“Lucina, wake up.”

I groaned and rolled up immediately after hearing Ricardo’s voice. The prison floor wasn’t exactly a tempting bed.

Alexious, Ricardo, and two other figures stood in front of the prison door.

One of the figures towered over them. He stood an entire head and shoulders above Ricardo. His bodybuilder musculature wouldn’t be out of place on a superhero movie set. It was any wonder they were able to find a military uniform that fit his size. The silver embroidery on dark navy blue matched the color of the armor Teo wore when I met him. That color scheme may be what important people wore. A single giant pauldron cupped his right shoulder and a long black cape flowed from the back of it. A thick belt at his waist held a sword that would be a struggle for any normal man to lift. A thick bushy black beard covered the lower half of his face and neck. Laugh lines framed his dark green eyes and his bronzed head shone under the dim lights.

By comparison, the other figure, an average-sized man, seemed more like a dwarf. The cloak, braided red hair, and lightweight leather armor gave him away as a battle cleric. The stern expression on his freckled face mirrored the giant.

If I were to be executed, the giant looked every bit the part and the cleric would also fit in to give my last rites. But not even an inkling of fear went through my veins. Alexious and Ricardo were there, too. I trust Alexious.

The muscled man took a keyring from the cleric and unlocked the door.

Of course, I couldn’t walk out, being that a prince stood outside the doors. I curtsied as low as I could go without my thighs cramping up. “My liege. His esteemed party.”

Ricardo seemed to appreciate the display of proper manners. I knew he would.

“Rise, Lucina,” Alexious ordered. His voice sounded different, like he mimicked the authority of Ricardo. He really had changed these past few years.

Ricardo’s voice echoed in the dungeon. “This is General Percival de Villiers and Cleric Ruat, representative of the Mother of Us All.”

“I am humbled.” I nodded acknowledgment to them.

Ruat stepped forward and raised his arms in the air. “Let the Mother bless this meeting.”

We all raised our arms in the air. The muscle just below my shoulder blades started to cramp up. I wanted to bring my arms down but custom dictated we couldn’t do that until Ruat did first. I gritted my teeth and tried to keep my face from showing that my back decided to spasm.

Ruat finally put his arms down. “They ask me to assess your level.”

I glanced between Alexious and Ruat. Of course, Alexious didn’t give me a hint of the reason why.

“Step forward,” Ricardo prodded.

Bitterness punctuated my steps. Before this happened, all I cared about was leveling as high and fast as possible. But now? What did it matter?

Ruat pressed his fingers against my forehead.

I shut my eyes and waited for the bright light to cease. When it did, I opened my eyes to a horrified cleric.

“I…” Ruat whispered, stumbling backward. “This girl is only ten!”

Eleven.

General Percival stared at me. Though his expression remained stoic, an intensity behind his imposing figure still halted the breath in my chest. The correction of my age went unsaid.

“Tell us her stats aloud,” Alexious commanded in a tone befitting a prince.

“S-she is level eight!”

This time, the poker face of General Percival was broken. His thick bushy black eyebrows raised. He took a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to Ruat. “Confirm these are hers!”

Hearing his deep voice shook my bones.

Ruat straightened his back and composed himself. “Yes, of course, General.”

I closed my eyes and let him do it again. So, I gained the level I desired so badly before my birthday. It didn’t feel good at all. All those hours I wasted training could have been spent with my family and people… The light ceased, but I kept my eyes closed to hold back the tears.

“There is no mistake.” The paper crinkled. “She is level eight. Her magick stat is extraordinary. She shall become an exceptional mage with proper training. However, she also has an average strength stat, unusual for magick-focused users. Her defense is below average. Her magick resistance is above average. Her agility borders on the high end of average.”

He mentioned way more stats than Father Sinatre did back home. That confirms it; the skill of the person reading stats determines the extent of the report.

“And you are certain she is only ten?” General Percival asked.

“Yes, she is only a few months shy of Alexious’ age. I attended her baptism. She should be turning eleven soon.”

Before I could correct my age, again, big hands enveloped my shoulders. I opened my eyes and could only see bright eyes the color of the forest.

Percival’s massive frame blocked my view of everyone else. His hands were so large they practically covered my entire arm with their span. He squeezed me and I imagined if my body were a tube of toothpaste it would have burst out.

“You will fit in perfectly!” he boomed.

My mouth hung open. I… what?

