AN: Adequate note from me will appear in the next chapter, in the Afterword.

Holy Britannian Empire, Area 11

Tokyo Settlement, Viceroy Palace

September 2017 A.T.B.

"Just perfect." Lucius expressed his thoughts aloud and without shame, because he was alone in his office with a touch tablet on which he was reading the new report from S.K.F.D. Institute. "Not only that, mass production of the KPR-02 Deathtrooper will begin soon if no major complications occur and no additional manufacturing defects or faults of this type are detected."

Purple Prince scrolled down, encountering several graphics and diagrams that captured his imagination. "And that's not all, new variants are already being developed. KPR-02/S, KPR-02/C Deathtrooper Cannon. There is quite a lot of it and you can read about it for a long time, the only thing is…"

At this point, some doubts appeared in his mind. "Is it possible to replace classic artillery and support equipment units with Knightmare Frames with weapons appropriate to their role to such a large extent?"

He considered the question for a few short moments, but his fast-working mind provided him with the answer. "On the other hand, Knightmare Frames with the role of self-propelled field artillery will at least not be as sensitive and exposed to attack as classic vehicles. Not to mention the ease of production and unification of parts."

With these words and his final decision, he didn't think about it any further and simply wrote a response giving Doctor Zimmad full freedom to start building, engineering and producing prototypes of these special types of machines. Knightmare Frames, which had a real chance to slowly replace standard support vehicles.

"Maybe someday, but not today, when Knightmare Frames technology is just starting to fully develop and literally no one can say exactly where it will end." Lucius thought aloud, then sighed and began to mentally prepare himself for the next conversation.

Although only 2 days have passed since the funeral of his brother Clovis, this political manifestation brought many results in a relatively short time. One thing Lucius could classify as beneficial to himself, by now seeing him as the living embodiment of the empire and imperial ideals. This involved expanding his already large group of political allies.

However, the most satisfying effect of revealing Clovis' death, which even now pleased and warmed Lucius's heart, was the fate that befell the Empress Gabrielle le Britannia. In fact, that was one of the main reasons why he was in such a good mood today, as he had been all day before.

Still, there was another, slightly darker side to this success, and that was all those in the empire, particularly the Imperial Family, who were simply furious at best that Clovis' death had been used in such a way to make a point. The first to express his dissatisfaction in this matter was Odysseus, who criticized Lucius in a private video interview.

Many years of experience in hiding or suppressing emotions was extremely helpful for Lucius and enabled him to listen to words of criticism without major displays of emotion. If it weren't for that, he would laugh in everyone's face. How could he do otherwise, when the words reaching his ears were considered to be the most miserable lies in this world. Words about being a family and the immorality of using the death of any of its members for political purposes.

Now, however, he was about to talk to a fully adult woman who, at one point, had been almost like a mother to him and whom it would not be so easy to deceive, even in terms of deeply hidden emotions. In fact, the woman he was about to talk to knew him very well, for many years, and although she had not witnessed his changes over the last few weeks, the shared history between them was often much more valuable than any ability to read other people's emotions.

The tablet buzzed a few times, and seeing that there was a message requesting a video call from a rather specific woman who had an extremely powerful rank - even by the standards of the Imperial Family - Lucius swiped one of the icons and almost immediately, a straight image was displayed on the other side. the other side of the world.

"Cornelio, it's good to see you, although I regret that it has to be under such grim circumstances, without the opportunity to talk face to face." Lucius began, with a polite tone of voice, but without a smile, but with as neutral an expression on his face as his current emotional state and general mood allowed. "I hope that at least your campaign in the Middle East against the natives is going quite well, dear sister."

However, the woman with deep purple hair just rolled her eyes, devoid of any humor. "Come on Luc, if you really think this futile courtesy will postpone what I have to tell you, you are wrong. Nevertheless, I must tell you that the Middle East will soon be subordinated to our father's rule."

Lucius was sincerely curious, and although he had access to many reports and read a lot of news about the ongoing conflict there, gaining knowledge from the commander-in-chief would be more than invaluable. "Really, then, should I assume that the armies of the Arabs are another easy opponent for our army?"

Cornelia, for her part, just snorted with laughter, as if remembering a joke and, Lucius supposed, seeing it as a small but welcome chance to take her mind off things and talk to her brother. "Well, the MEF army is exactly as one would expect from a poor supra-national body that has long lost its wealth, the source of great influence, and all social classes have become permeated with a dull and primitive religious fanaticism, worthy of savages but not of civilized people. "

"So can I assume that this country's army turned out to be not even a paper tiger?"

