Kati is dead.

The Emperor took his sons out on a hunting trip, probably to shore up that lacking brotherly love they share for one another, and Kati ended up getting gored by some stag when he left the Royal party to do something on his own. The beast was killed, but Kait bled out shortly thereafter when the healing mage attached to the trip declared there was nothing he could do except dull the pain.

So the story goes...

I was among the first to hear the news alongside Pina, who had also not been on the trip, and some other close retainers but before long the whole capital knew.

The funeral arrangements were a tame affair that few people of note attended. While Kati did have some friends in the Senate, and amongst his personal household, he was still a relative unknown amongst the ruling class. Influential nobles and patricians were socially obligated to come by, said how sorry they were for the Emperor's loss, then leave to do something they actually wanted to.

A tragic fate for a rising star in the Empire who could have been a real boon to the Empire in the future. As the result of a freak accident, fate decreed he must depart before doing his part.

I actually had to keep myself from rolling my eyes at the sappiness of that speeches.

Kati did not die to some animal, he was killed.

A bold claim? Yes.

Paranoia? No, it is simply the most logical conclusion when looking at all the facts.

Firstly, the very premise that a member of the royal family, even a stepson, would be allowed to wander unattended for any length of time in middle of the wilderness is preposterous. I can barely walk out of my own room in the imperial palace without being shadowed by maids or other members of the staff. The thought that Kait was able to walk about in untamed wilderness without a small camp following him is preposterous to begin with.

Secondly, there was the matter of how Kati died. I will be the first to admit I know nothing about stags or wild animals in general, but I would be shocked to know they could use knifes or bladed instruments. When Pina and I were led in to see Kati's body, before he was shipped off to his mother's family's crypts, I could clearly see his chest was quite gored and sufficiently tore apart enough to implicate a wild animal attack. However, if it was a beast, why were there straight edged cuts along his palms? As if he had been tying to catch or push away a blade with his bare bands.

And finally, there was Zorzal and Diabo. While I did not expect to see much love lost between them and Kati, I did not expect to see such fear in their eyes. The pair looked like they expected something to happen to them at any moment. Flinching at unseen shadows as if they were about to be attacked. If Kati was attacked in the wilderness, why would the surviving brothers be so scared within the halls of the Palace?

Given all this, I feel that it is safe to assume that Kati was murdered rather than simply killed.

So the next question: by whom?

The very first suspect to pop into my head was Zorzal. It honestly seemed a little too obvious. Zorzal was always competing with Kati over everything and the two came to blows many times, both metaphorically and literally. It seems obvious that Zorzal got Kati alone and killed him out of some misguided sense of vindictiveness, then mutilated the body so he could pass the blame to a wild animal. Pretty open and shut case. But then if Zorzal did kill Kati, why was he so terrified?

Sure it could be that he thinks he went too far, or he is afraid of getting caught, but I just don't believe that's the case. Zorzal is many things, crude, boastful, stubborn, and so on. One thing I would never call him, is shy or reserved with his emotions. For example, if he dislikes something it is obvious to even a blind man. It's just the way he talks, acts, or his micro expressions are. So if he did kill Kati, why did not have a single shred of joy or contentment in his body language? In truth, he looked terrified when he looked at Kati and seemed to want to be anywhere in the city but that room.

So who does that leave?

Diabo may rant and rave his insecurities to the staff, but he never acts on any of these threats. He's more the type to blow hot air and vent his grievances to those who have no choice but to listen, then actually do anything.

Pina had no real animosity towards Kati or a grudge to warrant wanting him dead. That of course ignores that fact that she is too wrapped up in all that "knightly chivalry" as she calls it to even think of doing something so underhanded. Besides, while the two were not close by any means they had a cordial relationship.

And unless Being X is somehow controlling my body like some marionette and wiping my memories of said events, I know for a fact I didn't do it.

So that left only one possibility as far as I was concerned: the praetorian guard. Not that the Guard killed him because they wanted him dead, but that one of them was paid off by a person who did want Kati dead.

Even from brief look over Imperial history, anyone can plainly that the praetorian guard as an institution have a very shaky reputation when it came to guarding royals. During the reigns of strong Emperors their loyalty and dedication to the crown is unquestionable, displaying characteristics akin to some of the most extreme examples of bushido. It is said they would sooner fall upon their own blades then even fathom the idea of harming the royal family.

