These Side Characters Have More Important Things To Do

Alexius was happy to have Ayden back. He also knew that in just two weeks, Ayden would be living in the Capital, at the academy, which meant even more opportunities to talk with him.

After Ayden was led away by his Imperial Mother, Sir Gerlach said, “Your Highness, shall we—”

“Let’s wait outside my Imperial Mother’s office,” Alexius decided. This way, he could catch Ayden right away and not let the pesky Rian get to Ayden first.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Sir Gerlach said.

“Your Highness, what business do you have in the palace?”

Surprised, Alexius turned towards the voice. A palace guard had spoken, and it wasn’t addressed to him. The guard was speaking to person on a wheelchair—Prince Pollux from Angio.

“I heard that Earl Rosewood has returned,” Prince Pollux replied.

Alexius felt a mini crisis. Not another person who wants to meet with Ayden?!

He had briefly greeted Prince Pollux when he first arrived a few days ago. Prince Pollux didn’t seem like a person who would want to talk with Ayden…but then again, Ayden was very popular.

Alexius suppressed a world-weary sigh. He stepped forward and smiled politely. “I know where Earl Rosewood is. Would you like to wait with me?”

“Yes,” Prince Pollux said.

“Follow me.” Alexius took the lead walking to Queen Mira’s office, with Sir Gerlach, his Royal Guards, Prince Pollux, and Prince Pollux’s servants following.

The Royal Guards outside the Queen’s office gave the big group a weird look.

“Your Highness, Her Majesty is currently busy,” one of the Royal Guards told Alexius.

Alexius nodded. “I’m waiting for Earl Rosewood.” He positioned himself right by the door, such that Ayden would see him the moment he came out.

“Would you like to take a seat in the adjacent sitting room?” the Royal Guard asked.

“No, I would not.”

“Would you like a chair?”

“No need.” Alexius stood straight and tall, staring fixedly at the door and waiting patiently.

A few minutes later, his gaze started to wander around.

The corridor was very wide, with big windows along one side. Along the wall of the other side, there were paintings and vases and flowers. Alexius had seen this hundreds of times before.

Eventually, his roaming eyes landed upon Prince Pollux. He was about to move on when he realised something—those wheels were fake!

Well, they might not be fake, but the entire wheelchair was floating! The more he looked, the more he felt that it was very familiar!

Prince Pollux’s expression became gloomy. “What?” he said sharply.

“That’s a cool floating wheelchair!” Alexius blurted out.

Prince Pollux was taken aback. “Earl Rosewood and Prince Rian gifted it to me.”

Realisation dawned on Alexius’s face. He grinned. “Is that so!”

“—And I made further modifications to improve it,” Prince Pollux added grumpily.

But instead of becoming discouraged, Alexius was even more excited. He suddenly had a great, amazing idea. “You improved it? You must have seen the floating carriage. But you might not have seen the floating office chairs that Ayden and I made together. In fact, we’re also developing more floating chairs and single-person transport vehicles. We could work together and make money!”

Prince Pollux just stared at him.

—And this was the scene that Ren Xiyang was met with when he exited Queen Mira’s office: an eager Prince Alexius and a dubious Prince Pollux.

Alexius turned to him with shining eyes. “Ayden!”

“Hello again.” Ren Xiyang turned to Prince Pollux. “And hello again, Your Highness. How can I help you?”

“I would like to meet with you and Prince Rian,” Prince Pollux said.

Ren Xiyang could sense that Rian was still in his meeting with King Edric. “Prince Rian is busy. Alexius, why don’t we have afternoon tea together? Then once Rian is finished, he and I will meet with Prince Pollux.”

Alexius nodded. “Okay.”

“Prince Pollux?”

“That’s fine.”

Sir Gerlach stepped out from the background. “Your Highness, the servants have prepared your afternoon tea.”

Alexius smiled happily. “Okay, right this way.”

As they walked, Alexius said, “Ayden, did you really make Prince Pollux’s wheelchair? He said he made improvements.”

Ren Xiyang nodded. “I did. Improvements? That’s good.”

“I asked him whether he wanted to collaborate together to produce more floating chairs and single-person transport vehicles and make money together!” Alexius said. “Is that a good idea?”

Ren Xiyang nodded. “It’s a good idea.”

Alexius beamed. “Prince Pollux, you could also help Ayden and Rian improve their wheelchairs too.”

Prince Pollux did not look excited.

At that point, they had arrived at Alexius’s garden. The servants had thoughtfully arranged chairs at one of the round tables, with an empty space for Prince Pollux.

