Hated Brother

by King's Snake

Unlucky moment in throne room takes an unexpected turn. Two brothers who should be one, finally turn against each other, only to become deadly enemies. First of them, wanting justice and revenge. Second of them, wanting to make their mother's legacy eternal.

19. Chapter XVIII

AN: And here's the next chapter. I cordially invite you to read and comment, dear readers, and have a nice day.

---

Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire

Aries Villa

April 2017 A.T.B.

That evening, a great party was to be held at the Aries Villa to celebrate the triumph of the empire in Egypt. Basically, there was something to celebrate. This victory opened a wide road for the empire to the Middle East. Perhaps the former Arab states did not have something as valuable as Sakuradite, at least not in large quantities. Nevertheless, quite numerous and large deposits of rare metals and other no less valuable resources were still located in this place. This is especially true of mountainous regions. So far, the Middle East Federation has exported its resources primarily to United Europia or the Chinese Federation. Needless to say, with the takeover of this region of the world by the empire, everything will change and the other two world powers will lose access to cheap resources from that region of the world.

Fortunately, all these raw materials will soon be flowing straight into the Holy Britannian Empire, and powering the industries of this world power. This was invaluable support given the growing demands of the empire's industry, but not so much for the needs of the front and the battlefield, but rather for the maintenance of conquered territories and the suppression of rebels, of which there was no shortage.

It has long been clear to any skilled observer and analyst of world politics that the simple fact that Britannia has slowly, but with remarkable efficiency, begun to gain a definite advantage over the rest of the world's powers has long since been occupied by the Japanese Empire. Essentially, the empire's successive successes were not a quest for supremacy, but an obvious manifestation of the dominance of Britannia, over the rest of the world.

Still, it was all too obvious that the deeper geopolitical implications were taking a back seat at this point. When hundreds of distinguished guests came to one of the most eminent villas in the whole homeland. Apart from the most important noble personalities, allied and subservient to Prince Lucius or Schneizel, a large number of industrial tycoons or owners of Sakuradite mines in the Americas, or chairmen of companies producing war materials were also invited. The presence of numerous financiers, military commanders and even some Knights of the Round, also friendly to the cause of both princes, was also significant.

All arriving at the great villa were greeted by the Captain of the Purple Guard and a group of ten guards at the great gates leading inside. In the bowels of the mansion, however, guests immediately headed to the great ballroom, where the main part of the event was to take place. This does not mean, however, that the other parts of the great complex were not available to guests. In fact, all the corridors on the ground floor and part on the first floor were taken over by people who very quickly began to gather in groups and conduct conversations.

The atmosphere among the guests gathered so far in Aries Villa was definitely relaxed and all of them were definitely focused on their little worlds. Some discussed the latest rumors, of which the last and most interesting - because on the moral level - was the alleged First Princess of Britannia sex scandal. Guinevere de Britannia, was to be found by one of the servants in a bed with as many as two men and one woman, in the middle of a small orgy. The piquancy was added by the fact that after the leak of this case, the maid disappeared and no one heard about her, which only confirmed the news for many. Other types of talks were somewhat less frequent than previous discussions about the ongoing war with the EU and rumors that the Prime Minister, through unofficial channels, was to ask for a six-month ceasefire.

As for this second discussion, it caused misunderstanding among some of the guests, all because of the ignorance of certain details, which were also little mentioned in the press. Only a certain part of the gathered people was aware of the problems with the morale of the soldiers, often fighting for several years. Moreover, the vast majority of those aware were primarily the military, who, with moderate success, tried to explain the situation as accurately as possible to some of them.

However, aside from these issues, this party was slowly starting to gain momentum. After an hour, waiters and servants entered the party with trays in their hands. There were both alcohols and some small snacks, to the joy of the gathered.

Although the absence of one - or in fact two - of the most important people of the party might seem quite mysterious, there was nothing surprising about it. A certain tradition among the nobility of the empire was that the organizers did not appear until about two hours after the arrival of the first guests. All this only to appear in the middle of the party, give a speech, after which the main part, which in this case would be dancing, would begin.

We should also mention the presence of cameras and journalists, because everything was supposed to be another great and well-planned media event. Each of the invitees was informed about this to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. No one had any major objections to it. Especially that such events, planned in the media, were nothing new in the social circles of the empire's power.

Most interestingly, the first to make parties, and parties normally reserved only for a small group of people, was the current Emperor. Basically - as it was commonly believed - his intention was to show the commoners, at least a substitute, of what court life and splendor looks like. It was not the first or last revolution or social change that the 98th Emperor pushed through.

The party was in full swing for the next few minutes as more and more guests arrived at the mansion. Deputy Prime Minister Gihren and his youngest brother Garma, as representatives of the entire Zabi family. Major Sir Char Anzable, also recently knighted - specifically a Baron - through the intercession of Prince Lucius, despite his defeat in defending the factory. Other commanders also arrived, such as Major Sir Lothar Zedlitz, Sword Master Sir Schnee Hexenhaus, Colonel Sir Ledo Offen and quite a few other officers from the Knights of the Purple Rose. Duke Alexander Krushevsky and his daughter also arrived as one of the Purple Prince's most important allies.

However, one of the most unexpected guests of this party was a fair-haired girl with purple eyes, dressed in an extremely tasteful dress with royal decorations. She was accompanied by a blonde-haired friend, no less beautiful than herself. Former Princess Marrybell mel Britannia, and descendant of the powerful Zevon family, Oldrin, in a dress similar in style and color to Marrybell.

Many people were completely surprised by the arrival of a girl stripped of her former status for pointing a blade at the Emperor and giving him tasks. It wasn't long before the motley and variously dressed crowd of guests started discussing the subject among themselves. All, of course, in a whisper, and in the process the interlocutors came to many and often completely absurd conclusions, which, however, quite strongly stimulated the imagination. One such conjecture was a rumor about the former Princess having an affair with one of the members of Purple Price's personal entourage, or even with the servants at the villa. Slightly more rational rumors spoke of a potential alliance between the two and Prince Lucius interceding with the Emperor to restore her title and position as a Britannian Princess. However, the most absurd gossip of the evening, and at the same time the one that stimulated the guests the most, was supposed to be an alleged affair between Prince Lucius and the former Princess. However, despite the absurdity of this rumor, many of the people present have nevertheless decided not to pursue it and not to stretch the string, if only out of respect for the host of the party.

"So she came." The Deputy Prime Minister asked the younger brother as he took a short sip of champagne from his glass. "In fact, after what she did as a child, I never would have expected her to return to politics or the imperial political scene in general, in any shape or form."

Garma just threw a knowing smile at his brother. "Well, unexpected situations and solutions are basically the essence of living in this world. After all, who could have predicted that the son of a simple construction worker and the founder of a small construction company, he would eventually become a Marquis, thanks to the merits of the future Emperor, and one of the leading political figures of our great empire."

Both brothers looked each other straight in the eye, then burst into a hearty but not too loud laugh, so as not to attract unnecessary attention from the guests. Regardless, a very odd couple, father and daughter, approached them.

"Lady Monica and Lord Alexander." Garma was the first to notice them, and a moment later Gihren turned to face them. "It's nice to see some of our Suzerain's most important allies, and thus our associates, in terms of working for his glory."

"That's very flattering of you, Lord Garma." Duke Krushevsky answered him calmly. "After all, despite some ... differences between me and your father, I am extremely pleased with the cooperation, all for the great man that is undoubtedly Prince Lucius."

There was agreement among the four people here, though Monica was obviously blushing at the words. This did not escape the attention of Garma, who decided to tease her a bit.

"Would anyone be extremely delighted, a sandy-haired teenager confident enough to blush at every word of praise about his beloved Prince Charming?" The young man was well aware that he could afford such teasing remarks and puns, even in the presence of the blond noblewoman's father.

Perhaps Duke Alexander Krushevsky undoubtedly came from a very old, respected and extremely meritorious noble family, but for this reason he did not exalt himself over the common people or representatives of younger noble families. On the contrary, he was an extremely friendly, quite modest, religious and generally moderate man.