And other times?

Well, all I can say is that more Emperors have died from Praetorian blades then have died at the hands of the Empire's enemies.

Hell, there was even a three-decade long period of time where the Guard basically ruled the Empire. It started with them killing an incompetent Emperor who was too busy filling his baths with wine to actually bother to govern. When his son showed to be equally unfit, they killed him to, then his son's son, and so on. It might have started with them wanting to have an effective ruler, but their constant regicides set up a precedent where they could sit and unseat an Emperor at will. They also realized that the strong rulers they wanted tented to not look favorably upon a guard who have a reputation of killing their charges.

There was even a macabre story that one of the Emperor's they proclaimed had been hiding behind a curtain in the throne room as the Guard cut down his reigning brother only to have the Guard draw back the curtain to proclaim him Emperor. So came a line of weak Emperors who held power in name alone while obeying the instructions of their praetorian backers.

And why did no one stop them?

Well, the Senate did try to disband the Guard when the corruption became a bit too obvious for their liking. But before they could pass the vote the Guard burst into the Senate, dragged the senators who were voting and killed them in the street. That act disincentivized any move against them for a decade.

And so the Guard became not only Kingmakers (Emperormakers simply doesn't sound as catchy) but fabulously wealthy. During that period of control if an Emperor did not grant the Guard enough concessions and gifts, or worse slighted them in some way, the Guard had no qualms with killing Royal in question. The Guard also showed no concern for the line of succession or even basic protocol, just crowning people who promised them greater wealth.

Hell, one time they actually auctioned off the crown to the highest bidder at a market!

It wasn't until the Artic War when Emperor Evnadrus assumed the throne that the Guard finally lost their political power. Even then, it took a civil war within the Guard itself to finalize this change. They kept most of their prestige, being the personal guard of the Emperor with the best training and equipment available, and for the most part have kept to their renewed role quite well.

Even so tales of corruption do persist, though at a far smaller rate.

It all fits. The blade marks on Kati's hands when he would have tried to fight off his own Guards who killed him, Zorzal's nervousness in the depths of the Imperial Palace which is heavily guarded by Praetorians, and even the current trend of the Praetorians seemingly keeping a closer eye on the two remaining princes to ensure another is not killed by one of their own.

But that does bring up the question, who would want to kill Kati? Who could have the pull to get a Pretorian to do it?

But the most important question of all to me: how much more would a true born child, say a magically inclined girl nine years of age, cost the conspirator when compared to a stepchild?

-
-

As the days moved on, with Kati's death slowly drifting into the past, life went on.

More specifically, the lessons continue as always. Now that I was "older", and know as the 'smart' child, I was allowed to sit in on some of Pina's lessons.

From our time together, I got the impression Pina was completely uninterested in anything (beyond the basics) that was not related to her knight 'thing'. I can hardly call it a phase anymore given how "all in" she's been with it, and I will admit I am genuinely surprised she stuck with it. She actually has some good talent for swordsmanship from what little I've seen, usually when she drags me from my books to swing her sword at a training dummy and constantly ask if I was still sure I didn't want to join her Rose Knights saying she could find any place I wanted among their ranks.

So I tell her the same things I have told her for years: I do not want to be a knight, or a squire, or a page, or a quartermaster, or a fucking mascot! That last one is more of an internalization of my more modest refusal, but who just asks someone to be a mascot?

Still, I was learning more and more. One subject I've been recently learning more about was geography. In other words, the other nations of Falmart besides the Empire. Granted it is through the Imperial propaganda lens, but simply learning of their existence gives me enough to work with when I ask Gaius about them for a more neutral take.

To be frank, ignoring the client and vassal kingdoms along the Empire's peripheries, there were genuinely independent realms everywhere.

The most predominate of these foreign states, and the only one the Empire considers a civilized nation, was located along the peninsula to the south of the Empire: The Korinthian League.

Less a nation and more a loose confederacy of petty kingdoms, city states, and other small polities located along the Korinithan Peninsula that were united in their desire to not be a part of the Empire. While they lacked both the material and the manpower to wage a war of aggression against the Empire, the geography of their peninsula made any advance by the Empire doomed to failure as the Empire would end up funneling their forces into a bottleneck. And since the Empire also lacked the ships needed to contest control of the Blue Sea from the League there was no way to simply sail around and attack them from the flanks.

