Plunderer | Ft. SinRin

IV: A Problem Arises

Yerin's POV

"Yerin, I heard you were harassed by two of the Princes of Ruby?" My father, the Emperor of Sapphire, asked.

"W-Well...father, it's not really harassed, per say. More like...teasing?" I stuttered. I knew that my fath- the emperor of Sapphire was close to the Emperor of Ruby, so I did not dare to speak ill about the Princes of Ruby.

"My dear princess, I'm asking you from a father's perspective. Work is work while family is family. Mixing the two of them is a recipe for disaster. Let me ask you, what happens if you add water into a hot pan of oil?" My father asked me.

"Well...the hot oil will splatter and it might cause a fire and potentially burn something or someone." I answered. I didn't get what my father was trying to say until he explained,

"That's right my child. See, work isn't as simple as you think, no matter the class difference. As an Emperor, you have to make sure that our citizens have the basic necessities to get by, the Empire is safe and sound and the Emperor have the connections, in times of needs and emergencies. We are talking about big connections, like across the different Empires kind of business with 20 million lives in our hands, constantly in danger. One wrong move and the Empire will fall, lives would be taken away, families and friends gone. Citizens will always be waiting for the right time to pounce and at the right moment to climb up the social ladders. It is like you are walking on thin ice. Every day, you'll feel the constant pressure to perform well as the leader of the Empire. This signifies the hot oil. Water is like your family. Once you involve your family with work, it becomes the one mistake that takes your Empire away.

This is just like what you said: The oil will splatter and it might cause a fire and potentially burn something or someone. The fire will keep burning until the fuels goes into ruins. So, I shall ask you again, were you harassed by two of the Princes of Ruby?" My father explained and repeated his question. The more interactions I have with my father, the more I looked up to him. Someday, I would like to be like him.

"Yes. I was harassed by Prince Alford and Prince Zenos." I confessed.

"You may make your appearance now." My father said. Leaving me to wonder who he was talking to.

"I have come to greet my sire, the Emperor of Sapphire and his daughter, the Crowned Princess of Sapphire." She said before giving a slight bow.

"I am Kim Sojung, the Dame Cross, the leader of Ravens, the Empire's special knights. Nice to meet you sire and his daughter." She said before bowing down to great us.

"Eh? It's you?" I gasped.

"Yes, it is me. The one who helped you yesterday. You can address me as Sowon, that's what the others call me." Sowon said.

"She will be your personal bodyguard and protect you 24/7. If you have any queries, you can approach her. Just...treat her as your friend." My father said before someone bashed in.

"His Majesty, someone is demanding for your attention." The chancellor said.

"My deepest apologies for my unmannerly conduct." He apologised after he saw us having a conversation.

"It's alright, we are about done here. You can send the person in now." His emperor said before signalling us to step out.

"Thank you, father." I bowed to him before stepping out.

SinB's POV

"Hello SinB." A voice snickered behind me. Without even looking back, I instantly recognized who it was. How I wish I wasn't working here right now.

"Good morning to you too, dear brother." I muttered, groaning internally.

"Good to see you being a good kitty and staying within your...compound." He smirked as he gestured around the surrounding.

"Whatever do you mean? Compound? Did the royal tutor not teach you the proper way of speaking the Empire's language?" I smirked.

"That's no way to address the son of the Great Grand Duke, William and the Lord of Camelot." He scoured.

"Right...it isn't yours in the first place." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, but thanks to your stupidity, I got the place." He simpered.

"When the Duke finds out, I shall watch your head roll on the ground." I retorted.

"Hah, as if! The Duke is cretinous enough to believe my deceptions. What a doltish person and yes, the royal tutor did teach me well." He mocked.

"We shall see about that." I said before going back to my work.

"See you later then, dear sister." He bid his farewell before leaving the pâtisserie.

"Hope to never see you again." I groaned silently.

Unknown's POV

"Chancellor, search SinB's profile." I told him.

"I've already done it beforehand. According to my research, she didn't exist until 5 years ago, around the time when you were finding your lost child." The chancellor replied.

"Then, 'SinB' must have been an alias then. Investigate further." I commanded him.

"Yes, sire." The chancellor bowed before leaving.

SinB's POV

"Hey! Why was the son of the Great Grand Duke talking to you?" Umji asked me.

"Nothing, he was thinking about ordering some pastries for tomorrow but ended up canceling it." I replied before continuing with my duty.

"Ah...oh! Yuju unnie's mother made a new bread, did you hear about it?" Umji questioned.

"Nope. Should we visit later then?" I hinted at Umji.

"M-Maybe...we'll see." She said before scurrying back to her duty. 'How is she so deeply in love with Yuju unnie? What an oddity.' I sighed before continuing with my work.

'What's his agenda for coming to visit me? Is it a warning? A provocation? Why was he here? Let's sort this out first, it's been three years since the child of the Great Grand Duke was found and I've been living in peace for three years. Suddenly, out of the blue, my half-brother unexpectedly visits me just to irk me? He never approaches me without a motive. What's his motive? I need to figure-'

"-nB, SinB! You've been glowering at the table for quite a while. Has the table offended you in any way?" Umji asked.

"Just thinking about some stuffs." I answered.

"What "stuffs" made you so focused about it then? This is one of the rare moments I see you so...fixated on something." She questioned.

"Hm? Nothing much." I brushed her off before continuing with my work.

I shouldn't drag her in, more like I can't. This feud is only between our family, I would never think of dragging her into our matter. Because, she's my best friend.

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A.N. Well, well, well...guess who's back? HAHAHA, sorry for keeping you guys waiting but I had to complete some major projects and exams. Well...another reason for not updating is because...I've lost my touch. I'm recently having an issue coming up with ideas for the story so I had to take a long time just to come up with a somewhat decent chapter, hopefully...But, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you for waiting patiently for this book's update!