The Martial Unity

The journey back home felt like it took forever.

Rui wasn't even sure that he wanted to go home yet.

What was he supposed to tell everybody when he got back home and they asked him how the Royal Addressal Ceremony went?

His family was, of course, far from well-connected. They would have no idea what had happened at the ceremony. He had been invited to several events connected to the royals, and even if this one was clearly far more prestigious, they didn't think much of it.

STEP

He arrived before the orphanage with a deeply contemplative expression.

"We'll speak again whenever you're ready," Master Ceeran remarked. "Take your time."

WHOOSH

He felt Master Ceeran moving away, hiding his presence and joining the perimeter consisting of Master Vericita and Master Zentra. He could also sense Master Reina, but he knew that she was specifically allowing him alone to sense her.

Yet, at the moment, he was only concerned about his family.

It had grown a lot in the many years he had been a part of it.

All the children in his generation of orphans had grown into caretakers who worked part-time or full-time in the orphanage. Not only did they work hard to support an increasingly larger orphanage spread across multiple houses built beside the original ones, but they also chipped in some of their own scant earnings to contribute to supporting the children.

It was a task that only grew harder. When he was adopted, there were only sixteen orphans, for that was the limit that the orphanage could support. However, since then, the number had risen dramatically.

If he was being perfectly honest, he would be lying if he said he knew all of them or had formed a bond with all of them. Many children had been brought to the orphanage and had grown up there while he was away from the Kandrian Empire. He certainly was not as close to them as much as he'd like.

But that didn't matter.

He was given a home when he didn't have one without any expectations in return.

He was going to impart the same to those who came after. He would ensure that, no matter what choice he made from here on out, the consequences of his identity and his actions would not hurt them in any way.

He had several ways of going about it, but that was a matter for another day.

For now, he needed to tell his family the truth. While he would rather not disrupt their lives with it, there was no point in hiding it because it had become public knowledge at that point.

definitely find out very rapidly, even if he

a deep sigh as he

CLACK

opened the door to the

Rui announced to the entire

it go, dear?" Lashara asked him while tending

tell you," Rui heaved a

"What is it?"

head. "Let's gather everybody first.

confused adults of the orphanage gathered

about?" Alice

tale to

wait?" Mayra folded her arms. "I

a serious

be quick, I promise," Rui assured

relevant facts. It was better to rip the band-aid

spoke, swiftly divulging

gone from reluctantly curious to shocked and utterly

each of them struggled to process the information that Rui had conveyed to

him

royal prince?"

"That's right," Rui confirmed.

stared at

Prince, I do not consider the royal palaces my home," Rui remarked. "I don't care for luxury. Never

turned to his mother. "I still and will always consider this

smiled at

She pulled him in for a hug. "And this

her

affection for quite

nearly recover from the

ROYAL

"…Unbelievable."

can

"Congratulations!"

Rui becoming Emperor would be