I knocked on the old door made from birch. Then I harked for a reaction from the other side.

"Ivy let the servants answer the door. A princess does not open the doors for guests", the muffled voice of my grandpa rang out. My father's father and son of Belisarius himself. The old duke Giustino Vespasianus.

"It's so boring here though. Everything is better than continuing my lessons", the voice of my sister reached my ears. She sounded more grown-up. It had been a few years after all. She also disliked her lessons. Just like her older brother!

I take a step back from the door and wait patiently for the door to open. A bar is pulled back and the birch door slowly opened outwards. My sister stared at me with a blank expression. A few seconds later she is running and jumped at me. I caught her without problem.

"LUCIUS! You are back! We missed you", she shouted and gave me a firm hug. A very firm hug. Someone inherited grandpa Ignis' muscles.

"I also missed you Ivy", I said and crossed the door frame. Still carrying Ivy.

Cycnus and the rest of my guards had been lodged in the nearby servant buildings. They had to share rooms for a while, but we wouldn't stay here for long anyway.

I heard the running of small feet from the living room. Iris emerged from the room and halted for a moment giving me a curious look before also aiming to jump me. Silas followed closely, running up to me as we. I went down on one knee and prepared myself for the impacts.

One and two.

"Lucius!", both of them shouted. Hugging me fiercely.

A barrage of questions followed. I used the time my siblings handed me to study each of them, while they focussed on interrupting each other or switching to another question in the middle of asking about something else.

Silas reminded me of a smaller version of myself. I noticed a small difference in hair colour. It appeared that his had become a darker shade of brown than mine. He had the build of a healthy six-year-old and studied my changes eagerly with his green and brown eyes.

My sisters surprised me a lot with their appearances as well. Ivy had let her hair grow long. It reached towards the end of her back and she was bigger than her sister by half ahead. Somebody had got the better genes. She also wore the kind of dress mother favoured.

The eleven-year-old Iris had similar clothes to the simple linen shirt and pants that I wore. Her hair was shorter than Ivy's. The high ponytail equalized the height between my sisters. All three of them looked to grow up to be proper Vespasianus.

"There will be time to answer your questions later", I said and the barrage stopped. Disappointment was visible in their faces. My grin grew wider. "What do you think about flying on the back of Quintus?"

That seemed to ignite their curiosity. Well, that of my sisters. Silas looked a bit more scared about it.

"I will introduce him to you later. There is no need to be scared. I will be there with you", I reassured them, or to be precise just Silas. I ruffled his hair. Copying the many times I had to endure similar shenanigans from Duran.

Silas relaxed and pushed my hand away with great effort. A smile on his face.

"Don't do that", he threatened. My smile just grew wider. Now I knew why Duran always did it. This is really fun. Alas, I relented as the bigger person.

"Now we will have plenty of time to exchanges stories. For now, I need to have a conversation with grandma and grandpa", I said. My siblings looked again disappointed.

I ruffled the hair of all three of them until their smiles are back up again. They went back up. It seemed all of them had still some kind of homework to do. The faster they finish them the earlier they can play with me. That was what I promised.

I knock on the half-opened door in the living room to announce my presence and step in. There on the couch sit my grandparents. Naenia flicked the ear of Giustino. Grandpa put the book in his hand down. They fixed me with their gazes.

"Hello grandpa, grandma", I greeted with a small bow and smile.

"Come here little boy and give us a proper greeting", grandpa Giustino said.

I moved to them and hug both of them before sitting down in the armchair next to the couch.

"Look at him he is clearly a man now. He just looks likes his father and we even missed his reaching of adulthood", grandma countered. "We are happy about the visit Lucius, but usually you want something when you come to the estate."

I shrank back at the comment because it was true to a point. But I was also here to see the family. Even if it was only one of the reasons.

"I want answers to questions", I stated. They looked interested.

"Do continue grandson", they answered in unison.

"My parents created legions and fleets out of nothing. Our records showed the same happened during your reign and that of Belisarius. Our duchy is not a poor state, but we aren't rich either. I also don't see outsiders financing us", I explained. My grandparents exchanged looks. Their demeanour showed there was something I didn't know.

