Chapter 262
That day, from the king to the archbishop, from the dukes and counts to the nursemaids and the knights, everyone made a deliberate fuss, showering praise on him. As a result, Prince Lewis spent the day feeling proud and happy, just like any other child would in his situation.
Even if it was just an expensive pen, for a five-year-old, that alone was more than enough to be excited about. Lewis held the fountain pen and tried to mimic the pen-spinning trick that Marquis Penceir often performed.
The marquis, when bored, would rest his chin on his hand and twirl a pen between his fingers, something that Lewis thought looked very cool.
“Hmm…”
But no matter how hard he tried, Lewis couldn’t get the trick right. The pen kept slipping out of his still-clumsy hands. By the seventh drop, it rolled off the desk and onto the floor, rolling away. Lewis got up to retrieve it.
As the pen stopped rolling, Lewis crouched down to pick it up, but before his hand could reach it, another hand snatched it first.
“What’s this?”
It was Crown Prince Gueuze, Lewis’s father. But unlike with his grandfather, Lewis couldn’t smile.
Crown Prince Gueuze inspected the pen. The golden, diamond-studded pen had the king’s name engraved on it. Gueuze narrowed his eyes as he read the name.
“This belongs to His Majesty.”
“His Majesty gave it to Prince Lewis to celebrate his progress in writing.”