Kyle sat at the head of a grand table in the royal palace of the Ruthobold Kingdom, having allowed the royal siblings to sit at the same table as him.
Reagan, who was seated to the left of Kyle, kept a straight face, not showing an inch of emotion. She pushed back a lock of her gorgeous black hair, which was as straight as a rod, behind her ear while watching Kyle closely. She was wearing a simple yet classy blue dress, as she had not been given any specific orders by Kyle as of yet- so while her brothers went out to retrieve the belongings of his mothers, she had simply waited patiently for them all to return so that she may be given further orders.
Kyle sat with his arms back behind his head, in a manner that was anything but kingly, while he twirled the crown around on a finger as if making a mockery of the position itself.
Sylvester, who was seated on the opposing side of Reagan showed clear signs of irritation, as was exposed by the clear flushed tone of his face which was covered in bulging veins.
Reginald managed to keep a perfectly calm face, though from Reagan's point of view, she could tell that he was clearly agitated as well. Having known her brother for years, she was able to pick up on his small- and nearly unnoticeable habits. Particularly, he was holding his arms folded as he tapped his two thumbs together. This was a habit which not many would notice, as it could mean anything from anxiety to impatience to anger, but Reagan knew that for her brother it was peculiar of when he was repressing himself- that is, when he had something he desperately wanted to say, but due to the political repercussions of the statement he instead held himself back and put on a fake smile.
Arctus did not appear as agitated as the other two. As a matter of fact, the boy with blonde hair that came down to his neck on all sides who sat to her left seemed to be.... satisfied? Reagan was unsure at what could prompt this satisfaction, given that their father was recently killed.
It was true that Arctus was never their fathers favorite.
As the only female in the family, Reagan could not relate to such a thing as the isolation which Arctus experienced. She was the 'daddy's girl', so to speak. Her father showed her a great amount of care and affection. She was carefully raised beside her mother to become a diplomat from a young age. Even more so than her brother Reginald, she was forced to take every action into account- under the assumption that a single mistake would have grave civil consequences.
A single blemish.
A single spot of imperfection.
She was not allowed to ever have such a thing on her record.
Working alongside her mother to one day become an Archduchess, Reagan toiled endlessly to live up to the expectations of a woman of the royal family.
It was not easy, by any means.
"Reagan, I would like you to take music and dance lessons so that you can present yourself properly at gatherings."
"Reagan, I would like for you to study proper etiquette and mannerisms so that you know how to speak properly with those of elevated status."
"Reagan, I would like for you to research the history of the kingdom so that you may understand the complexities of the political landscape for when you are given a role to play."
"Reagan, I would like for you to prepare yourself for an arranged marriage, so that one day we can use you to form ties with either a noble family or use you as a method to form ties with another country."
"Reagan this."
"Reagan that."
"Reagan, do this."
"Reagan, do that."
"Reagan, if you learn to do this then it will benefit your father."
"Reagan, if you don't do this then you won't be worthy as a princess of the royal family."
Reagan of course, obediently listened.
Not a day went by in which she didn't find herself honing her skills as both a diplomat and as a woman who would eventually take the position tied to some suitor in order to please him and form an alliance with some external faction.
She didn't disobey her parents. Not once.
But, she did often find herself wondering.
'Just what would happen if I could live the life of a peasant?'
These thoughts were nothing more than a 'what if'. Never once did Reagan ever imagine that she would be able to experience anything other than the life which seemed to be determined for her from the moment she was brought into this world.
Yet, right now she sat at a table. Not as the daughter of the royal family, and certainly not as the Archduchess which she was destined to become.
Rather, she sat at the table merely as the half sister of the man who sat on the throne- the peasant who seemed to wish to uproot civilization and royal status itself, flipping it on it's head.
And yet, she felt no hatred towards this man.
She merely felt.... apathy.
She was apathetic to the death of her father.
She did not so much as flinch, as she saw her father laid out on the floor after having his head smashed in by the hero.
Why was this?
Was it because she hated her father? No, that wasn't it. Unlike Arctus, who subconsciously held hatred for their father, Reagan had no such hatred.
Rather, she was brought up to be perfect.
In being brought up with the expectation of perfection, she understood well that having such things as emotions for her dead father would only impede her ability to rationally and calmly make decisions.
Her father was the one who ordered her to be raised as a perfect diplomat- and due to this, she lost a piece of her humanity, sacrificing her own emotions and desires for a poker face which showed no part of her hand.
And it was this which allowed her to logically analyze the situation, and calmly accept her fathers death, moving on to the next step- to determine whether she should obey the hero who had taken over, or go against him.
