While Amelia was still in the middle of creating her animus, Rory was acting the same always. He was currently in the second prince’s residence, allowing himself to be pampered by the servants.

“Despite having the title of a king, it’s been ages since I’ve lived like one.”

He said.

“Aw~! It’s good to be alive.”

He said with a sigh.

“Aren’t you relaxing too much?”

It was then that two women approached him with frowns on their faces. It was the Brooks Sisters, Harley and Emily.

“Weren’t you supposed to help Liam become king?”

Harley asked.

“All you’ve done is get pampered.”

Emily added.

“Oh, its Liam’s twin roses.”

He gestured for the servants to stop what they’re doing, and sat up to face the twins.

“You came at a good time. I was formulating some stuff and wanted some insight.”

The twins put on a serious face when they heard that.

“As long as it helps Liam we’re willing to tell you anything.”

Said Emily.

“Good. I like your spirit.”

Rory said. He then took out a memo pad and a pen.

“Now then….”

He then slowly spoke.

“Do you two have feelings for Liam?”

“………..”

“……….”

The twins froze up as if their brains stopped working. After a while, they finally reacted.

“W-W-What does that have to do with anything?!”

They asked obviously flustered.

“Please answer, it’s very important.”

Rory said with a serious face. He gave off the impression of a reporter dying for a big scoop.

“Really?”

“Is it really important?”

Rory nodded seriously.

“Yes. It’s very important.”

He said.

“For my entertainment.”

He added.

“Wha?! We’re not here to entertain you!”

The sisters shouted in unison.

“Come on. Tell me. What’s the big deal?”

Rory started to pest them with a whiny voice.

“We’re all girls here.”

“You don’t look like a girl to me.”

Said Harley.

“I’m a maiden at heart.”

Rory replied. His eyes started to have a feminine look in them after he said that. But the girls wasn’t buying it.

“We can’t trust a con man like you.”

“How rude. I’ll have you know that I’m a gentleman.”

He took out a voice recorder and placed it in front of the girls.

“Now go.”

“What kind of gentleman records women’s conversations?!”

“The new age.”

Rory answered seriously.

“Alright, alright. I won’t record you.”

He said while putting the recorder away.

“But is this okay? From your reactions, I can tell that you guys have feelings for Liam. Are you alright with your feelings going unnoticed?”

He said.

“Listen, girls. Life is short. You can’t waste time using excuses like being shy and not feeling worthy.”

He smiled.

“Shoot your shot. You never know what could happen.”

The sisters silently pondered his words when they heard that. And then-

“Whether you win or lose, we’ll be able to rewatch it over and over. Don’t worry, I’ll be there recording and giving you support.”

Rory said after taking out a camcorder.

Emily took it and crushed it under feet. She and her sister then walked away from Rory fuming after being play with by him.

“He has some nerve.”

“We’re the stupid ones to listen to anything that trickster says seriously.”

They complained as they left.

Rory was left there looking at the pieces of the camcorder.

“Those two are quite naïve, but they fit Liam.”

He mumbled.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if they fit.”

He sat down in a sofa.

“I need the Brooks family to remain with prince in the future. The best way to do that is for Liam to have marital ties with them.”

He mumbled.

“Well, there’s still a lot of time left. At least I’ve confirmed that the sisters are interested in him. The problem is now Liam, I doubt he has things like marriage on his mind.”

He closed his eyes.

“Well, I’ll deal with it later.”

He started to relax even more and then-

“Reina, is it really okay for you to leave your prince to keep your eyes on me?”

He said. When he opened his eyes, he saw a maid with blonde hair and blue eyes looking down on him.

“It was an order from the prince himself.”

The maid, Reina responded.

“Hey, did you know that it was me when I was serving you earlier?”

She asked with a frown.

“Of course. I loved the massage by the way.”

Rory said with a laugh.

Suddenly he felt a knife at his neck.

“I should really kill you, right now.”

Reina said with a growl.

“Now, now. You’ll blow your coverage if you continue like that.”

Rory said.

“Hmph.”

Reina gritted her teeth and moved the knife away.

“Oh, can you bring me something to eat? I’m unusually hungry.”

Rory asked.

“Sure.”

Reina took out two guns she concealed in her dress.

“Do you want copper or lead bullets?”

She asked.

“Why do all the girls around me have anger issues?”

“It’s because you’re so irritating.”

She replied.

