I Just Wanted to Nap, But They Built Me a Religion

The thunderstorm had passed by morning, but the air above House Dormir still felt charged with something unnatural...

There is a whisper clinging to the fog.

Birds avoided the estate walls.

Maids whispered softer than usual.

Even the dust motes in the light seemed hesitant to dance.

Ezrel noticed all of it.

And he hated it.

Usually, there will be trouble awaiting him whenever this kind of atmosphere comes.

And his prediction was true.

At breakfast.

Lord Dormir sipped his tea, one finger raised like a general surveying a war table.

"My son, today you'll attend Lady Halbrant's social luncheon."

Ezrel stopped eating, hearing that, and asked.

"Why?"

"Because you're a future king," Lord Dormir declared.

Ezrel blinked. Slowly. Then stared.

Future king? Since when?

We're a minor noble...

Are u planning a rebellion????..

Has he lost it? Or is this just wine delusion pretending to be strategy again?

Does he want all our family to be exterminated?

I hope he knows that if the royal family hears it's....

He can say goodbye to his head..

Out loud, he said nothing.

"Connections must be built early," Lord Dormir continued.

"And no one's forgotten your tear, your sigil, your silence.....

You must show presence.

Let them see....

What kind of ruler could you become?"

Ezrel stabbed his fork into a grape and sighed.

Let them see?

Let them misunderstand me all over again, you mean.

Lady Dormir smiled from across the table.

"You'll look divine in the sky-blue robes. They match your aura."

Ezrel didn't have the strength to argue. He just wanted toast and a window to lean against.

----

The garden at Lady Halbrant's estate was vast, sculpted like a theater for performance rather than comfort.

Lanterns floated mid-air, powered by minor light blessings.

Strings of polished crystal hung from the trees.

Perfumed mist drifted beneath the rose arches.

Ezrel arrived precisely fourteen minutes late, just early enough to make it seem intentional.

He said nothing. And go straight to Lady Harlbrants to give his greetings..

"Nice to meet you. Lady Hartbrants.'

"I hope my attendance did not bring trouble to you."

"Nononono..

I'm the one who should be thankful to you that you... Serene Heir can grant your presence here today."

---

After all that small talk with the host, he completely stopped interacting with other nobles.

There is no one that he knows in this gathering..

After all, he was a true introvert..

He rarely meets other noble children..

And the reason for it??.

Well, just like normal, he thinks it was troublesome to be with children..

Just one sister has already brought him enough trouble..

So.....

Why would he add another trouble..

---

In the gathering, he stood beneath a willow tree near the edge of the marble path, where shadows curled around his feet like respectful pets.

All nobles who pass him will whisper something..

"That's him. The Serene Heir."

"I heard he only speaks when the truth needs correcting."

"He once silenced a debate just by walking into the room."

Ezrel exhaled. Silently.

I have never done any of those things.

Please....

Don't slander me..

---

Ezrel Dormir is an attractive person. Even without doing anything there will be always girl who tried their luck with him.

And now, in front of him stood a noble girls tries to talk with him.

She wore a silver dress and had a noble aura about her.

She had a look that implied she'd practiced her smile for this.

"Lord Ezrel," she said sweetly.

"Would you honor me with a walk through the lower garden?"

Ezrel opened his mouth.

But...

Before he could reply, someone had already replied to that question in his stead..

"He prefers to remain where he is," Lysette said from beside him.

The girl startled. Ezrel blinked.

Lysette hadn't been there two seconds ago.

But now she stood just behind his shoulder, gloved hands folded, head tilted like a waiting question mark.

"My brother finds silence more instructive than commotion," she added.

"He teaches through restraint."

The girl floundered. Then curtsied and walked away.

Ezrel looked sideways. "You weren't invited."

Lysette smiled. "And yet, here I am."

Ezrel didn't respond. He turned back toward the willow tree.

---

Milia, like always will be present and record the moment in her journal.

Log 450 – War Beneath Lanterns

He does not speak.

Yet silence becomes his sermon.

They gather as if before a divine flame

And mistake his exhaustion for divinity.

While his protectors will guard him like a secret already discovered.

---

Later, as the sun began to set, Ezrel noticed a pair of unfamiliar eyes watching him from across the banquet terrace.

A girl in sapphire-blue leaned against a pillar, fan half-raised.

Her gaze was calm, not reverent.

Another girl beside her muttered, not softly enough.

"He didn't even make a speech. Just stood there like a portrait."

Ezrel tilted his head slightly.

Not everyone here believes the story, he thought.

Well. I don't care about it as long as u two don't disturb me.

---

The sky darkened. A sign that this gathering disbanded

The nobles departed.

Ezrel said nothing all evening. Other than greetings the host.

And everyone, once again, called it grace.