Reincarnated in The Royal Tutor?!

Chapter 15

"This is his Majesty's royal study, then?" Heine fiddled with his hat before bowing politely to the King's High Steward, "Thank you for guiding me here. It is an honor to meet the King himself."

"It is no problem, Professor Heine." The man before him nodded in response.

 "I am sure the princes are eager to see their father again after his long absence—"

"Ughhhh...." Licht moaned in defeat as he slumped down tiredly, "Ughhhhhhh...."

"W-What should I do?" Bruno covered his face with both hands and mumbled, "He's back earlier than I thought..."

Leonhard didn't say anything, but he let out a long sigh unfitting for his young age and appearance.

'The atmosphere is rather tense,' Heine observed, 'It seems that only prince Edward and prince Kai are looking forward to meeting his Majesty.'

Indeed, Edward and Kai are standing on the side petting the royal pets. Shadow the dog is with the princess, and the fishes obviously cannot leave their tank, so the only one present is Eins the cat and Viktor the parrot.

Kai fluffed, "They're so soft."

Sensing Heine's stare, Bruno quickly step up, "D-Do not misinterpret, Master. We could never hate our father. Rather, we respect him...that is to say...umm..."

Licht shoved his brother out of the way when he's getting nowhere with his explanation, "Let's just say it's...complicated for us as his sons. Strong-hearted Kainie and thick-skinned Edward over here are the only ones who feel unabashedly joyful about seeing Father."

"I love...father...everyone should get along...." Kai whispered, "All creatures on this earth...are breathen...everyone...is one family..."

'It's not so much strong-heartedness as it is that he thinks on a grander scale, I would say...' Heine deadpanned.

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Edward shoved Licht back playfully, "And it's not as if I'm like Kai, ya know. I just know how to deal with him over the years like Eins."

"The big three is sure amazing. Can you teach me your tricks?"

"No way. Figure it out on your own." Edward winked at his little brother.

'Perhaps their reluctance is not so very strange,' Heine thought as he took a look at a painting nearby depicting the King leading his troops to war, 'His Majesty the King took the throne at only eighteen, the youngest monarch in the history of the kingdom, and soon transformed the army into the most powerful on the entire western continent. His legacy has earned him a second name—'The Warrior King'.'

The royal tutor blinked the image of the king away and turned to the squabbling princes, 'But even setting that aside, the relationship between a king and his potential successors could not be so straightforward as that of an ordinary parent and child.'

"Is everyone ready?" The High Steward questioned, and at the confirmation from Heine, he announced to the doors, "Your Majesty, the princes and Herr Wittgenstein are here to see you."

"Send them in."

The small three flinched at the voice of their father and reluctantly line up horizontally behind Heine. The guards stationed outside the King's study opened the door to reveal the man already waiting at his desk.

'This is his Majesty, the current Monarch of the Kingdom of Granzreich,' Heine scanned the form of the man before him, '...Viktor von Granzreich.'

Viktor turned his head slightly to take a look at his children and wait expectantly. As the eldest prince currently in the palace, Edward confidently walks up to the man, prompting his siblings to follow his footsteps.