I am tempted to say the Lesage is the "Italian Peninsula" of this world. Given that the League is composed of city states and compact kingdoms who fight one another with mercenaries and have highly urbanized population centers (relative to the level of development in this world), however they show more relation to ancient Greek city states than the Italian ones. I base this mostly on the fact they fight with formations of hoplites and phalanxes.

While most texts regard these formations as inferior to the legion in broad terms, the fact they haven't been conquered by the numerically superior legions speaks volumes to the potency of their formation on the defense and the power of their navy.

By contrast northern Falmart, from my reading of the situation at least, is populated by a people who are basically the Norse from European history.

They are a barbarian culture with a seafaring raider society who reave along the coasts and inland rivers with longships for loot and slaves. They raise runestones, burn down temples, and other Viking things. They even worship a god they call the "All-Father" and have warrior women called shield maidens as if to hammer in the whole "Norse" connections more firmly.

My tutors and books note that the Northerners proudly scorn any trapping of civilization and happily toss tomes and manuscripts into great fires for their own amusement. A hyperbolic statement, given most accounts of them are the survivors of their raids and would not incline to give an impartial analysis, but I am willing to concede that these Viking are just as aggressive as their Earth counterparts. Even the more impartial texts agree that the north men are an aggressive culture.

The east is covered in great grasslands and plains and is home to numerous nomadic hordes and tribes who raid caravans along the Imperial road network and push against imperial settlement in the area.

Even with a significant legion presence, control of these vast lands beyond established urban centers or the main roads is tenuous at best. Some books go so far as to imply that it is not uncommon for entire settlements to vanish overnight as Imperial settlers are enslaved by the horse lords who view the civilized way of life as anathema to their customs. Sometimes, a great leader arises from their ranks and leads all hordes against the Empire, to sweep them back into the center of Falmart. Fourteen times have the horse lords attempted to remove the Empire completely from the East, and fourteen times they were beaten back at high cost to the Empire.

But there is another culture who calls the far east home: the Warriors Bunnies.

Even now I can't help but roll my eyes or grimace at the phrase.

Was there nothing better thing to call themselves? When I initially read about them, a matriarchal society of scantily clad warrior women with bunny ears than captured strong men to mate with, I couldn't help but think that this was just some fetishized Amazonian culture created by writers of certain genres. An impression not helped by the detailed 'artwork' I found amongst the pages telling the tale of a group of men who 'sacrificed themselves to save their village. Indeed, men of some settlements even offered themselves as "tribute" to the bunny women in exchange for not sacking their town.

How "brave" of them.

Getting past those sorts of things, for all their attacks on isolated imperial settlements, many warrior bunnies do offer their services as mercenaries to the legion. Their feats of strength and power have greatly aided the Imperial effort to pacify the nomads, who the warrior bunnies hate with a greater fervor than the Imperials due to aforementioned age-old grudges.

And finally, there was the matter of the west. I have a bit more to work with then simple books or second hand accounts as Selene has been quite open about her life in the west and certain things that go on there. Granted, it's information that comes from a literal child who may not have the knowledge necessary to parcel out fact from fiction, but it's a start.

From what I gathered, it's a very forested land where the Empire borders many barbarian kingdoms who they have a sort of tributary relationship with. At least, that's what I get from hearing how Selene says lots of Barbarian Kings send "a lot" of gold or goods to Soissons in exchange for military assistance against other Kingdoms. Many tales abound of legions fighting hordes of warriors painted from head to toe in paint. Basically it is this world's equivalent of Gaul and Germania.

I did try to look up what I could about the Empire's colonies to the far south but found very little. Most of the texts are about the large slave plantations growing sugar and spices then anything regarding the natives in those lands beyond a passing mention of "feather wearing People" and "golden temple cities".

Just goes to show that being a fantastical world is no barrier to having the same old mundane problems crop up over and over again.

-
-

"I can do it!"

"No you can't."

"Yes I can! See!"

"Nope, don't see it."

"What are saying? Clearly I was THIS high up."

"That's how high you always jump."

"Grrrr."

"And there! Your just kicking air!"

"Mmmmm!"

