As he strode along the marble corridors of the palace, Lionel played with the golden tassel on his belt, his face - exuding an absentminded grace that matched perfectly his demure, yet elegant attire. A short white cape hung over his right shoulder and fluttered like a swan’s wing with each step he took. His cream doublet was devoid of any embroidery or embellishments, save for the pearl-white shirt peeking through the sleeves’ gaps.

Along the way, he savored the revering glances and polite bows of servants and courtiers. Some he benevolently greeted in return, while others were given only a short nod, yet their faces beamed like they were graced by a saint’s blessing. And indeed, the Young Lion of Limeria, with his golden hair, regal posture, and simple clothes, was the embodiment of youth and imperial virtue.

‘Such gullible little critters!’ Lionel’s smile grew brighter.

An angelic face and an innocent smile, aided by a few flattering words and the inevitable little trinket to show his appreciation, were enough to blind their greedy eyes and plug their ears for any rumor. All so delightfully easy to read and fool, since the heads on their shoulders functioned chiefly as props for their sumptuous hats, rather than a vessel for their stunted brains. They thought they played clever games, weaving petty schemes, but at the end of the day, all of them - lords and ladies, maids and guards - were nothing but useful little pawns.

“Oh, my, Your Highness! You have returned!” A squeal dug into Lionel’s ears, followed a second later by a chorus variation of “Ahh”-s and “Oooh”-s.

Straight ahead, a behemoth of a woman was sailing down the corridor, surrounded by a cloud of flowing gowns and fluttering girls. Her broad face was stretched even further by a happy smile and her scurrying step made her look like a mother-hen amidst a coop of agitated chickens.

“Your Holiness is here too!” The words ceaselessly streamed out of the woman’s mouth, “I almost didn’t see you, hiding in the shadows. My, oh, my! You almost made my poor heart fly out, Your Holiness!”

“Lady Elvira!” Lionel called forth his most charming smile and kissed the elderly noblewoman’s hand. Next to him, Primate Leopold and Father Ermin nodded in silence, their faces - rigid but polite. “Such a delight meeting you today. After not seeing you for so long, you have become even more radiant.”

“Oh, stop it, you cajoling devil!” She giggled and her cheeks flared up. Behind her, her ladies-in-waiting gave out a couple of quiet squeals and assaulted Lionel with a barrage of fluttering lashes.

“I’m simply stating a fact, my lady. How is Count Corvus doing?”

“Buried in work as always.” Lady Elvira rolled her eyes. “My Maximillian has no time to even visit his poor old mother these days. Alas, bemoaned be the filial piety!”

“He is my esteemed brother’s secretary, it’s normal for Count Corvus to be busy, considering all the responsibilities the Crown Prince shoulders.”

“Indeed.” The noblewoman's face twitched by the mention of the Crown Prince. Her giggling entourage detected the mood change and responded with a choir of cooing noises. “Our dear Crown Prince, may he be blessed by the Two Fathers, has been delegating more and more of his chores to my Maximillian. And yet, despite all his diligent work, he punished him just last week by reducing his salary!”

“Oh my! Why? Brother is a righteous man. To do this…”

“Completely unwarranted!” Lady Elvira huffed and flapped her fan angrily while her chest undulated dangerously. “There was just a small miscalculation in Prince Leonte’s bi-monthly budget. Some golden ingots got redirected to more urgent expenses for repairing little Prince Leoris’ chambers, but it was made a big deal. What was he supposed to do? Let the little prince get lung disease due to a leaking roof?”

“Calm down, my lady.” Lionel patted her plump hand. “It seems to be a misunderstanding. I’ll talk to brother about it.”

“Thank you, my prince! Oh, how glad I am that you’ve finally returned to us! What would we do without you?! We all missed you and were so worried when you departed to the South…”

“Lady Elvira.” Suddenly, the cold but polite voice of Leopold interjected in their conversation, mercifully cutting her tirade short. “I am afraid we need to say our goodbyes. Otherwise, we’ll be late for the Morning Court.”

