The Lost Prince
CHAPTER 12 THE LOVE STORY OF GENERAL FELIX DAMIAN

One morning General Felix and Dhafin were sitting in the shade of the garden behind General Felix's residence. They talked while drinking tea and coffee. Dhafin drank tea, while General Felix drank coffee.

Dhafin had been living in his residence for a few days making them quite familiar. And Dhafin was not as awkward with him as he was in the beginning.

"Dhafin, you're my daughter's adoptive brother" General Felix said in a statement. "Means I'm your foster father."

"Not so, Uncle," said Dhafin casually as he ate the pastry he had taken.

"Not so how?" general Felix asked in a somewhat silly style. "That's automatic. How do you avoid?"

"Don't make it easy to lift the child, Uncle," Dhafin still dodged. "What's so special about a little boy like me is that uncle raises as a child."

"Are you humbling yourself or praising yourself?" general Felix asked as if to rebuke.

"I am not humbling myself or praising myself" Dhafin explained. "I'm just talking as I am, Uncle."

"You don't like it, do you?" general Felix said guess. "It's not that you don't want to be adopted as a child, but because I'm a noble that you don't want me to adopt as a child. That's right?"

Dhafin was a bit surprised to hear that exact guess. But it wasn't long, his handsome face returned as usual, serenely peaceful, like a person with no problems. But the surprise of that moment had already been seen by General Felix's people who almost never left looking at his face.

"Did Ariesha say it to uncle?" dhafin asked after a moment of silence.

"Yesterday Ariesha complained to me that you don't like nobles" General Felix said. "You already know that she's a noble's daughter, so she's afraid that you'll hate her, and you'll eventually leave her."

Dhafin was silent for a moment, not responding to General Felix's remarks. For a moment he sighed to loosen his feelings. After that he said sigh.

"Ariesha's an exception, Uncle. I don't hate him, I'll never even hate him. I will love him for the rest of my life...."

"How could you be so picky?" general Felix was astonished. "You don't hate Ariesha even if you know she's a noble's daughter. But instead you hate me because I am a noble, even though I am his father. How can you discriminate so, Young Man?"

"Haha...."

Dhafin laughed at General Felix's words. But his laughter was not broken. Maybe that's how people laugh who can control emotions, laugh at people with calm souls.

General Felix was quite stunned as well seeing Dhafin laughing so. It had been a week since Dhafin had been living in his residence, only this time he saw the boy laughing. He only saw Dhafin smiling, as necessary.

He did not expect this Dhafin-aged child to be able to control the overflow of emotions. He was able to publish peace of mind in him, even though his age was still a boy. A truly magical boy!

★☆★☆

"Why are you laughing?" asked General Felix to reprimand. "What's so funny?"

"A funny uncle" said Dhafin, who did not laugh anymore.

"How can you say my words like a joke? I'm just saying what's on my mind."

"When did I tell you I hated you, Uncle?" Dhafin asked while smiling. His attitude is also very relaxed. "I don't think I ever said that, do I?"

"But.. Aren't you...?"

"I'm just saying I don't like nobility, but that doesn't mean all nobles I don't like. Distinguish that, Uncle."

"Then what's your reason for hating nobles?" ask General Felix in curiosity.

Dhafin did not answer that question. Sipping for a moment the tea three times with a pause of one breath. Then he heard his murmur like a man grumbling while putting back his teacup on the table. But the pull of his face did not show that, it remained the face of the calm-spirited boy.

"Oh, the tea's cold, Uncle. This is because my uncle took me too long to talk so he forgot to drink."

"Don't switch the conversation, Young man!" reprimand General Felix. But the pull of his face was not an angry or offended person.

"Haha.., I just realized that uncle is the Secret Investigative Officer apparently," Dhafin muttered while laughing softly.

"If you've realized I'm a palace official, then why are you still delaying to answer?"

"Uncle still remember, don't I have a hand in the arrest of human trafficking criminals?" dhafin said as if charging something.

"Want to?"

"I should have gotten a wage, Uncle. Imagine, Uncle, I risked my life to find out their headquarters."

"How much do you ask for a wage?" general Felix said in a serious response. "Let's tell the palace."

"I want uncle to pay, not the kingdom."

"Then how much are you asking me?"

"Patience first, Uncle, I'll charge you later. Now I'm gonna ask you a question...."

"You haven't answered my question, Dhafin, yet" General Felix said. "Now you're going to ask."

"Listen first, Uncle. The answer is later business."

"What do you want to ask?"

"When the aunt recounted the true story of Ariesha, the aunt revealed that because Madame Meisya exchanged her baby with Ariesha because of her hatred for the aunt, in addition to the aunt feeling guilty towards Madam Meisya. What exactly happened between them?"

"What do you want to know about parents, Dhafin?" general Felix said.

"I'm just curious, Uncle," said Dhafin still insistent. "There must be something underlying Miss Miesya's hatred for aunt so that aunt really feels guilty in such a way."

"...Because, based on the story of Ariesha, I strongly suspect that Mrs Meisya is a good person. The proof is that he loves Ariesha like he loves his own biological child, so Ariesha considers Madame Meisya his birth mother."

"Mistress Meisya is a good person, even her husband is like that" General Felix said.

"Why should there be hatred among good people?"

"That's a question of parents, Dhafin," General Felix still tries evasively to reveal. "It's not appropriate for a child like you to know that."

"Mean uncle won't tell?"

"Well if the uncle does not want to tell," said Dhafin as if he did not want to force. But he added the next remark that made General Felix shocked. "Let's just ask aunty, I'll tell her. And uncle won't know why I hate nobles."

General Felix was immediately startled as if he had just woken up from a long daydream. He did not expect this child to be so clever as to extract evidence from others. Dhafin is really talented to be a palace official.