Ever since my little flying display a few months ago Zaynab, being the only other mage of my cohort, has been trying to replicate the feat herself. She's even come to me on multiple occasions to ask how I "did it". When I did explain to her that I didn't "fly" but merely reduced my own body mass to a fraction of what it normally is, I got a blank stare in return.

And today, with Sherry having left earlier to go home, and Myui having traveled back in Italica to celebrate her birthday with her family, that left only Selene and Zaynab here to interact with.

"But what does that mean" she questioned me at the time.

After some roundabout thinking and walking her through the logic, I got her to understand what I did in explaining the way a bird can fly through the air.

So here she is now, pumping mana across her body and jumping up and down without pause; kicking her feet in the air as if that gives her more "air time".

Despite what Selene is quipping from the sidelines, Zaynab is getting better at it. It's not overtly noticeable, but my trained eye can see she is getting more air with each hop overtime. But it's the difference between measuring airtime in a couple of seconds, to a single second when she started. Still a creditable achievement for a non-military trained preteen.

I remember reading something in Officer School that amounted to saying most mages can't actually use their magic without some kind of foci to help with the mental calculations or regulate mana draw; basically the more calculations done in ones head, the more efficient a spell is mana wise. Therefore only the most powerful mages, or at least the ones with the largest mana pools, can use magic in a practical way without some kind of foci since without calculations spells are horrifically mana intensive. Hence why the creation of the computation orb was so profound.

With it, mages can shunt most of the mental calculations to the orb and focus their attention to primarily mana regulation. And with the orb making spells more efficient the number of people who could become mages skyrocketed.

The reason for this disparity is basically because mana allowed a mage to bend the rules of reality. The more you want to "bend" the more mana required, but reality can be bent in many different ways to achieve the same end and an understanding of how the world works form a scientific angle allowed one to greatly reduce how much "bending" is needed.

Take 'flying' for example. A mage could simply keep pumping mana into their bodies to fly, though naturally they'll be on their asses in a matter of minutes when they run out of mana. A mage could also reduce their own mass, making themselves lighter than air to "float" or "glide" in a way not dissimilar to how birds achieve flight.

Even Zaynab used some basic science in the hydromancy she shows off. Just this morning, she pulled moisture from the air, condensed the particles into small drops of water, then snap froze the water and dropped the resulting ice cubes into her drink.

However, with an orb managing the calculation side a mage can do far more then simply float and can easily maintain multiple spells at the same time with all the mind work being handled mechanically.

Sadly, lacking an understanding of even the fundamentals of orb creation, such a tool is impossible to come across here and I certainly have no idea how to make one. I was a solider, trained to operate, maintain, and make small repairs to my gear with materials on hand. I could explain to someone what made a dual core orb superior to a single core, and I could even offer possible improvements to orb design based on my own experience of using them.

I was not, educated in the ways of building an orb from scratch, much less creating one in a pre-industrial society where the wheel was still the pinnacle of technological development in some areas.

I do remember reading an offhand mention in a textbook that before magic development pivoted towards mechanical computation in the early nineteenth century most research was directed towards enchanting gemstones with a set number of spells. Different from normal enchantments, where a single trait was imbued into an object, since the gemstone would "hold" several spells that could be used when mana was pushed through them. An interesting design, but with several problems.

First, the gemstones had to be large; prohibitory large.

Second, the mana cost is excessive. Since the mage must first cast a spell into the gem, and then use more mana to cast the stored spell.

And third, why go through all that effort when a simple enchantment could do about as well, since a mage would still need to do the calculations in their head to cast the spell into the gem in the first place.

In short, it became an evolutionary dead end when mechanical computation sprung up.

Still there was one good idea surrounding it. A Russy magical researcher, before the communists took over naturally, wrote about having mages cast spells into the gems then handing out said gems to soldiers who had the necessary amount of mana to cast the spells but lacked the mental prowess for precise calculations. An interesting idea and one that might have come to fruition had the computation orb technology not achieved mass proliferation by the dawn of the twentieth century.

Not that such an idea helps me all that much since the book simply dismissed the gemstone idea as outdated and moved on from there.

"Ow!" Zaynab had fallen to the ground, nursing her sore bottom.

"Oaky, that was high!" Selene cheered from the sidelines. "Princess, did you see it! Zaynab went up to the tree branch!"

