Ezekiel was not a perfect ruler, yet he was a good one. Succeeding his father’s leadership, he just needed to adapt to today’s society and add rules to hone the government to be even better.
By no means was he a tyrant.
Sometimes, a decent person would be accused of something they were not just because they had an obvious fault or abnormality. Sometimes, a thousand good deeds would be lost and forgotten in value by the eyes of people just because of one sin.
They forgot how merciful and benevolent of a ruler Ezekiel was because of one thing that challenged their interest.
“That was so bad. I don’t think Ezra would laugh at that joke,” Ezekiel muttered. “Not that... I want anyone to laugh at that one...”
A joke.
While everyone felt a horrible goosebump hearing his ‘joke’, Ezekiel sighed. He looked into the eyes of his friends, which were quiet from beginning to end.
Heinrich sat at
“Isn’t this supposed to be a party?”Harriet made eye contact with everyone in that hall. Even though her eyes were covered with a veil, they all could feel her stare. Even though she acted like she didn’t hear what they were talking about before entering the room, she ensured everyone knew that she heard everything.“Sister,” Heath mumbled. Beside him, Miriam wanted to walk forward to welcome Harriet and the twins, but he stopped her.So were Arai and Penelope, who decided to observe further while Heinrich secretly stared daggers at those people.“I don’t know if I should be glad or mad that you came at this moment, Sister Cousin,” Ezekiel said.“Why?” Harriet walked closer, holding her children’s hands. “Because I wear black? Sorry about that.”Ezekiel suppressed his smile.When Harriet arrived in front of his throne, below the stairs, she sighed. &l
After two turns of the dance moves, Ezekiel realized something about Harriet. He had rarely seen her again nowadays, and even if he did, he would not come this close to her.Now that he had the chance to even touch her hands and see her closer, he realized how thin she was.He thought she looked thin and fragile because of the black dress. But he was wrong.She truly felt thin and weak."I heard that Zaha had just finished the war," Ezekiel said softly."Not completely," Harriet smiled at him. Her eyes looked into his behind the black veil. Her eyebrows arch was high and beautiful, making him remember the time when he used to admire her."Then I bet I will be able to see him again soon," Ezekiel smiled back.Harriet chuckled, leaning her head into Ezekiel's shoulder. "You can just see him whenever you want. Or just go see the world with H
"Lately, the weather has been bad," Ezekiel said as he led Harriet toward his workroom. They left the party that morning after the dance, and Ezekiel let the nobles discuss with themselves.They walked side by side on the corridor, ignoring people who saw them acting this intimate.More likely because Ezekiel had never let anyone get close to him since the death of his wife. But now, even his expression was better than the usual empty and dark.Harriet linked her hand to the man's elbow, letting him follow her walking pace as she looked into the sky outside the corridor's windows. Her vision had been recovered just before she arrived at the Capital, and she was glad for it.She was glad she could properly see this man's face and her friends' expressions."I will take care of them, so don't worry," Ezekiel said softly as he observed this woman's calming smile. He didn't want Harri
RUMBLE RUMBLE!CRACKLE!!The sky was split into two by the bright flash of lighting.Penelope pulled Damian into her arms and carried him into the open corridor. The rain suddenly fell hard and wetted the side of the corridor."Here," Heinrich pulled her hand away from the garden. They walked toward a drier side of the corridor, but Heinrich realized Penelope's sharp stare at him."Why do you want to learn magic anyway, Niamh?" Penelope asked Niamh, who was hugging Heinrich's neck. "You know that after everything... magic should be banned even stricter than before.""That's not true, Aunt Penny," Damian said slowly. "I don't think that's the best solution.""That's right!" Niamh said. "And even if I can't learn magic here, I will still learn magic where it's legal."Heinrich laughed, but he slowly stopped laughing, se
A kiss.For humans and other sentient creatures, a kiss could mean various things. But mainly, it was a way to express love. Well, love itself had many kinds to it.But that kind of kiss was usually only used for expressing one kind of love.Seeing Ezekiel’s hand grasping the woman’s waist, Heinrich and Penelope could only conclude exactly that.As rage burned inside Heinrich. Even if Ezekiel killed him and spit in his dead body, he would not be as offended as this. He walked forward with angry veins popping on his jaw and temples as his eyes started to glow dangerously.But Penelope caught his hand before it was too late.Heinrich turned back to her in his anger. His eyes burned with wrath, and his face was stiff all over. It scared Penelope.The man looked ready to rip Ezekiel apart at that very moment, and Penelope could see how betrayed he felt. Something stung inside Penelope seeing him like this, and she slowly proce
“Tsk!”SLAM!Arai slammed the door shut. She angrily stomped toward her bed, still in her party dress. And then, she dived angrily into the duvet with a loud groan.“Stupid nobles!”Arai wondered if they were truly stupid or if they were just making controversies to appear different from the others while gaining popularity.Arai sighed. She wondered if all of the Empire people thought of Harriet like that. It must be suffocating, even though she didn’t realize it.In a time like this, it was better to share her thoughts with her Zaha. She wasn’t home yet, and Ezekiel provided her a room to stay in the palace for the five days birthday party.Well, it wouldn’t be the same paper as what she usually used, but that would do for now. She opened the room door and asked a servant to bring her paper and pen to write a letter.But when she turned back to her room, she was surprised to see a man
“Your Highness,” Penelope struggled to run after Heinrich’s long and fast steps as he walked back to the place they saw the kiss happen.“Your Highness!” she called once again.The man stopped and turned back to her angrily, making her flinch. “We’ve brought the twins away, so why are you still stopping me?”“And what are you going to do?” Penelope asked sharply as she pulled her dress to widen her steps, walking toward him quickly.Their interaction alerted the servants and workers in the palace, but neither of them both cared. Penelope stared daggers at him, trying to reason with his anger by bravely confronting him.“She kissed him back,” she whispered. “It means it’s something we can’t comment about.”“I don’t care!” Heinrich snapped at her, scaring not only her but also the people around them.“But this is not h
“It’s not.”Penelope leaned into the raven’s flock. Her eyes warmed at him.“I think your feelings are important; it’s just that...”‘I’m upset,’ Penelope continued in her heart.Realizing that she was never a part of his past and might never be a part of his future hurt her.This man was an immortal Archmage.He chose to be alone, spending his eternal life in solitude.She should’ve at least been a good friend to him, but she failed today.She should’ve known, looking at his betrayed eyes and exploding anger. This man, who was always gentle and pleasant, was suddenly turning into a madman.Because, unlike being a friend to the other, she couldn’t do the same for him properly.Penelope’s brown eyes reflected the light of the sun, and her average dirty blonde hair was casting a shadow on his face. As Heinrich peeked from the back of