"For the most part, however, there were exceptions worth mentioning." Cornelia continued, then moved on to her next questions.

Most of what she said matched what Lucius had read in the reports. The corrupt, outdated and poorly led MEF army was quickly overwhelmed by the well-built machine that was the Britannian Military. Only a few formations proved to put up decent, and sometimes even heroic, stubborn resistance against the Britannians. However, it was just a drop in the ocean of disasters and failures. Even the obvious support from the EU could not change much in this matter.

To his great surprise, Lucius learned from his sister that the guerrillas turned out to be a much bigger problem for their campaign than the regular army. These so-called Mujahideens were quite effective in attacking supply convoys, depots and even regular army units deployed behind the front lines to rest or guard the rear. Additionally, their hit and run tactics were extremely irritating and well implemented. Lucius could have concluded this by saying, "even savage and primitively intellectual religious fanatics can be quite a threat if they are well led, armed, and have high morale."

However, even these successes could not change the fate of the war, which the MEF lost from the very beginning. In fact, although the front line stopped, Cornelia and her knights were personally involved in the fighting in the rear, which ended in the destruction of many villages used by the partisans, but also in benefits for the army, as the Mujahideens were pushed into the mountains, decimated and losing many valuable equipment.

Cornelia, however, seemed visibly saddened that a side effect of her campaign and the fight against the guerrillas was the need for civilian involvement. Although Lucius was well aware of his sister's honorable nature, he didn't particularly care.

"Now, though, let's get to the main reason for our conversation, Luc." At these words, her beautiful eyes visibly hardened to such an extent that they could be mistaken for the eyes of a predator. "Rest assured, this little conversation hasn't made her any more pissed off than she was just a few moments ago."

Lucius, for his part, meanwhile straightened up and adjusted his position, but tried not to show any major signs of preparation or concentration to hear the accusations against himself. So he retained his expression as coolly calm as possible. A moment later, it all started.

"What the hell were you thinking when you turned our brother's funeral into this political and propaganda circus!?" Cornelia growled, her voice clearly strained and holding back a scream with great difficulty, but after a short pause she spoke more calmly. You should have seen my face and felt the same way I felt when I saw your speech. I also can't tell you how many members of our family have contacted me, demanding that I talk to you. "A lot of people gave me a pretty good argument that if Clovis, one of the closest people to you and your siblings as kids, was abused by you in this way, what would stop you from taking advantage of the rest of us in the same way?"

Lucius listened to it calmly, occasionally looking only at the pop-up notifications of new messages, of which there were 3 in total. Despite everything, he remained focused, because he had no intention of disrespecting one of the people closest to him, whom he could classify as real, authentic family.

Hearing that she had already finished speaking, he decided to answer her, not without lies. "Cornelia, although I was not thrilled with this idea myself, in the current state of affairs, when the political situation in our country is heading more and more towards my and Schneizel's domination, I felt it necessary to complete this process as soon as possible, before everything started to escalate."

"If you really think that your claims that the reason for your behavior is raison d'état, then you are not as great a genius as many of our society and elite think you are, Luc." Cornelia scolded him, without any major or expressive emotion present. "Although there was a lot of truth in what you said, from my point of view it does not change the fact that you decided to dance on our brother's dead body. To tell you the truth, I couldn't believe my eyes and ears, especially with the death of your siblings."

Lucius narrowed his eyes, with a slightly dangerous undertone of emotional expression. "Cornelia, I hope you realize that you have just stepped on extremely thin ice. I advise you to be careful, sister, because after saying certain words, there may be a crack between us from which there will be no return."

"I'm well aware of that, brother, and yet I have no intention of backing down." Her pose matched the declaration exactly. "I want you to explain to me why you decided to make such a move. Was it really a matter of your concern for the fate of the state, a matter of revenge and desire against the Empress Gabrielle, or perhaps a matter of strengthening your power base, brother?"

Lucius wasn't happy with her choice of words, which made it seem like she was making demands, but he still had no intention of going into any kind of confrontation with her. However, his mind soon began to downplay issues irrelevant to a private conversation of this type, and instead focused on questions about his motivations.

In fact, he hasn't bothered to answer the question about his own motivations in this matter until now. Was it concern for empire and internal politics in their home? Was he motivated by the opportunity to take revenge on a hated person and torment him mentally? Or perhaps the fuel for the fire of his dynamic actions was actually the lust for power?

