The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

King Corvus of the Obsidian Kingdom had indeed written a letter to King Jaren in response to his request. Four days after King Jaren's arrival at the summer palace, one of the imperial guards arrived on a fast horse, carrying a letter.

King Jaren had already received the details of Princess Mana's treatment from Physician Kale and Naver, and he was quite pleased in general, especially since he had noticed how well Naver got along with both his son and his younger daughter. Mana's treatment plan was long-term, but quite safe, and he liked how concerned Naver was about Mana. So, when the imperial guard bearing the letter from King Corvus arrived, King Jaren was quite calm. The imperial guard submitted the letter and withdrew, leaving King Corvus alone with Mana, Jules and Naver. The four of them were in a small sitting room, playing a game of chess with King Jaren and Jules on one team and Mana and Naver on the other team.

"What's that, Papa?" Mana asked curiously. From the bedraggled appearance of the imperial guard, it seemed that the letter was an extremely urgent one – but King Jaren seemed quite indifferent.

"Should be the reply by King Corvus about the Shadow Poison," King Jaren said, opening the letter slowly.

However, as he read through the letter, his complexion worsened, until he threw the letter on to the table in disgust, knocking down several chess pieces and banged his fists on his chair's armrests. His face was red with anger and his green eyes glinted dangerously.

"Papa! What's wrong? Did something happen?" Jules asked anxiously.

"That – that – that – that pernicious ingrate! That callous, scheming rubbish of a grandfather! How dare he treat his own flesh and blood like this?!" King Jaren roared, frightening everyone in the room.

"What did he say?" Mana asked calmly.

"That ruthless old fool says that he's sent his eldest grandson, Prince Raven to the Emerald Kingdom. If the boy somehow manages to reach the capital city and come to the palace, I should make him absorb all the Shadow Poison from Mana, and if the boy somehow manages to still stay alive after that, I can keep him in whatever capacity I feel like if I want to or throw him in the sea if I don't!" King Jaren shouted. "How can he do that to a little child, and his own grandson, at that?! Such a smart and talented little boy, if I had a grandson like that, I'd not let anyone harm a single hair on his head! And this useless fellow! This miserable wretch! This insidious, obnoxious…"

King Jaren continued to fling invective at King Corvus for several minutes.

Naver eyed the discarded letter on the table with resignation.

It took King Jaren almost half an hour to calm down. "Mana, Jules – have someone prepare a guest room for a boy of twelve. I'll dispatch soldiers to search for the little prince and bring him here."

Mana looked at Naver, but the latter was staring at the floor with a pale face.

"Be kind to the kid, ok?" King Jaren continued. "The poor child, with a heartless monster of a grandfather like this…I just hope the kid is safe. I'll relay my instructions right away."

"No need," Naver said, standing up abruptly. His small body trembled with emotion and he still didn't look up.

King Jaren turned to him with a confused expression. "Naver? What's wrong?" he asked.

Naver walked up to the king and bowed formally. "Prince Raven of the Obsidian Kingdom greets His Majesty King Jaren of the Emerald Kingdom," he announced.

Mana noticed that Jules didn't look too surprised at the reveal.

King Jaren was taken aback, but recovered his wits quickly. "Naver…you're Prince Raven?" he asked gently.

Naver nodded glumly. "Grandfather doesn't know about my alter ego of Naver, the poison expert, though."

King Jaren tapped his finger on the table. "What your grandfather said about the Shadow Poison…"

"The royal family of the Obsidian Kingdom is immune to the Shadow Poison," Naver replied.

"Including you?" Mana asked sharply.

Naver shrugged nonchalantly.

"Answer Mana's question, please, Prince Raven," King Jaren said in a sombre voice.

Naver looked away. "I am only a half-blood," he said.

"So, you're not immune to it, right?" Jules asked.

Naver nodded. "But if my grandfather says so, I should be capable of absorbing it fully. I wasn't sure of that until now. Since it's been clarified by his letter, I'll do it."

"Are you insane?" Jules cried.