This man focused primarily on increasing his wealth, increasing political power and raising his daughter in the best possible way. Ever since his wife died trying to give birth to their second child, this time a son, which resulted in the deaths of both of them, the Duke had done everything in his power to raise his daughter as best as possible and give her as much as possible. Gihren, Garma, and even Monica herself were more than aware of his hard work in this regard, in his quest to give his only daughter the best possible start, wealth and influence. Although Lord Alexander did his best, he also often neglected the one person who was still the most important person in his life.

Apart from that, Duke Krushevsky laughed at his words, then turned to his daughter. "It seems that your fiancé's friend, and perhaps not only him, is starting to become more and more interested in your interest in this wonderful young man."

"Father." Monica moaned softly, her emotions throbbing so much that she could hardly bring herself to say anything more. "This is…"

"You don't have to say anything, my dear." Slowly aging and graying in the hair, the man said to his daughter with a knowing smile. "I am well aware that the only reason to come to the parties you hate, boisterous and at the same time full of splendor, is a certain sand-haired hero of the empire and this evening. If that's what you want, you can go look for him, I'm not going to stop you."

Monica hastily bowed, and quickly walked to the upper floors of the mansion, where the Purple Prince was supposedly staying. She had not even the slightest concern about the problems with the service. Given her frequent visits here, and the friendly relationship with the hostess. Just for her friendship, the Knight of Twelve has been able to come to Aries Villa in her free time for the past few weeks, just to talk to her.

When she left, the other trio struck up a conversation among themselves, and Alexander started it, with his ribald and extremely relaxing way for the interlocutors.

"It's good to see you alive and one victorious, Garma." The Duke said, then pulled one of his expensive cigars out of his pocket, lit it, and took a puff. "I heard that the Egypt campaign was a real challenge in terms of logistics and coordinating supply deliveries to the fighting troops, not just the Knights of the Purple Rose themselves."

"You're right, Lord Alexander." A young man with purple hair replied. Although the informal style of speech on the part of the Duke made it clear as to the nature of this conversation, Garma decided to address it mainly because of respect for the elderly person. "It was indeed a very big problem, which often kept me awake at night and required a lot of effort on my part. Although I dare not compare my experience and duties to any of the soldiers fighting on the front lines, my role in this campaign was no less important.

The Duke expressed his interest in the subject. "Tell me a bit more, from the perspective of someone who worked behind the front lines and had to deal with mainly administrative duties."

"I understand, the media and journalists mainly show the perspective of people fighting on the front line or outstanding commanders who become the propaganda faces of given war campaigns." The statement was an unspoken question about the perspective of a military man working behind a desk.

A quick nod from the Duke was all he needed to continue. "Well, first of all, I had the most work at the very beginning, when it became clear how in its infancy the logistics of the army group fighting in Egypt were. Fortuneously, Prince Lucius proposed, in retrospect, a sensible plan for supplying the combatants and rear units by rapidly constructing supply points to which supplies would be delivered by air and from where they would be transported to designated units."

"If he remembers correctly..." Alexander hesitated briefly as he began to remember it, or rather some details he'd heard about it. "It was our Prince who came up with this rather unusual idea."

Garma just nodded at that. "Indeed, Lord Alexander. His Highness, as you can see, is able not only from the back, but also by the way to make good decisions as an organizer and thus prepare the ground for winning campaigns. Ultimately, even an army equipped with the best equipment in the world will be worth nothing without supplies of ammunition, medicine and food."

"This is a universal truth about the nature of war itself." Alexander had no intention of denying such an obvious fact. "But what exactly was it like being on duty with Prince Lucius from your perspective?"

"Extremely satisfying." Garma replied enigmatically, then elaborated on this thread. "First of all, Prince gave me and the rest of his men orders, and sometimes some directions as to how he wanted things to go. Nevertheless, he left us complete freedom to do so and expected us to carry out his instructions as far as possible. In my particular case, this meant coordinating and ordering several engineering regiments to begin construction, and ordering personnel from the logistics regiments to coordinate and establish air and then land routes to transport supplies. At first it went quite slowly and I had some difficulties to control it, but quite competent staff turned out to be extremely helpful in completing the task entrusted to me. In the end, I was able to cope with the task, and a certain bonus was gaining practical experience in the subject of management."

"And then what happened?"

"Well, basically after carrying out that order, I was left with periodic inspections to check the overall efficiency of the system, or to chart new routes for divisions and corps as they moved farther and farther into the region. I did it without much trouble, because the enemy had no plans to try to destroy our supply routes. Paradoxically, my greatest enemy turned out to be the extremely rapid progress of our armies, after the destruction of the main EU supply point and supplies there. The disintegration of our enemy's defenses meant the necessity of constant communication with the staffs of individual divisions and corps, in order to be able to locate their location without any major problems. Fortunately, due to orders from Prince Lucius, I was well prepared for the eventuality of the front collapsing and the necessity of constantly coordinating supplies."

Garma regaled these and similar stories for several more minutes. Among other things, he talked about how very satisfying his work as a logistics organizer and inventory delivery coordinator was. On this occasion, he also mentioned several times about the transport of new models of Knightmare Frames for the Knights of the Purple Rose, which turned out to be extremely effective on the fronts of this war. The latter issue was important because since the construction and implementation of Sutherlands, and later also Gloucesters, the development of Britannian Knightmare Frames seemed to slow down a bit. This created great fears that at some point, the empire might lose its technological advantage over the enemy, which in turn could turn the tide of this war.

Continuing the conversation, Garma also began to notice some of the shortcomings and strains that plagued the Imperial army, which without a technological and resource advantage, could be the decisive factor in turning the tide of all the conflicts that Britannia has been waging over the past decade.

"First of all, with our army and the organizational structure of our army, there is definitely a lack of flexibility, as my older brother, Dozle, has pointed out many times before." The young Colonel said at one point, which definitely caught the attention of Gihren himself, who was usually more focused on the political front and his interest in the army and the military in general was negligible. "The Britannian Imperial Army is only prepared for large-scale combat, using only superior firepower, technology and economic resources. Meanwhile, such an approach leads to little flexibility of our divisions, companies and battalions, so lack of flexibility may ultimately lead to difficulties in adapting to the dynamically changing conditions on the modern battlefield."

Alexander nodded at that. "This is a very interesting conclusion."

Garma sensed a hint of skepticism or even incomprehension in his tone of voice and decided to react to it as soon as possible. "Prince Lucius himself could have described it better. Essentially, on our last and apparently most successful campaign operation in Egypt, he discovered, or rather I and he understood, what a huge mistake it was to form the Knights of the Purple Rose force at the time into a single Corps without being able to make any more flexible moves. For this reason, we are slightly reorganizing our structures."

The concerned Duke asked about it, and Garma explained the new division of the 1st Corps of Knights of the Purple Rose. This time, however, he also added that a variant was also analyzed in which the entire formation had not four brigades, but five, and thus the number of personnel for the entire Corps would be increased to 12,500 people. All with one, but quite specific intention. Giving the entire structure much more flexibility and adaptability to different scenarios.

Although originally the Knights of the Purple Rose were created as a response to the limited ability of the main doctrine of the empire's armies to adapt on the battlefield to constantly changing circumstances, the desire to increase numbers and thus combat potential was extremely strong and tempting. What Garma did not talk about, and thus conveniently kept silent, are unrealistic, or at best extremely difficult to implement, plans to expand Knights of the Purple Rose to one more Corps and thus increase the size of this order to a maximum of 25,000 personnel .

Although the expansion plan was undoubtedly ambitious, and at the same time Lucius left details and quite sensible guidelines to his associates and friends, Garma was quite aware that this task - entrusted to him, Sword Master Sir Schnee Hexenhaus, Colonel Sir Ledo Offen, Major Sir Lothar Zedlitz and Major Sir Char Anzable - it was truly breakneck and demanding. Fortunately, Lucius had only announced his intention to them today, and left them complete freedom to execute it, but reserving the right to oversee progress. As a result, they gained the flexibility and freedom necessary to carry out this task.