Lucius had never asked himself these questions, not in recent days or in recent years. Despite everything, a short moment of quite deep reflection was enough for him to answer this question in a way that satisfied his conscience, ambitions and was consistent with the facts.

"Probably all of these to a greater or lesser extent, but none of these in isolation, at least as Cornelia thinks." The Purple Prince replied to her, without a shadow of doubt in the righteousness of his actions. "Though I must admit, it was especially nice to speak knowing how mentally devastated that pure-blooded whore, Gabrielle, must be."

"Lucius, do you have any idea what you're talking about?" Cornelia hissed, half angry and half shocked by his small smile. "Do you realize what she must be going through right now?"

"I happen to know because my people reported the rumors and the truth to me, not to mention the outraged Crown Prince who personally informed me about it in our private conversation." Lucius decided to return to the neutral, but now clearly cold as raw steel, expression of his face and eyes. "I am more than happy with her depression, mental breakdown and inability to enter politics, thereby creating a power vacuum that any of us can fill. Me, you and Schneizel."

"It's not about power or the Empress herself, who even in my opinion deserved emotional suffering more than physical suffering!" Cornelia growled furiously before she controlled her emotions and said what was really on her mind. "This is about our brother's sister and our sister, Laila. You, of all people, should know best what it is like to lose a sibling, and what it's like for their death to be used politically."

"If you're going to use cheap moralizing or pressure, you might as well say nothing." Lucius' mood darkened slightly at the mention of Empress Gabrielle's last living child. "Ultimately, and despite my sympathy for her current situation, I have no intention of even feeling bad about using Clovis' death in this way."

"Have you talked to her at all?"

Lucius almost rolled his eyes before placing the tablet on one of the sloping ends of the table and folding his arms comfortably. "No, I didn't and have no intention of doing so, as I have much more important things to do, such as watching over Area 11, whose natives have been somewhat intimidated by the death of the previous Viceroy."

"Lucius!" Cornelia hissed before controlling her emotions, deciding there was no point in continuing this conversation. "Still, I advise you to be careful, perhaps now Laila is of no great importance on the political scene, but she is still a member of the Imperial Family. In the future, she may become a serious threat to you, motivated by personal experience and with you as the main villain of the world created by her mind."

"I will remember this, because I know perfectly well that our family members have always needed only their motivation and opportunity to achieve many great deeds." Lucius leaned back in his chair. "I think that's all you have to say to me on this topic, however…"

Lucius recognized her desire to continue the conversation, it wasn't just his sister who was able to read his emotions. "That's not all you have to tell me."

His statement with complete and absolute conviction was quickly confirmed. "You're right, Luc, I have one more request for you, and it's extremely important to me."

"Ask whatever you want, but within reason." After his answer, it was time for the real essence of this conversation.

"I'll say it straight, I want you to take care of Euphemia, because she is in Area 11, she intended to be closer to you." Cornelia made the request this way, not expecting any refusal or negotiation from her younger brother. "I am afraid that after the end of the fighting in the Middle East and the official capitulation of this pathetic state entity, I will still have to deal with the guerrillas, which is a task for quite a long period of time. At the same time, our war with the EU may also be renewed, but nothing is certain yet.

"It's obvious and you have my word that I will take care of our sister and under my care, not a hair will fall from her head." Lucius made a promise, but it was not empty and empty. "To tell you the truth, after being promoted to the position of Viceroy of the Area 11, I will need a quite effective Subviceroy, I mean an administrator type. Euphemia has always had a natural talent for numbers and role-playing, only overshadowed by her overly sweet and, if you'll forgive me, sister, slightly naive personality."

"It's unfortunately true and either she will grow out of this childish naivety, or our merciless world will completely destroy her." Cornelia sighed, confessing the bitter truth that was hidden deep in her heart, but which she was well aware of. "I hope you will be able to keep her safe and teach her the bitter truth of this world, if you are able."

"It's no problem and I'll enjoy spending time with my real family." Lucius placed particular emphasis on the last words, but that was not all he had to say. "But in return, I must also ask you for something, something overtly political, and don't you dare try to justify to me the fucking impartiality of military personnel in civil or political matters, because that hasn't been true since the time of Julius Caesar or even earlier."

"I don't like where this is going." Cornelia narrowed her eyes. "Still, it's only fair to at least listen to you, so speak up, brother."

