it was undeniably a beautiful day. sun shining brightly, birds chirping happily...

but as beautiful as the day may be, nature couldn't put a smile on the faces of the royals of the kingdom of aes. and actually, it seemed like it couldn't put one on those of the inhabitants of its lands either.

"people of aes, it is with immense pain and regret that we announce you the death of his majesty the king of aes."

for the nth time that day, the royal guards repeated those heavy words, still perched on their horses as they looked at the surprised faces of the peasants in front of which they were.

it was almost midday already, and they still had so many villages to visit in order to spread the unfortunate news across the whole kingdom.

"her majesty the queen and his highness the prince will be holding a ceremony tonight as a final goodbye to his majesty the king who left us today. people of aes, please come and gather to the royal square. show mercy and compassion to your royal saviours."

and that being said, the royal guards watched the peasants bow at them in respect before turning around to head to the next village, leaving once again behind them a mourning people.

a few kilometres away from that, on top of the small hill on which had been constructed the royal palace, two people were side by side dressed fully in black as they held themselves from breaking down again.

the mother and the son, both with royal blood running through their veins, mourned together the death of their beloved, sitting together on one of the larges sofas of the royal salon, where they had spent one of their last moments together with the king before he had that terrible dinner that caused his loss.

"your majesty." one of the servants approached the two silent royals, bowing.

"yes?" the queen answered, her voice trembling slightly.

"here is the speech you requested for the public announcement tonight." the servant handed the queen a piece of parchment on which had been scribbled a speech that would inform the people of what would happen now that they lost their king. the queen could have written it herself, but after losing her husband, she didn't have the heart nor the strength to.

"thank you. you may leave." the woman stated once she had grabbed the piece of paper.

with a last bow, the servant walked away, leaving the queen and the prince alone again.

mark swallowed for the nth time the lump that had formed in his throat, using the back of his hand to wipe a stray tear that had escaped his eye once again as he leaned further into his mother's side, still not believing that he would be living the rest of his life without a father.

the queen sighed, wrapping her arm around her little boy to console both him and herself as her eyes travelled the speech that had been written, making sure to familiarise herself with it before actually speaking it out in front of the whole kingdom.

"m-mother...?" the prince stuttered, voice weak and raspy.

"yes, my little gem?" the queen looked down at her son, smiling the best she could despite the pain. and seeing the broken state her son was in definitely didn't help her feel better.

"a-am i really the king now...?" mark asked barely above a whisper, somehow not wanting to accept those words despite having heard the guards and servants addressing him as so ever since his father was found dead.

accepting that he was the king meant accepted that his father was dead. and at the age of nine years old, admitting that he would never be able to playfully fight with his father anymore, or that he wouldn't ever share another meal with him, or that he would never hear his mother nagging at his father to stop eating sugar ever again was something he didn't want to accept.

nine years old was too young to lose a parent. mark still had so many things to learn from his father, he couldn't just keep going and pretend like he wouldn't need a paternal figure for the rest of his life.

"you are, my love." the queen heaved out a sigh. "you are the new king of aes."

mark sniffled, unable to hold back the tears that were falling from his eyes as his mother's words rang in his ears. "i-i'm not ready..."

"i know, my little gem." mark's mother patted the boy's head, fighting as well the urge to cry. "but don't worry, you won't have to take the throne right away. i will take the regency until your coronation. and we'll make you king on your 20th birthday." the queen explained what had been previously discussed and what had been carefully explained in the speech. "you still have more than 10 years to learn everything you need to know. and then, you'll be able to rule the kingdom of aes like no one ever did before. and you'll show your father how good you are at it."

mark hummed silently, tightening his embrace around his mother as the queen also pulled her son closer. and both mourning the loss of a lover, a father, and a king, the living royals let their imagination run wild, visioning how the next ten years would go.

and together, the mother and the son both let their lips curve up in a small smile as they imagined their people, all of the peasants living on the lands of aes, those who had been saved from misery and who must show the royals endless mercy, their kingdom, screaming together the most beautiful words one could ever mutter: long live the king.

or so, they thought.

because within this kingdom of aes, within these vast lands where peasants are endlessly thankful of the royals for keeping them alive and saving them from their misery, in a small and calm village, a few people are gathered, rising their glasses high in the air as they celebrate together the death of the same king.

"boys, we are a step closer to our freedom!" one of them cheered, earning screams of approval from his mates.

"well-said, sangkyu!" the adult that was by his side patted his back, a bright smiled decorating his face. "hopefully our voices will soon be heard! and monarchy will finally come to an end!"

another round of cheers greeted the man's words, and sangkyu even clapped his hands. "of course, myunghae, monarchy will come to an end!"

the group of adults, mostly men between their thirties and their fifties, shouted and clinked their glasses again before downing the alcohol at a fast pace.

all had reacted the same when the royal guards had come to announce the death of the king a few hours ago. they all had been surprised, their eyes widening in disbelief, and they all had pretended to mourn under the guards' eyes and under the other peasants. but as soon as the royal guards had walked away, they had silently gathered back at their usual place, the restaurant that they spent most of their time at. and the second the door had been closed, they had thrown themselves into each other's arms, some of them crying of relief, others thanking the gods above for hearing their prayers. and all of them, without an exception, were delighted by the news of the day.

"donghyuck, mujin, come celebrate with us!"

these words voiced out by sangkyu had all of the men turn around towards the two eight-year-old who were seated at a nearby table, sipping on their lemonades in silence.

"come on, boys." myunghae added. "it's not every day that the king dies. you have to celebrate."

that being said, both donghyuck and mujin obeyed, grabbing their glasses before heading towards the bigger table and taking a seat next to their fathers; sangkyu for donghyuck, and myunghae for mujin.

and once they were sat down, their two glasses joined the dozen others as the men clinked their alcohol-filled glasses and gulped them down in the next seconds.

nothing but yells, laughter, happiness and hope could be heard for the whole night in the restaurant. they partied, celebrated and prayed together, smiles never leaving their faces, and their hearts feeling lighter than ever.

but at the same time, what did you expect from anti-royalists who learnt about the king's death...?