Chapter 6：Preparations

A week has passed since that incident. There was no process at all, during that week, about finding my brother. Until today, my father has not show me what is inside the box since he was busy. He never summoned me during that week. As for my tutor, Edward, he was sincere to help me finding any leads about where my brother could be. For example, one day he was searching through files about any agreements, reports, contracts, or any other files that seems to be important regarding my brother's location. However, he did not find anything to be suspicious about in those files.

Few days ago, everyone in the mansion was busy preparing for a competition that will be held within the next few days. The one responsible for organizing this event is Noah, a close friend of Edward. One day, Edward told me about Noah, his childhood friend.

"He is my childhood friend. He is now working as an event organizer. His job is to provide a social life of the nobles and the citizens of this kingdom."

"I assume his work is under pressure lately." I said.

"Well, yes. He has a lot of pressure once an event is happening. After all, he will be the heir of his family, Rownland, after the approval of his father."

"How?!" I asked.

"Noah's father is testing him now regarding on how he is working as an event organizer. Noah will be approved once he is capable to be fully responsible by his own. After all, once he becomes as an heir of the Rownland family, he will be able to handle any work, especially the family's internal affairs."

He paused for a moment trying to remember something. Then he said, "Ohh. Yes. I forget to tell something. Noah's father should have a permission from your father to let his son, Noah, be the official heir of the family."

"I see. It seems like a long process."

"What about you then?" I asked.

"Huh?!"

"I mean how did you became my brother's tutor. Did your father do the same as Noah's father?"

"Heh ..." He puts his hands on his nape. Then said "It is somewhat a different process."

"How?!"

"Why do you want to know? It is not like an IMPORTANT matter to discuss about." He said.

"Well .... Because I am curious."

He laughed. "So you are curious to know about how did I become a tutor."

"Yes."

He looked at me then said "It was an exam. Not only theoretical, but also practical. The exam was held two years ago when I was 18 years old. The exam session was open for everyone, even for commoners as well .... As I mentioned before, this exam session was held into two parts, the first one was done theoretically; it was done on papers. While the second part, it was done practically; we were graded based on how we learned during our studies. The practical exam was done for a whole week."

"Wow!" I interrupt him. "It was really long. Was it difficult?" I asked.

"For me, it was not too difficult because I was studying regularly." He answered.

"I see ..... so how did you win?!"

"I forget to say something about the exam. The practical exam was done after selecting the ones who have high scores in the theoretical exam. I was one of people who were selected to do the practical exam. The minimum score that was required to pass the theoretical exam was 90 out of 100. It was too difficult to obtain it. There were only seven people including me who pass the theoretical exam."

I exclaimed "Woow! It was really difficult! I did not know you were smart."

"Hhhhh ..." He laughed.

He continued answering my question about how did he win.

"I won based on how I was doing in terms of communication and workload. Of course the examiners did not tell me beforehand how they were grading. And finally the winner was announced in public, which was me."

"How your family reacted?" I asked

He looked at me and said sarcastically "You never stop questioning me."

"Ohh .... I am sorry."

I changed the topic and said "So what will the competition be about?"

"It will be a haunting competition."

"Do I have to participate?" I asked.

"As far as I know, you will need to attend the haunting competition and see who will be the winner."

"And how will the winner be determined?"

"The winner will be the one who haunts the most."

I kept asking too many questions about the competition. What I understood from Edward from that day was that the competition was held once every year to gather the nobles who knew how to haunt. The location of this competition will be at a forest called "GreenTree". It is located near the mountain in the southern part of the kingdom. Furthermore, the haunting competition is like a symbol of loyalty to the king according to what Edward said. What surprises me is that this competition was held a long time ago; at particular, when this kingdom became strong. According to the legends, this competition is like a gratitude to a knight who help one of the monarch family to rebel against the king to take the throne; therefore, the revolutionary succeeded after he assassinated him and there were dramatic changes to the kingdom after that. That knight showed loyalty to the new king by giving him meats from haunting the animals in the "GreenTree" forest. As for why it is held every year, Edward said that it is like a commitment that he will not forget about his loyalty to the king.

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Finally, it is the competition day. I woke up early in the morning after hearing the head maid calling me. Today, I wore a cloth that represent my status as a prince. The tunic that I wore carried a golden lacework and it is embroidered perfectly. I wore a belt to hold my black trouser in place and a coat that is specifically designed for this event. Lastly, I wore a crown to further show my status. It was a jeweled circlet of gold surmounted by four visible pearls. When I saw myself in the mirror, I felt weird and asked myself "Is that really me? I never wore such cloths that represents my status after becoming the crown prince. I felt like I am a person who is highly important to the kingdom".

I heard someone knocking at the door and said "excuse me, prince. It is time to go to the event."

"Okay, I will be there in a moment." I replied.

I went outside with Edward and saw the carriage is ready. The door was opened by the butler once I reached and then went inside. The carriage has finally moved and it was heading toward the forest, the "GreenTree" forest.