Victor arrives at the main palace in the morning. It was incredibly busy. Servants are running around and security is heightened. Even though this is just an annual celebration of the foundation of the empire, it has become a very important event because of the number of important factions and nobles who are attending. All the princes and princesses are coming and this drives the many nobles to also attend mostly for networking reasons. So, servants have to make sure everything is right and the guards have to make sure everyone will be safe or their heads are on the line if anything were to happen. Having this many important nobles in one location is vulnerable to attacks after all.
He was here because this was the scheduled time the emperor gave him access to the family vault. Tonight, was the banquet and the emperor even arranged for lunch with him and even a room to rest in. It was very obvious that the man was trying to get in his favor. Victor doesn't mind. He admits he enjoyed the attention. He was deprived of this in his first life after all and the emperor does show some sincerity in his actions even though Victor is still doubtful of these changes. This doesn't mean that he has forgiven him yet but he was willing to try to rectify and establish a relationship. Luckily, his investigations do not show any indication that the emperor was possessed or reborn. The only problem he has is that he has a target on his back just because the emperor is giving him attention and favors.
Rufus is not with him today but two of his soldiers that were assigned as his guards and his new butler, Aiden Helman, Rufus' nephew are with him. Rufus is no longer his butler. When he told him that, tears started flowing down Rufus' eyes and Victor freaked out. The man thought he was getting fired.
"I am not firing you; I am promoting you!" Victor has to calm the man down. He shouldn't have started with, "Rufus, you are no longer my butler". That was his bad.
Rufus is now his secretary. In the noble society, a secretary is one of the managers of the family and has a much higher position and prestige over butlers and servants. This also means he has authority over the management, funds, and welfare of the family they are serving. They were managers at this point but there are no titles such as "managers" in Claes. Being a secretary of the prince means to Rufus that he was the most trusted person in his life and Rufus cried in happiness knowing his master thinks so highly of him.
But because Rufus is now his secretary and his current task is dealing with polishing the structure of the army through the administration unit, he needed people to work on housekeeping and other tasks. So, Rufus went out to look for servants. It was not easy because the prince did not want servants with connections with nobles and some servants in the labor market are afraid to work with the prince because of the rumors. But he did find his nephew, Aiden Helman. The young man is barely 19 years old, thin and lanky but Victor has to admit that he is a pretty man with his trademark Helman pink hair, only it is lighter in color. He is qualified and Rufus was able to test his skills and showed that he was very competent to be a butler despite his age. The only reason Aiden was not assigned a proper household or master in the palace is that he is a bio. Bios were treated as third-class citizens in Claes (with women as second and slaves with no citizenship or rights at all). And Victor admits that because of his experience as Jeffrey and the importance of human rights, the thought of these people suffering made his heart ache especially since his future wife is also a bio.
Even though Aiden was trained with the same administration, service, and competency skills as every retainer in the royal family, he was not treated the same and was designated to work at the stables, taking care of not just the horses but also the farm animals. His job was mainly composed of cleaning and dealing with their waste which is not a popular job for a servant. And because he was a bio, he also experienced bullying and sexual harassment, especially from other servants and guards. Thankfully, Rufus was able to take his nephew away before things would become too dangerous for Aiden.
Because of this, Victor has to ingrain his soldiers that if they ever sexually and physically harass anybody, especially women, bios, and children, he will hang them. He knows they were good people and have changed their ways but he just wanted to ensure everyone has a safe workplace. He has suggested including anti-sexual harassment classes as well and he and Rufus were still in development with that. Rufus did set up some lines for bios to easily and safely report any harassment they experience in the base without repercussions because Aiden was not the only bio in the army now.
One of the soldiers has taken his younger bio brother and sister from his awful parents who were trying to sell them to a brothel for more money. The prince was willing to let them stay in the base and the two were also given jobs (one in the kitchens and one in the medic team). They also found out that one of their medic staff was a bio in disguise. This man has been with them for so many years and people haven't noticed it. He is also more muscular than a regular bio (due to their experience on the battlefield). Victor believes in merit and capability, not on your gender, sexual orientation, or race. These were the values that he adapted from his life on Earth and he wanted to also integrate this in his rebirth. This is a challenge because a lot of values between his two lives contradict each other.
What Victor did not expect was that he was not going to be alone when he arrived at the doors of the emperor's office. He sees not only the noble consort with her awful burgundy gown, and her annoying perfume but also the sixth, seventh, and second prince and their entourage waiting at the door.
