❝ 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴. ❞
Park Ye-jun was a quiet kid. Smart, but reclusive. And one in his life was his eter...
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17一 of remembrance and depravity
༻𖥸༺
CLAUDE WILL SHAMELESSLY ADMIT to abhorring summer with every fiber of his being. Well, perhaps abhorring was too much of a strong word, yet his feelings of dislike towards the season were more intense than simple hate. They boiled beneath his skin, like an itch he cannot rid himself of, a wound festering with each passing year.
While summer held precious memories for him 一his marriage with Lucille and her pregnancy announcement一 the season brought with it moments in which he'd felt as if the world had turned itself over and shifted from its axis. Remembering them was akin to dousing himself in ice-cold water or pulling the proverbial rug from under his feet.
He felt so lost during summer, and work was always slow during those three moon cycles. People were always walking on eggshells around him, in fear of triggering a violent response from their emperor. What was worse, this was the first year where he went through it without his son.
Athan had always been there, sharing the pain with his sire, and while the boy knew not of the full extent of Claude's darkened feelings, he was a companion in their shared affliction.
He'd grown attached to his son, Claude knew that. He was hard-pressed to accept the fact that he won't see Athan for quite some time coming, but his worry was incessant.
Claude was an adult, an emotionally lacking one, but an adult nonetheless. Therefore he found that his poor moods were easy to manage and curb. But Athanasius was still a child, his coming of age notwithstanding. And, like all children, he would not be able to control his outbursts should anyone disturb him during his mourning.
Intellectually, the Obelian emperor knew his heir would be fine as Kassian was by his side, but the parental side of his brain was gearing up in protest. How could he not be there to offer support? Not even silent companionship? This was his son he was talking about, and no matter his own emotions, he couldn't, in good conscience, not worry for his son.
Perhaps he needed Felix to knock some sense into him. He was getting to the point of hysterics. But his brother in all but blood was not here, ordered to stand by his daughter's side.
Speaking of, he needed to find her a suitable escort, as she didn't seem so inclined to go out of her way to choose one herself. She didn't have Athan's eye for people, as sad as that truth was. And, given the fact that he himself brought her into the folds of the Imperial Court for his little pet project, she was his responsibility to protect.
Athanasia appeared to be easily personable, as if a mere play of fanciful words was enough to sway her decision-making processes. It had happened before, during her first meeting with her older brother. She'd been so entranced by his cordial introduction that she failed to dissect the political implications behind it.