"As you probably know, our influence - Schneizel's and mine - is currently the greatest in the entire Holy Britannian Empire, and it is difficult to say which of us is truly more powerful, even despite our positions." Lucius began this way to give her a foretaste of what his request would actually involve, and for that reason he paused for a moment. "However, nature abhors a vacuum. Now that Empress Gabrielle's position is uncertain and weakening day by day due to her mental and emotional state, it is possible that Schneizel and I will soon enter the path of confrontation. Perhaps not because of our intentions or our actions, but because of our ambitious supporters, who may prove to be extremely ambitious in a way that leads them to try to swallow more than they can realistically bite off."

"I understand, in short, in the event of a crisis or even an open dispute, you ask for my military support and the little political support I have." Cornelia summed up the situation quite accurately, but making a decision was not easy for her.

Lucius could clearly see the many emotions present beneath that skin and bones, and which, even though she tried to visibly hide them, were still there and simply impossible to deny. The Purple Prince understood this dilemma perfectly, between choosing between himself and the White Prince, as the media sometimes called their brother, and the Prime Minister.

Ultimately, however, Cornelia made her decision and informed him of it, expressing complete confidence in her choice. "You and Schneizel are wonderful people to me who can successfully rule our empire and perhaps even the world, which makes this decision even more difficult for me. However, out of respect for you and, above all, your mother, you can count on my unwavering support, with one caveat. If you are the one who fired the first shot, I will remain neutral from political matters."

Lucius smiled inwardly, for that was the real reason for his request, not to gain her support. Sometimes the silence was tacit acceptance and consent. "This is enough for me and I thank you for making this difficult decision."

"I wish you a nice day, Luc." Cornelia bowed her head politely before the conversation ended.

Lucius just turned off the tablet because he had no intention of working anymore, especially since he was already a few minutes late to spend the rest of the day relaxing with his beloved. He got up from the table and after a few moments he was walking through the exquisite corridors of the great palace, heading to a very specific place, which was the door leading to the garden at the top.

In front of this door, Monica, two guards in characteristic armor, and two other servants, a tanned man and an obese woman, were waiting for him.

"You're late Luc." Monica greeted him coldly while tilting her head and raising an eyebrow over her right eye. "Will you tell me what stopped you?"

"Later, when we enjoy one of my brother's more successful creations." Lucius replied to her, stopping a few steps away from the group and turning to the two servants. "I trust that our dinner was prepared properly and that I will not have to regret relying on a third party for this matter."

"Yes, Your Highness." The plump woman bowed as low as her excess weight would allow. "You and Lady Krushevsky will be more than delighted."

"I hope so and thank you." With that, he extended his arm while Monica wrapped hers around his, and with that position, they walked out into the beautiful gardens at the top of the palace.

Meanwhile, the two Amethyst Guards followed them into the garden, but stopped at the door and silently watched the interactions between the Prince and the Knight of the Round. They were supposed to intervene only if there was a direct threat to the lives of the two, but they doubted whether it would be necessary. Both Lucius and Monica had blades, elegant rapiers or sabers at their sides and sheaths, and both were skilled swordsmen and had concealed firearms at their disposal. They were therefore more than ready to fend off potential dangers on their own.

For his part, Lucius, when he opened the door, was blinded by the intense sunlight for a brief moment before he squinted and, able to see a little better, moved forward. Monica struggled with the same thing for a while, but it didn't affect her pace. The two of them soon entered the garden walkway, which consisted of flat, six-sided stones.

The couple enjoyed the pleasant view of many plant species known from their homeland for a while. Lucius chuckled when a random bee landed on his lover's nose, and the bee, slightly terrified, began waving her hand chaotically, trying to shoo the insect away and as if involuntarily speeding up her pace.

"It's so nice to see this more sensitive side of you, Nica." Lucius said loudly once they were out of earshot of the others. "You haven't gotten over your fear of insects yet?"

"Well, apparently we all have some fear that will stay with us until we die, and just so you know, I still remember our adventure with the damn hornet's nest." Monica replied with barely concealed sarcasm, they both had no intention of repeating that moment and especially its painful consequences. "What stopped you from coming to me on time?"

"A few more or less boring cases, the last two of which were the most interesting and, in my opinion, deserve to be mentioned." Lucius waved his free hand slightly dismissively. "First of all, mass production of these wonders that we have had the honor to pilot will soon begin."

