Empire of the Ring

Almaty not only had large gold mines but also a beautiful landscape.

Youngho was so engrossed in land development and establishing factories that he was unable to think about the true beauty of Kazakhstan, but Almaty was no less beautiful than Switzerland and Austria, which were full of tourists visiting from all over the world.

The ski resort called Shymbulak was located at the bottom of the mountains and ice caps that were 3,400 meters high. It was also a favorite destination for European skiers.

Fatima, who came to the Shymbulak resort of the Alatau Mountains was silent at the huge scale of the ski resort.

“Oh! Almaty is as good as Switzerland. I’m surprised there’s a resort like this 30 minutes away from downtown.”

“They had applied to hold the Winter Olympics here. It’s an internationally known place,”

Youngho wanted to show that there was such a beautiful place in Kazakhstan, so he brought Fatima and his children to Almaty.

While looking around the gold mines around the city, he was fascinated by the beautiful nature, so he planned to develop the place as a world-wide tourist spot.

Still, Europeans thought that Kazakhstan had remnants of a dictatorial state and where police charged ridiculous prices to tourists. Even though it became a constitutional monarchy, people still had a negative perception of Kazakhstan. However, the Shymbulak Ski Resort was still an internationally recognized tourist place for many travelers.

Leon, Rena, and Jelyan were fascinated by their first skiing experience that they did not want to leave the snowfield.

Leon, who was fearless, insisted to go on the slopes making his guards nervous.

“I don’t know whom he got that from. He’s so fearless.”

“Who do you think? Of course, it’s you. He’s going to elementary school this year. I hope he doesn’t cause trouble.”

“You know, he’s only like that in front of us. When he’s out, he is quite polite.”

“Look over there. Is that a polite thing to do? He’s just stubborn.”

Leon was stubbornly climbing the slope on a moving walk. Then, ski instructors and bodyguards followed him behind. Seeing that, Rena and Jelyan also went on a bar lift to climb the beginner’s course.

Youngho, who was frightened by the sight, beckoned to Rena and Jelyan, but the two did not care. They skied down the slope.

“Jeez, Leon’s going to be fine, but the girls will be lying down for days.”

“Oh, don’t make such a fuss. It’s not going to hurt a bit when they fall on the snow. They are not going to run into people because people have emptied this section for us.”

The guards asked the resort for help, so the slopes where Leon and the girls were playing were emptied so that they could enjoy skiing. It seemed that Leon would take the front page of the daily newspaper. The royal family members did not go on a domestic outing often, so their visit to the ski resort would become an issue tomorrow.

“It’s Almaty’s blessing that there’s such a beautiful place near the big city.”

“You’re right. I didn’t know Kazakhstan was this beautiful. I’ve been looking at the bleak fields every day, but my eyes are blessed by the sight today.”

“I was surprised to find beautiful sceneries while I was on a trip to look around the gold mines. The southeastern part of Kazakhstan is a treasure. Developing such a beautiful place as a tourist destination will improve the image of our country.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to leave it as it is, instead of developing it? It’ll be polluted if we develop it.”

“We’ll find a way to reduce pollution. It’s a waste to hide this place from the world. It’s a great place for Kazakh people who don’t have much to enjoy.”

“Can’t we build a royal villa here?”

“I want to, but if we build a villa for the royal family here, common people will feel uncomfortable here. They have the right to enjoy their time here. We should just be happy to use the hotel.”

Since Youngho had seen that public access was limited due to political figures or royal families, he did not want to take the beautiful place away from people. Since the royal family would only visit the place once or twice a year, it would be wise to use a hotel instead of building a villa.

“Instead, we can build a villa on the Mediterranean island. There’s no public access, so you can do whatever you want.”

“Can I do as I please?”

“Of course. I bought it for you.”

“Hahaha… That kind of lie is always pleasing to hear.”

“What are you talking about? I’m being serious.”

“Okay, but I still think it’s better to build a royal villa in our country than having one in another country. We can open it to the public, so anyone can have access.”

Fatima seemed to have fallen in love with the place.

However, it was not easy to open it to the public because of security problems. But since she wanted to build a villa here, Youngho would have to figure out a way.

***

After spending a rough day, Rena and Jelyan were tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep that night. Only Leon was sleeping well with no sign of fatigue.

As Youngho put on his ring to Rena and Jelyan simultaneously, they fell asleep an hour later.

“It’s a legacy of our ancestors, but it’s really a novelty. How could they sleep so well after putting on the ring?”

“Zeynep’s pneumonia was healed because of the ring, remember?”

