.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

"My mother fed and nurtured me herself," Cal recounted fondly. He kept telling heartwarming stories about his mother as they walked out of the burial complex hand in hand. "Even when she had help, she'd rather look after me than rely on nannies."

How lucky. Having numerous siblings, Gigi never really had that privilege. Though since the Queen had no other daughters, she had always played a major role in Gigi's education, always stressing the importance of being a refined and dignified young lady.

"I can see that you're adapting her ways in the way you raise Junior. Although I do want to ask something," she looked up and Cal nodded. "I know that you are named after your father but why shorten it? Why were you not named Callisto Raedan Leroy?"

"Oh, that," he laughed. "Silly, really. My father thought it was feminine. So it was removed from my name and Junior's."

"That reminds me— I haven't seen Junior since after the memorial!" Gigi said as the sudden realization hit her.

"Oh, don't worry, he's safe. I left him safely with the other children."

"I thought Junior doesn't do well with others?" Gigi reminded him, getting worried. Growing up surrounded by a lot of brothers, she knew how mean they could be to one another. "Show me where you left him."

"You're right, come on." Cal led her to the corner where he had left Junior.

"Leave her alone you despicable, worthless thug!" A shrill, high-pitched voice alerted Gigi and her husband, immediately recognizing it as none other than Junior.

"Or you'll do what? Hit me with your books?" replied another boy, followed by a cackle.

"I'll do more than that if you dare to cross me." Junior stood before a number of boys, some much larger and older than him. One of them had a smoke-black cat tightened on a leash, struggling helplessly to release itself. "I am the Prince! Obey me!"

"Oooh," the boys chorused in unison. "Let's see what His Imperial Highness can do when this cat's drowned." One of the boys who held the leash dragged the poor animal toward a nearby pond, lifting it above the water, facing Junior who was still glaring at him furiously. "So long, Your Highness."

As if an invisible hand crushed it, the wooden foothold under the bully suddenly broke, making him stumble and fall into the pond. The cat wriggled free of his hands and dashed away with a limp as the boy fell, hiding behind the bushes.

Junior was surprised but otherwise smiled in glee.

"Mummy!" The bully cried out as he fled the pond, dripping wet with the other boys following him.

"You're such a freak," One of them sneered as they ran past Junior, who showed him no reaction.

"Junior!" As soon as she reached him, Gigi got ahold of his hands. "We shouldn't have left you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Junior kept his composure, although Gigi could feel how his heart pounded madly against her palm. A rumbling thunder could be heard from the sky. "Didn't you see me? I took care of them!"

"That was not okay. Let me look at you." Cal Senior knelt down before him, attempting to check on him.

"Father, no." Junior swatted his hand away, the strain visible in his face. For the first time, he was resisting his father's touch. "If you do this now, they are just going to pick on me again. It's the poor kitten that was hurt. I am going to find her now."

Turning on his feet, Junior went to find the cat in the bush, leaving Senior and Gigi aghast. The clouds became darker. Untangling the leash from around its leg, Junior picked it up with both hands without much struggle before bringing it back to them. "I think she's sprained her leg. May I bring her home?"

Tiny droplets of water had started to hit the ground. Senior stared at his son dumbfounded for a moment. "Ah, yes... Of course, you can. Let's go home now, it's going to rain."

During the car ride, none of them spoke much, except for Junior who kept talking to the cat. He was attempting to reassure it although it seemed to have decided on its own that it didn't want help, hiding under the car seat and staring at them suspiciously. Apparently, Junior and the cat had it in common with strangers.

"Are you sure that I don't need to speak to Lord Gorges about his son's behaviour?" Senior offered again.

"No!" Junior cried, trying to subdue the sound of rain. "If you do that, they would assume that I whined and cried at you. They need to see that I am capable of handling things on my own, without your help. If I am going to rule them one day, I shall demand some respect."

The Emperor threw a concerned look at Gigi, who gently patted the Prince's head. "But are you sure you are alright?"

"I am," convinced Junior. "You may have a look at me later if you're so worried. Just don't summon a doctor, I hate doctors." He blinked innocently, assuring Gigi that Junior was only being his usual self.

As they returned to the palace, Cal summoned a vet to help Junior attend to the cat. As the boy was preoccupied with building a temporary home for the kitten, Cal led Gigi to talk in a corner.

"Gi, I think it's time for you to pick a court lady."

"I have my ladies," she answered quickly, not liking where this was going already. "I know they're just my personal handmaidens for now, but two of them are descended from nobility. My mother handpicked and trained them personally, they could be elevated into court ladies. It's happened before."

"There's nothing wrong with your ladies, Gi. But I think it would give a lot of advantages to have someone you can trust, someone who is Angletonian."

"I don't have any friends around here, so you think it would put me in a precarious position," Gigi said bitterly. "It's okay, you can say that." She really could not avoid these societal pressures, could she? It would be foolish to think that she could get away by just appealing to Junior.

"That's not what I meant—"

"It's alright, I get it. Only I wish that you'd give me some time to prepare."

Sighing, he ran his fingers through his neatly slicked hair. "You may take as much time as you need."

Junior was feeding the kitten some milk and chicken from the kitchen as Gigi returned. The vet told them that it might need a week or two for its leg to heal, but she would be fine. Now cleaned and settled in a mini bed prepared for it, Gigi could see how pretty the kitten really was; with black spots all around its dark body, gooseberry green eyes and a long dark dorsal stripe that ran from its head to its tail along its spine.

"So, what are we going to name her?"

"I am not going to name her, because I'm not keeping her," Junior answered simply.

Gigi was befuddled, thinking that after saving the cat Junior might want to keep her after all. "Why not?"

"She's going to miss her family, so I'm taking her back as soon as she recovers," he petted the kitten's soft, dark fur.

"Alright, if that's what you want. So... are you going to tell me about today's incident?" Gigi added when Junior gave her a look, "It does still count as 'handling it yourself' just by telling me."

Junior looked away, puffing his cheeks in hesitation.

"I am not going to tell your father if you don't want me to," she promised.

Taking a deep breath, he finally confessed. "They insulted my father."

"How were they insulting your father?" Gigi's eyes narrowed, perplexed by this new piece of information. Never had she seen anyone speaking against the Emperor before, even when she wished for it.

"They kept calling me 'The Freak's Son'." Junior stared at her, angry and heartbroken, as the sound of thunder crashed outside the windows. "Now you see why Gigi? I could never stand anyone insulting my father. They got what's coming to them!"

Gigi stared at him agape, completely horrified. From what she'd observed, the Emperor was too popular and well-received among the nobility for anyone to label him as a freak, so it's got to be her.

His dead mother.

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

Well, that kinda explains everything 😂

Thoughts?? 🤣 🤣 🤣