Apart from that, however, Garma quite neatly returned to the issue of his administrative tasks. He spoke truthfully that as the days passed, more and more responsibilities began to return to the General, who was originally responsible for logistics in this region of the African Theater, and the purple-haired Colonel himself began to focus on what was his main task, the coordination of resources, parts spares and supplies, for Knights of the Purple Rose.

The pleasant conversation continued for a few more years, and after finishing his own thread, it was Garma who asked the aging Duke about successes or failures in business. The answer came extremely quickly, and Alexander made it clear - without divulging certain details - that he was making huge profits by taking new orders to produce new spare parts or components for the Knightmares used by the imperial army. It was also on this occasion that he made it clear that he felt great pride in being able to support the imperial war machine and the moves of the Emperor himself.

A few moments later, however, a rather unexpected two approached them.

"Lord Garma." A rather melodious voice greeted the trio, and when they turned their attention to the source, it turned out to be the former Princess with a blonde-haired friend by her side. "Lord Gihren and Lord Alexander, I am happy to meet you at my brother's party."

To say that the trio, who had been having a fairly quiet conversation so far, was surprised by this is like saying nothing at all. As if that wasn't enough, some of the guests talking close to them turned to this scene taking place here.

"Lady Marybell mel Britannia." Gihren began, rather awkwardly, sluggishly, and definitely didn't know how to act in this particular situation. "And Lady Oldrin Zevon. Well, I can safely assume that my words will be spoken on behalf of all the people here, that we are very glad to have you here tonight."

Several of the guests nodded, but it was more than clear that the only reason for such behavior on their part was out of respect for the Deputy Prime Minister, and unwillingness to offend someone with such a powerful position in the empire.

Regardless, Deputy Prime Minister Dhabi smiled at the former Princess of the Empire. "I must admit that I am somewhat, even extremely surprised, by your presence here, Lady Marrybell."

While it might have been perceived as disrespectful, Gihren wasn't addressing her that way for no apparent reason. In fact, he had no intention of allowing his seemingly innocuous words or gestures to lead to his or any of his loved ones' undoing. The ostentatious and public naming of the former Princess with her title could lead to something like this, because an unfriendly person could interpret it as opposing the will of the Emperor himself.

"Lord Garma." Marrybell turned this time to a purple-haired man about her own age. "I heard about your role in my brother's triumphs. My only regret is that I myself did not have the opportunity to participate in these projects."

"I assure you, you haven't lost much, my lady." Garma replied to her words, then moved on to a slightly less pleasant matter. "Nevertheless, I am extremely surprised by your invitation to this party, and even more surprised by your presence, my lady."

Marrybell narrowed her eyes dangerously but subtly, looking at him with unmistakable hostility. Although she could not threaten him in any way, still Garma had no intention of being an enemy of someone like her.

"Please don't misunderstand me." He raised his hands defensively. "I do not mean the memory of some forgettable and regrettable incident. To put it bluntly, until now you haven't attended official functions and parties organized by Prince Lucius very often. So why has that changed now?"

Marybell understood his fears, and immediately dropped any hostile thoughts towards him. This time, however, her tone of voice was a little softer and discreet than before. "Well, it's mostly because Lucius asked me to in the invitation. I, on the other hand, never deny him such things if he asks me."

Garma and Gihren immediately exchanged glances, but in a rather unambiguous way, while Alexander was clearly surprised. In all the resulting commotion, the former Princess's companion was the only one who seemed to be having a good time and covered her mouth so as not to vent her own amusement.

Marrybell looked at the trio in front of her with a question painted on her own mouth. "You don't know that?"

"Well, Lucius never mentioned that part of his family life to me, and I think he had a pretty good reason for it." Garma was the first to answer, but he didn't realize the tactlessness of using the host's name alone, and on this occasion, no one brought it to his attention. "Nevertheless, I wonder why he kept in touch with you all these years, my lady."

The former Princess looked at him calmly, but took a deep breath anyway. "In other words, you want to know why the Common Prince is interested in protecting and maintaining contact with the Banished Princess?"

The trio tensed at her use of that particular choice of words. Nevertheless, this was nothing new, but none of them was going to allow such a name to be given to a man for whom they had quite high hopes. But before they could say anything else, Marybell continued.

"Well, your guess is as good as mine. Although Lucius and I graduated from the New Colchester Military School in the same year, our relationship, undoubtedly friendly at the time, remained rather coolly positive. To put it bluntly, I don't know the reason for such an invitation and this special request, especially since I have little to offer him. Both from a political perspective, not to mention a military one."

Her pupils dilated slightly after these words, and her tone of voice - which turned a bit venomous and full of subtle fury towards the end - made it clear to her friend that the need to mention it had put her in a state of mild rage.

"Currently, my only duty and job is to be the garrison commander of the Manila Settlement." Marybell continued, her voice a little calmer than before. "One of the advantages of this position is the opportunity to do something for the empire in the fight against terrorism. Nevertheless, being a garrison commander is still not much."

Although she gave them quite a lot of information, Garma was interested in what the former Princess had just said. "The garrison, so the regular army, is engaged in the fight against terrorists?"

The question was quite appropriate, at least ostensibly, for the army and garrisoned soldiers - at least in theory - should not be used in a fight for which the gendarmerie, police or other paramilitaries should be arranged, but not the military. After all, reality often forces people to make unconventional or even illogical decisions in some situations.

"This is not the only such case in the empire, Garma." Gihren, for his part, chimed in. "Taking into account the often shortcomings in this area, and the incomplete colonization of individual areas, this forces local viceroys to be quite flexible in using the regular army."

"Exactly." Marrybell nodded in agreement, then changed the subject to the original one. "Nevertheless, the fact remains that I have nothing to offer my half-brother, apart from rather unpleasant memories of the past, at least from the point of view of pure profit and loss."

At her words, Garma laughed quietly and subtly enough not to attract the attention of the guests around him. "You definitely don't understand Purple Prince, despite being in the same year in New Colchester."

"For your information, because you may not remember it well, it was him and you, among others, who kept to themselves in their own group of friends and without any deeper contact with the rest of us." Marrybell crossed her arms, meeting only the violet-haired youth's giggles.

"Then you obviously don't realize that my friend is not one of your average ruling class." Garma stated with complete conviction, earning the curiosity of the former Princess, the blonde accompanying her, and the smiles on the faces of Duke Krushevsky and Deputy Prime Minister. "In fact, Lucius cares deeply about those he considers family or old friends, and you are no exception to that rule. Not to mention that your repeatedly noted knack for battlefield command, organization and piloting of Knightmare Frames also makes you a valuable asset."

The former Princess began to inquire about exactly this, while Garma did not spare her any answers. Meanwhile, Oldrin, Gihren and Alexander looked at them with smiles on their faces.

In another part of the mansion, specifically in the office of Purple Prince, he met with Schneizel, and their conversation almost immediately turned to issues of the speech's stie, and several actions that their faction will take in the near future. It wasn't really much, because it was mainly about taking over a few small enterprises and companies dealing with industry and producing components or even assembling Knightmare Frames. They were mostly business entities whose owners had conflicted with the Empress Gabrielle or had fallen out of favor with her. For the two princes, it was an extremely tasty morsel, because industry is power and thus the possibility of creating your own army.

"It's not very reasonable of her." Purple Prince spoke, glancing at his older half-brother and most important ally sitting in front of his desk.

"Placing the greatest emphasis on financial or political considerations." Schneizel spoke with a smile on his lips, looking his younger brother straight in the eye.

"Very short-sighted and likely to cause more problems for her." Lucius added, then stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the villa's gardens.

Basically, the location Purple Prince looked at has changed quite significantly over the years, all thanks to its modification and reconstruction so that it does not remind him so much of what was and will never be again. First of all, the former open spaces of the garden have been replaced by a complicated, but at the same time extremely aesthetic labyrinth. The walls were evenly trimmed bushes, which were often intertwined with flowers. These were not just any flowers, because Lucius made it a point of honor that the garden was filled with purple or yellow roses, so that they would perfectly match the symbolism he used, an invasive mixture of purple and gold.