“I thought she was going to die soon. If you hadn’t come, I don’t know what would have happened to us.”

“Life is destiny. She would’ve survived even if I didn’t come.”

“You’ve changed a lot since you wore your ring.”

“I’ve been sensing a change lately. I think my body’s changed since the locals cheered for you, but I don’t know what it is yet.”

“Oh! Did that happen? Why didn’t you share that with me?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing. It’s just that I don’t know what kind of power it is yet.”

“You should have asked Count Niksic. He probably knows the legend of our kingdom.”

“The knights don’t know the wonders of the ring which was only handed down to the royal family.”

“But he might have heard something about it.”

As Youngho was putting the children to sleep, he was reminded of the existence of the ring. In that sense, meeting with Fatima and her younger siblings was not a coincidence. He thought maybe the ring’s power had pulled them together.

He wondered how the ring and leather shoes could be interlinked and why the ring would only make a difference to him or Leon and Szechenyi. It was because Park Jong-il, who had been wearing the ring for about ten years, had not seen a slight change in the color of his ring. And the awakening was only happening to Youngho. There had been no such change for Szechenyi, either.

“I don’t understand why the ring only makes a difference to you. It’s not going to be a problem, is it?”

“I don’t think your ancestors left a ring that has a problem.”

“But I’m still concerned about the change in you.”

“Count Niksic once said the ring only reacts to the royal family. That’s weird since I’m not related to Serbia.”

“Could it be because you’re married to me, who’s a direct descendant of the Archduke?”

“Well, that could be the reason. It’s been serving me well. I’ve become much lighter and more sober, anyway.”

“It’s no use for women in the family except for health and beauty. It says in the literature that men in the royal family used it when they go to war.”

“I don’t think that’s entirely accurate, either. It also said that you could jump over a mountain with the power of a ring.”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of that.”

“Everyone was dozing off when I read it out loud because it was boring.”

“Did I really…?”

“The ring must be a good item because it’s true that it’s the medium that connected your family and me.”

“Oh, so you’re saying you love me, right?”

“You’ve got a weird habit of interpreting things strangely these days.”

“Hahaha… What’s wrong with that? Interpretation is up to my heart.”

***

Park Young-sun appeared in Almaty after preparing to explore the areas where alluvial gold was distributed.

“You’re going to work when we’re enjoying our vacation. It’s a shame on us.”

“Hahaha… That’s exactly why I came to see you before going to work.”

“I’m getting tired of being here. Why don’t I accompany you, Dr. Park?”

“The princesses and the Queen won’t sit still if you did. It’s been a while since you’ve had a break, so take a rest. Don’t feel bothered by me.”

“I’ll try to be there when I’m free since it’s near Almaty. I need a break from Leon.”

Leon followed Youngho around from the moment he opened his eyes in the morning until he went to sleep. He was too active compared to his peers, so Fatima gave up on containing him. Even the bodyguards were exhausted because of Leon.

“The prince must be excited to spend time with his father. Take this opportunity to score a lot. You’ve been away from your family lately.”

“They need their mom more than their dad now. They only look for me when they want to play.”

“You know, I was so caught up in my work that I didn’t even have the chance to spend time with my family and child in the past. Now, I regret it the most that I couldn’t be with them when I was younger.”

“If we didn’t even have time to get along with your family, it’s because of the social system that only emphasized achievements and results. It’s a real shame, and it’s not even so effective. So, I want to make Kazakhstan’s environment where families become a priority.”

“If you take a break and enjoy everything you can in developing countries and not in advanced countries, when will you become an advanced country? It’s time for everyone to work hard at the expense of a little.”

“As a developing country, that sounds like a dream.”

“It’s going to be difficult, but if we improve the overall social system, it’s going to be different. People will be more productive if you create an environment where you can focus. With the time bought from being efficient, we’ll give that back to the families. Working hard is important, but taking a good rest is a way to make your work more efficient.”

“You can’t just stay at home for the holidays and weekends. We don’t have enough environment or facilities for leisure in Kazakhstan.”

“So I’m going to boost the leisure industry by creating such facilities around the big cities. We’re going to start with Almaty and expand it nationwide. We need to popularize the beautiful nature so that anyone can use it. We’ll build new roads and activate a public transportation system, then people will come together naturally.”

“That sounds dreamy, and it’ll be worth trying.”

“To do so, we’ll need money from the government, but it’s hard to build infrastructure right now.”

“I guess I should go bust a vein of gold here and there, so I can find money for the nation.”

“Exactly. Hahaha!”