★☆★☆

"Well, well, I'll tell you," General Felix finally relented. "But you said first your reason for hating nobles."

"Didn't that uncle want to pay my wages for my idleness in dismantling the forbidden trade?"

"Yes. You want to charge him now?"

"Yes. But the payment was not money, but the payment was the first uncle who told me why Madame Meisya hated aunty."

"alright. It's actually a matter of love, Dhafin" General Felix said. "That's why I said you didn't deserve it."

"Tell me, Uncle. Don't always judge appropriate or inappropriate based on age."

"Yes yes."

For a moment General Felix sighed to loosen his feelings. Then storytelling.

"Until now I'm still confused about love. Before I married your aunt I loved a noble girl from Bentala Kingdom. But my love is not welcome, even he married the Prince of Bentala Kingdom. And then my love...."

"...three months more I harbored the disappointment of that unrequited love. Until I finally got to know Meisya Finola, the daughter of an Amerta Kingdom court official. When I got to know Meisya I started to forget Cassandra Berdine, the noble girl of Bentala Kingdom...."

When General Felix called Cassandra Berdine, Dhafin was immediately shocked, her heart racing. It seemed like his feelings were shaken at hearing that name. But it's only been a while. Dhafin was already able to normalize his expression again. Fortunately, General Felix did not see it.

"...But my love affair with Meisya didn't last long, because I didn't feel right with her. Until I finally met Carissa Felicia, your aunt...."

"When I had a love affair with your aunt, I completely forgot about Cassandra. Long story short, because we felt that we were compatible and in love with each other, we ended up getting married...."

General Felix continues to tell his love story without being interrupted by Dhafin. And the little boy continued to listen attentively.

"It was unexpected that Meisya came to us on our wedding day, together with Danish, my best friend who since I was in love with your aunt she disappeared. Of course those two people came to shock both me and your aunt...."

"...I'm shocked because it turns out Meisya and your aunt are brothers. I'm surprised that it turns out that Danish loves your aunt too, and thinks I took your aunt away from her and hates me. Danish disappeared from being disappointed in me because I took your aunt away from her according to her...."

"...when I didn't know that Danish loved your aunt too. While your aunt said she never loved Danish despite several times trying to get close to her. That's why your aunt was surprised why Danish blamed me for taking your aunt away from her, even though your aunt never had a love affair with her...."

"...Your aunt was also surprised to learn that I had ever been in love with her brother. But I convinced your aunt that I was no longer in contact with her. And because we did love each other, we still maintained our love, even though Danish and Meisya were hurt. And in the end they hate us...."

"...Two months after our marriage, Danish and Meisya finally got married. Somehow their love story I don't really know. Long story short finally happened in the maternity house as you already know...."

★☆★☆

Dhafin does not comment anything about General Felix's love story. Because he just wanted to know what caused the hate. It all started with a very strange love between them.

Love is sometimes confusing. We love someone who is loved by others. And that person blames us for loving the person he loves. But if he thinks sensibly just a little, he will be able to understand that love cannot be forced.

Next, General Felix charges Dhafin to tell him the reason why Dhafin was so bad at the nobility. And Dhafin without turning directly tells the cause.

Dhafin only tells globally. He was scolding the nobles because the nobles had mercilessly finished off his family. To make him a kara in this world.

From the baby she is taken care of by her servant aunt whom she already considers her mother. At the age of five, his aunt was killed by the nobles. Finally he had to run and run to save himself from the pursuit of the nobles who were about to kill him.

He did not reveal the names of his family that he knew from his teacher, Demon Kalyan. When General Felix asked, Dhafin simply replied.

"I don't want to remember my family anymore, Uncle. Because every time I remember them, my heart is getting bitter and giving birth to a grudge within me that will ultimately destroy me...."

"...let all of them be immersed in time and finally vanish into my memory...."

"True, Father," suddenly Ariesha appeared not far in front of them, "do not make Kak Dhafin to remember his family who had died. It will make her heart sadder. Let Brother Dhafin enjoy his new life and his new family here...."

"Ariesha is right, Kanda," said Ms. Carissa who has also appeared with Ariesha. "Let Dhafin enjoy his new life here without having to pry into his past...."

"You have come home apparently" said General Felix after fixing his feelings that had been moved by the story of Dhafin's past. "Cock too fast? Isn't it going to the palace?"

"We have not been to the palace, Kanda," said Ms. Carissa. "We want permission first with Kanda and want to invite Dhafin also to come to the palace if Dhafin wants."

"How, Dhafin?" ask General Felix. "Do you want to accompany your aunt and sister to the palace?"

Not yet Dhafin replied, knowing there was a servant coming to General Felix. After making a salute, the waiter said respectfully.

"Oh, Mr. General. There's a guest who wants to meet Lord General and Young Master Dhafin."

"Who?" general Felix asked with great authority.

"Mr Lieutenant Fidell, Mr. General."

"Do you want Mr. Fidell to meet Dhafin, Kanda?" lady Carissa asked in wonder who was already near General Felix and Dhafin with Ariesha.

Ariesha was also surprised why Lieutenant Fidell wanted to find his brother. Looking for his father is ordinary. He became suspicious of this.

"Did he mention why he wanted to meet Dhafin?" ask General Felix.

"The Lieutenant Commander informed him that His Majesty the King sent the Lord General and Young Master Dhafin to come to the palace."

Dhafin was immediately startled as if suspecting something and looked at General Felix who was also staring at him.

"Don't-don't..," murmured Dhafin with a slightly tense face.

Just now Miss Carissa or Ariesha was about to ask Dhafin not-so-what, General Felix invited to see Lieutenant Fidell.

★☆★☆★