𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫

1.6 || Slave to the World

The birds were singing songs of spring as the leaves fluttered in the warm breeze. In the back of the classroom, next to this scenery, sat Seungmin. He looked out the window thoughtlessly, his eyelashes drooping every so often in response to the warmth of the sun. Upon hearing some footsteps coming closer, his lips thinned into a frown.

"My Prince, were you in town yesterday?" asked Alexander as he reached the table, his onyx eyes as keen as ever.

Shifting his stare from the window to his partner, Seungmin murmured, "I was collecting answers for the survey."

The Duke's Heir sat down and hummed. He transferred his books and pens from his bag to his desk before saying, "It is dangerous to go alone. Please be more careful."

At this, Seungmin quirked his eyebrows. How was it that Alexander knew that he was alone in town? He was sure he wore his coat and had illusion magic, making him unidentifiable amongst the crowds of people. His expression relaxed as he quickly deemed it unnecessary to assess the situation any further.

"...Are you doubting my abilities?" the Prince decided to reply.

"No, you are an impeccable magic user," Alexander mused, earning another frown from his partner. "There are just some suspicious people going around, and I worry that the Star of the Empire may be inconvenienced by them."

Alexander had been in town under his father's orders to seize some illegal slave traders that were said to be hiding a new batch of slaves. As the number one in command, loyal only to the throne, it was important for the Maximillion family to uphold the laws of the Empire, discarding those ruining the peace of the land in the shadows. Of course, as the heir to the family, Alexander was to do the same. This wasn't the first mission he was ever on, but this was the first extensive work he had yet.

Slavery was legal in the Hershian Empire under two conditions: the slave couldn't pay off a debt or they were a criminal of war. There were some registered slaves in the Empire as a result. But humans are greedy creatures. There was a small merchant group capturing people from smaller kingdoms or villages unprotected by the Empire to sell as slaves to other immoral humans. Unsurprisingly, most of the buyers were nobility. And, much to Alexander's distaste, he was only able to find traces of where the next slave auction would be held.

His silvery hair hid the dullness of his eyes for only a second before he leaned a bit closer to the Prince--there was no use in mulling over such scums when he could have some fun. He shouldn't waste his precious time with the Second Prince dawdling on such thoughts, not when Alexander knew that the boy would avoid him once the project was over. He couldn't waste his source of entertainment now, could he?

Seungmin paid no mind to the boy beside him, instead opting to stay in his spot. Although he found Alexander's enigmatic personality to be a hassle to deal with, there was no doubt that the warmth of his body was comfortable, almost as much as the sunlight. There was no issue, he found, with simply sitting close together. He sighed as he rested his chin on his palm. Alexander smiled his sly smile.

"Prince Sion, do you know of the recently opened cafe?" When the Duke's Heir slid away, going back to organizing the pens on his desk, Seungmin looked out the window once more. The sun was still shining, but his body felt colder.

"No," he mumbled languidly, slightly upset at the lack of warmth on his right.

"Perhaps we should visit one day," Alexander remarked, "to celebrate our passing of the project."

The fairies giggled and sang lullabies of the old, hovering around the listless Prince. Seungmin simply hummed in response, his gold-stranded hair slinking down his face. Unaware was he of the promise he just made.