The lost Prince

Chapter 4

The following days, Akira was very conscious about people approaching Ryutaro and the whispering voices on the corridor. He tolerated it for three days but on the fourth day he called in all members of the attorney's office and Ryutaro and addressed the rumors which had been whispered behind closed doors.

In clear words he said that after his long and tedious research, he came to the conclusion that Ryutaro was not of noble birth how some people claimed him to be and he forbid any conversation about his protege's private life out of respect to the boy and his hard work. Any violation would be punished with immediate resignation.
The following work days were beautifully quiet and Akira felt that Taro was more relaxed then at the beginning too. He always wondered how much of the gossip he really heard and understood but he couldn't tell since Taro had never mentioned any of it.
The boy was quite sad when Akira had told him after his research that he hadn't found anything about his parents. He took it silently and went on with his life since he couldn't help it anyway. His new work was a welcome distraction. In fact, Taro did very well in copying the documents and it was like Akira had expected: The boy dove into his new task with remarkable concentration and devotion. In utter silence, he finished all his work.
Although Akira had convinced all of the people that he had found nothing during his research, now and then his thoughts drifted off to the fatal discovery he had made. Even when he had no written evidence, Akira was convinced that his assumptions were true. The Princess of Baden and Taro shared almost the same face, the petite build and hair color. To be precise, it was only a matter of time until one person recognized Taro's face in the face of the Princess and this was dangerous and their time was running out. It became more and more obvious that to save the boy, they had to evacuate him, maybe up north where no one knew Taro or even abroad..... he was such a lovely boy and Akira wondered which father would fake the death of his own first born son.
And Akira stopped writing. There was only one reason why a father would do that.... When the child was not his own child! He must have been fathered by another man! This was the only explanation that made sense and because a mother can't life with the shame of a born child being killed, she gave it away.
Holy Lord.... Akira looked up and jolted in his seat. Taro stood silently in front of his desk because he was finished with his work again.

"Taro!" Akira gasped. "You startled me."

"I am sorry."

"It's okay to make some noise when you are walking, you don't have to act in utter silence." But the boy's gaze stuck on the large wall of books behind Akira's desk.

"Did you read all of these?"

"Not all but most of them."

"Did it take a long time? And do you remember all of it?"

Akira smiled. "Yes, it took a long time and no, I cannot remember all of it. No person can remember all of it but it is wise to know where you can find information if you need it."

There was a knock on the door and by the haste of it, Akira could tell who it was.

"Please enter Susanne!"

A young girl of nineteen years with strawberry blonde hair and freckles entered the lawyer's office and halted when she saw Taro standing in between Akira's desk and the door. "Hello Mr. Nakayama, Ryutaro." She was literally glowing and smiling from within. Akira realized it, Ryutaro didn't. The young boy nodded at the girl, looked at her and Akira and left the room awkwardly without another word spoken to leave them in their confidence.

"Susanne?" Akira asked to direct her attention back to himself. "What's the matter?"

"Oh!" She stepped forward and handed him a map of documents from her colleague. "The documents you have been asking for." She paused.