Heir to the Throne

Days passed by.

The young cub started to grow.

For a beast-kin, learning to crawl happens early, usually around five or six months. But even after Basalin reached eight months, he still hadn't learned to crawl. Balin and Sakan were worried about this.

Then, at ten months, he finally got the hang of it. And once he did, there was no stopping him. Basalin became so energetic that Balin had trouble keeping up. Sakan got more work as the General, often away with work.

Prince Pholomin came often to play with his brother. He also gave him a lovely nickname—Basil.

As Basalin’s first birthday drew near, the entire castle buzzed with preparation. The king himself had arranged the celebration, which would also serve as the announcement ceremony for a major royal decision. Nobles from across the kingdom were invited.

***

The castle was filled with high-ranking nobles. While most believed they were attending a celebration, none knew the true weight of the event. General Sakan welcomed the guests as they arrived. Though the nobles, as always, gave him a sharp look.

The announcer clinked a glass few times to draw everyone's attention.

"Ladies and gentle-beast-men, behold! His Majesty, the honourable King Pholomin IV Lenard of the prosperous beast kingdom Beaster, Her Majesty the Queen Rekya Lenard and the little Royal Highness Prince Pholomin V Lenard have arrived."

The King set foot in the hall.

All the chirpings stopped.

"Greetings everyone. Thank you all for joining us today on this very special day for my newly born nephew, Basalin Lenard. Also I have arranged a special program later this evening. Well then, let us welcome our boy to the spotlight."

Balin carried one-year-old Basalin and entered the hall. Everyone clapped and welcomed the little one. Yet anyone could detect their fake enjoyment.

Basalin's eyes widened as he looked at the crowd. Balin placed him in a chair as he could barely stand.

Some nobles approached to offer their congratulations on his first birthday. The gift-giving ceremony and cake-cutting went smoothly. Prince Pholomin even helped his brother cut the cake by holding the knife with him.

The celebration continued…

***

The King roared, "Ladies and gentle-beast-men, may I have your attention, please! It is finally time for the special programme."

Balin and Sakan brought Basalin to the royal family.

The King took Basalin in his hand and made his announcement,
"You all know that our kingdom's responsible and trustworthy general standing beside me is my beloved brother, Sakan Lenard. His newborn boy, little Basalin, is like a son to me. Therefore, I have decided to give him a golden opportunity."

He paused. The hall leaned into the silence.

"After discussing this with my ministers and family, hereby I, King of Beaster, Pholomin IV Lenard, myself declaring Basalin Lenard as the second in line for heir of this kingdom after my own son, Prince Pholomin V Lenard."

The room fell into a stunned silence.

A voice broke through the stillness, "A mixed-blood will be a royal heir, don't be absurd!" A wolf-kin stood before the crowd.

Then chaos erupted across the hall as many nobles began murmuring and objecting to the king’s decision. Just as the opposition began to grow louder…

…a figure materialized out of thin air before the royal family.

Forest Guardian Temina had reappeared.

The chaos halted. Everyone bowed down before the guardian. Small whispers could be heard across the hall.

"What is the guardian doing here?!"
"I think even the guardian could not accept this!"
"Even the king couldn’t summon her throughout last year—why now?"
"I believe in our forest guardian. Such a decision can never be appropriate."

…

"Silence! Please quiet down, everyone!" the announcer yelled. But the gossips continued.

The king felt exhausted by the sudden change of atmosphere. He handed Basalin to Sakan and said to those near him, "Everyone stand behind me."

King Pholomin began emitting a glowing aura and lifted his hand. Suddenly...
The ground before the king trembled in a tiny quake.

Many nobles struggled to keep their balance.

The hall grew quiet again.

The King roared, "Sorry for this! I had no choice but to do this. Now then, let's welcome the guardian and hear what she has to say."

His full attention turned to Temina, "First of all, why didn’t you contact us after disappearing without notice for so long? You never told me why you were in the hallway that day last year when I came to visit Basalin. And now you've shown yourself in such an odd way... still, I'm happy to see that you're alright and that you came to this party."

"I apologize for my rude behaviour that time. I was quite busy in the spirit realm for a while. I came here as soon as I heard about this occasion. And I think it is neither the right time nor the right place for all this. Besides that, weren't you in the middle of something while I came?"

The King looked dissatisfied with the answer. "...Yeah, you're right."

He turned towards the guests as they were trying to understand what is going on, "Now, as I was saying, so to finalize my decision I honour Basalin Lenard with the sword, Hellframe."

A knight came forward, lifting the Hellframe, covered with a red cloak, by his both hands and handed it to the king.

The King removed the cloth covering of the sword and held it up for everyone to see.

"When I was in my thirties and still was a prince, I went on exploring as a guild adventurer to the mainlands of the other races, as you all know. I visited the elven kingdom, Liraelith, at the end of my journey, as it was the nearest country to the demon territory. When I was clearing a quest near the border—"