Hello, my fellow readers.

It has come to my attention that there is more than one person that is trying to copy my story. To whoever is doing this: please stop right now and remove your alleged work immediately. I will not specify who it is or what domain this user is from, but I have already reported someone to DMCA about this issue without warning. I take my work very seriously, and I believe that credit is due where credit is rightfully deserved.

And without further ado, continue onwards with your reading :)

Chapter 13: Reintroduction and Curiosity

(Miku's POV)

Warnings: Nothing really, just a couple entendres

We've arrived in the grand dining hall and released our hands from each other's grasps before the servants and the king saw us. We didn't want to shock him and assume I immediately moved on.

The hall had gone through some renovations, with the windows having darker violet, satin curtains brimmed with gold edges and rope on the side. The tablecloth was also changed to match the color scheme of the curtains. Usually there would be flowers by some of these window sills, but now there aren't any flowers left. The table looked as if it can feed more people than just the original group of six that used to be so closely united... Now all that was missing was father and Queen Luka.

"Lady Miku! Son!" The king called out to us. "Come here and take a seat! Dinner's just about ready."

On the table was savory rotisserie chicken slathered with honey glaze and bordered with parsely, a bowl of mixed vegetable soup, a gold loaf of bread cut perfectly in width-equal pieces, smoked salmon cooked on a cedar plank topped with rosemary bits, garlic mashed potatoes with red skin bits, and three wine glasses filled with red cabernet sauvignon. My stomach made a loud growl as Kaito snickered. "Not funny, Kaito." I crinkled my face at him.

"You must have been exerting a lot of energy today to be this hungry, milady." He smirked. I was about to go to the other side and smack his shoulder, but luckily I was able to suppress that urge.

"My, you've grown so beautifully, young Miku!" The king said to me as we sat down. "How have you been? Are you feeling better?" His voice softened to the last question.

"I am doing just fine, your highness"

"No, please just call me 'uncle'. We've known each other for years and I don't want to be referred highly as such when I'm with personal company. Let us start eating!" We grabbed our own portions of food and kept on the conversation.

"Well then, uncle, I've been doing well serving my duties as viceroy. I try not to be a devil's advocate in some of the discussions in council meetings. Other than that, I have a good amount of free time shopping in the bazaar, buying art supplies and food for some of the meals I had wanted to create."

"That's good! And you've bumped into Kaito as well! Son, were you two able to catch up?"

Kaito sighed. "We caught up alright." That hint of sarcasm made me blush in embarrassment as he made eye contact with me. "It wasn't too long since Sir Kagamine passed away, so I've been there to comfort her since then."

"That's good." The king's expression went from gleaming to moody after hearing of Len. "Len Kagamine was a good man compared to his haggard father, and better yet he was a brilliant commander on the battlefield. I was actually going to introduce you to Sir Kagamine the week before he and Miku were to be married."

Hearing the word "married" made me feel much worse than before. Worse in a way that I pitied him, complied with the agreement of engagement without much thought, knew and love the person that killed him, and the fact that I liked him as a kind of kin to me. I couldn't help but looked sullen.

Kaito gave me a stern look. "That's such a shame, father. I wanted to meet him as soon as possible, and now he's gone." His tone became solemn.

The king took a sip of sauvignon and his eyes drooped down to the floor. "Son, I can't afford to lose anyone else I cherish anymore. When you realize your best friend and lover are gone for you live, you start to lose purpose in life. You and the Hatsune house are what's left for me now. In our current world, everything is unpredictable. The people we love can become either mutinous or vain. I'm sure you're aware of this Miku."

"Yes, I am."

"What exactly happened to Viceroy Kiyoteru, father?"

"It was a sacrifice." I spoke.

"Sacrifice?"

"Not too long ago, that same burglar from before tried to kidnap me. My father freed me and got into a fight against him. His and my father's swords pierced each other in the vitals and they both died. That burglar was Len's father." Kaito's eyes widened in shock.

"That Len was the son of a criminal. He and his father have been on opposing sides of beliefs. Whereas Len was for achieving through the means of justice, his father Tonio was for achieving through illegal means. The Kagamines were known to be notorious in the past due to Tonio's repeated robberies, rapes, and threats to the people in the kingdom, but only a few testimonies led him into giving us the same answer that 'it was all for his son'."

"What about Len?" Kaito asked, still very curious."

"Len was the one that was bringing up his family name. Since the day Tonio began his mischiefs when Len was 10, he secretly trained himself to become a soldier, and three years later he joined the Amorluxian Knights. It didn't take very long to realize that his knightship was genuine and unique, very distinct from his father's beliefs."

