The journey back home felt like it took forever.
Rui wasn't even sure that he wanted to go home yet.
What was he supposed to tell everybody when he got back home and they asked him how the Royal Addressal Ceremony went?
His family was, of course, far from well-connected. They would have no idea what had happened at the ceremony. He had been invited to several events connected to the royals, and even if this one was clearly far more prestigious, they didn't think much of it.
STEP
He arrived before the orphanage with a deeply contemplative expression.
"We'll speak again whenever you're ready," Master Ceeran remarked. "Take your time."
WHOOSH
He felt Master Ceeran moving away, hiding his presence and joining the perimeter consisting of Master Vericita and Master Zentra. He could also sense Master Reina, but he knew that she was specifically allowing him alone to sense her.
Yet, at the moment, he was only concerned about his family.
It had grown a lot in the many years he had been a part of it.
All the children in his generation of orphans had grown into caretakers who worked part-time or full-time in the orphanage. Not only did they work hard to support an increasingly larger orphanage spread across multiple houses built beside the original ones, but they also chipped in some of their own scant earnings to contribute to supporting the children.
It was a task that only grew harder. When he was adopted, there were only sixteen orphans, for that was the limit that the orphanage could support. However, since then, the number had risen dramatically.
If he was being perfectly honest, he would be lying if he said he knew all of them or had formed a bond with all of them. Many children had been brought to the orphanage and had grown up there while he was away from the Kandrian Empire. He certainly was not as close to them as much as he'd like.
But that didn't matter.
He was given a home when he didn't have one without any expectations in return.
He was going to impart the same to those who came after. He would ensure that, no matter what choice he made from here on out, the consequences of his identity and his actions would not hurt them in any way.
He had several ways of going about it, but that was a matter for another day.
For now, he needed to tell his family the truth. While he would rather not disrupt their lives with it, there was no point in hiding it because it had become public knowledge at that point.
Julian would definitely find out very rapidly, even if he wasn't told.
He heaved a deep sigh as he prepared himself.
CLACK
He opened the door to the orphanage.
"I'm back!" Rui announced to the entire house.
"How did it go, dear?" Lashara asked him while tending to the orphanage.
"…I have something to tell you," Rui heaved a sigh.
"What is it?"
Rui shook his head. "Let's gather everybody first. This is important."
Fifteen minutes later, the confused adults of the orphanage gathered around in the room reluctantly at Rui's insistence.
"What's this about?" Alice asked, curious.
"He has another shocking tale to tell us," Farion grumbled.
"Can this wait?" Mayra folded her arms. "I have to start prepping for dinner."
Julian simply stared at Rui with a serious expression, noticing the severity in his body language.
"This is important; I'll be quick, I promise," Rui assured them.
Within twenty seconds, he briefly summed up all the relevant facts. It was better to rip the band-aid off swiftly rather than take his sweet time and test their patience.
Their expression morphed by the second as he spoke, swiftly divulging everything that they needed to know.
In twenty seconds, they had gone from reluctantly curious to shocked and utterly flabbergasted.
The air tingled as each of them struggled to process the information that Rui had conveyed to them.
For several seconds, they simply stared at him like he had come from another world.
"…You're a royal prince?" Farion whispered.
"That's right," Rui confirmed.
Lashara stared at him, speechless.
"However, while I am a Royal Prince, I do not consider the royal palaces my home," Rui remarked. "I don't care for luxury. Never have and never will. That's why…"
He turned to his mother. "I still and will always consider this orphanage to be my family and my home."
Lashara smiled at those words.
"You'll always be my precious baby," She pulled him in for a hug. "And this will always be your home."
Rui smiled, returning her embrace. "Thanks, mom."
She smiled warmly, kissing him on the head. Rui basked in her affection for quite some time. It soothed his nerve, casting a healing effect on him.
The others didn't nearly recover from the shock as quickly as Lashara did.
"Royal prince…YOU'RE A ROYAL PRINCE!" Alice gasped.
"…Unbelievable."
"…So you can also become EMPEROR!"
"Congratulations!"
"Our Rui becoming Emperor would be amazing!"
They were shaken, trying to process the weight of the implications of what Rui had told them.
Xanarn was speechless, utterly stunned. "…To think that you were a prince all this time."
"I know it's a lot," Rui heaved a sigh. "But it's the truth."
"What are you going to?!" One asked.
"Become Emperor!"
"He won't be able to spend any time here then…"
The ruckus began growing out of hand.
It took half an hour before Rui was able to calm them down.
"Alright, alright, the kids are waiting; let's not waste too much time," Rui remarked, ushering them out of their reveries and back to reality. "I didn't mean to disrupt your work. We can talk more extensively later on."
He managed to coax the stunned and flabbergasted orphanage caretakers back to their original tasks. As much as they wanted to bombard him with questions, the children who needed their attention took priority.
All except one.
Julian had taken a seat, pondering what Rui had told him.
"You're taking this swimmingly well," Rui smiled wryly.
"Well, a rational mindset is especially necessary when the stakes are high," Julian calmly remarked. "Still, this is most unfortunate."
Rui raised an eyebrow appreciatively.
As expected, Julian immediately processed the information that Rui had supplied and understood the various ramifications of the events that Rui had described.
"It is," Rui heaved a sigh.
"So…" Julian stared at Rui. "Have you made your choice?"
A heavy air came between them.
Rui heaved a sigh. "No."
"Hm, I suppose it's far too early for that," Julian remarked. "However, you will have to make a choice sometime soon."
