Whisper Of The Wind [ONF FF]

Chapter 2

Yuto twirled around the palace, jumping from one foot to the other as he avoided the hard-working maids. The said ladies were used to such ventures, replying to his good morning with their usual warm smiles.

The prince was cherished by everyone in the palace, loved by his bright and playful personality but responsible attitude. He was as loved as he was respected. That only came from within the palace however, him being unknown to the kingdom.

It wasn't as if he was a bastard son or a completely secret child but since he wasn't a runner for the throne there had been no need to show him to the public eye other than on occasions related to matters of the crown. So the people didn't know his face.

A pity, the maids claimed, advocates that he should meet people more often, as a prince or as a commoner. Even though Yuto wished that as well, he couldn't do so as often as he would like, as his mother and uncle had never been on board with it.

Yuto considered it to be unfortunate, as much as he enjoyed spending time with the palace's servants, meeting up with his friends and living with such conditions, he felt like there was a much richer world out there in the town.

He knew many wished to have what he had, he had learnt to cherish it, but he wanted to have a bit of what the others had as well. One will always want what is out of their reach and never content themselves with what they have. But Yuto vehemently believed he would be content with being able to comfortably visit the town, not having to surreptitiously do so every time.

He was eleven when he first sneaked away from the castle. He had been coerced by Changyun and had eventually given in to his pleas. The town had been everything Yuto could have imagined and more. Bright colors had filled his vision as they stepped foot inside shopping alleys, different scents had floated around the air, warm genuine smiles had been shown to them. His escapes were, however, few and far too less for him to be able to bathe in all the mesmerising scenarios the town could offer him.

And so he wanted to go into town more, to be able to enjoy its wonders as a commoner before he would officially be presented to the kingdom on its 100th anniversary. Every single descendant of the royal family would be presented, even someone like Yuto who was no contender to the throne. He was still a prince after all, a descendant from the ones in power and cousin of the next ruler.

Sooner than he himself could realize he had arrived at his destination. He had been called to his uncle's office first thing in the morning, no further explanation given as to what the invitation was about. He softly knocked on the tall wooden doors, awaiting to be let in.

To his surprise it wasn't a servant who opened the door but yes his cousin, the person who the court had been most concerned and supportive about.

"Are you sure you should be opening doors by yourself?"

His cousin rolled his eyes, gesturing for him to enter the room before closing the big doors. "The title that'll be awarded to me won't leave me without hands my dear cousin."

Yuto looked around the room before letting out a chuckle, making sure there were only the two of them inside. "You should tell that to His Majesty. I'm pretty sure he'd love to hear his own son profess such words."

The crown prince blushed, turning around towards the room's fireplace, sitting down on one of the cushioned seats.

Yuto followed his actions, it would be rude to be the only one standing. "Were you the one who called me here Your Highness?"

His cousin rolled his eyes, sighing heavily before scolding the youngest. "Indeed I was the one calling you, not Father. Also, I've asked you to call me Jaeyoung when it is just us Yuto."