"No. The father is always supposed to tell his heir when he takes over...", grandpa whispered into grandma's ear. I still heard him.

"Oh bollocks. There can't be much left anyway. I see no harm in telling", grandma rebuked.

"Honey you are putting me in an ...", grandpa continued.

Their argument went back and forth. Grandma continued to rebuke and correct him. Eroding away his resistance over the following minutes. Grandpa began to sound less sure about his standpoint by the seconds. Until finally…

"Fine have it your way. Tell him", grandpa folded his arm in a last show of protest. Waiting for her to start speaking. She did.

"Do you know about the battle of the two emperors?", grandma asked.

"The last Emperor of the West lead a successful expedition into the Eastern Empire. Killing the Emperor of the East, sacking the city, though he did die while covering the retreat ", I repeated.

I had found many versions of the story. Some admired the West, others the East and others the non-humans. The details varied from storyteller to storyteller, but what I had repeated was confirmed by all sources I had read.

"Correct. But do you know what happened with all the loot and treasures of the imperial families?", grandma asked further. Why would that have anything to … unless it was stored in a fault on our territory. Did Belisarius land on a goldmine or did he only found it later?

"The war spoils somehow landed in our hands?", I asked. My grandma smiled.

"Yes they did", she confirmed.

"But how did it happen? And why keep it a secret from me?", I asked.

"They were in the process of burying the vault. Father arrived with a small patrol after he had besieged and conquered the city of Napule. Father said rumours lead him to investigate. He made sure that everybody who knew of the vault was dead or would keep this secret until they are burned on the pyre", grandpa explained. "He buried the vault. And later a tunnel was built, connecting to the vault."

"Whenever money was needed our house would send trusted men to enter the tunnel, get some of the objects inside out, seal the tunnel off again, and make as much money as possible with them", grandma interjected.

"How much money are we speaking of?", I inquired with tension in my bone. What could we do with so many treasures, all the projects …

"Hard to say. There was not a single coin inside", grandpa answered, catching my befuddled expression. "Heirlooms of the imperial families, Aquilas from legions older than the empire itself, endless jewellery. Gemstones, gilded statues of the gods and emperors and much more. All hid in one place."

"If anybody knew what kind of wealth slumbered here...", grandma said.

"Then the invasion from the east would have looked like child play compared to what would have followed after people knew of this … treasure", I spoked slowly. Now I wish I hadn't asked.

"Everybody would have been after us. Not only for the wealth but the cultural value of the objects as well. The east would love to get the symbols of their old pride back", grandpa finished with a sigh. "But know it should be empty."

"Empty?", I asked. "How could it be empty, after just three generations!"

Grandma put a finger to her lips and I realized my blunder. I repeated my question with less volume.

"Father used a lot of mercenaries in his early campaigns. There were a few failed sieges, he lost a fleet. I myself lost half a fleet against the city of Messana once. The conquest of the city had to be abandoned after that", grandpa caught himself when grandma nudged him. "We spent it all. For the military, for bribery, for infrastructure projects."

I let myself fall back into the armchair. My hands in front of my face. All these ducats wasted. Not entirely, but every ducat invested into Napule didn't stop the city from getting burned down. I had planned to ask for funds from father for the province of Roma, but now that would be pointless.

I recollected my thoughts about my plans and chose to change the topic now that that one was from the table.

"My parents asked me to be the governor of the province of Roma", I told them. Both of them brightened up. "I accepted."

"That's great. We have been pushing your parents for a while now", they replied.

"I heard that much. Thanks for it really. Especially with the ducats sent to Aegyptus. That really helped", I thanked my grandparents. Their trust in me allowed for a lot of things to happen. I was a bit disappointed that my parents put less trust in me than my grandparents.

"Don't be hard on your parents. They themselves started with much smaller tasks than you did and with a lot more supervision", grandpa explained.

"They trust you, believe me. More than ever after seeing the results, but before that, they didn't want to see you shoulder that kind of big responsibilities", grandma explained further.

"Whose idea was it create a legion in Aegyptus and let me lead it towards Italia?", the question appeared after I registered my grandparents' words. The letters had come from mother, but who had convinced her?

Grandma and grandpa exchange a small smile. Grinning at me when they turned their gaze back to me.