"Of course, I did," I lied effortlessly. "See it's like I said, if you practice enough, and have some natural talent, there is nothing you can't do."

"I only wish it didn't hurt as much," the dark-skinned girl grumbled.

"Are you really complaining that you can fly?" the Syagrius girl tsked to herself.

"No, I'm complaining it hurts when you hit the ground," Zaynab quipped back, moving a stray leaf from behind her slightly pointy ear.

"You didn't even fall that high," Selene pointed to one of the lower branches of the tree. "I've fallen way higher and I'm fine."

"I certainly hope you haven't fallen from greater heights!" a new voice broke through the childish quips.

Selene looked to the new voice, then beamed a bright smile, "Father!" She abandoned her spot by the tree and rushed to the new arrival.

While I can see the resemblance between the two in hair color and cheek bones. But if I had to be honest, I can't help but think Selene's father looks more like some jester pretending to be a noble. His clothes were a ridiculous mishmash of colors. He had more jewelry adorning him, rings, ears, neckless, and all, then some noble women I've had the displeasure of being acquainted with. I will say the white cane gives him back a bit of a regal look, thought the fist sized gem on the top is a tad much in my opinion.

And this was supposedly the second most powerful man in the Empire after the Emperor himself?

Still, Selene jumped into the man's open arms.

"It's so good to see you sweetie," he kissed his daughter on the head and knelt to her level. "Look how big you've grown! Keep growing like this and you'll be taller than George before long."

As if on cue, a massive giant of a man walked next to the pair; by far the biggest man I have ever laid eyes on. Clad head to toe in dragon scaled armor, he was certainly an impressive sight. Given how massive he was, I think even during my last life, I'd be hesitant to charge him without substantial back up.

"Sir George!" Selene was ecstatic at the sight of the giant. Rather than hug him like her father, Selene grabbed hold of his armor climbed up the knight's from like a monkey and came to a rest upon his gargantuan shoulders.

"Now I'm the tallest!" she cheered from his shoulders; I can only guess if the man winced from the loud voice so close to his ears.

"Yes you are dear," Clovis jovially went along with his daughter's train of thought. "Now while I can see you are having fun, there is something I wish to speak with her Highness about. Something neither you, nor your friend, need be here for."

"What, why?" Selene questioned, her hands ruffling the plum thing on George's helmet.

"It's something not necessary for you to hear," he cryptically answered. "Don't worry, you can see your friends tomorrow."

"…..okay," the girl bemoaned from her ad-hoc podium. "Guess I'm going home."

"You can see her tomorrow dear," he repeated, before grinning. "And, while I don't want to be the one who told you, but I do believe there is someone waiting for you at the villa. Someone who has been asking to come see you for some time.

"Mother?" the girl perked up. Right, while here as a hostage in all but name, she hasn't been able to see her mother all that often.

"Oh, I've said too much. She told me not to spoil the surprise," he all but confirmed her mother's arrival.

"Yes! Sorry Zaynab, sorry Princess, but have to go! Bye Princess! Bye Zaynab," she quickly chatted out before clicking her heels against the giant's armor as if it were a horse. "Onwards Sir George! I need to get home to see Mother!"

The giant spared a short look to the Governor, who gave a curt nod, before walking off with Selene riding continuously clicking her heels as if that would make him walk faster. I swear I could hear a deep sigh from the man as he walked forward on command.

Oh the pains of dealing with an employer's kids.

"The same goes for you as well, Lady Zabba, my apologies" Clovis now turned to the other girl still here.

"It's fine, my Lord, I was planning to leave shortly anyway," the girl turned to me and curtsied. "Have a pleasant evening your Highness, I shall see you tomorrow."

"You to," I tell her and waved as she walked off in the general direction Selene was riding the giant in.

Now alone, Clovis stared at me for a few seconds before sighing. "Your Highness, I would first like to extent my most heartfelt condolences for your recent loss," Clovis began. "Had I been in the capital sooner, I would have paid my respects and offered my condolences sooner. Alas, I was on campaign and only heard the news from a courier weeks afterwards."

Oh that.

"Thank you for your concern, My Lord," I almost drone out. While it had been a while, I was still able to give the boiler plate "thank you for your concern" spiel without even thinking about it. "Did you know him?"

