When Alberu imagined the obstacles he would have to overcome in order to be with the man he loved, he had a lot of stuffy old men in mind who would argue with him over the impropriety of it and an obnoxious amount of propaganda that he would have to stifle, redirect, or take control of. A lot of very boring political nonsense that came with his position as crown prince.

He didn't once imagine facing a child with a sword.

"Oraboni said you're strong." Lily Henituse had a sweet looking round face that made her look cute and innocent to most observers. That is when it wasn't full of spiteful irritation like right now. "We should spar."

...why did he get the feeling that this was a veiled attempt to commit treason by the youngest of the Henituse clan?

As his coronation approached, more of the Henituse family had arrived in the capital and Basen had made sure to let his mother and sister know exactly what a debauched, corrupt, and dastardly piece of trash the crown prince was.

It was a bit distressing for Alberu, if he was entirely honest, when he'd received an invitation to come to the Henituse estate where Violan, Basen, and Lily all waited for him. Especially since he knew that Cale wasn't involved in inviting him.

...and lord, there was that butler there too.

Alberu knew that Cale was fiercely protective of his family and those who he considered family but he'd never before had reason to learn that perhaps they were even more protective of him.

"If you'd like." He replied to Lily's invitation, a bit disconcerted about the size and length of her sword. Was she really able to swing around something that size?

Violan and Basen apparently saw nothing wrong with this, continuing to drink their tea in the garden where the tea party had been taking place.

Cale was notably absent and it left Alberu feeling extra vulnerable.

Before Alberu could make an excuse about not having a weapon, a very familiar and very terrifying butler seamlessly arrived with one just for his use.

There was a terrifying fire in Lily's eyes.

Alberu was confident in his abilities to survive a spar without causing any harm to Cale's little sister or he would have never agreed to begin with, but he was suddenly unsure of his ability to do so without retaining any injuries in the process.

–

"...ow."

"You're a baby." Cale said but his voice was softer than normal, placing a comforting hand on Alberu's back.

Alberu grumbled into the pillow he'd buried his face into. "...I think your family hates me."

Cale chuckled, leaning down and kissing his temple before laying down at his sight. "Because Lily beat you up?"

"She didn't b–... it doesn't matter. It's not about that." He huffed, turning to face Cale with a sigh. "They're very... hostile. In general. Any hints on how I can earn their approval?"

Cale's smile yielded absolutely nothing as he leaned in and kissed Alberu's lips chastely. "Nope."

"...is this because you're still mad?"

"Oh yeah."

Alberu supposed he had earned a period in the doghouse. He was lucky enough that Cale took him back at all; it would be too much to insist that he be forgiven for his transgressions immediately.

"You can really hold a grudge, huh." Alberu said, giving up on negotiations and rolling onto his back.

"Yup." Cale said, straddling Alberu's waist like it was the most natural thing in the world to do and smirking down at him. "I'm not letting this go until you earn my forgiveness."

Alberu rested his hands on Cale's hips loosely, soaking in the gorgeous sight of him and feeling warmth fill his troubled heart. "And I don't suppose I can ask for any hints about that either."

"Absolutely not." Cale answered, running hand along Alberu's chin and finding his collar.

In one jerking motion, he pulled Alberu up into a kiss and the worldly problems melted away.

Alberu would just try harder to earn the Henituse approval. He had the proposal all planned out but he wanted to get their approval first. It wasn't necessary, he just knew that it would mean something to Cale.

Cale wouldn't want to do something that might make his family legitimately uncomfortable.

Deruth Henituse would arrive in the capital tomorrow. An ominous prospect for Alberu as now he would be outnumbered five to one.

For now, at this moment, he enjoyed the simple pleasure of having Cale in his arms. How much better it was when it was real and how much he couldn't give this up.

Alberu never imagined he'd be the soppy sort to do anything for love but here he was, happily wearing his heart on his sleeve.

–

Deruth frowned.

It was far from his first meeting with Alberu Crossman. As Alberu's ascent to the throne became more solidified, he of course had to meet with notable nobles across the kingdom on a semi-frequent basis.

Deruth had never held a poor impression of the crown prince. He was a good candidate for the throne. He was responsible, bright, and ambitious.

However Deruth had an entirely different scale to judge who he'd trust the leadership of a kingdom with and who he'd trust with his beloved firstborn.