"Myopia aside, Gabrielle can still be extremely dangerous to us, mainly due to her more powerful and much greater connections and influence in the financial sector than we are." Schneizel drew his attention to a rather important fact.

Nevertheless, while Lucius was aware of it, he didn't take it as important as his older half-brother. "I don't deny that this could be a big problem for us and we should be careful about it.

Then he turned to the chair where his half-brother was sitting.

Schneizel, meanwhile, sensed a word unspoken by Lucius without much difficulty. It wasn't much of a problem for him, given his upbringing and education, in terms of court intrigue, social rules and the ability to read people, which is so difficult to measure and present its meaning in an unambiguous way.

"But?" He asked with a hint of curiosity, which was in fact a pure expression of wanting to know his younger half-brother's opinion on the subject.

Lucius, meanwhile, smiled haughtily and mockingly, then replied.

"But it's not something that can stop us, not in the long run. Despite everything, we are still on a straight path to obtaining a majority in the House of Lords, and an increasing number of officers or members of influential factions in the army are leaning towards us. Not to mention the extremely powerful industry that allows us to equip both the imperial army and our private armies with the best equipment available."

Schneizel smiled slyly, then proceeded to banter with his younger brother. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Not to mention the fact that if anyone in this room has a private army, it's definitely much more you."

Lucius laughed and was clearly in the mood for brotherly banter. "You're right about that, and I'm not going to lie to you, Schneizel. Basically, I created the Knights of the Purple Rose specifically as an Imperial Knightly Order, with the hope of having as much independence as possible and answering only to our ever-absent father."

The words might seem dangerous on the surface, but there was nothing treacherous about them, and the villa itself was free of wiretaps. While this could be considered pure paranoia, Lucius had ordered that the building be inspected regularly on a weekly basis for hidden cameras or other eavesdropping devices. It could be considered paranoia, but the Purple Prince had no intention of risking his own safety.

"Unfortunately you're right, Luc." The Prime Minister sighed slightly, but the Purple Prince himself had no doubts that his current attitude was only a good-quality mask that had been created and refined by him over many years. "Essentially, his absence politically makes him little more than a figurehead with power essentially delegated to me."

This topic interested the Purple Prince to a greater extent than the others. "You say the Emperor entrusts you with almost all duties?"

"Mostly." Schneizel nodded calmly. "Although I still have to consult with him on many of the most important issues, from a purely legal or factual point of view, his public appearances or actual participation in political life, war coordination or personnel matters in the case of the cabinet has been left at my disposal. Many documents that should have ended up in his hands actually end up only in mine."

Lucius' eyes flashed. "So, once again, a certain hypothesis operating behind the scenes of politics, according to which you are the Emperor in all but name, is confirmed. Or is my perception wrong and a bit overly optimistic?"

Schneizel chuckled at his comment, which made it clear what the answer was about to come.

"You have a far too optimistic view of the situation, but in simple terms, it can be considered completely accurate."

After a moment, Lucius sat behind the desk once more and leaned back in the comfortable chair, looking straight into the eyes of the Prime Minister. There was one more thing left to discuss between them.

"What exactly will our next steps in domestic politics be?" Purple Prince asked, secretly more than willing to destroy the political enemies who had been trying to destroy him and all those associated with him for years.

But if there was one person Lucius would wholeheartedly want to kill. Sink the blade into her heart. That would be the Empress Gabrielle without a doubt. There was a fairly clear reason for this, and in fact a whole series of very good reasons. First of all, it was not because of repeated attempts of its destruction, using political, economic or media methods. It was Lucius who could forgive, because he was involved in politics for a really large part of his life and understood perfectly well that literally all tricks are allowed in this game, but the question is, are you able to reach for them?

Regardless, Lucius hated this particular Empress for one very specific act of insolence on her part, and that was mocking his dead siblings and mother in an extremely ostentatious and public way. Very often, this took place while still in his presence, so Lucius had to refrain from physically attacking the Empress with great difficulty. Purple Prince simply couldn't count all the parties, official ceremonies where Empress Gabrielle, with her haughty and mocking smile, mocked the deaths of the two people most important to him.

Purple Prince's hands clenched into fists, just remembering all those extremely humiliating and acting on his - quite large as you can see - patience. There were even moments when Lucius was genuinely close to throwing himself at the woman he hated in pure rage, venting all the emotions raging in his heart, and rushing towards her, with the intention of tearing this woman apart with his bare hands. The fact that the insults thrown at his loved ones were repeated many times

"If nothing changes drastically to our disadvantage, I plan to continue this slow process of getting more and more members of the parliament to our side." Schneizel replied without thinking. "We can't afford too drastic to win over too many members of the opposition factions to our side yet."

Lucius laughed heartily, though he sounded rather mean and sinister. "Rock the boat, but don't capsize. Sounds like a reasonable plan, but still, it basically means very slow progress while we give our main political adversary a chance to catch their breath or regroup."

"Looks like you've spent too much time in the war and too much focus on military matters these past years, Lucius." Schneizel replied to him. "Although during the course of hostilities, a very aggressive approach, if only supported by well-organized logistics, may bring undesirable consequences and effects on the scale of national and especially global politics. First of all, the consolidation of forces and resources by all rivals."

Lucius understood almost immediately the deeper implications of these words regarding the Prime Minister's international policy. "That's why you always pressured the commanders to act rather slowly in Africa. It wasn't just about having a well-organized and prepared logistics for every eventuality, but mainly to avoid a too spectacular victory, right?"

"Your assessment is highly factual and true." Schneizel was beyond any doubt pleased because of the high intellectual abilities of his younger brother, which manifested themselves once again. "In this case, I could kill three birds with one stone. On the one hand, until your actions in Egypt, we avoided too spectacular victories and did not prophesy the Chinese Federation to enter this war. On the other hand, I could enforce all this under the rational pretext of avoiding problems with supplying the fighting troops."

Lucius nodded because he simply couldn't deny the rationality behind it. Nevertheless, although he was already sure about the third advantage that would result from such a course of action, he decided to ask about it anyway. "And what exactly would the third dead bird be, if we are already using this type of metaphor?"

The Prime Minister narrowed his eyes for a moment, accompanied by his typical haughty yet polite smile, before answering. "It would be an ongoing option, some sort of spectacular victory on a local or slightly larger scale, which could draw attention to a commander who could shine in the media and gain respect among our population and military. In both cases, a certain war fatigue was felt, in which progress is objectively slow."

"It worked 100% for me." Lucius summed it up, feeling somewhat annoyed at being in his own mind - at least in the face of this information - just a pawn, or at best a piece, on the big chessboard of his older brother.

Despite everything, Lucius did not express his displeasure in any verbal way, which, thanks to the repeated exposure of his patience and self-control skills, was not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. "Well what exactly are your foreign policy plans and potentially continuing the war with the EU."

"Under the present circumstances, given the great enthusiasm in the public after your success, and with the Emperor's insistence on continuing the fighting in the near future, sooner or later I will have to resume the war. Nevertheless, I will try to ensure that it takes place at the most convenient time for us and with the best preparations possible." Schneizel began to explain. "However, there is another problem, and that is the Middle East Federation issue."

"Is this a poor, technologically, socially backward and corrupt country?" Lucius asked, not even hiding his slight surprise, which was expressed by the raising of both eyebrows. "Unless both the EU and the Chinese Federation send materiel support or military advisers to that area, I don't see much chance for this ... so-called state. Basically, I seized the two most important ports in Egypt, not only with the intention of displacing the EU from this region of the world, but also opening the way for us to the Federation and valuable raw materials, which, above all, rare metals."

"It is not a question of raw materials or military-material assistance to the MEF, but a question of the Emperor's pressure to attack this country as soon as possible. It was only due to my personal persistence that the date of the invasion was postponed until next month."

The words of Schneizel made Lucius almost pale. It turned out that the Emperor - their father - is definitely more than just a figurehead with less and less interest in the affairs of the empire. Lucius quickly realized how low he judged the Emperor and his interests.

