Chapter 1: A Melody from the North

I heard the sound of snow crashing to the ground. A glance out the window revealed weak rays of light peeking through the overcast skies. The soft sunlight shining down must have caused a clump of snow to fall from the roof.

I was standing in the corridor of Sauslind’s royal palace. Everyone hurried past as cold air crept into the halls. This was shaping up to be a harsh winter yet. Still, the sounds of spring were right around the corner.

The burdens of responsibility, and the documents to be signed, were piling up, but I had a soft light to brighten my heart. That is, until a certain boorish presence had to go and ruin it.

“Hold it, Chris. I know you want to get back to your office as soon as possible, but your next stop is the second conference room.”

I clucked my tongue at the redhead as he pointed out that I was headed in the wrong direction.

A sense of urgency still pervaded Sauslind’s royal palace. An unprecedented incident had unfolded not long ago, and various matters remained to be taken care of in the aftermath. Unfortunately, it was I—Christopher, the crown prince—who was caught in the middle of it all. I knew it had to be done, but that didn’t lessen my frustrations.

The reason all these royal council meetings were still dragging on was that the culprit behind the incident had been a leading figure in our kingdom. The crimes of those who belonged to his faction were coming to light one after another, and those who feared comeuppance were busy pulling strings behind the scenes. It was proving a challenge just to get a full list of the criminals’ names, never mind deciding on their sentence.

To make matters worse, seeing as the ousted man had been a major nobleman, a huge fuss had arisen as those seeking his privileges and position came forth to replace him. Until we appointed a new leader of his former faction, things were bound to get noisy around the inner palace.

It was no surprise that my sighs were gettin