'Ah... that was so tiring! But the food was worth it' Alexis thought as his eyes drooped since he was feeling a little sleepy.
Annalise smiled gently and helped him lay his head on her lap. Alexis gratefully laid down and slept through the journey.
"Alexis honey, wake up" Once they arrived at the palace, Annalise softly spoke to Alexis who stirred up.
"Ugh..." He groaned and yawned softly and looked at Annalise with sleepy eyes. Annalise squealed and hugged his tightly.
"AWW YOU ARE SO CUTE!!" She screamed and rubbed her face on him and giggled. Alexis didn't feel weird, Infact it felt natural and so he enjoyed her motherly love.
"Your highness..." The two maids reminded her that they needed to get out of the carriage and enter the palace.
"But look at him!" Annalise responded and showed Alexis who was half asleep and leaning on her, the two maids had to admit that he was indeed very cute.
Annalise puffed her chest in pride but nobody knows why, was it because she was proven right or was it because she was proud that she gave birth to a baby as cute as Alexis?
Soon after this small conversation, Annalise got down while carrying Alexis in her arms.
Alexis wanted to get down and walk but she was having none of that.
By the time they entered the palace, Alexis protested and finally got down from her. He then went back to his room followed by a maid who then proceeded to bath him and then tuck him to bed.
-●-●-●-
Aurelius was thinking about his previous talk with his uncle...
Philip definitely wasn't a person with evil intentions but the problem was that he thought of the world to darkly, he didn't want his son to end up being someone who only saw the black of the world, he could only wish Alexis wouldn't rub off of Philip's ideals and hopefully grow up to be a fine young man.
Sadly he wishes would be left unheard, but that was a story for another time...
Although Aurelius was worried, a part of him was glad that he accepted to Philip's demands because that way, Alexis would be strong enough to fight back if a war ever broke out...
While he wouldn't accept this part, he knew that he would pick the Empire over his family and if Alexis became strong and a war broke out, Aurelius would have a great if not, the greatest asset!
"I just have to make sure I don't end up in a situation where I have to choose between my family or country..." Aurelius muttered, it was during times like these where he really wished Alexis would grow up fast and take the throne...
...But what if he didnt?
He gulped, face morphed with terror and panic, but then he remembered something, Annalise was coming to his castle later into the night.
He was sure Alexis wouldn't mind a younger brother, and if he rejected the throne, Aurelius would give it to his youngest son. If he got a daughter, then he would spoil her... and maybe even let her become the Emperor or Empress, if Alexis declined.
The plan was a win-win situation no matter how he looked at it, plue he gets to have sexy time with Annalise aswell.
"HueHueHueHueHue" He smiled creepily and asked his guards to prepare the room, he wasn't ashamed to say it them... why would he be ashamed? He was the Emperor, he can do whatever he wants to do and nobody will say anything...
'Annalise my dear, I promise to the Gods that I won't let you sleep tonight!' He thought to himself as he became determined.
-●-●-●-
Meanwhile at the palace, Annalise after taking a long bath prepared for the night, she wore a simple nightgown made of silk and dyed in lime green and asked the maids to prepare a carriage to set off to the Imperial castle again.
While the entire palace was running around preparing things for the Empress, Alexis was asleep.
He was deep in sleep but also in deep thought at the same time.
He knew he was asleep but he was still conscious enough to think things through. He felt a weird sense of nostalgia during the party when he mentioned the name "Clair"...
Alexis knew he was from another world... did he? He knows his knowledge came from another world! Yes! That! But still Alexis was confused... why him? Besides... he was supposed to advance the technology of this world.
It wasn't necessarily hard but he wasn't given enough information... and he was still not sure of himself, it wasn't about his lack of progress but rather his own existence...
Alexis thought deeply about this question, if he was from another world and he was given another chance at life... why dwell on the past?
In the end, what mattered to him was that HE was Alexis...
'Very well... I am Alexis... Alexis Gladios Lunar, the crown prince of the Grand Lunar Empire, The otherworldly human reborn!'
The two souls that were merging, completely merged... Both Alexis' have recognized each other as one entity and not as two separate people...
For the first time in a while, Alexis felt free... now all he had to do was to plan the future ahead!
