6 days had passed since James arrived in the country named Espedor. As the days passed and finding no way back to home, he spent most of his time in library going through the history and finances of the house, where he learned more and more about the society and the country he was in. He had also taken quite a few strolls throughout the city.

James was holding an old book, going through something, when the door to the library suddenly opened and a man in his forties entered the room. It was Duke Esper himself. Seeing Leonhart, who was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression, holding a book was a rare sight to see, and it made him happy. But it was not the time to be happy. He had given him 7 days to fix his mess and now was the 6th day, still he had done nothing, just kept himself locked up inside the library.

"Leon, when are you going to the palace?" asked the Duke.

"Ahhh... I will..." James had completely forgotten about all those things.

"When?"

"Tomorrow..."

"Yes... You will go tomorrow... or else."

"No... I will go." said James in a scared tone. He was an adult, but still was getting intimidated by Leonhart's father.

'That guy really is scary'. James thought to himself, as he exited the room and made his way towards his room. He had been fairly acquainted with the castle and its way by now. So it didn't take too long for him to arrive. Siting down on a chair, James looked at the large mirror which was showing the reflection of a handsome individual.

Leonhart Tristan Von Esper. This was his name now, not James anymore.

"That's a very long name..." said James to himself, chuckling, looking at the reflection.

Just 6 days ago, he was a technical advisors and now he was the Duke's son. When he was about to make his life a bit more meaningful, he was in this unknown country. Just when he was about to implement Nightangel, the only thing for which he lived and where he poured in everything, time, money and effort, was suddenly gone. He did not even know what had happened to it.

"Man... if this is some kind of prank... then it's going too far." James had tried to find out any cameras hidden inside his room or in the castle, but nothing. There were no cameras. First, he thought all these people were paid actors, but when he tried to ask some servants, they all appeared shocked. Hell, they didn't even know what was even called a prank? And one particular stroll, he saw a man getting beaten by a long whip for some petty crime he had committed. The blood and the painful cry were too real for a prank.

The sheer scale of the castle, the town and the attention to detail would far exceed the budget of a prankster or private organisation and the government was not idiotic enough to waste taxpayers' money on stupid things like this.

And if this was not a prank, then was it a real life simulation, like the movie he had previously watched named "Source Code." Was his brain getting used to save lives from some disaster?

But things were not adding up. It just felt too real for a simulation, and no one was even narrating him. And what kind of disaster would strike in an unknown country named Espedor?

"It getting too much for my brain to handle." said James rubbing his temple. He was now getting a mild headache from all these nonsensical thinkings. But the biggest problem of all was still waiting for him.

James was not good at conversation and had little to none social skill, so he avoided attending most of the meetings. He had even become a loner in his office as well. Now he had to meet with the princess and she was a girl. He was bad at conversing with people in general, but was worst with girls. That's why he was never able to date a single person. Many advised him to start a relationship with someone, so he could improve his mental health and overcome depression, but his poor social skills and lack of charisma took away everything.

Now he had to fix something he didn't even create, and it was not like he could just say no. James really feared the duke. It was as if he was his own father. Their reactions were too similar and the sense of familiarity was also a thing. Saying fear would be wrong. It was more like he respected him.

But that didn't solve the issue which was waiting for him at dawn.

***

A carriage was moving alongside the road carrying the insignia of house Esper, which was a man holding the sword named Excalibur and slaying the mighty dragon. No one knows how much of the story is true, but everyone believed it as it was told by the most powerful house in the entire empire.

And about this empire, as you guys already know, this country was divided into 4 states, a duke controlled each state, and the last one was under the direct control of the Emperor.

The dukes were the personal advisor of the emperor, and each state provided something essential to the empire. For instance, Esper house handled all the securities related to the empire, House Arlet handled economic growth, House Carlston was for food supplies and, about the emperor and his state, they just controlled everything.

Basically, every state was in a good relationship with each other. Esper house solely depended on House Carlston for food supplies for their whole dukedom. And for the economy and money, they had signed various deals with House Arlet, which allowed them to get gold for the natural resources found only in the land owned by Esper house. This was the entire ordeal, and the empire had been working like this for decades.

Soon the carriage reached the Castle where the princess lived with the rest of the emperor's family. It was huge, really huge. Duchy of Esper was nowhere near the size of the castle. Well, it was the emperor's, so no comments.

As James exited the carriage, the head butler and the house servants outside the castle's main door greeted him. The butler was a tall man in his sixties, with white hair and a big white mustache.

It was getting close to time for lunch. He guided James straight to the guest house where he was given some exotic food and stayed there.

He was told to rest here for the moment and would meet the princess in the evening. James lay down on that too comfy bed, but quickly fell asleep because of tiredness of seating inside a carriage with no suspension.

***

The princess was a slender beauty that attracted most of the noble's gaze. Her sleek black hair, which was randomly restricted by a small exquisite hairpin, gathered at her waist, her delicate small face with black eyes that was devoid of any makeup, displayed an image of natural beauty and innocence that made anyone that was near her have an urge to protect her.

The young girl was inside her room looking towards the balcony where the sun was setting in the distance. She had a cold and aloof air around her that made her extremely hard to approach.

Elizabeth Isolde Von Elysium

The First child of Emperor Adalbert Isolde Von Elysium and Empress Margret Isolde Von Elysium. The only princess of the Espedor empire.

She was waiting for the infamous man named Leonhart whom she neither hated nor loved... like she didn't even care.

The marriage which her father was forcing upon her was not a marriage out of love; it was a marriage out of pure political gain. His family was selling her to someone powerful.

She had become numb to these types of feelings. No one had ever treated her like an actual human being. Everyone saw her like an object from which they could gain. That's why she became cold. She could see the desire to gain something in everyone's eye. And she hated it, but couldn't do anything.

She was helpless.

...

James woke from his quick nap, or what he thought would be a nap turned into sleeping like a log. He knew he was getting late for the meeting with the princess, which was scheduled for the evening because he could see the sunset and it was almost evening. As he hurriedly got out of the room and tried to make his way towards the princess's room, but quickly got lost. But soon found a house servant, who helped him to get there.

James took a few deep breaths before knocking on the door, and soon a female voice was heard.

"Come in."

As he made his way inside the room, James was stunned by her beauty. He blinked twice to confirm what he was seeing. Elizabeth was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his entire life. With less and less interaction with the outside world and people, she was like a goddess to him.