Victor's steps paused when he saw his older brother, the 25-year-old, Lysander von Claes – the protagonist of this novel. The man is tall, muscular, with long wavy hair that falls from his head and piercing golden eyes. He looks regally bearing and you can't help but be intimidated by his aura and his handsome looks. Servants walking around were blushing every time they took a glance at him and Victor also noticed his new butler blushing as well. He is not going to blame him. The man is incredibly handsome. You can't help it.
The only thing that pissed him off was that his brother's aura was surrounded by the smug looks of the sixth prince and the noble consort. Why are they here? The sixth prince, Belrick von Claes, looks exactly like his mother, only more muscular and taller. He has long brown hair that is tied neatly and even though he is 19 years old (technically a teenager) he still looks like a young adult man (which is not something unique in Claes where boys, when they reach the age of 16, are often considered an adult and can even look the part). Belrick, however, seems nervous at the presence of the second prince.
Victor already knows that among the princes the ones who were the most active in fighting for the throne are the sixth and second prince faction. And even though the sixth prince wanted to be the emperor due to whatever entitled right he thought he has especially with an ambitious grandfather who pressured him to become one, the second prince has a lot of power behind his back. And they are the archduke, the empress, and the empress dowager who all hold some significant power in their own right. Not to mention their grandfather from their mother's side is also a powerful person.
Victor approached the second prince. "Greetings, older brother. I am surprised to see you here." He is. He rarely sees his brother even in his previous life. And even though he was disappointed about his neglect growing up, he never blamed his brother, just his mother. The man was just a kid like him. He can't exactly expect him to take care of him when it was their mother's responsibility. Victor never saw one face of that woman since he was a child and leave him to his own devices. If it wasn't for Rufus, he probably would have died.
This surprised the second prince. Lysander, even though he admits he has never thought to view this younger brother other than competition, didn't expect him to call him "brother". Most princes just call them princes even if they were born from the same mother. So, the assessment the prime minister gave him about Prince Victor being more family-oriented seems to be true. Still, competition is a competition, and he is not going to lower his guard just because the third prince was willing to call him brother.
"It has been a while, pri-," Lysander paused and corrected, "brother. I am here because I wanted to talk to the emperor." Which is a lie. The talk with the emperor is a cover. He, like most of them here, is curious about what Prince Victor will take from the family vault.
The family vault can only be accessed by the emperor and one can only get in with permission from the said emperor. No one can access it since it is sealed by ancient magic that until today is impossible to replicate and because the family vault consists of so many priceless treasures that belonged to the family for generations – some may even be lost through history. So many people are very interested in this.
But the noble consort, who is still primped up like she is going to a banquet that won't start until tonight was just here to put herself again in the emperor's graces. The emperor has been ignoring and avoiding her and with the rumors going on about her, especially the part that she lost the emperor's interest which is not good if she wishes to establish her position in the harem and his children towards the throne. She has two sons but Belrick, being the oldest is her favorite. The oldest sons after all have a more likely chance to get the throne than the younger ones.
As for the seventh prince, 19-year-old Merkel von Claes, the son of one of the concubines who was a princess of a neighboring small country, Victor does not know why he is here. He only met him a few times in his first life. The seventh prince is a very handsome man as well, with blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and emerald green eyes, and his outfit makes him look a little flamboyant. He is a very outgoing and charming prince but has one major flaw. He is very promiscuous, and flirty, and is known as a seducer of many women, bios, and even men. This got him into a lot of trouble because impregnating women and bios without marriage is what created illegitimate children and being a prince, he got into a lot of trouble in the royal family. The church also went after him because bedding people of the same sex is considered immoral in Claes. In the novel, the seventh prince got exiled and Victor hasn't read anything about his life after that.
"Brother Merkel, I am surprised and confused why you are also here," Victor asked. "Are you also here to ask the emperor something?"
"No. My grandfather forced me – ugh." his butler covertly elbowed his rib. Merkel smiled at Victor sheepishly. "I'm also here to spend time with the emperor," he mumbled shyly.
Victor wanted to laugh. At this period, he believes Merkel is not yet at the overly promiscuous stage that made him such a scandal in his previous life. He does not care if the man has multiple partners if he wished, but he still needs some restraint. He has no problem with this brother.
Belrick is still annoyed that the third prince is ignoring him and his mother. Today, he even brought the heir of the Monet family, Julius Monet, as a measure to put himself in the third prince's graces. He knows that his mother with the approval of the emperor, has betrothed one of their daughters to the third prince, and if the third prince has a positive opinion of him, he will get Victor to side with him and in turn the emperor, who has not been very close to him lately. Why? He still doesn't know. He is more annoyed and angrier than concerned.
