The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

The Test of Waning: Treasure Hunting... Gone Wrong

I'd like to say that it all went well. That we made it to the special mark on the map. That we passed the test at all.

Reality, though, strikes hard on the foolish. A group composed of Sinus Fidei can never win the game, especially not when we were as kind-hearted as we were. No, scratch that. We weren't kind. We were arrogant.

"I should have done something more..." I murmured, frustrated tears gathering in my eyes.

"I-It's okay, Eleftherion," the girl with big eyes murmured. Even now, Kendra was still so polite. She should just curse me right now. Instead, she said, "They... They're not really going to... kill us... right?"

Alas, I couldn't reply. After all, I couldn't and shouldn't lie.

~~

This was what we did wrong.

"So, what are we going to do with him?" I asked the whole team, glancing over at the teenager still pretending to be deep asleep on the cave's uneven ground.

Joren shrugged. "Keep 'im tied up 'til the test ends?"

Albert slowly shook his head. "He'll find a way to break out of it."

Joren pouted and grumbled something about smart arses. For a while, we expressed some more opinions, but in the end, we chose to follow the opinion of the unexpected member.

"A sleep spell?" Charles asked him in shock.

Jordan blushed deeply at the attention of the prince, but he soon managed to stammer out. "I-I'm still a novice, b-b-but I think I can make him s-snooze for a few minutes-"

"Minutes?" Albert asked with a frown.

"H-Hours!" Jordan corrected. "A few hours, yes."

For a moment, we only stared at him. But then he soon turned back into his cocky self. "Come now, I don't hail from the great House Lunaris for nothing, don't I?!"

After another tense minute, Albert finally nodded at me. "I think it's worth a try. Jordan's house is indeed well-known for their powers of mystique. It won't be too farfetched if they specialize in sleep and dreams as well."

Charles nodded as well. "I agree. I'm well aware of House Lunaris' powers, but I'm also aware how difficult and rare these powers are, even within the main family. Are you sure you are up to this, Jordan?"

"O-Of course, Your Highness!" Jordan whimpered out, but I knew a child could easily lie simply to appease the person he admires, so I did something daring.

I took a closer step towards him until I was practically face to face with him. I saw how his eyes widened at my sudden action. I, however, did nothing to assuage his fears. I glared down at him as harshly as I knew a child could. "This isn't just a game, you know? You can bring the whole team down if you make a mistake here. Now, let me ask you again. Are you sure you'll be able to do this?"

Seeing his suddenly paler face, I knew I must've overdone it. However, the next second, his haughty face was back and he was glaring back at me with the same ferocity. There was a weird fire in his gray eyes as he spat back, "Don't anger me, commoner. Your less than humble beginnings could barely imagine the power of noble houses, especially great houses of our level."

I continued to glare at him for a few seconds more before finally taking a step back. Then, I smiled at him. "Good!"

And just like that, he started on his spell. In fact, even I was terrified after seeing him do it. He didn't say any chants or did anything flashy. He simply headed straight towards the teenager, took a deep breath, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Just like that, the older noble's body crumpled down even more, in a visage more likely for one of deep sleep. We had first exclaimed a few shouts of victory, but Jordan had hastily shushed us down, saying he only made him sleep, not dead.