Watching her

Daniel, you should not keep the lady waiting unless you want to see her dance with another man. Brock said.

I am sure she can wait.

Daniel answered, looking toward the ballroom and then back before adding.

I heard that Marcus wants to petition Father to have you removed as the head of the royal hospital in court tomorrow so that you can focus on your role as the crown prince.

Brock chuckled before saying, how is he going to do that?

From what I heard, he insists that you should take up more duties as the crown prince and settle down so you can produce an heir to the throne.

He claims that your position at the Royal Hospital is taking your attention away from the most important thing.

Brock scoffed, his eyes dark, and Daniel suddenly felt cold run down his body.

Not too long ago, the king and elders summoned Brock to the palace for a meeting concerning an urgent matter essential to the survival and continuity of the people.

Brock, who was only contacted by the palace when there was an emergency, could not ignore the invitation as it could be critical.

However, he had a pre-appointment with the prime minister of the Ibudu kingdom to discuss how to expand the hospital to his kingdom to cater to more people, which he had to cancel.

Ibudu Kingdom, for the last six months, was fighting an outbreak that had claimed the lives of many of its subjects and needed the intervention of the royal hospital to curtail the spread.

Daniel later learned from their cousin Lucy that the paramount threat to the security of Zaza, which the elders wanted to discuss, was his inability to find a wife who would secure the royal bloodline by giving birth to his heirs.

He could only imagine his brother’s shocked expression as Brock was not one to get angry until you pushed his button to the wall, and then he called down fire and volcanos.
The hard-military training he underwent since he was young made him rough around the edges.

Brock was cheerful and playful before joining the military but became more reserved, strict, and less playful in his fourth year of military life; it seemed as if something made him snap, which the palace was unaware of, while their parents simply dismissed it as trauma.

His smile became rare, and the only thing he seemed to care about was this hospital, established by the royal family to care for the wounded soldiers and citizens in the aftermath of the great war that caused untold hardship and his twin sister’s death.

Daniel blinked back his tears as he did not want to remember the painful past of how his sister died; after her death, he cried for days, but Brock had not shed a single tear.

The hospital helped him find closure as it kept him busy without a chance of idleness; it was why he and Brock spent their two-year break from royal duties dedicated to managing the hospital.

He wanted to experience life like an ordinary person without the burdens, responsibilities, and rules expected of the crown prince.

But the elders of Zaza were hell-bent on marrying him off to Rose Bethmot, the daughter of the army general of the Iduim Kingdom.

The daughter of the second most powerful kingdom, after Zaza, has been in love with him since she was a teenager. Brock did not consider the feelings mutual, but the elders believed that an alliance through marriage would make their kingdom stronger and a force to align with.

Brock had been cranky since the meeting, and Daniel knew not to cross him. When he heard about the girl his brother was interested in, he was curious to see her.

Marcus should know better than to stand against him unless it is his dying wish to spend his days locked away in prison, Brock said.

The mask the princes wore, only Jess and Walker Lane knew the identities behind it, which made the women and men in the corridor walk past them without stopping to bow.

Brock and Daniel were still walking through the corridor when the crown prince paused. He looked to the other side of the hallway, parallel to where he stood. If it were not for the flowers and other plants that partition the two corridors, one could easily see who was standing on the other side.

He looked at the girl who had caught his interest, standing in front of a man who had on a silver mask that covered his eyes. His fist clenched as his eyes narrowed when he saw the man taking Jess’s hand resting at her side. Leaning forward, he kissed the back of it and pulled away.

Have Frank find out about this man who is converting what belongs to me. Brock ordered, and Daniel nodded, leaving him standing in the corridor to find Paul.

Jess started to walk away, deciding to continue looking for her parents. As she walked along the hallway, her shoes clicked softly on the marble floor, and her dress swept along the floor behind her.

Jess smiled when she remembered how Clara had sneaked the shoe alongside the dress inside the bag. She had found a note that had fallen out when she brought out the gown; on picking the note and reading the content, a smile escaped her at Clara’s thoughtfulness and generosity.

Her brown eyes looked curiously at the pillars, paintings on the wall, the chandeliers, and the high ceilings above her. All these years, she had heard stories about the royals and the castle, and now she was here, she understood the desire to be here.

Only the fortunate, born to rich and noble families, could be a part of a magnificent occasion like this. She was thankful for the opportunity to witness such an occasion, as it will be a memory she will cherish for a long time.

She was glad that her parents and sister got the opportunity to attend such a grand occasion.