“It seems she is speechless,” Ricardo said with a small laugh. “I knew you would frighten her.”

“Don’t be scared!” General Percival squeezed me again. “Lucina, is it? What a lovely name!”

That only made me even more nervous. Alexious, what deal did you broker? To think I thought you were kind yesterday!

“I wish you would do me the honor of allowing me to bring you to my home, as a daughter of the de Villiers house.”

“What?” I shrieked.

Three voices behind me mixed into a cacophony of suppressed laughter.

I turned to glare at them but Percival held me strong.

“You will get along with my sons and daughters with your moxie and skills!” His white teeth shone through the mass of black in a broad grin. “In fact, you may even inspire them to work harder!”

“I-I don’t know what to say.” What sort of development was this? It was perfect! Too perfect for comfort. A meathead general as an adopted father would surely mean I would be encouraged to level up as much as possible and have access to all the equipment I would desire. Reaching max level would be within my reach.

If I said yes, was it spitting in the face of my real parents? What choice did I have otherwise? It would be the perfect environment to foster the skills I needed to enact my revenge. It wasn’t spitting in their face, it was saying, I found the best avenue to be certain your deaths will be avenged.

Lucina in the game was Aer, though. I had to make sure of one thing. “Will I be allowed to take your name?”

He laughed. “Of course! You will be a legitimate member of my family. Though, as the sixth child, I’m afraid I will not have much to offer you in terms of title and land. But if you continue to develop your talents, you can use my name to open doors.”

By accepting, this would mean I strayed off the game path in a major way. I smiled. “It would be my honor.”

Percival lifted me up into the air and spun me around. “Welcome to my family, Lucina!”

When he put me down, one realization after another hit me. First, as daughter of a general, the connection with Alexious would remain. The second prince always commanded the army to protect the crown prince. Even if Alexious didn’t become the leader of an empire, he would always command an army. I also still didn’t know why Poran invaded. That may tie into the reason Alexious became an emperor in the game.

Second, I owed Alexious for this. This was a debt I could not hope to repay in simple terms. If he asked me to be a part of his army, would I be in a position to say no? He did more than save my life, he did enough to ensure that my life would be one of success.

But, under a general, I could learn the skills necessary to enact my revenge. How many levels would I gain under him versus on my own? And I wouldn’t have to worry about shelter or feeding myself.

I had nine years before society considered me an adult. More than enough time to figure out how to repay Alexious without becoming tied to him. I couldn't entangle him in my revenge plot.

I looked at Alexious and smiled. “Thank you.”

He returned my smile. What a sweet smile! Goes to show that the boy I met with the angelic face still existed somewhere inside there.

“Let us leave this dour place!” Percival announced and began walking away. Ruat followed him. Alexious stayed behind and looked at Ricardo. Ricardo nodded and left us behind.

“There’s one more favor I want to ask you,” Alexious said.

I swallowed. Please don’t be something like, I want us to be together in the future!

“Can we write each other?”

The word no began to form but I stopped it from being spoken. It was true, that writing him would foster something that would make it difficult to part from later. If I said no now, I would be able to walk away from this relationship and never see him again. There would be no reason for Alexious to speak with a general’s daughter. As military service was not on my list of future occupations, even when he took over in an official capacity we would still never see each other.

A pink color crept up his ears despite his expression remaining neutral. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know it will be difficult adjusting to your new home so quickly after…” he trailed off. “Forgive me.”

How could I say no after everything he did for me? If he hadn’t taken initiative to show me mercy then I would still be in that dungeon, hungry, in pain, alone, possibly even dead.

True, in the game future, he was a heinous villain.

But the person standing before me was a boy. Probably a lonely one who didn’t have any friends. And even if he did, wouldn’t they be the type that only spoke to him for personal benefit? I had to stop seeing him as the person in the game and judge him as the person in front of me.

Even if the future promised regret for accepting.

“I’ll write you.” I took his hands into mine. “I promise.”

His eyes widened as his ears became a vivid pink. “I’ll write the first letter!”

I looked back down the hallway, where the adults were almost at the end. “Let’s catch up!”

We ran down the hall, hand-in-hand until reaching the party and returning to the proper public personas required of us.

Perhaps, if Alexious has a friend, he wouldn’t become a cruel person like his father.

Then we would never come to the future where he becomes head of an empire.

Father, Mother, Amelie, my people… I don’t know exactly how yet, but Poran will pay for what they did. I promise. I’ll do it my way. Not the game way.