"Not on a personal level, no," Syagrius clarified. "I only had the opportunity to meet him a handful of times. But even in those brief moments, I could tell he was a sharp one. Someone who, if given enough time to come into his own, could have facilitated great strides for the Empire. A shame it had to end the way it did."

He paused for a moment, as if to let his words sink into me like this was some damn soap opera.

"But I can only imagine what you must have gone through," he continued. "Or are going through now. To know your own brother was snuffed out like he was, cut down before he could truly live his life. I can scarcely think of anything less more disturbing than that."

"It was a shock at first, but time has a way of making thing easier to deal with," I reply taking yet another page of the "accepting false pity" book. Honestly, while this wasn't some halfhearted thing most of the nobles did, it was a little soppy for my tastes. "Cut down" is a little too poetic for my tastes. Death is death. Horrible when it happens to soon, but something that come for everyone eventually-

Wait…

What was it Syagrius said…Cut down?

That carries a lot of implications. Implications not usually found in cases where the cause of death was due to an animal. Sure Kati's body was on display for a short while, but why would he conclude that he was killed? The knife marks were so faint that even I could barely see them without the whole cloth over the body thing at the funeral. Further, he wasn't even here for the funeral, by his own admission he was in his own province when people were allowed to pay their "respects".

So the next question is how did this man figure out Kati was killed?

The Emperor was surly keeping the nature of Kati's death a great secret to deter others from attempting to bribe the praetorians to similar acts. Sure, a secret is only as safe as the weakest link and there is no shortage of people who would inform on the going on in the palace for the right price. Perhaps Syargius has spies in the palace who told him what happened.

Or maybe…Could it be that HE was the one who paid off the Praetorians to murder Kati?

I felt a chill run through my veins as the man went on about something or another, I barley paid attention as my mind ran into overdrive over the implications of my discovery.

If what I think is true, IF Syagrius ordered the death of Kait, then the first question is why he would tip so blatantly to a member of a family of the person had killed? Is this psychological warfare? A 'Ha-ha, I killed one royal I didn't like and I can kill you just the same if I felt like it' kind of thing? If so, it's a very foolish move. He has to know I'm going to run to the Emperor to tell him who was the one who ordered Kati's death the moment I get back to the Palace.

Wait! No!

Shit! I can't do that!

Ignoring the fact that the Emperor is keenly aware of what the truth of how Kati was killed, I doubt he could even act on this information if he wanted to. All I have is my word that Clovis all but admitted to ordering the death of a royal. And if the Emperor moved against Syagrius, what would the rest of the Empire think to his proof? It would be a nine-year old's word against the second most powerful person in the Empire. Golly gee, I wonder who the people would listen to?

But then, I come back around to the first question, why imply his actions to me? He may dress like what a person thinks an eccentric noble dresses but that doesn't mean he is an idiot. You don't rule over a territory twice the size of Germania, and make it one of the most profitable in the Empire, by being a fool.

…

Damn it!

Why was I so stupid!

I see it now! The way he dresses is part of the ruse itself! In any meeting between people, the way one dresses can subconsciously imply what kind of person you are to your opposite. Dress smartly, and people will subconsciously think you are. Dress like a slob, and they'll think you're a slob. But it can also work in reverse: dress like a slob, to make people think you are a slob, then pull the rug out from under them after playing into the assumptions for your own benefit!

Damn it! I actually fell for it too!

But once again, why all but tell me he killed Kati.

Before I could run my mind any further, I tried to pull myself back from overanalyze every little detail. One should never mistake maliciousness with Incompetence.

Could it be that he just gloating to a child he thinks can't understand the blatant subtext of his words and be internally laughing at my reactions?

To be fair, I'm not a child mentally, hence I probably should not be 'getting' the gloating since I am a 'child'. Maybe he's mentally grinning like some Cheshire cat as he goes on about his crime with the belief that I think he's being genuine in his condolences.

But why would he kill-

A hand on my shoulder dragged me from my analysis of the situation.

"Forgive me your Highness, but are you feeling well?" Clovis asked, his green eyes filled with a sufficient amount of concern. "You've been a little out of sorts for the past few minutes. Is something wrong."

"No, my Lord," I try and reply with no indication of my true feelings.

"In any event," he brushed off my comment. "As I said, if you every need anything, or simply wish to talk to someone, I will be here to offer what aid I can."

