Salvation of The Scum Fifth Prince

[3 - disunited; one dysfunctional family]

The Rosenbaum family.

Heir to the Qazia Kingdom. Among the four kingdoms, they excelled in strength and military power, making them have a firm standing.

Loyal to the Empire, for the most part. The King cared little for minor matters and only interfered when ordered.

Within the family, were five princes.

The eldest, Vincent, the strongest knight and most likely contender for the throne.

The second, Deimos, a mystery that was vaguely mentioned in the novel.

The third, Erlen, who cared more for commoners than nobility, and longed to free himself from the royal shackles that bound him.

The fourth, Atlas, who was a genius that fell from his podium many years earlier.

And finally, the fifth, Soren. A prince not even worth mentioning, lest you stir the disgust of those surrounding.

They shared a relationship by blood, but other than at the dinner table or at meetings, they didn't get along with each other.

Soren was specifically avoided.

The current Soren had few memories from the original, though most were hazy and unclear.

Unfortunately for that fool, he never understood his brother's hatred to him until the very end.

Since they were aloof to each other to begin with, he though they still treated him as family.

Even though anybody with eyes could've seen otherwise.

Better for him, anyway. If the princes avoided him, that could only be seen as a good thing. His plans for the upcoming future would undoubtedly stir a lot of trouble if somebody found out.

It also saved him the trouble of having to get along with these siblings of his.

Soren followed Damien to the dining hall calmly, his expression indifferent.

Damien glanced at him.

"Master, will you be eating at the dining hall from now on?" he asked, not out of genuine worry, but curiosity.

Damien, with his discerning eyes, could clearly see the relationship between the princes.

Soren looked at him lightly. "Of course. Where else would I eat?"

The teenager observed him and stepped aside, watching as Soren stepped through the doors. Damien wondered what exactly this young master of his was planning to do.

Ignoring the glaring eyes on him, Soren moved to the empty seat at the table, besides Vincent.

He sat down and shuffled his chair a few centimetres away.

Vincent looked at the chair, and then at Soren, who shrugged. Who told them to put the chairs so close? Even if it was Soren, he had the decency to stay away from people who didn't like him... well, that was a lie.

He just didn't like Vincent much, either.

"Soren." the King said. "It's been a while since you've eaten with us."

Soren nodded politely, but said nothing. The King cared little for his sons, so this sort of greeting meant little. Even if the King gave his sons the materials they needed to survive, he didn't pay any other attention.

The King didn't treat them poorly, yet he seemed to be indifferent. Another complicated character, one Soren didn't bother trying to understand.

"Tired of playing around?" a mocking voice said from across the table.