Alver is unable to move. Something heavy was holding him down on the bed. What the fuck?! It squirms!

Squirm?

He jolted awake and noticed two red hairs on both sides of his head.

Red?

Red?

"Good day, Alvery!"

"Good day!"

Damn. His life will be cut short if he continues to be surprised by everything these twins do. He closed his eyes, hoping it was all a dream, when he felt them move to his front and adorably put their hands on their chins, grin at him, and enjoy their prank on him.

Damn it. Just plain damn it.

He used to be the one clinging to them, but now they're the ones doing it. The twins used to ignore his existence, but now they won't let him go for the day. Consider the count storming in and beating the lights out of him.

He stood up calmly and slipped away from the rascals. He was changing his clothes slowly when he heard—-

"Good abs."

"I want one too."

"Bulky meaty muscles."

"Bulky meaty tiddies!"

Aren't they embarrassed? Alver was beyond embarrassing. He blushed furiously. He dashed to the bathroom and performed his morning rituals.

He wanted to keep a safe distance, but...

They're back in the bathroom, staring at him.

"Why aren't you taking that necklace?" Rok inquired.

"Come on, take it off!" Cale exclaimed, unceremoniously removing the necklace. When the three of them stumbled into the tub, Alver panicked and reached for the child's hand. When Rok joined the fray, he was trying to keep the necklace on his neck but clumsily slippers when he did so, and they all fell into the bath. Alver did his best to keep them safe, but when they fell, he forgot about the necklace.

*Splash!*

Rok and Cale looked at him.

"Woah."

Cale had the necklace in his hands. Alver, a dark-skinned man, sat beneath the twins.

"You're more handsome in this form," Rok said subconsciously.

"Oh, so this is what they call the secret of his birth," Cale says.

Rok: Did you know?

Cale: Oh, I didn't tell you.

Rok waited for his brother to say something.

Cale: Alver's ascension to the throne was met with opposition from the moment he revealed his birth. But I wasn't exactly there.

Rok: but?

Cale: he was sentenced to death and deposed as emperor.

The first few chapters of The Birth of a Hero had only been read by Rok. Cale was well aware of what lay beyond the scope of the War of the Whales and Mermaids.

They both looked at Alver, down to his abs and back again. Alver was about to say something but decided to wait and see how they reacted. It's fine, but it's also—how should he put it?—awkward.

Rok began, "I like this look more."

"Yeah... what race are you?" Cale agreed.

Alver was taken aback and rendered speechless beyond words.

"A... dark elf..." are they not surprised? Are they not freaking out?

The twins looked at him, staring into his eyes. Oh, dear! His eyes hurt because he doesn't know who to look at. He ended up staring at both of them! He felt like he was being stripped naked before their eyes.

He had no idea that the twins were already planning to profit from his body! That sounded wrong. But shouldn't a good body be put to good use?

"Yeah, those darn dark elf genes," Rok nodded, returning his gaze to his abs.

"We should keep it to ourselves," Cale said with a sly grin.

"Of course, he's our wife, so we should keep this trophy for ourselves."

"He shouldn't squander his good looks... but we can make his hair shine more."

"As good as gold!"

"What's with your gold obsession?"

"It's shiny and cool to look at!"

Both twins looked at him and said, "Right, Hyung-nim?"

Sweal Alver was on the verge of freaking out. Rok took the necklace from Cale and placed it back on Alver's neck. Suddenly, Ron entered the bathroom and found the three of them in the same bathtub, rubbing each other hair as monkeys do with their young.

"What kind of good lord happened here?"

Alver felt like he was about to fall into another chaos just by looking at the servant. They were all stripped down to their birthday suit with bubbles floating around.

Rok, "We're taking a bath."

Cale, "The more the merrier!"

*raise*

The twins shut up and smiled coyly at Ron.

"Get up... NOW!"

The twins immediately scurried away taking the robes while rinsing their hair. They took the set of clothes prepared for the prince and smiled when they saw the prince blush.

He is so fun to tease!

Two grim smiles brought Ron to click his tongue.

Ron reprimanded, "Next time... Don't and never take a bath with someone."

Cale refused, "But he's our wife!"

Rok seconded, "Right! He's our wifey!"

Cale, "shouldn't we get used to each other..."

