Chapter 561 - Reunion And Introductions
Many months ago, the carriages coming from Roschester fief slowed down before the gates of the Palace grounds.
The guards watching the entrance were shown the brooch in the driver's hands and the gates were opened for the carriage in the next instant.
When the carriage came to a halt, it was before the Main Palace and numerous people were standing outside to welcome the one who had arrived today.
Three with bright blonde hair were standing in wait and their eyes sparkled at the boy who emerged from the carriage, someone with similar blonde hair.
Sigma, pretending to be the driver, was unloading the luggage while Horace had gone back into hiding.
The tallest man present had a golden robe one which accentuated his golden tresses.
Stepping forward, he stretched out his hands and the young boy did not hesitate and he clung to his older brother's embrace.
The King smiled and patted his baby brother's head as they separated from the hug.
Turning to the others who were present to welcome him, Prince Draco bowed to the Queen in greeting who acknowledged him with a smiling nod.
Then came the turn of the Princess who pounced on her uncle to hug him which brought a frown to the Queen's face but she remained silent and only looked away.
"Did you bring a present back for me?" She inquired with eager eyes but sadly, Draco had not brought anything back for her due to the events that had taken place in the Roschester fief.
However, he did not wish to disappoint her and nodded his head.
"I will send it over to your palace later." He promised and decided to seek Sevenz out to help him find something worthy for his niece soon.
He had dropped Sevenz and Tutu off at their Mansion in the Capital before he headed to the Palace but it seemed that he would need his help once again.
Finally, it was the turn of the other prince who smiled at his uncle and received a head pat in response.
After the members of the Royal family, Governess Bloom, his previous caretaker, and the rest of his servants were present here.
Draco smiled as he was back to the place where he was safe and no one could harm him when he was by his brother's side.
"Let us hurry inside." King Ophire declared that standing out for too long could be tiring for his Queen and his brother too who had just completed a long and tedious journey.
Everyone agreed but just as Draco was about to take a step in their direction, his feet halted midway.
King Ophire frowned when he saw his brother turn away and return to the carriage which surprisingly hadn't left and was still parked in the same place.
'Did he forget something?' He wondered and received his answer the next second.
Princess Felicia and Queen Zena's eyes widened at what the Prince had brought out and their excitement increased as well.
Being a bold little one, Felicia stepped forward while the Queen held in her desires and stood in the same position.
However, before Draco could stop her, the one in his arms had done so himself.
Astolfo had been seated inside the carriage while his master was greeting his family at this reunion.
However, his eyes widened when he noticed that his master had forgotten about him and had begun to walk towards the Palace without him.
Therefore, he had called out to his master who returned to pick him up from the carriage where he had been left until now.
In a bad mood at his master's forgetful nature, Astolfo was sulking in Draco's arms when he saw Felicia ambling towards him and stretching her hand out to touch him.
The clever etcher had already observed that his master cared for these people and knew that he should not harm them in any way.
However, he did not wish for someone else to touch him.
Therefore, the etcher released his powerful aura while narrowing his eyes to ensure that the little girl did not come any closer to him.
As expected, the rush of potent aura surrounded both him and his master which frightened the little girl.
Felicia's feet retracted on instinct and she clung to the one closest to her.
The Queen who had been frowning at the creature who had released such a powerful aura and scared them a second ago, now stood frozen with the Princess clinging to her in her frightened state.
The King raised his brow when he saw his awkward wife trying her best to somehow calm the child who was cowering while gripping her gown.
This was a surprise to him as he had not expected his Queen to comfort their daughter whom she would have pushed away under normal circumstances.
Therefore, he did not interfere or help them out, letting his beautiful Queen care for their daughter this once.
Fritzen too was happy that somehow the mother and daughter had such close contact which had been absent since the moment Felicia had been born.
Even Draco smiled at this sight but soon turned his eyes to his etcher who had been the cause of this.
He wished to yell at his beast for releasing that aura and scaring Felicia but the outcome was a favorable one so he chose not to go too hard on him.
'You do not like being touched by others?' Draco questioned in his mind and saw Astolfo nod in answer.
Patting his head, he reminded his beast to not pull such stunts as the little girl might be traumatized if he did this again.
While he was warning Astolfo, he felt eyes on him and looked up only to find his brother and nephew gazing at him with curiosity.
King Ophire had already realized who this might be after sensing that pure and potent aura this little ball of fluff had released to push Felicia away.
Fritzen also had an inkling but he waited for them to confirm his speculations about the creature.
"Meet Astolfo, my etcher." The brief introduction brought excitement to their faces.
The King congratulated his brother for the success of finding his etcher and the blessings he had gained from the Gods.
Fritzen was happy with this news as well as excited to learn more about his uncle's etcher as his father's fated beast was so reclusive that even he rarely got a chance to meet him.
However, he would soon realize in the next few months that the two etchers now residing in the same palace grounds possessed similar behavioral traits.
King Ophire was staring at the etcher, assessing his strengths while Astolfo was doing the same.
From one look at the regal man, the beast could sense that he was on a much higher level than his master.
However, Astolfo snorted as his master was still too young and had him as his beast which gave him endless opportunities to grow stronger in the future.
While he was gloating over their future prospects, the King was muttering something to himself but the etcher and etched had both heard him.
"This one is so much better than that horse!" King Ophire was ecstatic as Draco's etcher was certainly more powerful than that horse he had received as tribute from a neighboring kingdom.
Hearing these words, Draco was quick to realize who his brother was referring to.
'Her etcher…' He recalled the face of the little girl who had formed a bond with the etcher that was supposed to be his gift.
At that time, he had convinced his brother to stop searching for the escaped etcher and that he would find his fated beast in the future.
Now, King Ophire was recalling the words his brother had spoken and was overjoyed that this little ball of fur possessed higher powers than the horse he had seen back then.
Unlike King Ophire's joy and Draco's reminiscing thoughts, the ball of fur was displeased at the comparison he had just heard.
'This man finds it surprising that I am more powerful than a horse?' Astolfo sneered while leering at the King.
Of course, it was common for a horse, a herbivore, to fall short in terms of power when compared with him, a carnivore.
However, it was also understandable that the King would have such thoughts as right now, he had the appearance of a little ball of fur without being able to distinguish its species or its kind.
Yet Astolfo was unforgiving as he continued to leer at the King who had offended him by that comparison.
'Wait till you see my true form, blind man!' He harrumphed at the man with pride but to the others watching this scene, it looked like the cute little creature had just sneezed.
While the others gushed over how cute it looked despite the scary aura it had released earlier, Draco frowned as he had heard what his etcher had said.
'Watch what you say when it comes to my brother!' He glared at the beast and flicked its forehead just like the last time it had mocked him for being too weak back at the Roschester fief.
King Ophire had been watching their silent interaction and came to the conclusion that his brilliant little brother had already progressed in his skills and was able to converse with his fated beast through his mind.
He had faith in his brother's skills so the fact that the two were conversing which had led to the boy flicking his beast did not startle him but the same could not be said for the rest.
The others were surprised with his ruthless action which made the beast whimper but Draco was not shaken in the least bit.
No one could speak ill of his brother in his presence and that was exactly the lesson that Astolfo had learned on that day which he followed even to this day.