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Josuke sighed softly as he walked around the near empty halls of the castle, trying to sort out his thoughts and feelings. He had always known he was the illegitimate son of King Joseph - his mother had told him about it a few times while he had been growing up. But it had never really sunk in until now. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, it was nice that his father was finally paying attention to him, but on the other, Josuke was just a back-up prince, since Jotaro, the true heir to the throne, had run off to become a sea mariner. Not to mention the fact that the people hated him just because his mother wasn’t Queen Suzie. And honestly, he didn’t really want to become king anyway. He’d much rather be a knight, serving the people honestly through good deeds and sacrifices. As he started to turn one of the many corners in the palace, he was pulled from his thoughts when he saw a real cute mage just a little ways down the hall, making magical shapes in the air with a quill they were holding. A small smile spreads across his face as Josuke decides to go introduce himself. He walked over to where the mage was practicing their magic, leaning on one of the nearby pillars.
“Hey there,” He said in a cheerful voice, startling the mage by accident. The magic shapes popped into small bits of red glitter as the mage jumped slightly, dropping their quill out of reflex. They quickly fumbled with the quill as it fell, catching it just before it hit the ground. He sighed in relief, before quickly turning to glare at Josuke.
“Heh, sorry about that. My name is Josuke-” Josuke started, trying to apologize for scaring the mage as he introduced himself, but the mage quickly cut him off.
“I know who you are,” The mage snapped in reply, clearly not having the greatest impression of him. “You're the new heir to the throne,” The mage said it like it was some kind of terrible disease. Great, so this mage hated him too. How perfect. “What do you want with me?” The mage asked in an annoyed tone, pulling Josuke out of his thoughts again.
“Geez, no need to be so mean. I was just saying hi,” Josuke replied, pouting softly. He really didn’t understand why everyone hated him so much. They didn’t even know who he was, really! He was a nice guy when you got to know him!
The mage just huffed, rolling his eyes. “Well you shouldn’t. A prince like you shouldn’t be talking to a lowly mage like myself,” He replied, his voice still a little huffy, though there was an unmistakable hint of self loathing in there too.
Josuke frowned softly. That didn’t make much sense, honestly. “You know, I’m not really much of a prince. Sure I’m King Joseph’s son, but I wasn’t born into riches, and pampered my whole life, or had any training to take over a kingdom,” Josuke replied, wanting to make it clear he wasn’t some spoiled little rich kid coming to take the throne or something. That was what most people assumed about him when they met him.
The mage's eyes widened, not expecting that. “You… weren’t? I just assumed since you're the king's son, you’d be born into a noble family or something like that…” He replied, not really sure how to process that information.
Josuke shook his head. “No, I wasn’t born into nobility, or anything like that. In fact, I was born into poverty. My mother and I barely scraped by before all of this,” He replied, explaining how his life hadn’t been anything spectacular or glamorous.
“Wow. That must’ve been hard for you,” The mage replied, feeling sympathy for the prince. He knew what it was like to come from humble beginnings.
“It wasn’t too bad. Anyway, enough about me - I want to know more about you! What’s your name?” Josuke asked cheerfully, wanting to get to know the mage better.
“M-my name? Oh, i-its Rohan…” The mage replied awkwardly, not used to anyone really caring about him or anything.
“Rohan, huh? That’s a pretty name. It suits you,” Josuke replied, trying to flirt just a little. It really was a pretty name though. Perfect for such a pretty mage.
Rohan blushed softly, not used to compliments. “Oh, um, thank you.”
Josuke smiled softly, finding Rohan so adorable when he was flustered. “So Rohan, are you the court mage of the palace?” Josuke asked, figuring they must have some connection to the place to be given free reign like this.
Rohan squeaked softly, almost dropping his quill again out of shock. “M-me? T-the court mage? Oh, no no no no no, I’m nowhere near good enough to be the court mage! That title goes to Mistress Remi! I’m just her apprentice…” He replied rapidly, definitely not very confident about his abilities as a mage.
Josuke hummed softly, not really believing Rohan wasn’t a good mage. “Well, if you’re the court mage’s apprentice, you’re probably a lot better at magic then you let yourself believe,” He replied with a comforting smile, trying to give Rohan a little encouragement. He had a feeling the nervous mage needed it.
“O-oh, um, t-thanks,” Rohan replied awkwardly, blushing again. He didn’t really think he was anything special, but if Josuke did, then maybe he was better at magic then he let himself believe. Josuke opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a voice called out from the distance.
“Rohan! Where are you? I need your help in the study!” A rather high pitched and feminine voice called out. Given the fact that they were looking for Rohan, Josuke figured that must be Remi, the court mage.
Rohan jumped slightly, almost dropping his quill for the third time today. “Shit, it’s Mistress Remi! I have to go! It was nice talking to you!” Rohan whisper-yelled, before turning to run off towards wherever the voice was coming from. Before he could though, Josuke caught his hand, pulling him back.
“Wait! Come see me again sometime soon, yeah?” Josuke asked with a cheeky grin, planting a small kiss on Rohan’s hand.
“O-oh, um, s-sure!” Rohan squeaked in reply, another bright blush covering his face.
“Rohan!”
“Coming Mistress!” Rohan yelled back at the persistent voice, giving Josuke a wistful look. “I really have to go now.” He said anxiously. Josuke nodded, letting go of the mages hand, watching as Rohan ran off to go meet up with the court mage. Josuke smiled softly, and continued his walk through the palace halls, a new bounce in his step that hadn’t been there earlier. Maybe coming to the palace wasn't so bad after all.