Julius Monet, the dark blue-haired green-eyed man from the lowly Baron family is only here because Prince Belrick asked him to. The sixth prince is one of their strongest backers and drives up income and support for them since they are at the lowest rank in the noble family. Although he is not sure why he has to meet Prince Victor even if he is said to be his future brother-in-law, he still doesn't like the idea of this tyrant being the one to marry his sweet sister. He'd prefer it to be Prince Belrick but the man already has two concubines and is betrothed to the daughter of a duke.
The door suddenly opened and out came the emperor with his trusted secretaries behind his back.
Before anyone could do something, "Your majesty!" Margaret immediately decided to pounce on him but offttt!!! She hit a wall.
"Wha?" the noble consort look up in confusion only to see intimidating gold eyes glaring at her.
"Noble consort, it is improper for you to jump on men so shamelessly like that, even if they are family." Prince Victor said.
"I, I…"
"Also, why are you here? Today is my time with the emperor. I don't recall you being invited."
Margaret went red and tried to look pitiful while glancing at the emperor trying to look cute and asking for help. But the emperor didn't even look at her. The man winds up talking with the second prince and Victor only rolled his eyes and thinks she was being immature. How did this woman able to get away with all those schemes of hers?
"And you smell." Prince Victor looked at her with disgust and even waved in the air to stop the scent from entering his nose. "I suggest you take a bath. I don't want that stench on the emperor's clothes."
Everyone in the hall is stunned. They have heard that the prince humiliated the noble consort on the first day he arrived (although most of those rumors were exaggerated). The fact that the prince just said those words directly without any fear of any consequences surprised them. Most of them would never say anything against the noble consort due to her strong relationship with the emperor but the prince just basically insulted her straight to her face. He just told the noble consort that she smells even though she smells heavily of roses. She was known to smell like roses – something many people in Claes believed is a sign of beauty and cleanliness.
"Are you ready now Victor?" The emperor asked. Didn't even bat an eye on the noble consort which also confuses the woman. What is going on?
"I am." Victor still glared at the noble consort and he followed his father as they walked towards the family vault.
Only, he noticed everyone else still follows including the sixth and seventh princes. The noble consort didn't. She still looked shocked. Victor did not feel any guilt for telling that woman off.
"Why are they following?" Victor asked.
"They wanted to see what sort of items you are going to bring out of the family vault," Lysander answered.
"So, you are curious about the family vault." Victor grinned teasingly.
The man didn't respond but Victor didn't mind. "If the emperor so wishes, I would like to invite elder brother to go with me to the vault."
Everyone was again stunned. The emperor looked at him confused.
Victor shrugged. "The family vault is a very important piece of our family history and naturally, we are curious to see what treasures our family holds. But the emperor will have nothing to worry about any of us stealing. After all, unless the emperor approves, a person who takes without permission will get themselves trapped in the vault."
The emperor looked thoughtfully at Victor then looked at Lysander and then, "I approve of his access."
Lysander looked happy. The sixth and seventh princes are not.
"Can I come to?" Merkel asked.
"Your Highness." His butler tried to chastise him.
Victor only smiled. "Sorry, Prince Merkel. Too many people in the vault can lead to accidents. We don't want to break anything and have our ancestors haunt us."
"Oh." The blonde seems to pout.
"But I'll show you what I have taken once I got out." Victor grinned. Oh, he will show them. He wanted them to know especially as he glanced at the annoyed sixth prince and the impatient future brother-law of his. Yes, he knows Julius Monet. He met him after all in his first life. He does not like him.
This only made the seventh prince happy. Victor could not believe this man was a womanizing Casanova in his first life. What exactly happened to him to be like that?
They walked towards the center of the palace and find themselves in front of a large arch door. This door is tall, almost three stories in height. The family insignia was carved from stone on top of the arch, and the heavy door looked made of wood and iron. The unique thing about the door is that unusually shaped silver lines run around the door. They looked like veins or roots of a tree. This is the family vault.
Some of the servants are looking at it in awe. The door is a unique piece of architecture in Victor's opinion. The emperor approached the door and touched the large dragon-shaped door knocker at the center of the door. BOOM! The veiny silver lines started to move and retreat towards the door knocker as if they were liquid metal being sucked off.
"I am Levicuan von Claes, the 78th emperor of the Claes empire. I am here to access with permission for the second prince, Lysander von Claes, and the third prince Victor von Claes." The emperor said loudly and clearly.
Thud! The sound of metal can be heard from behind the door and a loud heavy creaky sound erupted when the door slowly opened itself and all it reveals is darkness.
The emperor looked at his two sons and nodded. Prince Victor and Prince Lysander walked towards each side of the emperor who placed his hands on his son's shoulders and the three people walked into the darkness.