"Thank you, my lord, you are too kind," I manage to say without tipping my hand of knowing what he did.

Clovis and I exchanged some more meaningless small talk before he decided it was time to return on. Something about wanting to spend an evening dinner with his wife and child or something equally trivial. Yet as he walked away, I made a mental note to be on guard with him when we met again.

I refuse to fall for the same ploy of 'foolishness' ever again. I have no plans on dying so soon.

At least not before I can shove my boot up Being X's ass and pay him back for everything he has done to me!

-
-

Zorzal lived in almost constant fear since his father had Kati murdered before him and Diabo.

What was supposed to be a family 'bonding' trip turned into a brutal torture display as the Emperor read out all of Kati's crimes and then…

Zorzal had always hated Kati. He had always dreamed of the moment he could wipe that damn smirk off his face with his fists. To throttle Kait's throat until he died, forcing his manservant lover to watch before he suffered the same fate. Seeing the look in Kati's eyes as the last bit of light left them had been a dream he so wished to make real.

Yet even he thinks that what Molt did to Kati was extreme. It wasn't Kati's death that haunted him, it was everything that was done to Kati before the Emperor allowed him to die. How he made his mages keep Kati from expiring too soon so he could "continue to be an example for the boys".

Zorzal knows he will never forget the screams Kati made until his dying breath.

Every time he saw one of the Praetorians, he felt his blood run cold. Whenever he had to be near one of them, he could almost feel himself shake. What if this time they were ordered to kill him, his mind would insidiously whisper.

He remembers Tanya asking if something was wrong earlier that day since he wasn't eating his food. Zorzal laughed it off and made light of the situation. He could hardly tell her that he was afraid the pretorian guards detached to watch over her were under orders to kill him in the most painful way possible now could he?

Even had the Emperor not told him and Diabo to never speak of what happened that day to either Pina or Tanya, Zorzal would have done so of his own volition. Tanya, for all her brilliance, was a gentle soul. Shy in unfamiliar situations, bright and friendly among friends, she was truly a rare breed of noble. She was not only noble by birth, but in sprit as well.

However, for all her brilliance, her heart was simply too big. She had a type of ingrained innocence that ran at odds with how the world worked.

He remembers one incident when she stopped a servant girl from getting caned in the yard. The girl had taken some food from the plate of a visiting emissary, before it had even been served to him, and was being punished accordingly. When questioned by his sister, the girl claimed she hadn't eaten in two days and had only taken some crumbs. As if that excused the crime.

Yet his sister, ever generous, ordered the girl to be given a meal. "No one should work on an empty stomach" she told them and asked for the girl transferred to her own staff. Despite the legitimate points brought up by the matron that this would only embolden the girl's thieving tendencies, she obeyed.

While he can't help but find her innocent view of the world adorable, it hardly prepared her for the brutality of the real world. Even Pina, for all foolishness at trying to be a knight as a woman, at least understood what kind of place the world was. Not that Zorzal wants to be the one to ruin that native innocence Tanya holds.

Still, perhaps that naivete was actually a benefit?

If you didn't know about the threats and dangers around you, how can you live a life in fear?

Like the fear of your own father possibly torturing you to death….

To escape the existential fear of what his Father could do to him at any moment, Zorzal indulged in vices. Drink. Food. Parties. Of all of them though, he had found lust to be the best salve for his fears. It wasn't even the sex that he enjoyed but the intoxicating feeling of control. He could do whatever he wanted to any girl he brought to his bed. No matter how much they cried or begged, they were forced to deal with him.

And in the moment, he could forget he too was controlled by another he feared and dreaded.

But when everything was quiet, his mind would wander…

"I'm done with this one," the prince waved to his courtier as he put on his clothes.

His latest conquest was a demi-human slave girl with patches of scales splotched across her body. A body now covered in bruises and shallow marks from that evening's activities. The girl didn't even make a sound when one of his men lugged her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.

"Done for the night, your highness or-"

"Done as in 'finished'," Zorzal clarified, pouring himself a glass of wine. "If any of the boys want a go at her, their welcome to do so. Otherwise, see if there's a brothel willing to take used goods. Price doesn't matter, but I don't want to see her again."