"So he is pushing for the fastest possible occupation of more and more territories, even against reason and only in accordance with social expectations? Or rather in accordance with the fact that the nobility of old blood wishes to rush towards Europe, our old home, as soon as possible?"

"Not exactly." Schneizel vehemently denied his supposition. "The discovery of the reason why the Emperor gives the order to start all these wars and invasions at such a short time is unfortunately not known to me. In addition, I have not yet found any scheme that can effectively determine the reasons for his initiation of all these wars."

"I guess you have some suspicions about that, have you?" Lucius said.

"Apart from the initial and most rational ones, such as trying to ensure our empire's undisputed domination over the world, or waging wars to win the confidence of the militarists, industrialists and imperialists at court and among the populace as much as possible. However, this seems unlikely, because in that case he would rather oversee all these campaigns and preparations for them." Schneizel replied, and Lucius could have sworn he saw irritation in his brother's eyes for a moment. "Ultimately, the only reasonable explanation for the push for world hegemony, with no interest in details, is the loss of any concern for our country, or even any mortal struggles for us mortals."

Lucius nodded in understanding. "Campaigns give him the opportunity to divert and focus considerable attention of the public, the nobility, the court and the army, above all on the war effort. Or are all these campaigns an attempt to somehow get out of a certain political stagnation, as it found in our political structures?"

It was no secret that long before the murder of the mother of Lucius, Empress Marianne vi Britannia, the politics of the Holy Britannian Empire saw a definite stabilization and consolidation of the political situation, which, however, had not yet stagnated until the death of the Empress. Only after the gradual rise of the united Vi Britannia and El Britannia parties, with considerable antagonism with the powerful La Britannia party, the invasion of Japan, the seizure of the most important Sakuradite deposits in the world, and the triumphs of the Britannian Army with the Chinese Federation in the Philippines, Indochina and Cambodia, only led the empire towards political stabilization followed by stagnation, stability.

What once again rocked the political scene of the Holy Britannian Empire quite seriously was the start of war with United Europia, for a rather bizarre formal reason, and the invasion of South Africa, which has led straight to the present day. Only a small, north-western piece of Africa remained in the hands of the EU. And from the information that Mariemaia was able to provide to Lucius, it was clear that the United Army was aiming at the fastest and most airtight possible fortification of the territories it still possessed, whose purely economic value was constantly decreasing, but at the same time the Chancellors and the United General Staff they had not the slightest intention of abandoning basically the last bulwark that could protect the inhabitants of Europe from fighting on the old continent.

"He has lost interest in our mundane affairs, and at the same time he is focused on something indefinable." Lucius grunted, obviously not happy about it. "The details, at least, have been left fully at our disposal, and it is doubtful that he will start meddling more heavily into campaign or policy details any time soon."

"Hence the opinion that our father becomes a figurehead year after year, devoid of factual importance or any decision-making power, which, as you probably already know, is a greatly exaggerated statement and has little to do with the facts." Schneizel adjusted the scarf around the neck, but it was tied tight enough, and by the way, in such a way as not to pinch the wearer too much. "But apart from that, do you have any specific plans for a speech when we stand in front of your guests?"

"Nothing too fancy or overly elegant." Lucius replied without thinking, because he had everything arranged in his head. "I'm going to summarize briefly and quite succinctly what we, Cornelia, and by the way all my brave knights have accomplished. At the same time, and finally, I will assure all our guests of the inevitability of our destiny as rulers and protectors of the entire world. In addition, however, I have prepared a surprise at the very end of my speech."

"Surprise." Schneizel repeated, with unmistakable interest and a twinkle in his eye. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Lucius chuckled. "You'll soon find out, and you probably won't be too surprised. In fact, I think you already know what I'm going to tell them all."

"I think so, Lucius." Schneizel murmured, with an easily discernible thoughtfulness that very quickly gave way to a small smile. "I have a feeling what's coming is going to be quite interesting and will certainly give it a..." he considered his choice of words for a brief moment. "Quite an interesting setting."

"I have no doubt that will be the case, Schneizel." Lucius answered him, and then there was the sound of a rather strong knocking in the room. There was no doubt that someone was knocking on the door.

"You can come in." Purple Prince announced in a tone of voice specially raised for the occasion.

Moments later, the door opened, and a member of the Purple Guard stood in the doorway, armed with an ornate SMG with a golden bayonet attached.

"Excuse me, Your Highnesses, but Lady Monica Krushevsky is requesting an opportunity to speak with Prince Lucius." The guardsman announced in a firm voice. "Furthermore, she says she won't take no for an answer and is ready to get here at all costs."

Lucius, hearing this declaration given to him, could not just refrain from a warm smile, which broke onto his smooth lips moments later. The very news of the presence of his beloved almost immediately made him feel a pleasant warmth in the vicinity of his heart, or so he felt.

"Let him come in." He announced, then turned to his half-brother. "Sorry Schneizel, but I have one very important issue waiting for me that just can't wait any longer."

"I understand that perfectly well, I suppose." The Prime Minister nodded slightly in amusement. "Nevertheless, you should definitely avoid romancing this undoubtedly lovely woman so openly. There are already many rumors that you have already deprived the Duke's daughter of her honor."

In the meantime, a guard came into the corridor to summon the woman.

"I don't care about all these rumors, and neither do the vast majority of people who listen to them. You know that." Lucius rolled his eyes and had no intention of denying himself being mean at this point. So he approached his elder brother and whispered in his ear. "Besides, it's still much better than all the rumors about your same-sex affairs."

Schneizel, most surprisingly for Lucius, remained calm and smiling, despite the fact that homosexuality was considered aberration and deviation in the light of social norms in the empire. It wasn't a crime, but it was still not accepted, and these people, if their nature was exposed, didn't have an easy life, to say the least.

"Well, I've always been told that I have a soft spot for things that are strange or even exotic in many ways." The White Prince replied. "This particular case would be no exception to that rule, I believe."

"Surely." Lucius managed to whisper before the guard returned, escorting the object of great affection Purple Prince on the occasion. "Monica!"

"Luc!" His greeting was returned by a beautiful blonde, and they both threw themselves into each other's arms. "It's great to see you on this wonderful evening."

Lucius planted a quick kiss on her lips, and she returned it passionately. Purple Prince and Knight of Twelve, that's what they were, but at that moment, and above all, they were a couple of loving young people who were not ashamed to show their affection, even in the presence of third parties.

After a while, however, this passionate moment came to an end, and Lucius then turned to his stepbrother. "Forgive me, brother, but while I would like to continue these discussions about the battlefield that politics undoubtedly is, there is another form of battlefield waiting for me, which I must now attend to."

"I wish you good luck, brother." Schneizel answered him, and a moment later the pair of lovers left the office.

Lucius tugged on Monica's hand and they both walked further down the floor. Once again, it was sumptuous, extravagant, but at the same time extremely elegant and in the best taste. Basically, Lucius allowed himself to extremely strongly emphasize his main color theme, which was undoubtedly the purple-gold range of colors, or a large number of such decorations. What should be mentioned are also the numerous paintings on the walls of this floor, which were not accidental replicas of some classical works, or originals from the past. In fact, none of them were more than twenty years old.

The first of the paintings encountered by the couple of lovers depicted, above all, the deceased Empress Marianne, still as a Knight of Six, in the times of her splendor and greatest triumphs. Emblem of Blood, or the pacification of some of the noble uprisings after the civil war, are just some of the numerous military successes of Lucius' mother.

Another category of images, however, were those commissioned by Lucius, with the goal of immortalizing as many campaigns or battles as possible. Starting from the first fights in Africa, in which Purple Prince took part, until the moment leading up to the last series of victories in Egypt. He did his best to remember all those undoubtedly wonderful moments during which one and the same feeling was repeated, indescribable euphoria. Euphoria, not only from success on the battlefield where blood, human guts and hopelessness are commonplace, but above all from wanting to remember all those moments. More than every single battle he's ever had in his life.