“I swear, you’ll get what’s coming to one day.”

*Boom!*

At that moment, an explosion echoed through the mansion.

“Hm?”

The explosion drew Rory’s and Reina’s attention.

“An enemy attack?”

Rory looked at Reina with a suspicious gaze.

“Hey, we don’t do flashy stuff like this. If it’s an enemy attack, it must be from the first prince’s camp.”

Reina quickly explained.

“But I don’t think even the first prince would be so bold….The only person that would do something like this is…”

*Boom!*

Before she could finish, the door that led into the room they were in exploded and someone walked in.

“The Scorpion Queen…”

Reina mumbled when she saw Serket walked in.

“………”

Serket looked around until her eyes landed on Rory. She showed a savage smile.

“Yo, brat.”

“?!”

The moment Rory saw her, he flew up out of his seat.

“Serket?!”

He immediately jumped over the sofa and broke through a wall and made his escape. Reina was surprised when she saw that.

“You’re not getting away, Rory!”

Serket immediately started to chase him through the mansion.

*Boom!*

Rory ran through the mansion, kicking down wall to wall in an attempt to make his escape.

“Rory!”

He turned around and saw Serket hot on his tail.

“Damn, granny! Why are you still alive?!”

Rory shouted.

“Hahahaha! You think I’ll leave this world before you?!”

Serket responded.

“Besides, I’m the one who’s surprised that you’re still alive after a century!”

She stretched her arm to the side and started gathering anima. The anima then started morphing into the shape of a scorpion’s tail.

“Shit!”

Rory sped up when he saw that. He no longer looked like he was running, he looked like he was flying using the wind.

“Stop running!”

Serket swung her arm and the scorpion tail rushed after Rory. As it was about to hit his back, he instantly moved out of the way.

The tail stung a wall, and that wall immediately started to melt like ice under the summer sun.

“Are you trying to kill me?!”

Rory shouted at Serket.

“Of course! I’m still angry about you stealing my treasure!”

Serket shouted.

“Listen here, old woman! I already told you that I didn’t do it!”

Rory shouted back after destroying the final wall to escape the mansion. He then stopped in the yard and faced Serket who was coming at him.

“Even if you didn’t steal it personally, one of you did!”

Serket flew out of the mansion and jumped in the air while aiming a flying kick at Rory.

“As the leader, you should take responsibility!”

“Fuck that!”

Rory threw a punch and his fist clashed with her foot.

*Boom!*

A loud explosive sound rang out, and large cracks start appearing in the ground. Powerful shockwaves spread out and caused cracks to appear in the mansion as well as causing a few nearby trees to burst.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Those inside the mansion and in the yard started to panic after seeing the signs of destruction all around them. They quickly fled, including Reina and the Brook Sisters who came to see what was the source of this destructive power.

Rory and Serket were both propelled back by their attacks clashing. The moment their feet touched the ground, they both rushed towards each other again.

“Granny!”

“Brat!”

*Boom!*

They started fisting it out the moment they were in each other’s range.

Rory threw two punches, which Serket blocked by crossing her arms in front of her. She then threw two hooks which Rory avoided by moving to the opposite direction from where they were coming from.

He took a step forward and threw a heavy punch, which was blocked by Serket’s elbow; who aimed an uppercut at his chin with her free hand. Rory used a downward palm strike with his free hand to block.

“Ugh!”

His palm was ineffective, and his entire arm was blown back. Serket straightened her fingers and thrust her hand at Rory’s windpipe. Rory bent his back to narrowly avoid it. He however, use the momentum of bending back to swing his left leg at Serket’s chin.

Serket jumped back and avoided it, causing Rory to lose his balance and fall backwards. He quickly thrust out his arms behind him and pushed himself off the ground with a flip, preventing himself from fall on his back.

“……..”

“……..”

The two stared at each other in silence, but didn’t attack.

“What’s going on?!”

At that moment, they saw Liam running towards them. When he saw the destruction around them, he looked at the two rather angrily.

“What’s going on?! Why is Rory and my mother fighting?!”

He shouted.

“Huh?.....”

Rory froze when he heard that. He slowly looked at Liam and Serket.

“M-Mother? Then you’re…..”

Serket smiled when she saw his reaction.

“That’s right. I’m the queen of this kingdom.”

She said proudly.

“Ehhhhhhh?!”

Rory’s shocked voice echoed through the Second Prince’s residence.