "Once the hunt ends, I will have to return to my duties and report to the crown prince about my journey. After that, I have to attend the council meeting as the grand duke, then review the state of Belcoot. Once those are over, there will also be a lot of things to do like an audience with the emperor…"

I listened to him as he listed the things he already knew he needed to do tomorrow morning. He sounded like a busy man, and that brought a subtle smile to my face. Although Hugo often sounded like he didn't care about anything, the more I listened to him, the more I realized he didn't sound so irresponsible than what he appeared to be. 

"… just thinking about them already gives me a headache." He scrunched his nose up. "If only I know this is the life of a grand duke, I would've turned a blind eye in the past."

My brows rose. "Hugo, you told me before that everyone hated you because of how you received your title. But I don't think your siblings hate you. Will you tell me how you got the title of the grand duke?"

"Uh…"

"If you don't want to, you don't have to tell me, though." I smiled and waved, seeing that his expression slightly changed. 

"Well, it's not that I can't tell you," he said while scratching his temple with his index finger. "It's just something that I don't want to recall since err… it's the biggest mistake I ever did in my life."

"Why? Because you became the Grand Duke?"

Hugo nodded with a closed-lip. "Exactly."

A light chuckle slipped past my lips. Until now, I couldn't fully understand him and how his mind works. But regardless, my overall view of him didn't change. I liked Hugo and his family. He was very fortunate that he was born with a warm family. My eyes softened as I gaze outside, recalling his siblings' relationship.

"You're lucky," I whispered, but it sounded clear and loud because of the silence. "That you are close with your siblings. I didn't even get to meet mine until now."

  I forced a smile and turned my head to him so he wouldn't think I was sulking. "If only I know you have a beautiful family, I wouldn't be so scared of stepping foot in Ronmin. If anything, I would've nagged you to make haste and reach the empire faster."

"Do you like them that much?" his face squeezed in the center with eyes full of disbelief. "You don't know yet, but my sisters are all crazy."

I laughed as it sounded more like slander. At this point, I believed Hugo didn't mean it literally. Or rather, those words were just like the normal words of a brother to his sisters. But at the end of the day, they were all siblings and would have each other's back in times of need. 

"The emperor is a great man," I said, making his brows raise while I peeled my eyes away. "Even though I was stuck inside the castle, I heard and read many stories from the books and Mother. There is this story I remembered I read in one book. It is about a country, where there are six princes and a princess. Their father had this precious treasure and told his sons that the person who will get it will have it.

Since the sixth prince was too young, the five princes fought each other for that treasure. Blood was shed and their brotherly relationship was ruined. Four princes lost their life because of that treasure, but the victor who got his hands on that prize realized the treasure they fought with all their lives was empty. In the end, that prince couldn't bear the guilt of slaughtering his brothers and the empty treasure. So, he took his own life."

"What a sad story."

I nodded at Hugo's remarks and cast him a look. "I cried a river while reading it. But that was what royalty was always like, wasn't it? That's what Ashton told me; everyone fights to get that one treasure, sacrificing everything to get it, only to realize that getting that treasure, you lose what truly mattered."

"That is why I said that the Emperor is an amazing man," I continued with a smile. "If you think about it, the princes wouldn't have to fight one another if the king didn't start that sick game."

"How did you know that the Emperor in that story wanted to start it in the first place?" Hugo cocked his head to the side, batting his eyes innocently. "Ronmin Empire is different from other kingdoms and empires since bloodline doesn't matter. Even a commoner can be the emperor if he killed the emperor. All those who had titles in the empire weren't all kind people, but they definitely deserved it since it is not given easily."

"But in other kingdoms, the reality of royalties is… sad stories. Sometimes, even an emperor wouldn't have enough power once their power and influence decline and a new faction rose. People are like that Rinnie. For power, they would stop at nothing. Ronmin might be peaceful now, but we can't be complacent about it."

"Are you saying your brothers will fight for a treasure as well?"

"Uh, no. That's impossible." Hugo chuckled and shook his head. "If Father told us, he will leave a treasure we should fight over, he can have it to his grave. None of us wants to exchange our freedom for some sort of treasure. What I'm saying are the external forces."

"External forces?"

"Yes, but you don't have to concern yourself with… that." 

"Wahh… Ah?!" 

Hugo and I turned our heads outside when someone fell right in front of us. Our eyes met for a second, making me recoil. Thanks to Hugo's fast reflexes, he put his arm on my back to stop me from tumbling down. My eyes were fixed outside, seeing multiple people fall down a second later.

I blinked countless times. "Isn't that… Reks?" I stretched my neck forward but stopped when Hugo grabbed my back collar. I turned my head to him, only to see him put a finger in front of his lips.

"Pretend you didn't see him," he said as he looked away as if to hide his face from the people coming after Reks from the roof. 

"…" I pursed my lips and glanced outside to see that Reks had already run away right after his fall. "Good thing we hid.. He looks exhausted."