Basen appeared to share much of the same sentiments as he glared darkly at the prince seated uncomfortably in the reception room.

"I've heard everything already." Deruth cut into whatever explanation the prince might have offered. "What makes you think you deserve my son's hand in marriage?"

Really.

There was not a single Henituse who respected his authority.

The Deruth Henituse that Alberu had met was a thoughtful and reserved man who avoided politics in favor of taking care of his territory. A respectable man who was mindful of the political climate, if only to avoid getting dragged into it.

From the way they all talked about Cale, one would think that he was a defenseless maiden and not a bottle wielding menace to society with a drinking problem. Alberu was at least better prepared to answer the question this time than when Basen had asked.

"While I can't say that I deserve him, I'm prepared to dedicate my life to him." Alberu said smoothly, more confident in his words this time. When he thought about Cale, their relationship, and the prospect of spending their lives together the words flowed easily. "I want to be at his side from now on and I want to have the opportunity to confidently declare to the world that he's the person I love."

Basen looked like he'd eaten a bug. Deruth had more control over his expression but he felt much the same. "How easy it must be for you to glibly say whatever you think I want to hear."

"Count Henituse. It's not what I think you want to hear. I don't care what you want to hear. It's the truth." Alberu was willing to endure a lot of indignity but he didn't appreciate the extent of his feelings being doubted in such a way. They were free to doubt him but he wouldn't take it lying down. "I'm sure what you'd like to hear is that I'll leave right now and never mention this again. Unfortunately, I'm not so kind a person as to offer you what you want to hear."

The severity and definitiveness of Alberu's tone left an impression. Regardless, Basen was still ready to argue against it.

He knew this was what his hyung wanted but still his impression of Alberu was the pits. The unscrupulous scoundrel could have fooled Cale into liking him.

The gentle clink of a tea cup resting against a saucer brought attention to Violan Henituse, sitting with all the poise in the world as her narrow eyes assessed Alberu with a certain discerning air that reminded him of Cale.

She was his second mother and they certainly shared traits, Violan's effortless elegance certainly reminded Alberu of Cale.

"I've been informed that you already left him once." She said mildly, stirring a sugar cube into her tea without breaking eye contact. "How are we supposed to trust you won't change your mind again? I'm sure you understand that the public nature of your relationship would leave my son as a subject of ridicule. More so if you abandon him."

She sipped her tea and Alberu was left without a single doubt as to how dimly she viewed such a future.

"What guarantee can you offer us?"

Alberu knew that the wrong answer was 'my word' but what else did he have? It was true that he'd lost to his own thoughts before and hurt Cale. 'I would never do that' rang a bit hollow after that.

He knew that the Henituse family wasn't looking for money either. The coffers of wealth they possessed probably rivaled the royal faults of the Crossman family.

"That was a mistake." Alberu started, vying for sincerity as no good answer presented itself to him. "The regret I feel over that mistake is more than enough to dissuade me from making the same mistake again but I understand why my sincerity would appear shallow in that light. If it pleases you, I can arrange for a prenuptial agreement that would more than benefit Cale should the relationship fall through for any reason but I don't think that's the sort of guarantee you're looking for."

Alberu looked at his own tea and thought.

That certainly wasn't enough to persuade them but ultimately it wasn't about persuading them, was it? It was about making Cale happy.

That was why they were so harsh with him. That was why he endured it patiently.

"...as I'm sure you might have guessed, my family situation is complicated. There is rarely much affection among royalty." Alberu began, feeling a bit too raw and exposed even just saying that much. He kept his gaze to the tea. It was easier then. "But Cale's situation is different. I know that, for him, your happiness has always been his highest priority and I would like to respect that."

He looked up at the family and saw three dumbfounded expressions. He wasn't sure what part of his words caused it but he pushed onwards, somewhat hopeful at having a moment bereft of criticism.

"I understand why Cale loves you all so much and I understand that he's your beloved family as well. For me, he's the person I want to spend my future with. So I'd like your approval because I know it would make Cale happy and that's all I would like to do is to give him happiness."

Violan was the first one to regain her composure. Gently placing her tea cup back onto the table with a subtle tremble to her fingers. "That's quite calculating of you to use him to move along negotiations." She said coldly but there was something in her eyes that wasn't quite as judgmental. "It goes without saying that he has our approval and support to marry whosoever he desires. My concern is that the severity of his feelings is not reflected in you, your highness. If he's only a momentary entertainment for you then the repercussions won't be light."