"It's nice to know that your brave pilots will finally have a fighting tool that will once again give them a huge advantage." Monica answered him. "Still, it's good to know that you're serious about the lives of more than just me and your friends. In general, few commanders care about the fate of their subordinates, which has some justification for not psychologically burdening themselves with their death.

"Clearly, I have also given permission to work on special variants of these machines, which will be a bit expensive, but I suppose it's worth a try." Lucius continued, choosing not to comment on those last words. "And secondly, there was the matter of a semi-unpleasant conversation with my dear sister, the Goddess of Victory."

"Was she gracious to you, in her divine judgment." Monica giggled at her own joke, and Lucius did the same. "Still, considering your calmness and lack of deep thoughts, I can say that everything went well for you."

"As successful as possible, and by that I mean I got exactly what I wanted, her neutrality in the event of a conflict with any of my siblings, which is more than enough to be honest." Lucius replied to her about this, then moved on to the equally important part of the message. "In addition, Cornelia asked me to take care of Euphemia, who is already here in Area 11."

"Euphemia is here and I wasn't aware of it?" Monica asked rhetorically, not very pleased with this information despite her quite friendly relationship with the Princess. "She's a great friend, but her overly sweet demeanor, her naivety and her somewhat pushy personality are quite a difficult mix."

"You don't have to tell me, I do have a use for her as a Subviceroy after all, so she won't have much time to torment you, although I doubt anyone else would be better company for you, given your cult of being alone " Lucius's smile only widened, then took on a slightly mischievous tone. "Unless it's not me, Nica."

Monica, meanwhile, seemingly accidentally stepped on his foot while walking and rolled her eyes. "I advise you to be careful, Luc, so as not to choke you with this complacency."

Lucius meanwhile snorted. "As if I would ever fall into something like this, unless in my old age, when I would have the world at my feet and when we would both be surrounded by dozens of wonderful children."

Monica didn't answer, although she blushed visibly at the suggestion and the subsequent thought of having so many children as a result of their shared carnal pleasures.

No words were exchanged between them for a long time, and they both moved through the beautiful gardens in silence, in complete silence. Neither of the two lovers was going to say anything, but they stopped for a moment when they reached small stone barriers, behind which there was a view of the huge Tokyo Settlement.

Lucius stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes looked up at the unpredictable face of the sky. A beautiful view, in fact, now covered by numerous clouds only to fly away in a few moments and the sun shone once again and the rays fell on Lucius's face, even stronger than a few moments before.

A range of emotions shot through his heart, his soul, his mind, and everything he was in that moment. The feeling of greatness, that his position has been strengthened, and thus his soul has been strengthened, along with the ability to exert a greater or lesser influence on this world, on the people living in this world, and on history. This feeling in itself was enough to make him feel almost, if not like a god, then at least half-god, in whose hands lay the fate of countless people.

However, this moment was also extraordinary for another reason, because of another feeling that had been present in him all this time for several days, but was always obscured by something else. A feeling, or rather a premonition, that something is coming to an end, that a stage in his life and that of many others has just ended completely.

Perhaps for some it was a stage of almost omnipotence or simply great power and great influence. Perhaps, for others it was a stage of complete helplessness and immersion in stagnation, and perhaps for others it was a matter of opening up completely new possibilities or noticing them, after a very long time. Regardless, Lucius felt that on that day his old world would come to an end and a new phase of his life would begin, whatever that meant. It doesn't matter whether it would be an opportunity to reach for even more power in the empire, or perhaps to chart your own path.

"What are you thinking about, Luc?" Monica asked him, gaining her lover's full attention. "I had the impression that for a few short moments you drifted away from this earthly and human world, as if immersing yourself in your own dreams and living them for those few seconds."

"In a way, you're not wrong, Nica." Lucius replied to her and the two of them resumed walking. "Looking at this wonderful sun, one of the warmest things in its expression, a great feeling came over me, like an overwhelming awareness that something was coming to an end."

"Are you saying that some phase of your life is over?" Monica asked him rhetorically before giggling in an adorable way. "Well, there's kind of a change like that every day. There are so many of us on Earth that every day an individual or their life is transformed."

"That was something different, Nica." Lucius shook his head, then fell silent for a few moments, searching for the right words to best describe his condition. "It was a strange feeling that didn't only concern me, but also a larger group of unspecified people. Perhaps there were hundreds of them, or perhaps only a few, but nevertheless I had the feeling that my fate and that of several other individuals, as if linked to me, had just entered a new stage. I felt as if a certain transitional, or rather current, stage of our journey in this world had just come to an end and something new and different had begun."

