I fiddled the fancy clothes as I waited for dad to come fetch me. I dug around my desk, looking for something to do.

A familiar journal plopped to the ground when I moved some books to the side. I picked it up and glanced inside.

Oh, it was the journal I wrote when I first woke up in this body! Can't believe I forgot this was part of a game.

I glanced at the list of names. Maybe I'll meet some of the capture targets or hero/heroine.

On second thought, I should bring this with me in case I do meet someone with the same first or last name.

Knox Earl Marlowe. The name somehow tasted sour on my tongue. I never met Knox and I wished it stayed that way. Nothing good could come from being near him.

How is he a capture target and not a villain? Actually, I don't want to know.

Now that I think about it, my legal name is still Alcott Hugh Marlowe. I wonder if mom and dad will officially give me the name of the Fascus royal family.

Enough of that. Dad should be here any minute.

...

...

...

Or not? He was supposed to be here by now!

Oh, it must be dad!

"W-" I cut myself off when I saw it was the butler. Where was dad?

"The king asked me to fetch for you." While I was disappointed he didn't come for me, I understood he had lots of responsibilities as king. Even if it meant I was low on his list of priorities.

~

"Thank you everyone for coming. As most of you may know, we are at war with Aplana and Efluya has decided aid us." Numerous noblemen murmured amongst themselves in surprise. Efluya was known for remaining a neutral country that never took sides.

"What about that bastard King? What will be done with him?"

"He'll be publicly executed in front of the people of Aplana when we win the war."

"What about the rest of the Marlowe's?" I flinched. It bothered me that my family name was still Marlowe.

"If they don't try to rebel or fight, then they shall be left alone." Father continued by discussing the plans they had to bring down Aplana with the least repercussions.

Eventually, the children were lead to a separate room to socialize amongst themselves. Sadly, neither Travis nor Renee was there. I suppose I could drink some juice and observe from afar.

"Too bad they aren't going to execute the other Marlowe's." A snobby boy smirked. He had red hair, freckles galore all over his face and neck, and brown eyes. Oh man, I know where this is going to go.

The other kids chorused their agreement. Some of them openly insulted me.

"You're the son of that filth. We don't need you here now that there's an actual heir."

"I didn't think the queen was this stupid. To let someone like you in he-" The boy who said that got a glass full of grape juice in his face.

"Don't ever slander the queen. I don't care what you say about me, but if you talk bad about my mother, " I smiled, "Got it?"

"Pfft! What's a scrawny branded street cat going to do to me?" The boy took off his coat and revealed his wings. "You won't be able to reach me. It must suck to be a bastard son."

I suppressed the urge to clench my fists. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing his words affected me.

"Hey, isn't he taking this too far?" A girl whispered to the other kids. Most of them nodded in agreement and stepped back with uneasy faces as the boy, emboldened by my silence, continued.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the queen was a whore." The room turned dead silent.

"..." I exited the room and looked at one of the knights posted at the door. "Give me your sword."

They glanced at each other, but the knight gave me the sword. I went back inside to see the boy rambling on.

"See? He's a coward who can't do anything." The other kids backed away when they saw me approach him with the sword. He noticed and turned to look at me. His face paled when he saw the sword.

"Wh-What are you doing with that? A scrawny kid like you can't even lift a sword like that."

"Let's test out my strength and skills then. You'll be the test subject."

"Wh-Why me?"

"Don't act clueless. After all, you willingly volunteered." I smiled. I lifted the sword and got into a ready position. 3...2...1...

"A-Alright I-I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"

"It's too late for that. What you did warrants execution, you know. I wonder what your parents would think if they knew what you said."

"Y-You can't prove I said anything."

"Don't have to." The boy looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"All of the adults were listening the entire time. I don't need to prove something to them when they heard it themselves." I threw the sword on the ground.

The nobles came in through the door a moment later. The boy fainted and soiled his pants as the other kids whimpered and fidgeted with fear. Even though they didn't slander the queen, they did insult a prince and didn't do anything to stop the boy.

"What do you have to say, Marquess? Is that not your son who insulted my son and wife?" Dad's voice was ice cold.

"I-I have nothing to say, your majesty." A man with a nice mustache kneeled in front of dad. "I had no idea my son would do such a thing."

"Since you have failed to properly educate your child, I suppose a month as a servant will teach him. Because he's a child he will be spared execution. However, my benevolence only goes so far. If he does this again he will be charged as an adult."

"Y-Yes, your majesty. I thank you for your mercy."

"As for all the rest of you. You will face punishment as your parents see fit." Dad walked to me and kneeled beside me. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm only mad about what they said about mom." I glared at the unconcious boy. "He had no right to say that about her."

"None of them had the right to insult you either." Dad patted my shoulder, "you are my son even if we're not blood-related. Understand?"

"Yes, dad." I smiled, "I know."

"The rest of this meeting will be postponed for now." Dad picked me up and carried me out of the room. "How about we go see your mom?"

"Can we bring some snacks too?"

"Yeah, let's get some snacks."