Alexius and Ren Xiyang sat down. Prince Pollux moved his chair into position and then lowered it to be in-line with the heights of the other chairs.

Palace staff served them tea and cake. “Today’s dessert is a plum roll cake, made from the late-summer plums picked from the Imperial gardens. Your Highnesses, my Lord, please enjoy.”

“Thanks,” Ren Xiyang said. He tucked into his cake right away—he had been feeling hungry more often lately.

“Good?” Alexius asked.

“Hm, good.”

Alexius turned to Prince Pollux. “Good?”

“Yes,” Prince Pollux said.

Ren Xiyang drank some tea. “Now, Prince Pollux, do you have any interest in joining us?  I’ll reduce my shares appropriately, if you can take over some of the spell development.”

“You haven’t told me about what any of these projects would comprise of, nor how I would contribute,” Prince Pollux said drily.

Ren Xiyang looked at Prince Pollux’s wheelchair. “You’ve made several improvements to your wheelchair. The fact that you could understand how the chair worked and make changes shows that you have the skills and knowledge to develop improved products for the market. It would be helpful for me if you could join the projects and take on that technical role.”

Prince Pollux lowered his eyes.

“Alexius, why don’t you introduce our current projects to Prince Pollux?”

Alexius nodded. “Okay! First, the floating office chairs! I can show you some later in my study. They’re floating chairs, used for working. They’re easily height-adjustable and easily manoeuvrable. Their controls are placed on the edge, under the chair seat. It may not seem like much, but it’s much more comfortable to work in these chairs. Ayden and I also make office chairs with physical legs and wheels. They’re not as nice to use, but some people prefer them.”

“During development, Alexius and I wrote down various spells and made several prototypes,” Ren Xiyang said. “After extensive testing, we started production. We have staff who make all the different physical parts of the chairs, while Alexius and I enchant them.”

Alexius smirked. “And then we sell them and make money. The plan is to expand our range of chairs and make some even more expensive ones.”

“I see.” There was the slightest hint of interest in Prince Pollux’s voice.

“As for the single-person vehicles—” Ren Xiyang started.

“—That’s still in progress,” Alexius said with an embarrassed smile. “While you were gone, I had been practicing duelling and haven’t had much time to make any prototypes. However!” Alexius leaned forward, eyes bright. “Using your knowledge, we can fast-track the development of single-person transport vehicles.”

Prince Pollux frowned. “As I understand it, this wheelchair was originally gifted to me by Prince Rian. He also helped develop the floating carriages. Why isn’t he part of these projects?”

“Prince Rian and I collaborate together on making the floating carriages and the floating wheelchairs,” Ren Xiyang said. “But he isn’t directly involved in the projects between me and Alexius because he’s busy. Yes, the floating chairs relied on the spells developed for the floating carriages, but Rian has simply given his shares to me. Don’t worry, he still makes plenty of money from the other collaborations.”

“Also, I don’t want him to join,” Alexius said.

Prince Pollux: “…”

“So, would you like to join us?” Alexius asked, eyes sparkling.

“I’ll have to think about it.”

Alexius’s brows drew together as he pouted. “Are you sure? You won’t make a loss, this is very profitable!”

“I…”

“We’ll probably meet every two weeks to work on it together and to see what progress each of us has made,” Ren Xiyang said. “With your help, we can push the product out earlier and seize the market.”

“So, do you want to join us?” Alexius asked.

“…Very well,” Prince Pollux finally agreed.

Alexius cheered. “Yes!”

“—But only for the office chairs. And I make no promises as to whether I can help.”

“Still yay!”

Ren Xiyang sipped his tea. Only the office chairs, for now. He looked forward to Prince Pollux taking charge of development and freeing up Ren Xiyang’s time. And he was confident that once Prince Pollux received his share of profits after the first round of sales, he would be willing to join the next project (and the next, and the next).

Ah, the life of a supervisor.

 

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The innocent Prince Rian walked with a spring in his step out of his Imperial Father’s office. He spread his magic out, seeking out his dearly beloved Yangyang.

“—Your Highness.”

Rian came to an abrupt stop in front of one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting.

“Your Highness, Her Majesty Queen Mira wishes to have an audience with you right now,” the lady-in-waiting said.

The happy light died in Rian’s eyes.

The begrudging Prince Rian followed the lady-in-waiting to Queen Mira’s office.

He sat down in front of her desk. “Good afternoon, Imperial Mother.”