"Well, that's quite possible, given recent events, but I advise you to stop dwelling on it, especially at such a crucial moment for you, for us, for the empire." Monica lightly seemed to scold him, as it was quite an appropriate reminder of what a delicate situation he found himself in. "In a few days you will become Viceroy of the Area 11, it is undoubtedly a great responsibility, but it is even more important in the context of the presence of huge deposits and mines of Sakuradite. One major mistake and all your previous efforts could be ruined."

"You don't have to remind me of that, my dear." Lucius still remained calm. "As for the Elevens emboldened to rebel, Jeremiah and his men have already proposed a suitable solution to this problem."

"Solving the problem of further terrorist attacks, how?" Monica asked, but she had a feeling she might not like it very much.

"Yes, they are going to accuse some Honorary Britannian of murder to, as they put it, break the spirit of the Elevens to continue fighting." Lucius replied, but quickly began adding a few appropriate words. "For the record, I don't think this is the best plan, much less one that I would implement myself. Still, it's a good idea, because some will actually be broken, while the execution itself will be a media event."

"Media." Monica put everything together logically, and after a few moments the answer immediately appeared in her head as to why her lover made such decisions. "It's a trap!"

"Exactly, I knew you'd guess it." Lucius was pleased with his fiancée's deductive abilities and her intellect, which was one of the main reasons why he decided to continue the relationship between them and lead all these years to this particular point. "Even if the prisoner is released, it will not matter much. Jeremiah is responsible for everything, including any failure, of which he is probably aware. But now let's forget about this conversation and continue our walk.

They did, and they continued walking for about another half an hour before calling it a day. All the while, Lucius couldn't help but marvel at the appearance, especially since it reminded him so much of Aries Villa. He felt almost at home here, in his homeland. Knowing that Clovis had engineered it this way made him almost regret using his death for political gain. However, the past was the past, while the future was still unwritten and uncertain, like the waves on the sea.

They both headed to the large dining room, where there was a table for about 50 people, and although they had plenty of seats, they chose the end with seats facing each other so that one of them could quickly go to the other. A few moments later, the palace servants arrived and set the table, served glasses and several bottles of two types of wine, and then the main course was served, an exquisite goose with many side dishes.

Lucius and Monica pleased their palates, washing everything down with wine, but alternately drinking either red or white. During a break from drinking and eating, the two of them talked animatedly, but it was not something particularly important on the scale of politics or the military. Their main topic of interest was the latest gossip from home, such as the number of millions of Britannian Pounds that Princess Guinevere de Britannia had lost in the casino.

They finished the meal after several dozen minutes, with full stomachs and in a good mood, largely due to the amount of alcohol they had consumed. Lucius then suggested that they go to his chambers in the palace, and so they did.

As soon as they arrived and made sure they were alone, Monica lay down on one of the comfortable, plush, purple sofas with a sigh. The blonde fell asleep after a few moments, making herself comfortable while Lucius lay down next to her, closing his eyes and watching over her while trying to get some rest after the hearty lunch. All this lasted several dozen minutes until his personal and still active laptop started sending an audio signal that someone wanted to connect with him.

Lucius, already half asleep, almost wanted to give in to this feeling and fall asleep with his lover, but the sense of duty prevented him from falling asleep. It could very well be some extremely important announcement, but he couldn't say for sure. With this in mind, he carefully and gracefully rose from the sofa and approached the extravagant desk. As soon as his eyes landed on the screen, he noticed that it was a request for a video call on a specially secured communication channel, reserved for members of the Imperial Family.

The one who wanted to talk to him was the last person he would have expected, the Empress Gabrielle la Britannia herself. Lucius didn't know if it was a matter of wanting to talk to him and get emotional out of him, or at least say everything she thought about him, or maybe it was a different type of desire that just eluded him. Regardless, the Purple Prince had no desire to waste the opportunity to mentally torment the woman who had been a thorn in his side for many years.

In such moments, any person, even one who sincerely considers himself noble and altruistic, would have no scruples in tormenting those hated and in their eyes repulsive eyes. Lucius was not and had no intention of being an exception to this rule.

The teenager pressed the button, accepting the request, and to his great surprise, a face appeared, remarkably similar to the Empress he hated, but much younger, dressed less formally, and with blonde hair tied into two pigtails.

