He swung his sword. Slashing it across the dummy’s chest, a deep cut revealed itself. With a pale yellow mana stone embedded within, the blade was unnaturally heavy. The soldiers watching clapped and muttered words of praise. Of course, his performance wasn’t the best. Edmond Ren was more suited to slaying monsters, not humans.

“That’s a holy knight for ya. See? Take a look at that,” the garrison captain said.

“Could’ve been better.”

“Yeah. But ay, a beast ain’t gonna be invading the palace. It's the assassins that ya gotta watch out for.”

“Assassins? Who’s the target?”

“Everyone in the palace. The emperor, empress, their children. Even you, and the others. The one that’s gonna marry the crown princess.”

“Arcleus?”

“Aye. Nice life, innit? Staying in the palace, getting helped by maids. Even flirting with and laying the princess, ey?”

“But it's a waste of time. And besides, the one that’s gonna be chosen is that mixed blood.”

“Arg, he’s the weakest one of ‘em. Even the young prince could defeat him. ‘Ave you seen him, men? He walks around with a guard! He can’t even protect himself.”

The garrison erupted in laughter. A combination of jeers and insults went towards Francis’ way. But, Edmond gripped his sword and stayed silent.

He was there during his own personal time, just after lunch. Not as a trainer, but simply as a person who liked the craft. Even then, an Arcleus was not supposed to act so informally around others.

“Stop,” Edmond uttered.

“Huh? Are we wrong?”

“I don’t know. But it's not right. You shouldn’t talk about someone without knowing everything.”

“Tsk. Uptight holy knight.”

Edmond Ren shuffled out of the barracks. He gripped the hilt of his sword and returned to the palace. The barracks were separated from the main palace building, but was still closeby. Walking into the door, he was greeted by servants.

He walked past them and nodded. It was still a rather new experience, getting greeted. On the battlefield and on the training ground, the men treated him normally. Like one of their own. Not as an outsider. And besides, complicated issues didn’t suit him. Unlike the strategist, all he had was his sword skills. He could not sort out the knight’s logistics, plan for battles, or even negotiate the terms of surrender. Edmond Ren simply lived in the moment, not caring about the future.

As one of the holy knights of the church, he swore his loyalty to the Axis, not the crown. He turned right, taking the hallway directly towards his quarters. Going up the stairs, he skipped every other step. And he arrived on the second floor, and made a turn left. His room was not far then. And Benjamin’s was close to his. Though, for some odd reason, he couldn’t find the mixed blood’s presence or quarters on the second floor.

He gently opened the door. There, 5 well dressed men waited. They were his attendants, so to speak. The gentlemen were an Arcleus’ personal attendants. And if it were a crown prince instead of crown princess, the Reginas would have ladies.

A tall man with brown hair, Randall was the head. He spoke up first.

“Milord, it is not advised that you venture out on your own.”

“Am I in the wrong?”

“Haa...” Randall sighed, “No, milord. There is nothing wrong with leaving alone. But, it is not proper of an Arcleus to leave without anyone else. What if you got taken away, milord?”

“If someone could take me away, then I’d say that they deserve it. No one here can best me in combat, anyway.”

The Arcleus sighed. He could feel their gazes on him. The five gentlemen watched him with careful eyes.

One might have spotted Edmond Ren’s height first. Another, his handsome face. But, in most situations, perhaps it was the sword that never left his side. It was not a stretch to say that the sword was inseparable from his body.

There was a single, large bed tucked into the corner of the room. The gentlemen slept in a separate location, and only appeared for their duties in the morning. Sunlight filtered in through the glass windows.

“Shall I prepare tea for you, milord?”

“No need.”

“Very well. By the way, it seems that the servants are talking about the princess.”

“Hm? What about her?”

“They say that she has arranged for dinner with the mixed blood.”

“It's not my concern. She has a right to it.”

“How can you be so unworried, milord?”

“Because I don’t care? And... I thought I told you all to stop calling me that in private.”

“Milord, that is improper.”

“And as your lord, I order you five to stop being so formal. It's weird.”

“Please, milord. At least put some effort in looking like you care? I know that your lordship is not heads over heels for her highness the crown princess like his lordship Benjamin Wynt, but please. Show that you are above that mixed blood.”