Queen Mira gave him a pointed look. “Good afternoon, dear. Did you propose to Earl Rosewood during the trip?”

Rian blinked, momentarily surprised. He thought she’d start vague first. Perhaps she realised that she had to be direct so that he wouldn’t lie by omission. “I promise, I didn’t propose to him.”

Queen Mira relaxed.

“—However, there’s something I need to admit.”

Queen Mira stilled, her gaze becoming sharp. “Yes?”

“While I didn’t propose to Earl Rosewood, Earl Rosewood proposed to me. We’re engaged.” Rian pulled out the necklace from under his clothes, revealing the two rings at the end. “This is our courtship ring, and this is our engagement ring,” he said. He smiled happily and then tucked the necklace away again. “Now, if we can’t officiate our marriage here, then we’ll simply have the marriage celebration in the Rosewood fief.”

“…” The air around Queen Mira became cold. “Rian Azure. Even if he proposed, you should have declined.”

“—That said, we’re not in a hurry to get married. Ayden wants to enjoy a long engagement.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you no longer want to be crown prince? That you want Alexius to become king?”

“You could make him king if you wish. He’ll simply pass the mantle on to me,” Rian said, unperturbed. “You’re the first person we’ve informed. I was planning to inform Imperial Father next. Whether you inform him before me or not is your choice.”

Queen Mira’s face darkened. “Don’t threaten me. You requested cheaper bed quarters with shared living spaces with Earl Rosewood at the academy. I’ll have the Dean revoke that and assign you private quarters.”

Once again, Rian was unperturbed. “Oh? If you would like me to be seen walking into Earl Rosewood’s quarters at night and leaving the next morning, then so be it.”

Queen Mira: “..…..…..….…….…”

“You’re not allowed to go back to the Rosewood fief with Earl Rosewood between now and the start of the academy.”

Rian suppressed his feeling of loss. (Blocked by his own mother!) “Yes, Imperial Mother. Imperial Mother, I advise you to simply watch. You’ll see that I’ve made the right choice. He’s powerful, handsome, rich, and hard-working. No other child among the association of future leaders is comparable.”

“There are several young ladies who are suitable, who are powerful, beautiful, rich, and hard-working,” Queen Mira said sternly.

“Ayden is better. Ayden makes me happy.”

“And I do want you to be happy, don’t you think otherwise. If I weren’t the queen, if you weren’t the eldest prince, I would give you my blessing. But Rian, the reality is otherwise.”

Rian was calm and relaxed, with a slight smile on his face. “Is it the problem of succession? I’ve already told you my solution.”

“Rian.” Queen Mira’s jaw was tight. “When you’re older, you’ll understand.”

Rian looked at his mother. His mother looked back at him. At this point, neither of them were budging, so what was the point of arguing?

“Are you afraid that I’m not old enough to understand? Then why don’t we talk about this again once I turn 18. Ayden and I won’t publicly announce anything until then, though we reserve the right to privately tell individual people, such as Imperial Father. Now, may I be dismissed, Imperial Mother?”

Queen Mira’s lips thinned.

The silence stretched.

Finally, Queen Mira said, “Very well.”

Rian stood up. “Thank you, Imperial Mother.”

“And oh—I’ve told Imperial Father about my marriage-law changes proposal,” Rian added, just before he left the office. “I’ll see you at dinner, Imperial Mother.”

Rian closed the door behind him.

Queen Mira frowned, suppressing a sigh.

She wanted Rian to be happy. But the Azure family had been on the throne for generations, in one continuous line. Rian’s rebellious actions jeopardised that.

However, Queen Mira couldn’t stop him, and Rian knew it.

She could verbally prohibit him from seeing Earl Rosewood, but that wouldn’t stop him. She could physically and magically prohibit him from seeing Earl Rosewood, but it was unclear whether she’d be able to enforce it. She could cut off his resources, except the majority of his resources were his own—his own loyal people, his own hard-earned money.

And the biggest ‘threat’—making Alexius crown prince and king instead—didn’t work on Rian nor Alexius.

Rian had it all figured out.

Queen Mira realised that Rian had been planning this for much longer than she expected. Over the last few years since Rian met Earl Rosewood, Rian had been amassing his power, establishing his independence, and building a faction.

When Queen Mira met up with King Edric later, little did they know that they were both having headaches regarding Rian.

 

 

 

 

 

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Pollux: What have I gotten myself into?

Queen Mira: …

 

 

 

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Look what I drew!!

 

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