Author's Note: So royaltutorimagines on Tumblr answered another canon prompt, which got me thinking again. And writing again! Thirty minutes later… this was the result.

"Your Highnesses, today's lesson once again involves you thinking as if you were already king. You are married, and your lady queen will soon give birth to your first child. If she has a son, you have an heir, a successor to the throne. If she has a daughter, you can form an alliance with a neighboring country. Which do you see as most important?"

The princes all sat for several moments, looking down at their feet and frowning.

"Why?" Kai asked at last, and his brothers all looked at him.

"Why what, Kai?" Leonhard asked.

"Why should we think like that?" Kai drew his long legs up against his chest. "Is it not more important to love the child?"

"That's kind of a given," Licht chimed in as he sprawled more comfortably in his chair. "Love makes the world go round, after all!"

"But still, as king, we would have a responsibility and duty to the royal line," Bruno said slowly. "Sentiment is all well and good, but as royals, we face considerations that the general populace does not."

"You are so cold-hearted, Brunie, just like always. You not only lack the soul of a king, you lack the heart, too!"

Bruno's eyes flashed as he leapt to his feet.

Heine held up one hand warningly. "Your Highnesses-"

Licht stared up at his older brother in surprise, caught completely off guard by his sudden fury. "Brunie-"

"If you want to consider cold-hearted, Licht, consider that our little sister is barely three years old, and she is already affianced! Kai was betrothed since he was barely older than you! Not to mention that we all exist solely to perpetuate the royal line if anything were ever to happen to Eins!" Bruno was shouting by the time he was finished.

The three other princes sat back in their seats, while Heine sighed and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Prince Bruno raises an excellent point. You should all be familiar with the term 'heir and spare,' which is, as he so bluntly pointed out, exactly what you are. But that does not in any way diminish the fact that His Majesty, your father, loves all of you dearly."

Leonhard tugged at his bangs and looked miserable. "But… Bruno's right. It is cold. And… and I don't know if I could be like that, if I were king."

"Me either," Kai said softly. "When I have children, I want them to be happy, and loved, and safe. I would not want to bargain them away, even for Granzreich."

"Would you keep your children chained to your side forever, then, Highness?" Heine asked, his eyes moving to Kai. "It is the duty of every parent to raise their children to the best of their ability, and then trust in that love and care and upbringing to guide the child as they head out into the world. You do not own your children, you are only given them for a short while."

Bruno had resumed his seat but still looked deeply troubled. "But what happens if we make the wrong decision, Master? Is it not the duty of the king to always do what is best for the kingdom?"

Licht was quiet, remembering his father's words outside the cafe. "It is for the kingdom, you're right, but it's also for my family too, whom I adore."

He bowed his head, ashamed as he thought of how he'd accused his own father of the same cold-heartedness of which he'd just accused Bruno. "I think… that as king… we have to balance duty with love. One cannot take precedence over the other." He rose from his chair and crossed over to Bruno, and then slowly put his hand on his elder brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry, brother."

Bruno looked startled, then rested his hand on Licht's. "As am I. And you're right. A king's heart must be guided by both. To be one is too rigid; the other, too weak." The prince looked at Heine. "I am sorry, Master, but my brothers are right. As king, I would wish only that my child be healthy and happy, and that I have the wisdom to raise that child well."

Kai, Licht, and Leonhard all nodded, and Heine's eyes crinkled slightly in satisfaction.

"Well said, Your Highnesses. It is clear you have already learned well from your father's example. I have no doubt you would make fine fathers yourselves."

The four princes all smiled.

Until Heine added, "I can only hope your children do not turn out to be nearly the handful that you four are now."