When Arenor left the council chamber, he was met by Nasir.

  "Your Highness, you have a letter," said the guard, handing him a scroll.

  "From whom?"

  Nasir named the advisor who had been constantly throwing a spanner in the works throughout the meeting.

  Arenor's lips twitched into a smirk; he may not have been an experienced professional, but judging by his behaviour during the council meeting, neither was this advisor.

  "What did he say was in it?"

  "A letter of resignation," Nasir gave the expected answer.

  "Who would have doubted it," Arenor muttered, taking the scroll in his hands and walking to his office.

  Now I have another case to deal with."

  "What is it?"

  Arenor remembered the young guard who had talked too much during his testimony.

  The Prince knew firsthand how cruel life in the palace could be and how dangerous it was to talk too much, especially about himself and his family. However, Rushania's words that any mistake, even a tiny one, in this palace and kingdom could be the last, made him realise this even more strongly.

  He wanted to help this guard, to make him understand this too, before it was too late.

  "Invite the young guard who gave testimony to my office," said Arenor, entering his office. "I have serious business with him."

  ***

  "Your Highness!" cried the young guard, practically running into Arenor's office. "Did you summon me?"

  "I see you have decided to disobey my orders," Arenor said sternly.

  The guard flinched at the cold tone, as if he had not expected it at all, even though it was the Prince's usual tone.

  "What do you mean, Your Highness?" the guard asked, confused.

  "I mean that I told you to talk less, and you didn't listen to me," said the Prince, omitting the fact that he had also dared to show up at the Council meeting without his permission.

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  "But... I just want to be open and honest," said the guard. "Is that so bad?"

  Arenor frowned; he wasn't sure if the guard was just stupid and naive, like he used to be, or feeble-minded, but either way, he wanted to help him and try to save him from the bad end that awaited him if he didn't stop being so talkative.

  "In the palace, what matters is not what is good or bad, but what is more profitable and safer. And in your case, it is safe not to open your mouth when you are not asked, and it is profitable to agree with those who have the most power in the Kingdom — the Head of the Council, the Prince, and the Pharaoh," Arenor explained patiently, as if talking to a child.

  "But I still don't understand... why are my words so important? I'm just an ordinary guard, essentially holding the lowest position," he said, which seemed quite reasonable to me. "Why then do my words mean so much in this palace, where there are people much more important than me?"

  "Haven't you been told that you ask too many questions?" Arenor asked, slightly irritated.

  To his surprise, the guard smiled and said

  "You already asked me about this during our last conversation, Your Highness. And if you remember, I answered you that it was my sister."

  Sister... Arenor remembered how, during their previous conversation, the guard had already told him about her. How she was the only person who mattered to him, how she sacrificed everything for him and how, among other things, she helped him get a job as a guard in the palace, while she herself got a job as a maid in the same palace so she could look after him.

  Arenor nodded to himself when an idea came to him on how to explain more clearly to the guard why he should keep his mouth shut and what might happen to him if he didn't.

  "Since you don't understand nicely, I'll have to explain it to you badly..." said Arenor, getting up from his chair and coming out from behind the table. "If you don't stop talking, your sister will suffer."

  In an instant, the guard's face changed; his carefree smile replaced by eyes wide with fear.

  "W-what do you mean?"

  "I mean," said Arenor, moving closer to the guard, "that if you don't learn to keep your mouth shut on your own, I'll have to help you do it with the help of your beloved sister."

  The Prince deliberately put pressure on the guard; he was trying to convey to him that if he continued to talk carelessly, he risked not only his own death, but also that of his loved one.

  After all, Arenor knew that nothing motivates you as much as the desire to protect your only loved one.

  Of course, Arenor had no intention of harming his sister; it was all a pretence to re-educate the young guard, who was inexperienced in politics and palace affairs.

  However, the Prince had no intention of stopping this show until the guard understood the message he was trying to convey. He was going to keep pressing until the guard broke down under the realisation that the only way to survive in the palace was to do as he was told, and nothing else.

  "N-no! D-don't touch my s-sister!" he stammered, falling to his knees and grabbing the Prince's clothes. "I-I beg you..."

  "Only if you stop talking nonsense," said Arenor.

  "I-I promise I'll stop, b-but please..."

  "Calm down and stand up," said Arenor, feeling a sudden pang of guilt; in any case, he was glad he hadn't had to go too far.

  "T-thank you! I'm s-so grateful to you!" mumbled the guard, like a child. "My o-older sister is the only thing I have left, and I—"

  "I see you still haven't learned your lesson," said Arenor when the guard started babbling again. "In that case, I'll have to teach you another one, one that you'll definitely learn. Nasir," he glanced at his guard, who had been standing aside all this time, silently watching what was happening, "bring me his sister."

  "N-no!"

  Nasir glanced at the guard, who had fallen to his knees again, and asked,

  "What is her name?"

  "N-no! P-please!"

  "Akila."

  "I-I beg you!"

  "I'll bring her," said Nasir and opened the door to leave, when the young man suddenly grabbed hold of his clothes.

  "N-no! S-stop!" he cried in horror. "P-please, w-wait!"

  But Nasir only pushed him roughly, forcing him to unclench his hands and let go, then quickly walked out the door.

  The young man looked desperately at the Prince, hoping he would back down, but despite the sharp pang of guilt inside, Arenor did not.

  "As I said, since you can't learn to shut up on your own," Arenor spoke more harshly this time, "then I'll have to use..."

  "I have always admired you, Your Highness," the young man suddenly said, causing Arenor to drop his mask for a moment. " I admire you, because from the outside you have always been so magnificent: your even gait, your confident stride, and your direct gaze..."

  "What are you—" Arenor began, but the young man interrupted him.

  "I know that you are doing all this for your country," he said, gasping more and more with each word. "But unfortunately, I cannot forgive you for this..."

  "I—"

  "But I hope that you, Your Highness, can forgive me for what I am about to do." Pause. "At the end of the day, we're both just trying to protect what we love."

  And then he lunged at Arenor with a dagger in his hands.