All the paintings have been prepared by an artist who has worked for the vi Britannia family since its inception. This man, named Jacques Pled, used to paint all these paintings in the Impressionist style, with an emphasis on capturing sensual and fleeting moments. In short, catching the fleeting moment. Paintings depicting Lucius - and the Knightmare Frame he often used during a given campaign - focused primarily on capturing the moment of triumph and the weight that fell with the news or awareness of defeating an opponent.

What deserved special attention, however, was one particular image, which seemingly seemed to completely mismatch the rest. This particular painting was particularly large, and what it represented was a total of four people. The first, and undoubtedly the oldest, was an incredibly beautiful and elegant woman with night-black hair and violet eyes. The two boys were definitely shorter than their mother, and while the first seemed to be her masculine and youthful reflection, the second had sandy hair and was much shorter than his brother's. Finally, the last was a little girl in a scarlet dress, with hair the same color as one of the boys, and pulled up in two ponytails. All four, against the background of a large garden, rich in vegetation of the temperate climate.

A portrait of the vi Britannia family, commissioned by Empress Marianne herself, during her lifetime, almost ten years ago. While it might seem foolish and irrational at first glance to cherish the memory of a past that is gone and will never return, Lucius stubbornly never agreed to remove this particular painting. All this despite the subtle fact that he has been repeatedly urged to rid himself of the past from the corridor of this house in order to forget his painful past once and for all. Even after all these years, Lucius wanted something in the villa's corridors that reminded him of those he loved the most who had gone missing because of what had been a cautionary tale to the Purple Prince. Stubbornness bordering on, or even exceeding, inflexibility and clouding judgment. If there was one lesson Lucius had learned from the mishap in the throne room at the Imperial Palace, it was that of being stupidly stubborn and letting emotions take over reason.

One could easily dismiss such conclusions as hypocritical or inconsequential, especially in view of Lucius' taking the Wyvern Zero case as personal after Carl's death. Well, this way of thinking was not without strong foundation, but at the same time it completely ignored the fact that Lucius never in all his self-control, and with all his common sense, allowed himself to be controlled by instincts or irrational feelings. The only exceptions would be passionate kisses with the Knight of Twelve, and a few nights of sleeping together in the same bed, but without a carnal act that would deprive the lady of her honor.

Regardless of the decision-making power of the Purple Prince or his view of reality, both he and Monica, after a short walk through empty corridors, reached one of the guest rooms. By general villa standards, the rooms were rather small and modest, but still decidedly luxurious.

Lucius pulled Monica inside, who willingly let himself be kidnapped, then closed the door while making sure they weren't being followed by some nosy man or more. However, no such person came, so Purple Prince closed the door, followed a moment later by Monica aggressively, passionately and with great pushiness. Lucius, meanwhile, had no intention of remaining passive and easily defeated. So the two young teenagers continued in their passion and kisses for a few more very long moments for them, but they did not cross a certain line, after which the straight road to copulation began.

Basically, missing a first time for an engaged couple was undoubtedly something really rare. It was traditionally customary for engaged couples to keep themselves chaste until the wedding day. While this is what tradition required, very few people were able to do it, and all because of a purely biological drive. In the case of these two teenagers, tradition has been relatively preserved and neither Lucius nor Monica have lost their virginities.

"We only saw each other for several hours." Lucius whispered passionately in her ear as they both managed to pull themselves out of the emotional whirlpool of love. "After all, it still feels like an eternity has passed since we last met."

In response, Monica pushed him away from her neck just enough for them to look each other in the eye, then planted another passionate kiss on his lips, and he returned it with no less affection. But when that was over, they were able to continue talking, despite their constant deep breaths.

"It might as well have been an eternity, but our feelings would have remained the same." Knight of Twelve began with a smile and a slight blush on her cheeks. "What I feel when I'm with you is really great and holding back from… you know what is getting harder and harder for me."

Lucius laughed at her words. "Believe me, I know exactly what you mean. I will say more, for me it is more difficult, especially when I have such a beautiful girl in front of me."

Monica didn't respond with embarrassment, instead her smile only widened and the lovers fell into another, shorter round of kissing each other, but without trying to dominate one over the other. Essentially, in this relationship, the two treated each other as equal partners, and each sued the other to do whatever he or she felt like without much reservation. Also, neither Lucius nor Monica were shy about showing each other their emotions. They loved each other, spent a lot of time together and slept several times in the same bed. The natural and typical teenage shyness was overcome many years ago, so the two lovers were not ashamed to show each other their own feelings, coming from the depths of their hearts.

"Actually…" Lucius finished another exchange of kisses, leaned back a bit and in the process showed once again the height difference between them because Purple Prince was just over 2 meters tall. "For a brief moment, I was apprehensive whether you would come here with your father. Regardless, I'm glad it was completely unwarranted on my part."

Monica giggled briefly in response with obvious mockery. "My father is one of your most important allies, and by the way he is very dependent on you and your position at court, or in the internal politics of our empire in general. He just couldn't help but show up at your glorious triumph party."

"Don't forget my elder sister, Chief General of the Britannian Army" Purple Prince clearly had no intention of appropriating someone else's achievements or sharing the glory fairly with someone else who was also a major influence on his triumph. "Looking at everything from as objective a point of view as I can afford, she was the commander-in-chief of this campaign and I was only sent there as backup. I might have won great victories and, with my order, been the spearhead of our empire in that part of the world, but it was Cornelia who had the honor of being the head of our war machine in that part of the world. Her command and coordination skills were no less important than mine."

"Surprisingly fair of you, even considering your egalitarianism and meritocracy in the truest sense of the word." Monica stated in response. "Nevertheless, we're not going to spend the moment here in one of the guest rooms, are we?"

"NO." Lucius replied, and a moment later an idea popped into his mind. "We can sneak out to the gardens. I remembered that I had ordered special side corridors for staff to be built, which, in the event of the villa being completely overcrowded by guests, were to allow them to quickly move around this place. Thanks to this, we will be able to get to the lower floors unnoticed and go out to the garden."

"A practical approach to the problem on your part as usual." Monica replied, then grabbed her fiancé's hand. "Then drive on, I'm definitely sick of being in a confined space at the moment."

Lucius, while he was undoubtedly pleased with this, did not show it in an overly expressive way. "All right, then let's go."

The engaged couple left the room and made their way through the great corridors once again, while still trying to remain unnoticed by the eyes of the guards or guests. Reaching one of the staff passages did not take them too long, because Lucius very quickly found one of such passages, located behind one door that stood out from the others. The difference in this particular case was that the ornaments were made of shiny metal, not brass or even gold, as in the case of other doors.

To their great surprise, the lovers, after opening the passage, almost immediately came face to face with a pair of female servants who were carrying two trays upstairs, the first with glasses filled with wine, and the second with snacks for the drink. With just one look and a nod of the head from Purple Prince, both servants immediately understood that they should just not talk about them and carry on with their duties. Both women in their thirties had no intention of objecting, and instead relented almost immediately, but with distinct smiles on their lips. There was no doubt that the sight of Purple Prince with his longtime friend, who was quite openly said to be his lover, would give them quite a lot of room for gossip.

To be honest, neither Lucius nor Monica didn't mind gossip about each other because they had gotten used to it a long time ago and it had become almost a normality in their lives. They repeatedly read in newspapers or tabloids about gossip on their own topic, and sometimes even overheard maids passionately discussing it. Much of this dubious information was quite detailed about their alleged sex lives, and in one of the newspapers belonging to a certain Baron with many ties to the Empress Gabrielle la Britannia, there was mention of the great pagan orgies in which Lucius and Monica were to take part. Someone was even tempted to create a caricature presenting both lovers in a licentious position, naked, on a pagan altar.

After about a few minutes, Lucius and Monica finally reached the gardens, but this time they didn't encounter anyone. Very soon they began to enjoy the fresh air as soon as they started walking deeper into the place covered with greenery and flowers. Even the cobblestones from which the sidewalks for walkers were built were overgrown with not very dense, but still moss.