"Have you lost your mind?" Mana cried at the same time.

King Jaren frowned. "And this treatment plan that you and Physician Kale have drawn up for Mana…in it, you have mentioned that you will remove the Shadow Poison bit by bit. I had assumed the removal to mean dissipation of the Shadow Poison…but could it be that you intended to absorb it slowly?"

Naver shook his head. "I wasn't sure I was capable of absorbing the poison properly. I was going to destroy it. However, drawing it out and destroying it is a tedious process, so now we have a quicker solution," he said.

"Prince Raven, do you think I would trade another child's life for my little Mana when there was a better solution available? And do you think either Mana or Jules would forgive me if I knowingly put you in mortal danger?" King Jaren asked fiercely.

Naver stared at him in shock. "But…"

"You utter idiot," Mana said, slapping Naver's arm lightly. "Can't you see that we already think of you as one of us?"

"Seriously, how dumb can you be?" Jules complained. "And to think you're supposed to be this magnificent genius with the intelligence of ten grown men!"

"Prince Raven," King Jaren said seriously. "Would you like to stay with us in the Emerald Kingdom?"

Naver nodded violently and then burst into tears.

King Jaren sighed. "Come here, son," he said, opening his arms.

Mana gave Naver a little push and he shuffled forward slowly and awkwardly. Jules huffed, scooped up the younger boy and deposited him in his father's arms.

King Jaren held the young boy and rubbed his back to comfort him, just like he did to Mana after the drowning incident.

Mana's eyes were soft as she regarded them. This Papa of hers…he was really a fine man, and good with kids, to boot.

Naver, feeling paternal care for the first time in his life, buried his head in King Jaren's shoulder and cried for a long time. When he was finally done, he felt a lot better – and extremely embarrassed.

Jules passed him a clean handkerchief, just like last time, and Naver wiped his face quickly.

"Feeling better?" King Jaren asked gently.

Naver flushed, but nodded obediently.

King Jaren kissed his brow. "Welcome to the family, little one," he said, smiling. "Now tell me, do you want to be Jules's brother or his brother-in-law?" he asked in a cheerful voice.

Naver stared at him dumbly.

Jules and Mana burst out laughing.

"What Papa wants to ask is – do you want to be our brother, or do you want to be Mana's fiancé?" Jules explained happily. "Either way, I'm still your Big Brother."

Naver turned as red as a tomato.

"It'll be a pretty long engagement, if you choose that option, though," King Jaren said firmly. "I'm not letting my little Mana get married before she's eighteen, at least." He cast a meaningful gaze at the two boys. "Twenty for the two of you," he added.

"We can dissolve the engagement later if you find someone else you like," Mana offered.

"Nonsense!" King Jaren thundered. "Can there be a dearer girl in the world than my little Mana?"

Naver smiled slightly. "I think I can safely say that King Jaren is right on this one," he said quietly.

"What King Jaren? Am I not your Papa now?!" King Jaren boomed. His voice held a threatening note, daring the younger boy to disagree.

"Absolutely," Jules pitched in with a big grin. "I'm your Big Brother, so my Papa is your Papa, too, you silly little boy."

"So?" Mana asked archly. "Are you going to propose to me or not?"

Naver smiled shyly, and his eyes glowed with the colours of the rainbow. Mana had seen it before, so she wasn't surprised, but Jules and King Jaren definitely were.

"So pretty!" Jules cried.

"How beautiful!" King Jaren said.

Naver's cheeks turned rosy at their praise. He walked to Mana, knelt on the floor before her and held out his hand. "Princess Mana, I really, really like you, and I will try my best to become a man worthy of you. So, Princess Mana, when we have grown up, will you marry me?"

Mana smiled brightly. "I promise," she said, suddenly feeling rather shy as she put her hand in his. "And you're already worthy – so don't put yourself down like that. You know it makes me annoyed." She tugged at his hand until he stood up and engulfed him in a hug. "Happy now?" she asked softly.

"Happiest I've been in my life," Naver replied in a whisper.