Edmond Ren yawned. It was still not time to sleep. There was still dinner to go through. Looking at his hands, he wondered how he ended up in the barracks in the first place.

***

The thick soup flowed into his mouth. Piping hot, and salty too. Flavoured with exotic mushrooms, the herbs and spices played a symphony within his mouth, and graced his taste buds with savouriness. The crown princess sat opposite him, and indulged in the same foods as he did.

“How about you explain yourself, Arcleus?” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“You left today, yes?”

“Was I not supposed to? I don’t recall being stopped.”

Haein sighed. They were left by the servants, though Katalina was asked to stay. Although the crown princess asked her to leave, Francis objected. As such, only the three of them were in the Arcleus’ room.

In an attached room, he could appreciate the size and scale of the palace. Just his own chambers were about as big as the apartment the imposter lived in previously. His knight stood behind him, and she refused his offers for her to join.

“But you left. Alone, with another girl, nonetheless. That’s a scandal waiting to happen,” Haein said.

“I’ll have you know, I have no attraction for her. And that goes for her too.”

“Hmm? Are you sure about that?”

“Yes. And besides, she wouldn’t betray her duty, right?”

A silence formed. He said it in the hopes of refuting what the crown princess said, but Katalina didn’t respond. Was she contemplating her answer? There was no way. To a knight like her, duty was above all else.

“You may speak,” Haein said after a while.

“Thank you, your highness. And no, I wouldn’t betray my duty, my lord.”

“See? I told you.”

“Right. Finish up your food. I want to get started soon.”

“Get started on what?”

“Don’t you know what making an unscheduled visit means?”

“Something bad?”

“That’s true. Something good, too.”

“Well, I can imagine it. So what’s the crisis?”

“You’ll see soon enough. Once you’re done, could Ms Knight leave the room? I want to discuss things privately.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll finish up then,” Francis said.

“By the way, the doors here might be rather thin. So someone could listen in from the door. But the walls are thick, so I can guarantee soundproofing from that.”

He ate his portion in silence. Haein had already finished some time ago, and watched him eat. And Katalina would have her meal after.

What did she want to talk about? That question floated to the top of his mind. From what he knew, there was no war. At most, there was only the drought in the eastern lands. But even then, what could he do?

Francis passed his plates to a servant waiting outside. She bowed with grace, and placed it onto her tray on a trolley. As she pushed it away, with every dish over and done with, he felt a pair of eyes watch him. Once he turned back around, the crown princess was waiting. She stood tall, and glared at him to hurry. Katalina moved towards her lord, and tried to leave.

“Well? Let her go and close the door.”

Francis Rayleigh complied, and removed his presence from the exit. Taking the opportunity, his knight left him with a person he wasn’t that familiar with. He shut the door and locked it.

The crown princess was in his chambers. What could that mean? Under normal circumstances, it would be a good thing. It would mean that they were a couple. But, she was slated to marry an Arcleus. And it was their first day in the palace. Was she serious about moving that quickly?

She reached into her pocket and took out a plant stem. Roughly the length of his palm, and she split it into two. There was an obvious unevenness between the portions. She placed the larger portion into her mouth and swallowed it with a gulp of water. They stood about an arm length away.

“Here,” she said, handing him the plant.

“What’s that?”

“Just take and eat it.”

“No? Why? What’s that?”

The crown princess sighed. Picking up the plant stem from her palm, she put it into her mouth. She grabbed his collar, and pulled him close.

Her lips touched his in a forceful movement. His eyes widened. An unknown tongue invaded, and forced his throat to swallow.

Once she let go of him, he wiped his chin. Like it or not, he had swallowed whatever that was. But, it didn’t feel that bad, even for his first in that body. Though he lacked the experience, he could tell that he would enjoy that more in the future. And she herself seemed to not have anything to help her, nor would a crown princess have the experience to back that up.

“Can you hear me?” she asked without opening her mouth.

“Yes... What was that?”

“That was the ‘Messenger of the Mystics’.”

“Ok? Weren’t you already talking to me without kissing me?”

“I could only do that when I look at you directly. But now, as long as you’re awake, I can communicate with you instantly.”

“Then what was the point of giving me that thing?”

“Temporary measure. This is the real deal. Oh, but since I ate the majority of it, you can’t contact me but I can contact you.”

“Why not an even split?”

“I thought you’d be annoying.”