"Yes, your highness," the man dutifully nodded, taking the abused slave out of Zorzal's chamber and softly shutting the door behind him.

Grumbling to himself, Zorzal took a long sip of his wine. Sadly, it wasn't a long one, for Zorzal flinched as a flash of lighting bathed his chamber. Flinched, dropping his goblet, even before the booming thunder followed it. It was simply so sudden. His heart was racing at nothing. Sighing at his own paranoia, he moved to pick up his cup and call for a servant to clean up the mess-

"My oh my, jumping at every shadow now… are we?"

Zorzal shot back to his feet. He wasn't alone! Someone had snuck into his chambers! Scanning the dark room yielded nothing, it was the same as it was a moment ago. No windows open, the door still tightly shut, not a single thing out of place.

"I didn't mean to cause alarm."

There it was again, but from a different side of his room. What was going on! Moving swiftly, the prince reached under his bed for the sword attached to the bedframe.

"Who's there!" Zorzal quickly drew the blade looked for the speaker, sword at the ready. "I command you to show yourself!"

His words were greeted by an animal like laughter that echoed all around him, putting him even more on edge.

"Well as this is your home, I ought to be the respectful guest." The laugh that followed was something akin to a pig's snorting. Out of the comer of his eye, he saw a figure emerge from the shadows. It was a corpulent creature garbed in simple brown clothes. The disgusting creature looked to me something akin to a human mixed with some chimeric pig-rat thing with leathery green skin.

"Apologies for the ruse Your Highness," the creature gave a short bow to him. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Bouro, leader of the Haryo Tribe."

"Haryo?" Zorzal questioned. This was one of those mongrel creatures he members his tutors mentioned once upon a time. No, this was their leader? Why- How did he get into city? No, how did he get into his home!

"Indeed," Bouro nodded.

"What do you want?" Zorzal demanded loudly, his sword still at the ready to cut the pig faced creature down. He was silently waiting for one of his guards, who allowed this creature to trespass through his home into his very bedroom, to finally come in and get rid of it!

"Want? It is not what I want, but what you want," the Haryo cryptically answered.

"What could a creature like you know about me?" Zorzal questioned, his eye switching between the door and the intruder.

"Oh, I know a few things," Bouro scratched his chin, unconcerned of the blade pointed at him. "It's just what I like to do: knowing a little bit about everything that is. For example, I know that the Emperor killed Prince Kati since he was conspiring to overthrow him. I know you and Prince Diabo were present during the grizzly torture session. And I know you are terrified you will suffer the same fate."

"Shut up! Shut Up! Guards! Get in here already! Guards!" Yet all that greeted Zorzal was silence. No calls of concern, nor any guards burst through the doors to take this creature to the dungeons.

"Apologies, but your guards are indisposed for the moment," the Haryo enlightened Zorzal. "Alive, but they will not bother us for quite some time."

'What did you-"

"It is not what I did. You were the one who gave them something to occupy their time with did you not?" Bouro chuckled as the Prince's face paled.

"So, you're here to kill me?" Zorzal took a step back as he readied himself to fight for his life.

"Kill you?" he snorted at the prince's words and shook his head. "Did you not hear what I said moments ago, I am here because of what you want."

"What I want?" the whole situation was so outlandish for him. Why break into the crown prince's room only to want to do something for said prince?

"Indeed," it agreed. "As mentioned, I know a great deal. Such as your greatest fears of losing everything to Emperor, to becoming a footnote in history that will be forgotten within a generation, to being known as a useless boy who amounted to nothing."

Zorzal stared Bouro down, not lowering his blade, but clearly listening to the Haryo's words.

"But don't worry, your highness," Bouro walked towards the prince until the blade tip was pressing against his chest. "I think I may have a solution to your situation. One that not only shows your courage and bravery to your fellow citizens but demonstrates your worth to your family and the Empire."

"And why should I trust anything that comes out of your disgusting mouth?" Even as Zorzal insulted the pig thing he pulled his blade tip back from the chest. Silently, he was genuinely curious as to what the Haryo had to say. If it was nonsense, he'd cut the demi-human down where he stood.

If the Haryo was insulted, he didn't show it. All Bouro did was give Zorzal a yellow toothed smile as he scratched his chin with one of his long claws. "Tell me, what do you know of the Warrior Bunny Kingdom?"