The Wizard Prince's Rebel Soulmate

Chapter 6

Like every morning, right after breakfast, Matteo knocked on his father’s office door. Even though his father kept reminding him, that it was now his office as well, he just couldn’t bring himself to just walk inside without announcing himself.

“Come in!” His father’s deep voice came through the thick wood.

Matteo opened the door and greeted him, before sitting down in the chair in front of his father’s desk. His own desk now stood just next to him, a temporary solution until he took over as king and sat in his father’s chair.

“Good morning, son. I’m just working on some finances…” he grinned at Matteo’s groan. “Bet you wish you would have studied economics like I told you instead of engineering, huh?”

“And started sifting through pages and pages of assets and liabilities even earlier? No thank you,” Matteo scoffed, but he knew this was part of his life now, and he would do whatever it took to make sure everything was taken care of, even if it was something as boring as the kingdom’s finances.

He took the documents his father handed him and glanced over the titles quickly.

“Since when do we own properties in Central Italy?” he wondered.

“Wedding gift from King Riccardo.”

He frowned.

“It doesn’t matter, one day it will all be yours anyways.”

“What do you mean, father?” Matteo asked in surprise, and his father looked at him as if he couldn’t believe that he had to explain something so obvious to him.

“You know King Riccardo doesn’t have any children, Matteo. The only relative, who can inherit Central Italy, is Emma.”

“What!?” Matteo croaked.

“Well, of course, as you two are married, it would make more sense to simply unite the kingdoms rather than governing them both separately…” his father continued, oblivious to Matteo’s distress.

“Hold on, unite the kingdoms?”

“It would just make it easier, Matteo. And with the war going on in the kingdom of Southern Italy, there is a very real possibility that King Riccardo will conquer it in the next few years, which means, that when he steps down or dies, all of Italy will be united under one rule. Under your rule.”

Matteo felt like something heavy was sitting on his chest. He hadn’t thought about who would be King Riccardo’s heir, frankly, he didn’t really care. But as he listened to his father telling him matter-of-factly that because of his marriage to Emma, there would be a very real chance to unite the three kingdoms, it made sense. Although the sheer thought of having that kind of responsibility scared him to death. He spent all his life preparing for his role as king of Northern Italy, but he knew every single leader of the covens, their families, their strengths. More than being a ruler, he felt like becoming head of a large family, knowing that he had the support of his people, and they would support him and let him know when he screwed up, before helping him fix it. The prospect of that didn’t scare him. It was an honour, and he took his duty seriously, but it wasn’t scary.

Attempting to unite not just two, but three kingdoms of a country as large as Italy, where people from the South and people from the North had barely anything in common, was a feat that only few had attempted before. And they all failed. Even when Italy became one nation, the wizards and witches stayed divided, and while they weren’t at war with each other anymore – at least not until recently – they all did things differently, according to their own customs and traditions.

At least now he understood why King Riccardo was so interested in getting his niece married to him. Having Northern Italy as a close ally who wouldn’t interfere in the war in the South ensured that he would eventually get what he wanted.

“I don’t want that,” he breathed, and his father nodded.

“I understand. I wouldn’t want that responsibility either. But I don’t think there is much you can do about it now. As I said, there is no other heir to Central Italy.”

“Actually, there is,” Matteo said. “The right heir, actually. Aurora should be on the Central Italian throne.”

“Matteo, be reasonable. You can’t just hand it over to her, King Riccardo would never allow that. But let’s not talk about this now, nothing is written in stone just yet. The one thing I know for sure is that one day, you will be King of Northern Italy, and I am happy to start handing over some of my responsibilities to you. We should start working on those finances now…”

Matteo nodded, pushing away all the thoughts swirling through his head because of what his father told him. They spent the next few hours pouring over pending bills, salaries that needed to be paid and taxes that had to be collected. When they were finally done, Matteo stretched his arms and legs, yawning loudly.

“Let’s have some lunch, son. We earned it,” his father winked at him.

Matteo noticed that since the wedding, and especially since they’d started working together, he and his father had grown much closer. It kind of reminded him of his childhood, before he became a teenager, long before he moved out to go to university. He remembered how his father used to work in his office while he sat at the large meeting table in the corner to do his homework. Sometimes, his father would take a break and help him solve equations, or read his book report, or just chat about football or formula 1 with him.

They went to the kitchen to grab some food, and Matteo relaxed when he saw that nobody else was there. Maybe his mother had gone out with Emma, to do some shopping or whatever it was they did together.

“Oh look, the chef made some pasta salad for us,” his father exclaimed after opening the fridge.

He pulled out a big bowl of cold pasta with pesto, fresh tomatoes and pieces of soft mozzarella, while Matteo went to get some plates and forks.

They brought everything to the table, working together smoothly, and sat down facing each other, eating their lunch in quiet companionship.

As it was the first Friday of the month, they walked over to the Emperor’s Hall after putting away the dishes and the leftovers. The large room with its wooden ceilings had a small door for them, next to which were the thrones of the rulers. On the other side of the room, the larger door that had been opened today, to let in everyone from the Kingdom, who needed to speak to the king. Although his father was always available when someone needed him, and would invite them to his office when they looked for guidance or needed him to make a decision, this monthly even was part of a tradition that reached back to the beginnings of the kingdom, and his father would never abandon it.

Neither would Matteo. As much as he wanted to modernize some aspects of his father’s ruling, this wasn’t one of them. This was part of their history, it was important to him and to his people. Many wizards and witches came here just to take a break from their everyday life, to talk to some acquaintances they hadn’t seen in a while, to watch the king’s decisions.

It also allowed his father to listen to grievances in his kingdom and gave the people an opportunity, to talk to him directly, making them feel valued and heard. Of course, not everyone was always happy about every decision his father made, but as long as the majority agreed with him, his rule would be safe.

Matteo sat down next to his father, nodding and smiling at a few familiar faces. Since he came back from Milan, he had accompanied his father to this event, listening to problems and to the king’s solutions, trying to learn as much as he could. He wanted to be fair, just like his father was, but firm and confident, reassuring his people that he only had their best interests in mind.

“We shall start. Who would like to step forward first?” his father’s voice ended all conversation.

His question was rhetorical, as everyone who wanted to speak today was given a number, so there wouldn’t be any chaos.

“Your Highness, my name is Thomas and I’m from Neumarkt…” the first wizard introduced himself and explained his issue. He had fallen in love with a human woman and wanted to get permission to tell her about the magical world and who he really was.  

King Samuel smiled gently at the wizard in front of him, before turning towards Matteo.

“It’s your turn, son.”

Matteo schooled his features, so nobody would see his surprise. Until today, he had been a silent observer, and now his father wanted him to make a decision that could impact this man’s life?

“Is this woman your anima gemella, Thomas?” Matteo asked after clearing his throat.

“No, your highness, she is not,” Thomas admitted, wringing his hands while waiting for Matteo’s verdict.

“So what are you planning on doing should you meet your soulmate? Would you leave the human?” Matteo questioned him.

“I met my soulmate, but she died in a car accident a few years ago. I didn’t think I would ever meet anyone else I could love, but Daniela… she is kind, and loving, and honest… it just kills me to keep part of me secret from her. I want to marry her, but before I do, she deserves to know the truth.”

Matteo asked him a few more questions that were more of a formality than anything else, before making his decision.

“Your request is granted, Thomas, you may tell Daniela about our world. I wish you all the best.”

Thomas bowed a few times, smiling brightly and thanking him profusely.

“Well done, son,” his father whispered next to him, so only Matteo could hear, but his chest swelled knowing that his father was proud of him.