It would not be the first, let alone the last, walk through the beautiful and majestic gardens of Aries Villa, performed by both lovers. They had walked many times, but the last one, after Lucius returned from his campaign in Egypt, was the most significant, at least from today's point of view. The two preferred to stay here, even on a relatively cold night tonight, rather than stay in the villa, which was still full of guests today.

Monica and Lucius walked a few more yards, chatting happily and enjoying each other's presence, until they reached one particular spot in the garden. It was quite large and made of stone, a fountain around which numerous, made of wood and at the same time massive benches were located. The teenagers chose one and sat down. In fact, it was Lucius who sat down while Monica lay down on the wood and rested her head on her lover's legs.

The two enjoyed the moment, especially since both of them would soon have to return to the crowded villa for the speech Lucius was about to deliver. It would be really weird and awkward if the party organizer didn't speak during the ceremony.

A few moments later, Purple Prince began gently stroking his beloved's hair, and she closed her eyes enjoying the moment and even purred, much to the satisfaction of her fiancé.

"I'm glad we met so many years ago." Lucius said at one point, remembering that special moment in his life that turned out to change everything forever. "I remember like it was yesterday when my mother came back to the mansion and told me and my siblings that we would be hosting two important people for the day."

Monica opened her eyes and looked straight into his purple ones, with an undisguised grimace and a slight blush, because she didn't like to remember this rather awkward moment.

"Then your father walked into the living room where we were staying and you followed right behind him and clung to his pants." Purple Prince's words were accompanied by his fiancée's growing blush. "I remember his words perfectly as you approached the sofa where I was sitting with my siblings. "Come on Monica, say hello to our hosts." Meanwhile, not only did you not say hello, you also ran away to the garden, and I ran right after you."

The young lady's blush only grew stronger until she decided to say a few words that would help her relax. "Yes, I also remember the incident when I fell into the pond and started screaming for help. You meanwhile, running right behind me, threw yourself into the cold water to pull me out."

"You didn't mind when, like some Prince Charming, I basically pulled the lady out of the pond and, holding her in my arms, took her to the villa where you stayed for the next few days due to contracting a fever." Purple Prince rolled his eyes, which was met with a slight push in the ribs from his mistress. "As far as I recall, you never held it against me, and we've been good friends ever since, which only progressed with age to where we are now."

They both laughed softly, holding hands. A few moments later, Monica decided to get up and with great agility, looked straight into the eyes of her fiancé.

It became clear that at that moment the pleasures were over, because Monica began to study her fiancé and his reaction, and in the meantime, he sensed it without the slightest problem. They stared at each other for a brief moment, until the Knight of Twelve decided to ask him a question.

"Have you ever thought about our past, and what has been lost, perhaps even irretrievably?"

Lucius thought for a moment and closed his eyes to sort it all out. Did he mention the past? Definitely, and like all of us, he asked himself one, but extremely important, question many times. Could he have done better? If given the opportunity, would he try to change anything? After a while, however, Purple Prince opened his eyes and gave an answer.

"Not a day goes by that I, to a greater or lesser extent, don't mention what happened and often what I don't want to remember because it's simply too inconvenient. It used to be painful for me to dwell on the past, especially on a personal level. Regardless, I overcame that pain, mostly because of you. On the other hand, I suspect that I may have, in my short life, simply become indifferent to all this pain. But aside from that minor point, I have already answered your question, and I am sure of one thing."

Then, he placed another of his many kisses on her lips, and she accepted them with her eyes open. It also didn't take long for Lucius to step back and continue.

"I may have lost a sibling and recently a friend, but it wasn't my fault. Lelouch was reckless and just too stubborn to understand that he was in no position to demand anything from our father. As if that wasn't enough, he dragged our sister down with him. After his bold but foolish declaration in which he renounced his claim to the throne, he was essentially the living dead."

"You're saying this is all your twin brother's fault?" Monica raised an eyebrow and made it clear that she didn't believe him after all. "I remember well that day, seven years ago, when I came to your room and you were sobbing, practically swimming in guilt, for the deaths of the last remaining people you loved so much. While I don't know what it's like to lose a sibling, I do know what it's like to lose a mother with an unborn sibling. So I know it's a terrible loss that I don't think will ever fully heal, yet you talk about it so calmly."

Lucius listened to her arguments stoically, but at one point he couldn't help but drop his eyes to the floor. The pressure of his fiancée and beloved was simply too strong for him to try to fight it. In fact, he couldn't deny her accusations. The loss of his siblings, in addition to not very pleasant circumstances, had a rather concrete effect on him. Most of all, Lucius still more or less and occasionally felt the pain of losing the people he once loved. However, there was one more element that successfully enabled Lucius to roughly overcome the pain of loss, and which the Purple Prince himself mentioned earlier.

"I say this because over time I simply adapted to the pain I felt. Like our distant ancestors, they had to adapt and adapt to new circumstances or they would die. Just like animals and organic beings in general, they evolve and adapt to all the variables and potential threats. Just like most people capable of it, I had to adapt to the new situation sooner or later." He stopped his argument with a short, seemingly resigned, sigh. "Forgive me if my words sound cold or even inhuman, or if I seem to be a little different from the honorable man you know. But regardless, I'm going to be completely honest with you. My point is that in my adaptation and with the will to survive above all else, I had to develop an indifference to death, an indifference mainly to the departure from this world of people close to me, so as not to feel the pain or sadness of loss that might cloud my judgment."

"Is something like this even possible?" Monica was obviously skeptical of his explanation, but still remained open to his words of correction. "It sounds like you're trying to develop psychopath traits and end up not feeling strong emotions. Some of us, born with the inability to feel any deep or even any emotion, we call them psychopaths, as you probably know."

"Perhaps I am unique, but the fact is that I have a certain ... ability, created and practiced over many years, to control my emotions." Lucius continued while his gaze rested on Monica. "Many times I had to stop myself from being too emotional or expressive, so by the natural course of fate, I managed to develop a certain resistance to too strong emotional stimuli. Let the best proof of that be the fact that I didn't go after Wyvern Zero when I found out about Carl's death."

After that, there was a long silence between them, during which Monica looked down, not daring to meet his eyes. Whereas Lucius had no intention of backing down, and stared at his fiancée with all determination, perhaps even in a way that was too pushy. Regardless, he had no intention of backing down.

Many emotions and thoughts were present inside the teenage couple, but none of them were uttered. Despite everything, Monica decided to look straight into the eyes of her beloved. She had heard that someone once described the eyes as the windows to the soul. In this case, although Lucius, in fact, portrayed himself as a man in complete control over all his emotions and passions, the windows of his soul were saying something decidedly different. So Monica had no doubts about his true emotional state.

"You're lying, Luke." Monica stated firmly, and after these words she saw undoubted curiosity in his eyes, and a request for development. "You're not doing it intentionally, rather semi-consciously or even completely unconsciously. I'm not sure which answer is exactly right. Regardless, the fact remains that what you're saying is not true, so let me tell you what you actually feel emotions, perhaps extremely strong ones, but you haven't learned to ignore or not feel them, and instead you've become an expert at keeping all those emotions inside, where they may fade over time, but that's okay. is not healthy for you, I have not the slightest doubt about that."

On the surface, Lucius remained calm, but that was far from the truth. Monica realized the moment his eyebrows lifted slightly and his eyes nearly widened. So, wanting to tell him the truth and change his way of thinking for the better, if only a little and slightly, she decided not to back down and keep talking.

"If it were otherwise, if you really ignored your own feelings and passions, would you react in this way to our encounters, and would you return my kisses with such ... great vigor. If you could really ignore your inner emotions, would you really insist on keeping your humanity and honorable conduct in war, especially with regard to captured prisoners?"

Lucius just muttered something unintelligible under his breath, and didn't say anything else because he was out of words. The awkward silence between the engaged couple lasted until the young Prince finally collected himself, then he began to stroke his beloved's hair with one hand - to her great delight - while the other rested on her left cheek.

