The Untouchable Prince | A Norenmin FanFiction

三十四

Thirty Four
Updated: July 12, 2021
Edited: December 28, 2021

A protected arm out and two fingers in his mouth, Jeno whistled, calling Phoenix back from wherever the bird had flown off too. Overhead, a loud screaming-like sound was heard. Looking up, Jeno's bird flew around in circles, a piece of leather in her beak, and he smiled proudly.

Jeno had begun his hawk's training, whom he'd named Phoenix. He didn't know why, maybe because she was such a good flier and looked similar to a phoenix with her red feathers. But, either way, the name fit her perfectly.

The training he started her with was to locate objects from any distance. On the first level, he had placed the piece of leather, which Phoenix had in her mouth, within the palace courtyard. The second, he placed it farther and farther out. He didn't remember which level they were doing at the moment, but he had placed it on the tile roof over in the Palace of Incurable Happiness. Of course, he had first asked Chenle if it was alright to train her there.

Phoenix landed smoothly, on top of the leather glove Jeno wore, on the correct arm this time, and luckily, no other bloody accident happened. She wasn't heavy, weighing less than a quarter of a kilogram. She was quite tall though, a little over thirty centimeters.

With a hand, Jeno gently took the leather out of her beak, giving her a stroke on her head. "Good job," he complimented, reaching into his pouch and taking out a small red chunk of meat from a pigeon he killed earlier that morning. She took it happily, swallowing it in no more than a second.

She ate mice, rats, and other smaller animals, but Jeno had found out that she enjoyed birds the most. So, instead of setting up mice traps, he changed to bird hunting and trapping. Although it was slightly more difficult and time-consuming, Jeno didn't mind much. The hunting helped him improve with his archery skills, especially since his targets were now much smaller.

Don't get him wrong, Jeno would let Phoenix hunt her own prey when Jeno would let her roam, but on days where she isn't allowed to roam, Jeno would hunt for her, prepare the meat and toss it to her during training. Afterward, he would give her the rest of the meat.

He tossed her another chunk when he heard his name being called, "Jeno?"

"Hm?" He looked over at Jaemin, who stood in the doorway of Renjun's room. "What is it?"

"Do you know where Joonie went? He's not anywhere here."

"No, why? Did you need him for something?" With his hand, he pulled out the rest of the meat in his pouch and held it out to Phoenix. He guessed he was going to have to end this training session a little bit early.

"I was wondering if he could sell me a painting."

"Sell you a painting? I'm sure he'll just give it to you as a gift anyway." Jeno threw his arm up and let Phoenix roam a bit. He trusted that she wouldn't fly off on her own. She hasn't done it yet. He took out a handkerchief from his clothing and wiped his hand before he took off the leather glove and set it on the railing on the pavilion.

Jaemin sighed, closing Renjun's door, "I want him to paint something specifically. One of the young girls back in my empire sent me a letter asking for a painting from the famous Crown Prince Hwang Injoon." He walked over to Jeno, crossing his arms.

"You're still talking with those girls? After we got engaged?" Jeno asked, raising a brow. He wasn't surprised, especially knowing Jaemin's reputation for dating girls.

"Ah, Nono, don't misunderstand me. I told them that I couldn't talk to them anymore, and they know that, but they still want to talk to me. I received a letter from them this morning. They just asked for a painting."