“Oh, but of course. How impetuous of me. But Your Highness, promise me to come visit us sometime. Maximilian would be delighted to converse with you. Maybe you can give him some advice and guidance.”

“I will see what I can do, Lady Elvira. But be sure, indulging in your company and that of Count Corvus is a delight I am unwilling to miss.”

After a few more brief pleasantries, Lionel was finally able to flee from the bubbling fountain of words that was the old noblewoman. Continuing his way toward the audience chamber, he systematized the new information.

That idiot Maximillian had looked like a promising pawn after smuggling Pricilla as the Crown Princess' lady-in-waiting. But to embezzle funds so blatantly… obviously Lady Elvira’s offspring had the same brain capacity as his poultry-of-a-mother. On the other hand, Maximilian had managed to wiggle his way out of the situation with just a salary deduction, so maybe he could still be somewhat useful. Besides, little Count Corvus was Lady Elvira’s prided heir, an inlet to her heart, and thus a key to all Limerian high noble ladies... and possibly their bed chambers.

Lionel sighed. If only everyone in his retinue combined the same amount of stupidity and usefulness as those peacocks. To his dismay, the black-clad person walking at his right and the one following them two steps behind were a bit too clever and pesky for comfort.

Lionel’s brows twitched at the thought of their recent altercation. He needed the support of the Night Brothers if he wanted to ascend the throne. And the Night Brothers followed only the commands of their leader – Primate Leopold Aurelius Limeria. He had overreacted and used the wrong tactics with the wrong people. It was all the Angel’s tears’ fault. Those golden drops were indeed something miraculous but one of their side effects was that they made one more aggressive and impulsive.

Lionel’s brain started working at full speed, looking for ways to mitigate the situation.

One could describe Primate Leopold as one of the pillars of the Empire – honest, upright, courageous, the Defender of Fate, and the right hand to the Emperor. Well, Lionel could add soft-hearted and trusting to the point of being gullible to the list. If he had to be honest, he had almost no feelings for his uncle other than a slight annoyance. He didn’t particularly hate him, otherwise, he would have long ago made sure that the Primate suffered some unfortunate mishap in the sandy plains of the South. He also didn’t love him enough to refrain from using him as a disposable chess piece in his plans. But it was still too early into the game to lose his black bishop. Therefore, the only logical solution would be to pinch at that soft heart of his and try to minimize the damage from his unfortunate blunder.

As they were crossing a small inner garden right now, the bushy trees and flowerbeds were hiding them from prying eyes. Clearing his throat, Lionel threw a glance at the man by his side.

“Uncle…” He hesitated for greater effect and lowered his eyes. “About what I said earlier… I am sorry.”

Silence.

Lionel licked his lips.

“I know… that what I said was wrong and hurtful, uncle. I hope you could find in your heart to forgive me.”

Silence.

Balling his fists, Lionel hurried up and intercepted the older man. With little effort, he managed to squeeze out some tears, so when the Primate’s gaze met his, the cleric saw a pair of glassy eyes on a distraught young face.

“If I… could take my words back, I would.” Lionel’s voice shook as he looked away. “I know. I’m an arrogant, foolish disappointment of a prince, unworthy of being my father’s son and your nephew. I know that all these years it has been cumbersome to support someone like me. I’ve let you down. What I said earlier was… I said shameful things that would haunt me even in my grave. But believe me, I… was not myself. The potion I drank last night… it made me…”

He let his words trail off into nothingness. As the seconds trickled, Lionel started to worry that his words had lost their charm this time.

Suddenly, he felt two rough palms grabbing his shoulders.

“Lionel,” the Primate’s voice was calm but, beneath the surface, one could still feel some suppressed emotions, “I know that you are shouldering more and more responsibilities lately and it weighs on you. I know that you want to relax. But opiates and easy women will lead to your demise. Believe me, I’m not nagging at you with ill intent.”