"We nudged them here and there..", grandpa said.

"But the idea itself came from Romulus and Remus", grandma answered.

Why would my cousins?

"They thought it was time for you to gain military experience. They had also planned to support you in your first campaign, but the war would have other plans for them. In the end, we needed them here", grandpa added.

I nodded and my curiosity was satisfied with that. I would need to thank them for the next time I see them. Hopefully, Romulus gets better.

"Does that include your interrogation?", grandpa asked. His offended tone didn't match the small smile.

"Sorry, got carried away a bit", I said.

"You were much worse in your old days", grandma countered joining with her own smile.

"I wasn't", grandpa said. His arms again folded in a sign of protest. A small laugh escaped me.

"Do tell us of your stories from Aegyptus", grandma ordered and I complied. Not after getting my siblings into the living room though. No need to tell everything twice.

I told them about my time in the library of Alexandria. From my lessons with Niloticus. From my bouts with Alaric. I told them what I did with the money and how I turned the house Caesar into a reliable ally. A reliable ally so far.

I told them of Quintus as well. About how I got the egg. How he saved me from kidnappers twice. And how it was unbelievable cool to soar through the air on his back.

They told me of their time here.

My grandparents from both sides tried to convince vassals to not join the rebellion. They succeeded in some cases and failed in others. The division in the ranks of the rebellion was, to a large part, their effort.

Everybody who thought about putting down arms and resolve the conflict peacefully would get an open ear from my grandparents and their support. It became hard for the count to keep his followers in line. Hard measures would push them from his side to ours.

Otherwise, my grandparents relaxed on the estate. They visited my mother from time to time and helped out a bit. Grandma had begun to draw again. She had not done so since the birth of uncle and father. Grandpa began to read some books that he had planned to read for a long time. The one he was currently reading was about the uprising of the slave and minotaur Spartacus.

Silas had a lot to share with me. He had gained a white bunny for his third birthday. He had named him lord Reginald. Silas was eager to introduce, his 'familiar' as he claimed, to Quintus. I received a curious feeling from my familiar in turn. Please don't eat the bunny Quintus. You can have Cerberus though.

Silas had started to take an interest in mother's and aunt's work. He had asked our parents to start his education earlier and would from time to time sit and read reports with mother. Often enough though Silas would doze off on mother's lap. Still, he was diligent and throughout in his homework and lessons with the teachers. Unlike some other son of Jagu. The old man Titus had even praised him. Silas even admitted he liked Titus' lessons.

Yeah and Octanian was a disc.

Ivy began to share all of her magic lessons. She had been tested by a mage together with Iris. Ivy had a great aptitude for life and water magic. Iris an average one for wind. The rest was low or non-existent for both of them.

The things she told me were familiar to me. The first lessons with Niloticus had been much the same. She explained how mana, spells and mana control worked and I smiled at her enthusiasm and excitement. She was good at explaining it as well. Very good.

She had learned a few spells and to master, one was her long time homework. She was to raise a tree with it. She chose an apple tree. It stood in the gardens of this estate. And apparently, the thing was growing at an absurd rate. Magic really was useful for so many things.

Grave news was shared as well. Cerberus had died of old age. I had forgotten, hamsters have rather short lives after all. I expressed my sympathy. Quintus wouldn't get to enact revenge in my name. Truly unfortunate.

Iris had a few lessons on air magic. She could perform a few useful things with it. Pushing things or people or letting smaller objects float to her. The latter had been forbidden when eating. A rather hot pot of soup had fallen on grandpa's lap. That time I didn't suppress a smile nor laugh. Ignoring the glare I received.

"That wasn't funny", grandpa protested. He nudged grandma. Her smile only widened at his antics.

After failing at advanced techniques for air magic, Iris decided to pick up the bow. She started to train with it normally at first and it turned out Iris had a great talent for archery. Her teachers were impressed.

Then my little sister impressed them even more. She started to use her spells while shooting. Guiding the arrow around obstacles, correcting her aim or nudging the head of her target a bit to the left with a spell.

Many more stories were shared. I was proud of my siblings. They had found things they liked. And a fire burned in their eyes. They were eager to improve further, all of them. That is what makes out a Vespasianus.