"He came to be known as the most attractive and bravest man in the kingdom." I added. Kaito looked slightly puzzled.

"He was able to give his house name a honorable reputation, and by the age of 17, he became the General Commander of the Knights. Yet, by that, such reputation led him into lecherous acts and it started to get into his head. I was afraid he would somehow end up like Tonio, but I was surprised he agreed with the engagement I planned."

Kaito's eyes widened in interest again. "Engagement?"

"Yes, Lady Meiko and I were worried of Miku's well-being and we wanted someone to protect her as she grows up."

"Why an engagement then?" Kaito's eyes shone a flame of secretly contained frustration that silenced me throughout the king's explanation.

"Lady Meiko and I understood how painful it is to lose someone you love so much. Yet, though I was somewhat against this and was not the legal guardian-"

"My mother wanted me to be as happy and free with someone as soon as possible." I spoke too soon. "I've told her that there's no one else to fill the void besides the late viceroy. She was always so dependent on him for everything and she thought that Len would be a perfect substitute as a son-in-law taking care of her. She never trusted me no matter how much I actually go out to shop for her."

"That's foolish!" Kaito stomped up. He shook the table with all the food and drinks shaking with him. The king and I were staring at him in fear. "You agreed to this as well?" he asked me.

"I had to. Whatever made my mother happy is fine with me. At that time when I was threatened, I'm the one at fault so I would be the one to give up my happiness for her. I tried to make an effort to love him for the sake of my mother! Her face is no longer the face of my mom now that she's already abandoned me at heart. Her smile now is the most fake things I've seen from her!" My fists clenched the tablecloth as I felt tears swell in my eyes

"Son! Miku! Please!" The king pleaded. "Just accept that what's in the past is done, we can't change that. Please sit back down." My anger was quickly qualmed as Kaito took a seat, never taking his eyes off me.

"So let me get this straight: Tonio robbed for his son, Len, who became a royal commander, Tonio killed Kiyoteru and himself; and Miku's mother was the one who really wanted this engagement out of protection and self-support?"

"Pretty much." I murmured.

"Well then," He said as he raised his eyebrows and drank his wine. "I'll be straight up damned!" His hand slammed the table

"Kaito." The king qualmed. Kaito seems as if he was at a loss of words at the same time surprised of all this. I wouldn't be surprised if it were me that came back from exile hearing how all this ties up. King Gakupo sighed. "If only I called you back sooner. Like I said when I saw you again for the first time in six years: I regret sending you away. I was both afraid of my own well-being and the thought of losing you."

"I'm here now, father." Kaito's voice softened. His hand was placed over the king's.

"Kaito…" The king's eyes started to tear up. Kaito's face drew a smile.

"Father, you know well that kings shouldn't be crying like this." I giggled.

"A king shouldn't, but can't one's old man cry?" We all chuckled and continued eating.

Several minutes later, we nearly cleaned and chewed up all the food on the table, and I was almost about to go into a mental nap from all the glorious food intake. "This was such a good meal, uncle."

"I'm glad that you liked it! It's been too long since we had a meal with you here!" The king said this followed by a loud, gaseous burp.

"Father!" Kaito facepalmed as he went red in the face. That expression of his was probably the most hilarious face I've seen from him since he came back, and I couldn't hold in an explosion of laughter towards him.

"My apologies, my son!" The king laughed his actions off casually. "You should already be comfortable now that you're home, so you're going to have to get used to it!"

"Gross." He pouted. The scene was just too golden to miss.

"Anyway, we should start talking future plans. Because of Kagamine's death, there is no wedding now. Lady Meiko's also at a loss of this as well."

"What then, father?"

King Gakupo took a quick sip of wine. "Two objectives: find the murderer that killed the commander, and-"

"Yes?"

The king hesitated. "Kaito… I can't force this upon you, but you're the only flesh and blood to me and you're the only one left to do this."

"What is it? Just tell us!"

He got up from his chair and walked to the window. A cool breeze blew in and the candlelights shook smoothly as he turned back to us.

"Can you take over the kingdom for me?"

Listening,

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listening,

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processing…

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"...wait what…" The lovers looked at each other with utter confusion.

Hey y'all~ sorry I've been out of it this summer; I ended up getting a job early back in June so I haven't caught up since. I might not be able to keep my promise as I said about posting many more chapters this summer, since I do return to school soon in about a week or two. Let me know if you want to help me in being a beta reader (still have no idea how to work this lol), and I hope you have a good summer~ PLEASE R&R! This is a break from the spicy stuff, but there's a lot of plot twists, woot woot~