And she had determined that for now, it would be best to simply watch and see how things played out. After all, in such a chaotic situation, what else would a princess like her have been able to do? If she held onto her emotions, perhaps she would have lashed out at the hero upon seeing her father be killed.
Yet, due to a combination of fear and apathy, she did nothing but sit back and watch as it happened.
Yet, she was not completely dead of emotion.
She was still a regular girl.
Even being raised in the condition she was in, she still held a longing desire to see a life outside of this cage of perfection.
And she saw that chance in the new monarch- the boy who claimed to be her half brother.
"Now then.... since we're all here, I suppose it's time to get down to business, my good siblings.", Kyle said as he stopped twirling the crown in his hands, and placed it upon his head.
"Permission to speak, your majesty?", Reagan asked politely.
"Oh? It look's like one of you here certainly is good mannered. Let me guess- you were raised to speak like that? But with me as the ruler, we're going to abolish that sort of speak. Address me as Kyle. After all, we are siblings, are we not?"
"Then, Kyle..."
"What is it, dear sister?"
"For what purpose have you ordered us to attend this meeting?"
"An excellent question! Brothers of mine.... Reginald, Sylvester, Arctus..."
Kyle turned to each member sitting at the table and addressed them.
"I've called you all here to discuss your roles in this Kingdom from this day forth. After all, I am sure you all know that I am nothing more than a peasant who now sits on the throne, and I have not the slightest clue about how to run a country! I only have ideals and dreams, but I cannot simply put them into place. Yet.... I suppose it's a bit too late for that. Ah well. I suppose I'll start by asking each and every one of you. Which would you prefer? Would you rather stay here within the royal castle, serving under me as nothing more than a servant? Or perhaps you would instead like to be thrown out onto the streets to do as you wish? Some of you may have ties to noble households, and it could be possible for you flee to such households... but I will warn you. Nobles will no longer exist soon enough. They will all be thrown onto the streets as peasants as well. So I am giving you a great chance here. You can stay here in the royal court and act as my servants, and in doing so I might just consult you over political matters if I think that there is need for a proper opinion."
Sylvester seemed to knit his brows at this proposition which Kyle made.
"Why are you going this far to reduce us to nothing?"
"Reduce you to nothing? I have done no such thing. Now what I did to your- no, to OUR father, was reduce him to nothing. I've let you keep the most important thing to you- your very lives. Or perhaps there is something you want to say? Go ahead. Speak freely, by all means. I won't harm you. I just want to hear you speak your mind, BROTHER."
"I....."
Sylvester looked conflicted, but in the end gave into his emotions and let out a rant.
"How can you sit there and say that you're giving us a generous offer!? This is hardly even a choice! Either we become your servants or we get thrown out on the street!? That's basically forcing us to work for you!"
"In what way is it forcing you? I've given you two options."
"And the second option is being thrown onto the street, to live a life as a peasant! How could I ever choose that?!"
"Is it really all that bad to have to live the life of a peasant? I suppose that having been born into that scenario, looking back it doesn't seem all that bad.... but for you who have been pampered as royalty all your lives, perhaps it would be something.... inconceivable. Something which you could never choose. Though, this is your own weakness, isn't it? You're so accustomed to having good food on the table and people spread out before you to praise your efforts, that you've never once understood the meaning behind gathering around a small table, squished in with so many people that you can't even reach across without hitting someone else's arm while lit only by a single candle or a flickering light bulb which barely stays alight. You couldn't possibly understand the meaning behind the stale scrap of bread which falls from the table, which would immediately be consumed by the person who dropped it without a care of the dust and grime on the floor. I'm sure it must be disturbing.... no, perhaps even terrifying for someone like you to fall into such a state."
Kyle kicked his legs up onto the table while relaxing further into his seat.
"But..... with me as king, I say that there shouldn't be a person alive who is scared of such a thing. After all, if you get through life based on connections and family roots alone, then can you say for certain that you've ever actually done something for society?"
Kyle started picking his teeth with his fingers in a way which Sylvester looked at with disgust.
However, Sylvester didn't reply.
He couldn't say anything more, lest he anger the man who currently wore the crown.
"So? What will it be? Which side will you choose? Don't feel any pressure to choose one side or the other, I simply want to know your honest choices. I won't go back on my word, after all. If you choose to leave, you can go wherever you want and do whatever you need. If you want to flee to another country, I won't stop you."
"I'll stay here, as your servant."
The first one to answer was Reagan, who didn't show the slightest hint of wavering in her voice as she submitted to becoming Kyle's servant.
"Oh, wonderful. That's at least one person I can count on. I would promote you to the status of concubine, but I suppose since we share the same father I won't go that far."