"...because we're gonna be living together in the future?" Rok continued, "it's better to get used to it now."

"Rather than get used to it later and get annoyed." Cale finishes the sentence.

Ron looked at them coldly. That shut them up.

Cale: Uh-oh. He's angry.

Rok: I thought our charm worked on him.

Cale: Wrong thought-ing brother! Wrong!

"Back to your room now, Young Master," Ron said coldly to Alver, "I still have some things to do."

Alver had no idea what was going to happen next, but he had no choice but to endure it. Just damn it.

[***]

Of course, after messing around with Alver's morning, today's the day that they'll acquire the ancient power! They needed something to protect themselves so a shield would be better!

[Who is going to wield power? ]

The glutton priestess asks about the moment the shield emerges from the black tree. The twins didn't expect that only one would get the ancient power.

"Who?" they asked, looking at each other.

[Did you know that only one person can wield power? ]

"We didn't."

— and they had never expected to meet an ancient power as befuddled as they were!

Where did they go wrong?

They just oversee the fact that they're two separate entities!

"Hahaha... what the fuck? Hahaha hahaha!" Cale laughs. His brilliant older brother messed up big time. The shield was flapping its wings as if it was anticipating who would wield it. Anyone could see the sweat dripping from the hapless holy shield.

"Shall we play a rock paper game?"

"No way... we read each other's minds."

The shield just continued to look at them when it screamed, [OOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!]

The twins covered their ears and looked at the shield.

[I guess it's fine! the two of you!]

"It's fine?"

[I can't tell the exact details, but your souls are linked, so it should be fine!]

Both of their faces lit up when they heard that.

They extended their hands, and the shield was absorbed into their hearts. Their hearts thumped so loudly that they could feel each other's excitement right now.

"What was that?" Cale inquired.

"I'm not sure... but I can tell you're excited right now."

"You're enjoying it as well, but you're disappointed by how holy it appeared."

They both smirked and laughed.

"I just assumed our minds were linked... I didn't realize it was our soul."

"Did the shield enhance that ability?"

"Similar to resonance?"

"Right?"

"We can then use the shield."

[It will be powerful if both of you use it.]

Hearing that Cale and Rok each activated it separately. It should keep them safe from low-ranking knights and only a few attacks from seasoned fighters. They both raised one hand, and the supposed silver shield turned pure white, making it extremely holy.

Both had huge grins on their faces.

Cale: Rok... This is great.

Rok: A bit too holy looking if you ask me.

Cale: It's better than looking like some villain.

Rok: I like villainous things.

"Time returned to our beloved soon-to-be crown prince wifey."

"Yeah, let's mess up some more." Cale seconded, and they returned to the county.

Only to discover that their fiance had escaped their grasp and gone back to the capital.

Rok, "We're being abandoned, dongsaeng."

Cale, "How dare he?" The entire county fell silent after hearing the twin's solemn tones. They looked bored to the point no one dared say a word.

"What should we do the next time we see him?"

"Bind him."

"It would also be nice if he had a canopy bed."

They both appeared to be viciously dangerous as if they were daredevils plotting the end of the world.

A saintly-looking count, on the other hand, appeared to greet them.

They both looked at the Count and said, "Dad... our hyung-nim fiance doesn't like Rok and Cale..."

They looked pitiful, but the Count's wide smile made them look even stranger.

"Don't worry... don't worry... Dad will find you someone better than that jerk prince... You can forget about him."

What the hell?! were the collective gasps and thoughts. The count has gone insane!

"But the prince already saw Rok and Cale... We can't marry anymore!" says Rok, with his platinum award-winning Oscars acting.

Acting like a shy maiden and a cute kid seeking comfort at the same time.

"Hyung-nim has already slept with Cale and Rok."

Uh-oh! Another round of applause echoed. That sounded wrong!!!!

A vein on the count's forehead looked like it was about to burst.

"He dared?"

The twins went ahead and latched themselves onto his leg.

Ron said, "They're not even on the same page."

A vile-faced count faced the county's mage, "Connect to the palace..."

Ron took the twins in and ignored the count who was about to murder someone.

"I have someone to skin and hang alive."

FIRST PRINCE!!!!!! MAY YOU LIVE LONG AND HAPPY!

TBC