Francis sighed internally. The crown princess shot a glare at him. Their eyes met, and in the moonlit room, with the lamp in the corner, she had an ethereal beauty. Long eyelashes similar to his, those dimples when she smiled. Long blonde hair, and a height that let her look down on him.

“Well, whatever.”

She had brought several items into the room when she first arrived. One was the plant stem that she hurriedly shoved into her pocket once she settled down. Another, with the gift that he received during the Hunters Festival. With the same golden rim, and mirror, it was hard to argue against them matching. Was it on purpose? Or just a feature of manufacturing? Lastly, there was a miniature mace looking thing. A ball wrapped in a light, and thin layer of plastic like material. Connected to it was a stick about the width of his palm, though the stick’s thickness was much smaller.

“Is that a lollipop?” he tried to ask mentally.

When no response came, a conclusion drew on him. Only she could initiate it. Without her activation, he had no way to reach her besides talking.

“Hm? What’re you thinking about?” she asked.

“That. What’s that?”

“Oh.”

She picked it up by the end. The ball swung like a pendulum, and she unwrapped it. A sweet, sour fragrance wafted off from the dull yellow ball. She stuck it into her mouth, and the stick swished around as she moved it.

“It's sweet,” she said.

“Looks more sour than sweet.”

“Mmm... It’s up for debate. It’s mine though.”

“I had no interest in it anyway.”

“You sure? It's really nice.”

“Really now? Maybe I’ll buy one. The town, right?”

“Here.”

She took it out of her mouth. A thin trail of saliva dripped down from her lips and onto the lollipop. It was oddly arousing, for some reason.

The lemon lollipop glistened in the light. Coated with her saliva, she spun it around its length. Haein shoved it into his mouth in the same forceful manner when she took his first kiss not long ago, her arm steady.

“Mm?!”

“It’s nice, right? Especially since you can taste me.”

“Are you always like this?”

“Well after being told to not do a lot of things for a long time, this is what happens.”

When one is presented with a button, and given the instruction not to touch it, the only conclusion would be to touch it. With suppressed desires for years, the crown princess decided to use him. That was the conclusion he reached.

She grabbed his wrist. The lemon candy still remained in his mouth while he was dragged away. Her fingers were warm. She pulled him towards his bed, and a lecherous look invaded her eyes. Like a hungry lion circling around her prey.

“Listen up,” she spoke to him through the ‘Messenger of the Mystics’, “There are several reasons why you should help me out. I won’t do it without your permission.”

“I’m surprised.”

The empire was rather progressive by his standards. He had questioned Hadel Frium about the policies prior, but it still surprised him. Men and women were treated equally because an emperor from several decades ago had said, ‘If their work has no difference, why should they be viewed differently’. And even within the imperial family, their rules and restrictions weren’t quite as archaic as he would have thought them to be. The heir to the throne wasn’t determined by legitimacy, for example, but through competence and potential. As such, even children of concubines had a chance. If a parent was of the ruling pair, then they counted. Even the matters of sexuality or religion didn’t matter, though a person of the ruling pair had to produce an heir of course. And the laws themselves moved and passed quickly.

“It's mutually beneficial if I use you. Four reasons. First, you act as my stress relief. Second, you’re able to have me as your partner. You know how many men dream of that? Third and fourth don’t concern you, though I suppose the fourth would.”

“Mind saying it?”

“You’ll need to start talking out loud. Follow my lead.”

She cleared her throat. With her hand around his wrist, she dragged him closer. And with a strong push, he was forced onto the bed.

“What are you doing?” he shouted out.

“I want to violate you.”

Though it was an act, he didn’t feel like she was lying. Given the opportunity, she would take the chance to assault him. Her lust was evident within her eyes. He could feel her warmth against his.

“Take off your clothes.”

She spoke in a commanding tone. The imperial family were a strange bunch. Even in a situation like that, they held charisma. He had an odd compulsion to follow her orders.

There were noises outside. Like mice scuttling away. Footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as he recalled her words.

Her hand slipped down. He wore a casual dressing gown just as she had requested. Through the thin fabric, the tips of her fingers glided across. A tingly feeling spread, and he squirmed slightly.

“Halt!”

The door slammed open. Standing within his chambers was someone unexpected. Why was he there? Katalina could have stopped Benjamin Wynt, but instead, looked more like an accomplice.