What an impressive woman she was. Threatening the king-to-be so blatantly.

Deruth coughed awkwardly and brought the attention back to him. "My sentiments are the same as the countess." He said, his voice deceptively formal. "And about... all of that, was that something Cale told you?"

Alberu blinked owlishly. Of all the things to be interrogated about, he definitely didn't expect it to be about his clear dedication to his family. "Not all of it." He admitted honestly. "But it's obvious how much he cares about his family."

He wondered if maybe he'd accidentally said more than Cale would want him to.

"Is it, now..." Deruth said thoughtfully, stroking his chin with a complicated expression.

Basen looked like he had something to say but he was struggling to contain it. Alberu was a bit concerned that it would be another biting question.

Finally the dam burst.

"What did hyung-nim say?" He asked and he looked a lot younger for a moment.

Alberu felt sorry to Cale but he didn't have the heart to dodge that question. Not with the hesitant wonderment playing out in Basen's expression.

"He's always talking about how impressive his siblings are." Alberu said, looking a bit unsure of himself. This wasn't where he thought the conversation would go at all so all he had was the truth. "Just the other day he mentioned how proud he was of young master Basen's ability to handle delegates and bragged about how Robbit couldn't compare to Basen's knowledge of the law due to his studies. He was worried that his brother was spending upwards of five hours a day on his studies but he still–Ah... did I say something wrong?"

The Henituse family looked agape again. As though Alberu had said something ludicrous, like say Cale raised a dragon or something equally unhinged.

"He talks to you a lot then." Violan said. Again being the first one to gather herself. "How long has your relationship been going on for you to be such a close confidant of his?"

That was definitely a question that Alberu dreaded answering.

For starters, he wasn't entirely sure when the dreams had started as quite a few of them he'd dismissed early on. And more importantly, the nebulous nature of the 'dream' situation would only coat him in further suspicion to his in-laws.

He went as honest as he could. "Roughly four years?"

Basen, who'd finally gathered his wits, scowled at him. "And you still threw him away after that long? How can we trust you?"

Deruth disrupted the flow of the conversation, clapping his hands together with a thoughtful expression. All parties looked towards him.

"It would appear that my eldest trusts you." Deruth said levelly and eyed Alberu with a calculation to his gaze. "As my son stated, it certainly does not reflect well upon you that you've been fickle about him in the past. In light of this, I have a proposal."

Alberu nodded. It appeared that he was finally making some progress.

"Should you propose to my son, it ought to be a lengthy engagement. The prenuptial you spoke of before is of course also a requirement. Cale will need protections against anyone who would dare to look upon him poorly. And should Cale choose to end things for whatever reason, he should be allowed to leave without any consequence or repercussion."

That was more than some progress. That sounded like Deruth actually approved of them. Alberu blinked owlishly and nodded to the proposal. None of it was outside of the realm of what he'd already been considering. "That can all be arranged." He said, feeling a bit lost as to the sudden change.

"And... you must be a man worthy of my son's trust." Alberu noted with some concern that Deruth's fist was white. It was rather intimidating. "You will not break that trust."

It wasn't a threat. Wasn't even a command. It was a simple fact.

Deruth would not accept a situation wherein Cale was betrayed again.

The weight of the words was intimidating in a way that Alberu wasn't used to.

It wasn't the Count waving around his political strength to get his way. Or a thoughtless threat from a foolish man.

It was Deruth's dedication to his son's happiness.

Alberu was just a bit jealous. He'd never had a father so dedicated to his happiness, only Zed's shallow love and then ambivalent neglect.

He knew that Deruth wasn't a perfect father. Cale had told him more than enough to know that.

But the love was there and he was willing to step toe to toe with the most powerful man in the kingdom to protect his son.

Alberu nodded, letting the bitterness wash away.

He was grateful that the man he loved had such a dedicated family and he was happy to have their approval, even if it was a bit begrudging.

Alberu's past might have been dark but his future was bright.

He had family on his maternal side and he had his stunning soon to be fiance. He had the throne he'd fought for and he had the newfound confidence to be a ruler on his own terms, not meeting some abstract goal of a perfect king.

He'd get beaten black and blue by Lily Henituse or endure Basen Henituse's intense interrogations as many times as it took. He could plainly see why Cale was so proud of them.

"I swear that I won't."

And he didn't.