The Next Prince, Chapter 46 pg2
The Next Prince, Chapter 46 pg2
…
Inside the building for incarcerating convicts, everything is white. The surroundings appear silent, surrounded by a sense of apprehension from humidity and cold temperature due to not having any windows for air circulation.
The first smell defiling the air is a mix of musty odor with a pungent smell of disinfecting alcohol, causing the person walking on the long ramp to have to raise their hand to cover the nose.
Charan halted his footsteps when the guard stopped, the soldiers on duty walked away, before gesturing the welcome hand to step inside. In front of Phitakthewa family’s leader’s lay the deepest prison chamber, a large white door separating people from the outside world and the convicted.
“You only have five minutes for the visit... please go ahead, KhunCharan.”
“Thank you.” Charan expressed his gratitude as the soldier unlocked and opened the door wide. He walked cautiously with bare feet. His eyes scanned around.
Inside this room, everything is white. There is a large area, but there is no device or equipment other than the three foot bed on which an old man is lying still.
Creak!
The sound of closing the door slightly jolted the person lying on the white bed. As soon as he realized someone had come in, seeing a person standing at the end of the bed, his eyes widened in surprise.
“I offer my respects, Your Majesty...” Charan greeted when he saw the awakening gaze of the person lying on the white bed. At this time, Dhipabawon no longer has any capabilities to communicate other than moving his eyes, so the young man had to approach him more closely to convey what he had prepared to say to the other side today.
“...”
“I won’t take long. I came here to answer the question that your Majesty asked me before the competition, about whether I will choose love with Khanin and continue to stay here as a Phitakthewa, or if I will want to be free and leave everything behind.” The young man looked at the person on the bed who blinked frequently in response, indicating that the opposite party still remembers everything.
“...”
“Can you remember, Your Majesty... the question you asked me before the competition, whether to choose between love for Khanin and staying here as Phitakthewa, or to be free and leave everything behind?” The young man looked at the person on the bed, whose blinking eyes indicated that they remembered everything just as well.
Memories went back to the day when they were urgently summoned after admitting their love for Khanin for the first time. Charan also remembered sweating profusely while talking to Dhipabawon. At that time, the anxiety, discomfort, and pressure were so overwhelming that he couldn’t even speak the truth to Khanin.
That was because he feared that the person he loved would worry too much.
“I never intended to force you, but he wanted you to be aware that... Khanin cannot abandon Atsawathewathin. He has to, as the heir to the family... and if that is the case... your decision to stay here also means you cannot abandon Phitakthewa.”
“...”
“I never wanted to hold you back, but this time I must speak to you frankly. If you choose to be with Khanin, you must stand firm and not leave Phitakthewa behind. But if you choose to leave, you must leave everything here.”
“...”
“You don’t need to make a decision yet, Charan. We still have plenty of time until the competition is over, but whenever you choose, you must accept the consequences that will follow.”
Love, and freedom.
You cannot maintain both. Because he is Charan Phitakthewa, a loyal dog that everyone has always trusted to protect, take care of, and honestly love and serve Atsawathewathin.
Charan often asked himself why his love for Khanin had to be related to Atsawathewathin. He never understood why Dhipabawon had to try to bind them, even though the other side promised to understand and support him as one of his grandchildren.
The actions of the old man made Charan ask himself whether he had ever had the power to make decisions on his own in various matters. But from everything he learned, the young man was confident that he had never had the power to decide anything.
Everything is just an illusion.
When reality hits, Charan realized that he was just a representative of his mother in the atonement ceremony, so that Dhipabawon did not feel too guilty.
Charan was just a pawn on the board where the other side would use any means to protect the throne. He was just a variable to help keep the power stable, to prevent Khanin from fleeing elsewhere.
Charan Phitakthewa had never really experienced true love and sincerity.
Throughout all the time that has passed, he has never been recognized as a human being in Dhipabawon’s eyes, even for a moment.
“You knew very well that I dare not disobey your order because I had no way of being ungrateful to the person who raised me.”
“...”
“You know very well that the bond between me and Khanin will keep me from going anywhere.”
“...”
“You knew what the answer would be, but you still asked me what to choose. Your Majesty, you used my feelings to your advantage many times.” The old man’s eyes looked at the figure of Charan with a piercing gaze. Although he couldn’t move his body, the gaze of the royal court, which looked back, turned gray.
“Ugh…” The groaning from the person on the bed made Charan feel like there was a lump in his throat, and the tightness felt like something was about to explode. The difficulty in communicating and the sound of strained breaths only brought Charan back to the time of excruciating pain that had passed.
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