Kyle laughed crudely.
"Even I have standards."
Sylvester and Reginald flinched at this statement, but Reagan simply kept a straight face.
"It honors me that you would go so far for me, but it is as you say. That would be nothing less than improper."
Kyle turned to the others, eagerly awaiting their responses.
"What about the rest of you?"
Arctus nodded as well, and spoke.
"I'll stay here and work as your servant as well, Kyle."
"Wonderful. And the other two?"
Sylvester looked very conflicted, and seemed to be biting his lip while considering his options, but in the end he threw his hands onto the table in frustration.
"Fine! I'll stay here, and work as your servant! Better than being thrown out on the street at least...."
Reginald had finished twiddling his thumbs, and replied as well.
"I will remain here for now. Would it be acceptable to revert my decision later and leave, or would that be a breach of the contract which you are forming with us?"
"I will permit you to change your minds at any point, however if you leave then there's no coming back. Got it?"
"Understood."
'I have to control the temper of my brother... I'm sure that my siblings are thinking the same thing, but we cannot uproot this tyrant if we flee elsewhere. It will be much easier to stay on the inside and work from there.', Reginald thought.
Even though he was raised to be a leader, he had completely misread his younger two siblings and their intentions.
Arctus, who planned to throw his brothers under the bus should they form a plot against the hero, as a form of revenge for his brothers who had always been number 1 at what they did, and Reagan who held a great curiosity as to what it would mean to live the life of a normal servant, had no intentions of betraying Kyle.
Kyle, of course, knew this from his [Perceive Intentions] skill, which he had been constantly using throughout this meeting.
As a matter of fact, that was the entire purpose of the meeting in the first place.
It was not to confirm the decisions of the four to remain in the castle, but rather to find out which ones intended on betraying him in the long run.
And so, Kyle got up, and waved to the four.
"Then, go ahead and get changed into the garb of servants. Await further orders when changed outside the royal bedchambers, where I will be retiring for the night. Oh, and Sylvester- I know that you haven't had time as I've been ordering you around, but do clean off your shoes. We wouldn't want the royal palace to become a pigsty."
Kyle walked away after provoking Sylvester further, who now had a face red in rage and embarrassment.
'This kid is asking for me to beat him up.... if only I could!'
The four stood up from their seats, and headed over quickly to the servants quarters, where they would prepare themselves for their new lives.
----
Coran walked back to the campfire with the five children, one sitting on each of his elbows and another on his head. He currently wore his backpack, which he had unequipped for the fight, but now that it was over he brought everyone back to the campfire.
It was then that it hit Coran.
'Wait a minute....'
Something big which he had overlooked during that last fight.
Coran was so distracted by the disturbing statements and actions of the scumbags which he had slaughtered that he had completely ignored the strength of the opponents he just faced.
The older man with the bow was likely an archer of the upper 5th tier.
The other boy using the bow was somewhere around the lower end of the 4th tier.
The other three were warriors of the upper 3rd tier.
Now, compared to Coran this was nothing to worry about. Even as he was protecting the children, he didn't need to so much as blink an eye in the face of those opponents.
But.... what about Alicia?
'Shit! Shit! SHIT!"
Coran rushed back to the campfire, dropping the kids off quickly as he slid them off his arms.
"Dad's gonna be right back, okay!? He's gotto go check on mom to make sure she's alright, ok? Be good kids! Listen to your older siblings, alright??"
Coran hurriedly left the children with the others by the campfire before rushing to the rescue of his wife.
This was because Alicia was a warrior of the upper 5th tier.
If she had faced off against the group which Coran just now fought, she would have been even against just the old man. But what about all 5 of them?
It would have almost guaranteed her loss.
Coran was not willing to take a large risk, but he had made a mistake.
He had underestimated the strength of the humans.
He assumed that Alicia would be able to take care of herself, regardless of which group of humans she found herself faced off against, but now that he had seen a group of humans who's strength rivaled hers, he recalculated- and recognized his error in judgement.
'I.... I hope she's alright.... I can't let someone who bowed down before me as my slave to be harmed, under my orders! I... I would be a failure! My masters would never allow me to get harmed under their orders, so how could I have ordered my subordinate to do something so dangerous!? What was I thinking!?!? Nathan should be fine, since he is merely working from a control room far from his opponents, but Alicia is out there fighting them! I have to make sure she's ok!!'
And so, Coran rushed over to check on his 'wife'.
He had seen her recently, after she 'took care' of Patrick's group, but even so his heart was filled with worry.
'Hm? What's this? Do I feel concerned for her? It must be because.... It must be because I don't want to become an abusive slavemaster. Yes. It couldn't be anything else.'