Thrown Into A New World: Let The Punishment Begin!

Away from the direction in which the carriages were heading, a young boy was seen sipping his morning tea in the garden.

The surroundings were serene with no one to be found and the gentle morning breeze wasn't too hot and suffocating as the sun had yet to reach its highest position.

In such a place, the boy's tranquility while sipping his tea was bound to be interrupted when he heard shallow footsteps coming from behind.

"You sure have a good life." An impressed voice was heard but the young boy did not lift his head in its direction.

"Come, take a seat." A reply was heard to the remark that had just been made.

The man who had just arrived chuckled as he did not object and took his seat before the young boy.

Finally looking up from his cup of tea, the boy's emerald eyes came in contact with the white irises of his visitor.

"What brings you here, Sevenz?" The young boy, a Prince of the Rosenhyde Kingdom, Prince Draco interrogated as he placed his cup back on the table before him.

The unannounced visitor who had shown up without prior intimation was none other than Sevenz Oca, the Master of the Ocular Caravans and an old friend of the Prince.

Sevenz shook his head and sighed at the rigid tone his friend had used to interrogate him without even bothering to greet him.

"We meet after a long time and this is how you treat me?" He complained while shooting a glance filled with disapproval at his young friend.

However, Prince Draco was not affected by his words as he simply raised his eyebrow at the other man.

'I came to visit you but you seemed too busy with other people.' He recalled the incident where the members of the St. Claire's family were seen leaving the mansion where this man stayed while in the Capital.

Even with such thoughts in his mind, the Prince remained mum while staring at his friend.

Sevenz clicked his tongue at the silent treatment he was receiving and decided to come clean about the reason for his unannounced visit.

"I returned to the Capital after a long trip so I decided to pay you a visit." He chirped, waiting to see the joy on his friend's face but found none.

Draco blinked those beautiful emerald eyes which held no expression other than a mild sense of indifference.

The boy seated before Sevenz was the same as he had always been, lazy and indifferent to most things around him.

There were only a few people in this world who could succeed in attracting his attention.

Those who fell under this category were usually the members of his family and those closest to him.

Sevenz's position was on the borderline as he sometimes could gain his attention while at other times, just like right now, would only gain an indifferent look from the young prince.

However, during their last interaction, the Master of Ocular had uncovered some fascinating information that had amused him endlessly.

This piece of information was the person outside this close circle he maintained who was capable of eliciting an interesting reaction from him.

'And that person is my best friend.' Sevenz's face had a prideful expression when this thought appeared in his mind.

Draco had been pouring tea for his guest and friend, hence he had not noticed the look of gloating which had flitted past Sevenz's eyes.

However, when he raised his head to offer the cup to him, he had caught sight of a wide grin that still remained.

Sevenz did not try to conceal it as he accepted the cup of tea from his friend before taking a sip from it.

He was a man who had traveled through numerous lands and had tasted many delicacies, however, he would always be enamored by what he could relish each time he visited his friend at his palace.

Silence engulfed them as they enjoyed their tea without any disturbances this time around.

Sevenz's white irises scanned their surroundings and found that, unlike other places which would be brimming with servants rushing around, this place had immense tranquility.

There was no one around them and it was just the two friends in this vast garden which was a part of the palace Prince Draco called his residence.

Only when their cups were emptied did the two men find their words once again.

This was not the first time that Sevenz had visited his friend in this Palace but every time he arrived, he was left speechless by its beauty.

The thick bushes of roses at the far end of the garden where they sat was the main attraction of this place.

"You still won't sell me a few bushes?" Sevenz inquired and all he heard was a scoff in answer.

The outcome of this question was the same as every time but Sevenz had to try nonetheless.

After all, there were many who desired to attain the most precious and rarest rose in the entire Kingdom.

"My mother worked hard to grow them and no one can put a price on that." A gentle voice escaped from the Prince's lips before they curved to form an even gentler smile.

Sevenz was an attractive man but when compared with the young boy who had yet to become an adult, he lost without a doubt.

Prince Draco's emerald irises sparkled as his gaze remained fixed on the thick bushes of roses, the color of deep blue which was the reason for its high demand among the other nobles.

The palace that he stayed at was the one that his father, Previous King Greggor had built for his mother, Concubine Yuliza.

The conflict between Queen Romania and Concubine Yuliza had led to the construction of a separate palace for his mother but she had made this place her own without much complaints.

After Draco was old enough to walk, he had requested his brother, present King Ophire, to let him return to the palace where his mother used to stay.

The King who gave in to his brother's every wish had agreed provided that he would visit every day to check on him which Draco accepted.

When Prince Draco returned to his mother's palace, he found that everything was left intact and nothing was moved even after the Royal Concubine had died during labor.

This aided the boy who had never met his mother to understand the kind of person she was through the things she had left behind.

Her taste in furniture, her preference in literature, the clothes and jewelry she wore, and even her diaries which she wrote after she was sent to this palace were all right here.

Everything here made Draco feel like his mother had not left him and he could feel her presence through the things she used when she was still alive.

So, how could he dare sell the item which she thought to be her most prized possession?

The rare blue roses seen growing in this garden were the result of the years of her hard work and research.

From one of the diaries that he had found, he found her tabulating the countless experiments she had done before she achieved the perfect hue of blue which made the roses so rare and beautiful.

However, there was a reason behind the struggle she had gone through to cultivate the blue rose which not many knew about.

'They resemble the color of Father's eyes.' Draco's lips curved deeper when he thought back to what he had found.

{Even if I cannot see His Majesty every day…

These roses remind me of his eyes, which is enough for me.}

The sentence he had read in one of the diaries she had left behind had popped up in his mind.

His mother truly loved his father, King Greggor who was said to have a much deeper shade of blue irises when compared to King Ophire.

This was the reason why she had spent countless nights trying to create the right shade of blue for the roses after she had been sent away to this palace.

Draco often felt that his mother had tried in vain because his father had loved the Queen more and chose her over his Concubine.

Yet, through the notes he read, he was shocked to discover that his mother was conscious of his affection for the Queen.

However, even when she was well aware of this fact, she chose to love him in silence and without any greed.

'What was the use of it all?' Draco grit his teeth as his mother had died in the hands of the same woman whom his father had loved more.

Neither did his mother live a happy and long life with the man she loved, nor was the Queen able to achieve the same.

Both died with countless regrets in their hearts and the source of this tragedy was the man he called his father.

Marrying someone whom he could not give all of his heart to… 

Draco could not figure out whether his father was cruel or clueless to do such a thing to his mother.

He had often sat in this very garden, gazing at the roses which his mother had made as a substitute, to pour into them the love which she had buried in her heart from the days of her youth.

What would he do if he had been placed in a similar situation where he was supposed to marry someone he could not give his entire heart to?

This thought had occurred to him on numerous occasions to which he now had an answer.

'I would never do such a cruel thing as to marry someone I could not love with all my heart!' He declared while clenching his fists in determination to not repeat the mistakes of the previous generation.