He wasn't sure of which path to take... if he spreads advanced knowledge to everyone peacefully, he would definitely get targeted... afterall, openly showing intelligence was foolish... and there would be no motivation from anyone since nothing was forcing them to...
Therefore he could only do one thing, talk to his father about the idea of a new weapon... Alexis will make a weapon so that when the next war comes up, the Imperial army would have new weapons and this would cause other nations to develop their own versions of the new weapons that the Empire has...
He would also have to "accidentally" leave some of the new weapons that would be manufactured in the future in order to give the other nations an idea as to how the mechanisms work!
Afterall what better time is there to develop technology than at war?
But eventually he will stop... from the knowledge he has of the other world, their weapons became too destructive that they themselves had to ban them from being used...
It was already hard for that highly developed and sophisticated world to come to a decision, let alone this world where people fight for the most ridiculous reasons...
He was then reminded of a famous war that happened a few years before he was born, not battle! But a full out war between the Kingdom of Ritzburg and the Republic of Namu.
The reason? Allegedly one soldier from the Republic of Namu had killed a chicken from a village inside the territory of the Kingdom of Ritzburg which bordered the western side of the Republic, and had eaten it.
The mayor of the village had complained to the Kingdom's authorities... The Kingdom demanded an answer from the Republic which ignored them and later on was suddenly attacked by the Kingdom...
The village is no more, why? Because it was at the borders and most of the fighting took place at the borders, it was apparently later on pillaged and ransacked by the soldiers of the Republic which countered the Royal army...
At first it was funny because the reason was ridiculous as even Alexis smirked a little when Aurelius was narrating the story but the ending was very bleak.
According to what happened in the story and thinking about it with his otherworldly knowledge, he knew just how horrible it was...
He was one hundred percent sure that the men were either killed, tortured or both and the women, raped and humiliated after which they would kill them or worse, keep them with them so that they could relieve themselves...
Alexis felt disgusted, he would have to set some guidelines for his army once he grows up, anybody who violates these guidelines will be killed!
If it was one thing Alexis was sure about, it was that; Good cannot defeat evil, it was Justice!
For now he would play innocent but once he grows up, he will be a strict ruler that shows no mercy for those that beg for second chances...
And to make sure everyone feared him, he was to be cold and ruthless to everyone...
He already got that covered since his personality is that of a mix between Snake, the former Alexis and Alexis, the Prince.
Cunningness from his otherworldly spy knowledge and yet honorable and prideful as a Prince.
But he was still as apathetic as anyone could get and only showed some emotion around his family...
-●-●-●-
Alexis woke up refreshed, he finally got the answer he was looking for, about himself.
By the time the maid walked into his room, Alexis was already awake, she realised she had made a mistake since she did not ask for his permission to enter and quickly apologised and begged for forgiveness...
"It is alright" Alexis said and glanced at her and went back to reading the book he had just taken out.
"Thank you for being merciful to this little one, your highness!" She bowed said as Alexis turned to her.
"It was not that I was being merciful, I was just in a good mood today..." he left her hanging while his lips turned up slightly as if he was trying his best not to smile, the young maid's face turned pale.
She was sure that it meant, 'Do it once again and I'll have your head.'
The maid then meekly asked Alexis whether he would be having a bath.
For some reason, Alexis felt a sense of euphoria seeing the distressed face of the maid after she was "teased"...
'Interesting' he thought and went to the bath alongside the maid who was unusually quiet along the way.
"...I was joking if it calms your nerves" he said not being able to bear the awkward silence.
"...yes?" The maid stopped and looked at Alexis with a pitiful face.
"That was too far your highness!" She said and fell on her knees as tears threatened to spill from her beautiful big emerald green eyes.
"There! there!" Alexis pat her head with a smile that screamed 'please forgive me!'.
"Uwahhh!" She cried as Alexis sweatdropped...
'Maybe I have been too kind?' He asked himself since he was slightly annoyed.
'Or was it that i was scary for a four year old?' He thought again, feeling a bit sorry for her...
"Your highness, let us quickly go to the bath!" She said gently. Her eyes were still puffy and swollen from crying, Alexis nodded and the two once again set off to the bath...