“I know, uncle! I know… Just… sometimes I need to feel a bit of warmth and peace. Even if it is the calm provided by a potion, even if it is just a false, stolen moment. ”

“But not like this!” His uncle grabbed him even tighter. “You know how dangerous potions are. Not only to your health but also to your name. If someone with malicious intent finds out… With the matters around lady Sophia, your position might be at risk!”

“Don’t mention my mother!” Lionel snapped before he could control himself. Realizing what he had done, he cursed internally. The conversation was getting out of his control again and he was letting his true emotions surface. Even so, no one in the imperial family had the right to mention his mother’s name.

To his relief, Primate Leopold didn’t seem angry at his outburst, quite the contrary. The cleric’s face softened.

“I am sorry, Lionel. But you really need to be careful. Your mother’s shadow weighs on you. If the Emperor catches wind of any wrongdoings on your part, anything that can harm the imperial family’s reputation, your place in the line of succession might suffer!”

“My position as the successor?” Lionel laughed bitterly. At least this time there was no need for him to act. “Father has never seen me as successor, not even as his son! No matter how hard I’ve tried to please him, ever since I was a child, I’ve been nothing more than a bug in his eyes. You know better than me that all this about the Golden Prince, the Young Lion of the Empire, is nothing more than sand in the eyes of the nobles and the public!”

“Hush, Lionel!” His uncle frantically looked around but the garden was as empty as before. “What demon has gotten into you today?! His Majesty might have been strict with you but he is like that with everyone. He demands perfection…”

“Strict with everyone?” Lionel snorted and brushed away his hands. “Twenty years, uncle! For the past twenty years, I haven’t seen my mother! I was allowed a single letter a month, and even then our correspondence was intercepted and read. Nothing changes, no matter how much I plead. No matter how good my achievements are, or how much loyalty and devotion I’ve shown to the crown. The last time I begged him to release my mother, he slapped me and said I should know my place.”

“The Empress committed a heinous crime. We should be happy she is only confined to the Rose Palace and not in the executioner’s chambers.”

“The Emperor believed a slave and a bastard and not his Empress!” Lionel gritted his teeth and fought the urge to scream. “It had already been five years after that wench’s death. Who could prove what really happened? How could he be willing to exile his own wife for a long-dead slave? And why did he even think it was my mother who did it?”

“That slave was carrying the Emperor’s children.” Primate Leopold furrowed his brow. “He had no other choice but to act, especially after your second brother was poisoned the same way as Lady Gulfidan.”

“Don’t call him my brother! And don’t call that wench lady! Anyone could have poisoned that bastard and framed my mother. And he didn’t even die! Twenty years, uncle! I was barely five when they took my mother away because of some rumors and planted evidence! The Emperor throwing away his Empress for a mutt brought more shame to the crown than any of my nightly endeavors ever could!”

“Enough, boy!” His uncle’s hands grabbed Lionel’s face as he whispered. “Or do you wish your head to roll together with your mother’s and mine? Calm down. Bury your feelings. If you want your mother to be free, lay low, be on your father’s good side, and succeed him as the next Emperor.”

Lionel breathed heavily as his body quacked. Little by little, he managed to control his emotions. He moistened his lips and said in a low tone:

“You are right, uncle. Again. I don’t know what I would do without your guidance.”

The old cleric loosened his grip only to be surprised by Lionel leaning in and giving him a hug.

“Thank you, uncle. You… you’ve always been like a father to me.”

Feeling a slight tremor running through his uncle’s body, Lionel knew that he had won. His black bishop was back in the game.

Over his shoulder, the young man could see the black-clad figure of Father Ermin standing like a statue not far away from them. The stone-cold face and squinted eyes of the other cleric told Lionel that his emotional performance had not completely fooled his uncle’s escort. He made a mental note to push Father Ermin up the “unfortunate accident” list. But for now, victory was still his.

Letting go of Primate Leopold, Lionel straightened his clothes. He cleared his throat and muttered shyly:

“It is time to go and greet the Emperor. And I promise, uncle, I’ll behave this time.”