“Rin...I appreciate your concern, but this is my job...” Ren said calmly.
“Can’t you just send soone else?” I asked hopefully.
“This is my job and I intend to fulfill my role and responsibilities. I won’t shrink back and send soone else in my place,” Ren said before he gave a pointed look.
“Ren...” I whispered his na, not knowing how to convince him otherwise.
“You do your job, Rin...and I’ll do mine,” Ren said firmly.
“When are you leaving?” I asked.
“In a few days...” Ren replied without hesitation.
My head felt light, and I was certain that I was about to faint. I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing. The situation had gotten much worse than I could ever imagine. Firstly, there’s a war...again. Secondly, the war was at my hotown. To be precise, it was between my hotown and the empire. On top of all of that, Ren is going to war...
There’s got to be a way that I can stop Ren from going to war. If that was not an option, then I will have to resort to my own back up plan. While I was determined to put my own plan into action, I had no idea at that ti that even more trouble would be added to our already troubleso lives.
...
“A celebration? Now of all tis?” Ren asked shock. It was clear that he thought that it wasn’t a good idea.
“It’s the dowagers empress’s birthday. The celebration is held every year so why are you so shocked?” the emperor replied sternly.
“There’s a war going on and our soldiers need our support,” Ren stated.
“The celebration is just one evening. You’re the crown prince so you must attend,” the emperor replied.
“What about the war?” Ren demanded to know.
“Send so generals first. Listen, even after the gala, I don’t want you out there on the battlefield. You’re the crown prince. How many tis do I have to tell you this?! Just stay here in the palace walls,” the emperor said loud and clear.
“When we go to war, we send many of our n out there and many won’t make it back. I’m not going to hide behind these walls while my n go out there and fight...” Ren said through gritted teeth.
Without waiting for his father’s response, Ren turned on his heels and began walking away. The emperor watched his son with an astonished look on his face.
“Ren!” the emperor called his eldest son’s na loudly.
“I will attend the gala as required. Excuse , Father,” Ren said without turning to look at his father.
...
After learning that Ren was preparing to go to war, I had been restless and unable to focus on anything at all. Although I knew that Ren would probably tell before he would leave, I still felt uneasy whenever he wasn’t around. Truthfully, I was scared that he would leave without telling anything. That did happen before the last ti he went to war. Things are different between us now and he cares a lot more for than before...but still...
I sat in my bedroom as I combed my hair absentmindedly. Honestly, I didn’t know why I was combing my hair. It didn’t need any attention, but I found the simple repeated action of running the comb through my long hair relaxing. It helped stay sane. Ren would be spending the night with tonight and I couldn’t wait to see him.
“Rin...” I heard Ren calling my na.
“Ren. I’m so happy to see you,” I said the mont I laid eyes on him.
I got up and approached him before he pulled into a firm hug. I hugged him back instinctively as I buried my face into his warm chest and breathed in his scent. I felt so lucky that he was here with . I wished that he wouldn’t have to leave...
“Have you had dinner?” I asked.
It was already past dinner ti, so I supposed that he had eaten already but I wanted to check regardless.
“Yes, I have...” Ren replied.
“Then...so tea?” I offered.
Ren just smiled as he sat down at the table while I prepared so tea for him. When I served him tea, I could tell that he was deep in thought. I sat down next to him at the table and waited patiently for him to tell what was on his mind. We sipped tea silently for a while as we enjoyed the peace of just being close to each other.
“There’s a celebration coming up that you will have to attend with ,” Ren said, breaking the silence.
“Oh...what sort of celebration?” I asked excitedly.
It wasn’t often that Ren would invite to a celebration. Most of the ti Ren was involved in etings and work that were all serious and without any form of entertainnt.
“I wished it was sothing for you to get excited over. Unfortunately, it’s the dowager empress’s birthday celebration...” Ren said before grinning at .
“The dowager empress...” I whispered.
“The dowager empress is basically, my grandmother. She’s the highest-ranking woman in the entire empire. Even higher than the Empress because she is the Emperor’s mother,” Ren explained.
“So, this celebration is for your grandmother’s birthday?” I asked to check if I was understanding this correctly.
“Correct. It’s supposed to be a celebration, but honestly, it’s a gala where we spend our ti dealing with her selfish demands. The Dowager Empress is a very demanding woman...” Ren said followed by a large sigh.
“Is there sothing that I should do or be careful of?” I asked.
“To be honest, plenty. She’ll definitely ask about our heir too...” Ren said, sounding tired.
“Oh...” I muttered.
“My grandmother is very strict on traditions and the line of succession is always at the top of her mind. It’s like she lives and breathes for it. Luckily, that ans that she cares for deeply in her own way because I am next in line to the throne. Unfortunately, that also ans that she’s super strict on and very demanding when it cos to producing children...” Ren explained.
“I see...” I said and I could already imagine the situation.
--To be continued...
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