It became dark without us noticing. We ate dinner late and together before I went to sleep in a guest room. I inquired if my guards had been accommodated without problems. The head maid had some problems with them, but she would have to deal with it. They made a lot more problems when you let them into battle without supervision or clear orders.

"Quintus come out. Slowly.", I said as I was in the process of honouring my promise. My siblings stood ten metres before me. My grandparents behind them. Grandpa on a chair with his book in hand.

A shadowy mass took form beside me. The black cloud began to take Quintus form. The cloud turned to black scales. Yellow eyes opened and starred. He stood on his legs with folded wings. Inspecting the people before him.

The bunny in Silas' arms began to kick and struggle. He succeeded in freeing himself from Silas' grasp and shot out of the garden. I could see Quintus grin at the fleeing bunny. He showed off his terrifying rows of small sharp teeth.

His tail uncoiled he raised his head and upper body. Flapping his wings. My siblings stood there frozen. Grandma's mouth opened wide and grandpa's book fell down. He didn't notice.

The five-metre high, fifteen metres long and fourteen metres broad Quintus began to chirp. It didn't sound nearly as cute when he was little and he had stopped making that noise after a few months. It sounded a lot deeper and a growl was mixed within. Quintus could probably not make any less threatening sounds. It was the first time that he even tried.

"Wow cool", Iris and Ivy said at the same time running forwards towards Quintus. Grandpa's arms were too slow to get a hold of both of them. He didn't try to pursue them. Eyeing Quintus instead. He replied in kind.

My familiar himself began to lower himself, folded his wings and placed himself on the ground. Now eyeing my sisters. I moved a step forwards and intercepted both of them.

"Now be careful. You as well Quintus", I said. All three groaned in agreement as if that much was self-evident.

I stood behind my sisters as they both placed their hands on his scales. Near his snout. Both sides eyed the other.

"He is so warm", Ivy said as she put her other hand there as well. Beginning to brush over the entire area of Quintus' head.

"It feels like the armour grandpa has in his basement. The colour is the same", Iris said as she joined her sister.

Quintus made a deep growl and I got a feeling of anger from him. I put my hand on him as well. And reassured my frozen sisters. They forgot about the noise far too fast for their age.

I pacified Quintus mood successfully with a few small promises of exotic meat. A tap on my leg shifted my attention away from Quintus.

"Does he bite?", Silas asked as he peeked from behind my leg at Quintus.

"No, he doesn't.", I said. Quintus protested. "Not you at least."

"Can I touch him?", Silas asked.

I smiled and guided the hesitant hand of my brother towards Quintus' head. His expression shifted from scared to childish curiosity. He began to join his sisters in the task of feeling out all parts of Quintus body.

"Be careful not to touch the end of the tail. It is a stinger and poisonous", I warned.

Quintus solved my worries. Embedding his stinger into the earth of the garden.

"Or you do that. That works as well", I commented.

I heard my grandparents move closer as my siblings began the task of climbing the lying Quintus.

He held still regardless of what they did to him.

"So that is Quintus", grandpa said.

"He is Quintus", I corrected before my familiar would growl.

"Right he seems quite calm", grandpa added.

"And well-behaved", grandma added as well. "Not like some of the other people here." Grandma eyed me and my siblings.

"He is. I trust him with my life. Quintus is a lot more intelligent than you would think", I explained a begin to share a few more stories about Quintus. He had stolen the key from the cook's room one night and nibbled at every piece of meat from the pantry. He had somehow opened the lock.

The promised flight on Quintus' back was disallowed from my grandparents. I later promised my siblings to give them a ride in secret. They had to swear to never tell anybody.

Still, I would say the introduction between Quintus and my siblings went well. Very well.

I spent a few more days at my grandparents' estate. Sharing more stories and organizing a few things for our track towards Roma.

After a week we departed and headed towards the city. I sent a letter to Alaric and one to Juladia.

The dark-elf should have a lot of intel for me.

I said my goodbyes and we departed. My siblings and grandparents waved at our row of wagons for a while. I noticed Cycnus waved back, but not to them, to the head maid. The woman looked beet red. He hadn't, had he?