"You may be right, but we may as well be just fools who think we know each other when in fact we live in the illusions of our little worlds, ending where our thoughts and emotions cannot reach." He spoke softly, but loud enough for the bride to hear. "Regardless of that, I know who I care about and who I want to spend my adult life with."

Before she could say anything else, Lucius attacked her lips, and with no other choice, the young Knight of Twelve gave in and responded with a no less passionate kiss. It lasted until a certain but ending their carefree moment.

"It's so romantic, I almost envy you!" Someone shouted, not as far away as one might expect.

"Photo added to memories gallery." There was a slightly moody and decidedly indifferent second voice.

Lucius and Monica opened their eyes just as the flash of the photo they were taking fell on the area. Almost immediately they turned to see the culprits of the commotion and the interruption. Two people appeared very quickly. The first, tall and always annoying blond, holding the position of Knight of Three. The second was some little girl they didn't know, with pink hair, wearing a Knights of the Round uniform that fitted her tiny body.

"Gino!" Both Monica and Lucius screamed at the same time, irritated by his interruption of their moment. However, it was Purple Prince who said the next words. "Do you have to be as annoying as ever and interrupt people who love each other in their intimate moment?"

The blonde haired teenager giggled stupidly at his attention and started rubbing his head. "Forgive me Luc, but I couldn't resist this small and at the same time satisfying pleasure."

"I can imagine." Lucius rolled his eyes in silent annoyance. A quick glance at her lover was enough to confirm her embarrassment. Taking another breath, he smiled and turned to the Knight of Three. "Despite your uncourtesy entrance, it's good to see you Gino."

"Me too." The always self-satisfied knight replied, then his smile and friendly gleam in his eyes faded a bit. "I'm sorry about Carl, I haven't had a chance to tell you and express my condolences yet."

Lucius nodded, especially since knowing the usually cheerful Knight of Three, the death of their mutual friend was quite an emotional blow for him. "Well, I mourn his death and loss too. Still, it's hard for me to feel sorry for him when you look at it from a broader perspective."

Gino frowned at his words, with some disgust at the words of a man who usually seemed to him to be quite an honorable young man and worthy of respect. "You don't seem particularly saddened by his death, Luc."

"Believe me that I am, Gino. While I may not show it physically, the loss of a friend is always a strong emotional blow to any sane person. Still, it's hard for me not to blame him as well, for his death, because he decided to face the enemy unit himself, as far as I know, in the experimental Knightmare Frame, which has not been properly tested before. In addition, he did not deign to inform anyone of his position."

"But how did a man who should have been far behind the front lines end up in the crossfire?" Sir Gino crossed his arms while Monica furtively looked at him with considerable concern. "It seems a little suspicious to me, very much so. Especially in the face of what Bismarck described as an evasive and half-truth report, which he then submitted to the Emperor."

Lucius hadn't expected to be interrogated at this particular moment and in the aftermath of what felt like another round of teasing him. He glanced surreptitiously at Monica, who also expressed her interest, especially since he never delved into this particular subject with her. Finally, Purple Prince sighed and decided to clear things up as soon as possible.

"Well, he was there because the enemy attacked a certain facility built by me in the rear. Specifically, it was an underground factory where state-of-the-art Knightmare Frames would not only be manufactured and delivered to the battlefield. Also, and perhaps even above all, it was there that the designs of the first machines from the Tallgeese series were to be finally finalized. Mass, Stormtrooper, Scouttrooper and Stormcommander are just the ones that have been put into production in this underground facility. There were also a very large number of other prototypes or fully unfinished designs and systems that often didn't even go beyond sketches and concepts."

Gino and Monica stared at him wide-eyed and it's hard to be surprised. Meanwhile, the little girl was too busy checking her photo gallery on her phone to be able to focus any more on what was being said around her.

"Somehow, I don't know how yet, Wyvern Zero Commander Colonel Leila Malcal, and undoubtedly other high-ranking EU officers, found out about this factory. I don't know how, but so far I suspect either a leak or just a job from within my personal circle. However, at the moment, I have no specific suspicions as to the identity of this spy."

Gino and Monica stared at him wide-eyed, but it was Lady Krushevsky who spoke first. "You've never told me anything about it, except maybe mentioning the design of the machines and showing me the finished prototype."

Completely ignoring the larger context of Purple Prince's words, Knight of Three turned to the girl. "You had the opportunity to see one of the most modern Knightmare Frames in the world and you never told me about it, did you?"

Monica rolled her eyes at this, as did Lucius, and they both decided to hold hands. "You have never asked me for any details about what my fiancé is presenting to me."

The mood of the Knight of Three has become a bit crankier, there's no doubt about it. However, all this until a certain revelation came. "Wait a second!

Then his gaze wandered from Lucius to Monica. "Did you just say you're engaged? That Lucius officially asked you to marry Monica, and your relationship turned into something much more permanent?"

Both the Purple Prince and, by the way, the Knight of Twelve nodded in unison, while the pink-haired Knight of the Round looked at the two dispassionately.

"Noted." Then she continued typing on her phone.

"That's great news!" Gino exclaimed excitedly before clapping his hands once. "What are you going to announce publicly this evening!?"

Lucius glanced at his fiancée out of the corner of his eye, and she caught his eye and gave him a curt nod. "Yes, we are going to announce it publicly today and add a lot more tension to everything. For far too long, we have allowed the public to be ignorant."

"The Emperor will be delighted!" Gino exclaimed so loud that both Lucius and Monica winced as Knight of Three turned to his companion. "Don't you think, Anya?"

She looked at her decidedly taller companion as if he were handicapped, then went back to writing. "I think so."

Only then did Lucius decide to address his own father. "I honestly doubt the Emperor would be interested in his children's affairs, especially considering the fact that he never seems to have attended any of the birthday parties, for sure mine."

"You misunderstood him Your Highness, the Emperor is here at Aries Villa." Anya answered for her companion, and then she nodded to the Prince with respect, while keeping her clenched hand over her heart. "Aside from that, I'm honored to meet you, God of War. I am Anya Alstreim, Knight of Six, at your service, Your Highness."

Lucius literally felt the blood drain from his face just hearing the message, which was additionally spoken so lightly, as if it meant literally nothing. Monica felt the same, but she recovered very quickly.

"Gino, be a good friend and tell me what you just said." Lucius more or less controlled his emotions, then continued while the Knight of Three nodded. "Are you trying to tell me that my father is here. At Aries Villa, at my triumph party."

Both Knights of the Round nodded, but Gino spoke first. "It is exactly as you say. The Emperor arrived here quite recently, along with the other Knights of the Round. Actually, me and Anya were supposed to find Monica so she could join the rest of us at His Majesty."

This news left Lucius genuinely stunned. In a very rare display of lack of control, Purple Prince practically didn't know what to do. Basically, once his emotions were relatively under control, he almost immediately began to consider and plot how to use this unusual situation to his own advantage. He could easily and publicly ask, or rather in this case demand, a few things that would be an action with long-term benefit in mind. But he had to be diplomatic about it if he wanted to avoid a certain over-brash Prince.

Lucius smiled at his friend, already sure of the requests I would make to the emperor, and then a single simple sentence escaped his lips. "Let's not keep His Majesty waiting"

Gino then nodded, but before he could say anything else, Lucius turned to the young Knight of Six with his hand outstretched. "Nice to meet you too, Lady Alstreim."

---

AN: I sincerely hope that my work lives up to your expectations, and now let's move on to some clarifications.

First, I never before write or even try to write romance, so this is sometnhing new for me. In that chapter and fic, I try to show relation beetwen Lucius and Monica, as something which is mostly based on the emotions and compassion, the possibility of feeling mutually with someone else, who is important for the individual.

Second, I used this opportunity primarily to present what the upper spheres of the Holy Britannian Empire look like in my vision, and internal politics, of course.

Write to what my vision is in your mind, I will be more than grateful for any constructive criticism.

On this occasion, I wish to pgives my regards to DarkerEvening. Our conversation and exchange of thoughts about my work gave me a lot to think about and gave me some ideas. I recommend seeing his profile and reading his stories.

Cheers everyone and see you next time.