Perhaps There Is One

Tales stared at the man before him, whose chest rose and fell with his unstable emotions. For a long while, he said nothing.

"You care about them very much."

Tales did not move his gaze. "Your father and your brother."

Kuaishang froze for a moment.

His expression dimmed.

"Do you have family, Tales?"

Tales pressed his lips together.

Family.

An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.

In those scattered, fragmented memories, there probably was.

But here...

Kuaishang raised his brows, as though remembering something.

"Sorry, I forgot." Kuaishang waved his hand beneath the dim lamplight and offered an apologetic smile. "Of course. That makes you the sole heir, which leaves you in a sensitive position and under everyone's scrutiny."

Tales nodded silently.

"But I do."

Kuaishang's smile slowly faded. "From the first day I was old enough to understand, I was told that I had a great and wise father, and an exemplary elder brother."

"Father was stern and cold. As the ruler of the entire Dragon Kingdom, he always had endless state affairs to handle and reasons no one could refute."

"Brother, meanwhile, was outstanding and dazzling, decisive and capable, a veteran of countless battles, with prestige that ran deep in people's hearts."

Kuaishang shifted his shoulders. His face sank into the darkness beyond the firelight, making his expression impossible to read. "And I, King Nunn's second son, Prince Suriel's younger brother..."

He fell silent for a moment, then raised his head.

"Tales, with a father and elder brother so exceptional, that pitiful second son could only live in their shadows for eighteen whole years. I chased after their footsteps and pursued their world. But no matter how hard I worked, no matter how well I performed in my studies, how eloquently I spoke at banquets, or how