"Princess Laila." Lucius did not show his extremely short-lived surprise, but after all he had no intention of tormenting this young soul and decided to remain polite in order to find out her intentions later. "My sincerest condolences for your brother. Clovis…"

"Elder brother was murdered because of you, you plebeian leech!" The fourteen-year-old and petite teenager screamed in response. "I don't even have the slightest doubt that you killed him, who else would do it!?"

"Did I look like her when I was mad at my friends for offering me Jeremiah to help me in my work against terrorists?" Britannian Prince mockingly asked himself a question in his heart.

Lucius listened to her accusations while unable to hide the malicious and downright provocative smile that appeared on his lips. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't keep a straight face, especially since Laila looked more cute, like a stuck-up brat, than really serious and threatening when she was angry. Even her slightly high-pitched voice added more to this image worthy of caricature than reality.

"If you're going to accuse me, you spoiled brat, I better advise you to provide some evidence to support these, whatever you say, quite bold claims."

Lucius replied pointedly, not listening to the entire hysterical tirade that had just occurred after her accusation. "Otherwise, accusing a member of the Imperial Family of the crime of fratricide is a clear sign of treason."

Laila turned red with rage. "Treason, you plebeian unclean blood!? Clovis always thought very highly of you and always tried to present you in the best possible way, even if my mother thought of you as the daughter of an ordinary, common whore. Meanwhile, you repaid him by killing him and using his death for this kind of public circus!"

"While I do not deny that I allowed myself to dance on your brother's corpse, I had nothing to do with his death, Princess Laila la Britannia." Lucius growled quietly, but clearly irritated by these baseless accusations. "If you have any evidence against me, apart from your own hysteria and your mother's hysteria, I advise you to end it and stop embarrassing yourself in front of me."

"You're not even going to apologize!?" Laila did not respond to his words, and a moment later tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. "You are a commoner beast who should have died along with your own siblings! I hate you, you bastard of unclean blood!"

Laila, consciously or not, had just crossed a very fine line and Lucius was more than willing to vent his built-up frustration, fueled only by her words.

"If anyone should have died here, you cunt from the womb of the Empress of Pigs, it should have been you, along with your brother." Lucius said extremely calmly, almost unnaturally and without any trace of his normal culture. "Your idiotic brother should be an artist and not the manager of an area so important to the empire. I didn't have to kill him because that fool brought this fate upon himself."

The clearly enraged Laila clearly wanted to add something, but Lucius had no intention of even allowing her to do so. "And I'm not done talking yet, you little bitch whose only place is in some Asian whorhouse for little girls and not membership in the Imperial Family. I have some good advice for you, don't try to make an enemy of someone who is many times more powerful than you will ever be. Try to insult my siblings again, you bastard whore, and you have my word that even the OSI won't find what's left of you. Don't have any doubts on this point."

Leila had already begun to cry, clearly visible to anyone with eyes due to her mixture of anger, sadness, and obvious terror. "No matter what happens, I will never forgive you for killing my brother. No matter how long it takes, I will catch you and kill you one day!"

"Good luck, you'll need it, but don't expect success, because a rabid animal will never defeat a real man, whose greatest weapon is his mind." Lucius replied without delay before smirking again. "But don't expect any mercy once the dust settles from our clash."

"And even less so, you, Kinslayer." Laila replied with a growl before ending the video call.

Lucius let her have the last word before his smile faded and he took a seat in the plush chair behind the desk. "So I have a new, open enemy, and a well-motivated one at that."

His mind immediately considered the most obvious course of action, murdering her. While sending assassins wouldn't be difficult, there was another problem here, two of them actually, and related together. If the attack had failed and knowledge of this attempt had become public, many would have had no doubt that he had ordered it, and even some might have openly linked Clovis' death to him. In addition to all this, there was the Emperor himself and his clear demands that members of the Imperial Family not kill each other, and he would undoubtedly be the first to know about such actions of his half-commoner son.

Lucius had no intention of even testing his chances, so at the moment he had only one option, to do absolutely nothing for the time being and let things unfold in the order of things without his major interference. For now he could ignore his dead brother's sister, but she was a rising Princess of pure noble blood around whom many of the wealthy could rally and unite against him.

"In the long run, for my own good, the good of those close to me and the stability of the country, her death is an unfortunate necessity." Lucius said this out loud, then his eyes wandered towards the sofa where his fiancée was.

Monica was sound asleep, her chest rising gently and repeatedly up and down, up and down again. Meanwhile, on her face there was this radiant and pleasing smile that expressed more than thousands of words and various, often contradictory emotions.

