July 9th, 1513; 00:00 hrs;
"Happy birthday, Lucien!"
"Happy birthday, Your Highness!!"
In an opulent dark quarter, several of Lucien's maids and butlers came rushing into his room, following the lead of none other than Queen Maria Callastre.
The second his room was opened, he threw the blanket at them and rushed to grab anything to defend himself.
"Oh, it's you." He sighed a breath of relief, realizing it was just his mother from her voice.
The blanket just froze mid-air as the group of people walked from the side.
"Oh my! My son has quite the survival instinct." She chuckled, putting the cake on the table right next to his bed.
But someone else chimed in, her voice soft, yet it sounded unpleasant, "Do you not trust our mother, that you think she would let an assassin get past her?"
From the back of the crowd came a girl who looked just like Maria, but only a lot younger.
Voluminous red hair, fiery amber eyes, paired with a smaller build, made her look exactly like Maria.
But her charm was rather innocent compared to Maria's mature charm, and her expressions looked annoyed.
'It's Lucien's sister.'
Jessica Callastre.
'Why am I getting such a crazy urge to berate her?' Lucien thought, tracing back his memories and emotions.
Jessica hated his womanizer and nasty behavior, and Lucien hated her because she hated him.
Pfft!
"I'm sorry, Jess. I am just tired from today's training." He chuckled, not wanting to bother with banter in the middle of the night.
Jessica's eyes widened, not expecting such a tame response.
But the smugness from Lucien's face vanished, realizing that everyone's eyes were widened.
It didn't take long for Lucien to figure it out.
No one believed that Lucien, of all people, would train.
"Oh God, someone call the medic-"
"Mother!" Lucien interrupted her. "Let's finish what we were doing first. I need to sleep for today."
Maria mechanically nodded, and Jessica was stifling her laughter.
Maria glared at Jess, warning her not to say anything about that further.
She put down the cake on the bed and gestured for Lucien to blow out the candles.
Fwoosh!
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Everybody clapped around, and even Jessica did after Maria gave her yet another glare.
Lucien sliced the cake effortlessly and proceeded to feed his mother and Jessica.
They reciprocated his actions, albeit one of them grumpily, and soon, it was finally over.
"I'd give you my gift today's evening," said Jessica, as she left the room, followed by all the other workers.
Only Maria remained in his room after everything.
Lucien wanted to hit the hay now, but he waited for his mother to say anything.
She came closer to him and gently tugged him in a warm hug.
"I heard you have changed, Lucien." Her voice was gentle as she stroked his head. "I don't know what happened to you in Solstice, but remember one thing, my pumpkin pie.
"Never hurt anybody anymore. I know I have failed as a mother, since you have done things regardless of my words, but never be like your father, son."
Lucien was conflicted, her words making him feel guilty, since he wasn't her son anymore.
She was probably his great-granddaughter-in-law, dozens of generations removed.
He gently nodded, since his ideologies and goals were completely different from the old Lucien.
He couldn't tell her that he was not her son.
And he couldn't tell her that he was going to pull a stunt today, that would jeopardize his life.
He knew she would try to stop him, but he had to do it.
For his own sake.
So, keeping her promise was the least he could do, since it didn't cost him anything.
"Good boy!" She kissed him on his forehead. "Go, sleep well, my glazed donut. Today is going to be a long day."
And as she said it, Lucien's eyes suddenly became heavy, and soon, he was pulled into the sweet world of dreams.
…
The sun was directly over everyone's head, and the late summer heat, mixed with the humidity, had forced everyone to be inside.
But the Roseveil Palace, located in the heart of Veltara city, was heavily occupied with the preparation of a birthday banquet for the second prince.
The massive garden was being decorated with all sorts of lights, and the pavement was layered with red carpet and all sorts of beautiful flower petals.
The main gate had already started receiving many high-profile guests, and the helipad behind the palace was constantly receiving many helicopters.
But amidst this bustling atmosphere, the main character of the event himself was sneaking towards the helipad to receive a special guest.
A large royal blue helicopter was landing right then, and a silver-haired, pale, and thin man walked out, his gaze immediately locking onto a blond teenager, half a mile away.
Servants and butlers stood there, receiving the guests, but he suddenly vanished and appeared in front of Lucien.
But before Arthur could say anything, he suddenly felt dozens of gazes fall over him.
Dozens of Titans, and even a few Paragons, were watching them, making sure Arthur didn't harm the Prince.
"Here is your chocolate, Your Highness." Arthur said, handing him a box of chocolates with no branding on it, "I will be awaiting your surprise tonight."
Lucien nodded, his face solemn as he opened the box and saw several balls of chocolates wrapped in gold foil.
He noticed that Arthur's gaze was wandering all over the palace, and realized that they were being watched.
He knew that if he tried eating one on the spot, his hands would be stopped, and someone would arrive to check for poison.
Arthur returned his nod and vanished from the spot, reappearing back to his group.
Lucien also closed the box of chocolates and started walking back to his room to get ready for tonight.
'Now, it all depends on Arthur's skills of masking, whether I would get caught today or be safe.'
A small grin tugged at his face as he was already excited thinking of today.
'They would never see it coming.' He knew that people would sneak into his room to check the chocolates, but they would never find anything wrong.
'What a pleasant day.'