Lucius, however, could not resist the temptation created by the sight of his beloved, so he moved towards her as quickly as possible and, trying not to scare her, placed a kiss on her lips. Everything was slow and sensitive, but it wasn't long before she returned the favor and they both looked straight into each other's eyes. Without another word, they were about to continue, but then they were interrupted by female laughter coming from the door to the side chambers.

"So bold and so young." The woman who had entered Lucius' chambers spoke.

Immediately, the Britannian Prince and the Knight of the Round grabbed their firearms, their pistols kept under their cloaks, preparing to fight and aiming at the source of the voice. To their surprise, however, they only encountered a quite young, quite attractive girl with a height very similar to Monica's.

"Who are you?" Lucius' fiancée was the one of the two to ask the question first, and she wasn't fooled by the somewhat innocent appearance of the girl in front of them. "How did you get here?"

She was a girl of about eighteen or nineteen, it didn't matter. Her hair was quite long and green, while her facial features were clearly European and her eyes were amber in color, but they reminded the pair of lovers of a cat's eyes. Dressed in a prison straightjacket with detachable gag straps. As for her, she stood there, leaning against the door frame, brazenly staring at the teenagers pointing guns at her.

"This first question is irrelevant, but if you're going to call me something, you might as well call me C.C." The green-haired girl replied casually before moving forward. "As for your second question, getting here isn't that difficult, even with cameras and numerous, quite well-trained guards, if you've lived long enough to learn to work around these types of difficulties."

Lucius and Monica quickly exchanged confused glances, but it ended when they realized that the girl was walking slowly and slightly sloppily towards them.

"C.C. stop immediately!" Lucius ordered, but he merely aimed and didn't shoot, not wanting to kill her.

"Well, you can shoot me, but I doubt you'll be happy with the results." The green-haired woman replied without stopping in front of the two fiancées, neither of whom fired a shot and they allowed her to approach, not knowing how to behave. "Well, now that I'm here, I can finally fulfill your mother's wish, Luc."

She quickly looked at Monica. "Even more than I dared to imagine, but it's my loss, after all, I'll be the one making you the offer, not Marianne."

"How do you know my mother, witch?" Lucius asked her intrusively and aggressively, completely not understanding what was happening in front of him.

C.C. without difficulty or a single word, she placed her hands on their wrists. "I knew your mother long before her soul left her body, but that's not important."

Before Lucius or Monica could say anything, something happened that they couldn't put into words, or even express. In one second, their selves were already somewhere else, right after that strange feeling, as if they were connecting with someone else, with another soul.

Lucius felt as if he were in some endless tunnel of something he had no way to define, but he didn't panic. He felt Monica's presence at his side, or rather her soul, and she felt the same. The two selves seemed to be connected to each other and it seemed to go on for an eternity until, in that endless space, C.C.'s voice rang out. multiply intensified by the echo and having something otherworldly about it.

"In accordance with the wishes of Marianne vi Britannia, I am making you an offer at this moment, you may enter into a contract with me, young lovers." She said to them, giving no time for an immediate response. "I will give you the power that is the expression of your souls, but in return, one day you will fulfill one wish of mine. However, the power of the king, as it was sometimes called, will make you lonely because you will become different from the rest of the people. Although I should rather say that you will both be elevated above other people and therefore you will no longer fit in with them. This will be for you a different providence, a different time, a different life. The Power of the King will condemn both of you to a life of solitude or even hatred of those who notice your difference. Are you prepared for this?"

Monica didn't have to wait long, because the option of protecting Lucius and what they would build together in this life immediately arose in her mind. "I accept and rest assured that I will fulfill the contract, whatever it is."

Meanwhile, Lucisua's path to accepting this was much longer. A life of solitude, even if shared with his loved one, would separate him from the others closest to him. Garma, Char, Ciaran, Mariemaia, Schnee, Ledo and many more. Despite everything, he remembered his father's words about this power and the possibilities it had to offer him. And hate.

As he thought about it, he remembered his conversation with Laila, who was not very different in her approach from the other members of the Imperial Family, his many brothers and sisters.

"In the end, I guess this is my role in life, the brother hated by everyone, Hated Brother." He thought aloud, then made his decision. "We accept this contract, C.C."

The deal was sealed, and this stage of the story of the Prince Lucius vi Britannia, Purple Prince and the Hated Brother came to an end.