“This is a rather unfortunate situation to be in. I would recommend you take your sword away from me before I order her to shoot you.”

He glanced at the reflective blade pointed at his neck. The pair of pink eyes within the blade stared right back at him. When he blinked, the pair blinked too. His long eyelashes were hard to miss.

“You are a threat that must be dealt with. And if Her Highness won’t deal with you, I’ll have to do it myself.”

“For a strategic genius, you really are dumb.”

“Unfortunately I get emotional when it involves the people close to me.”

“Then you are dumber than I thought.”

“No one’s perfect.”

“Are you seriously planning to ‘deal with me’ with a sword? I have someone with her finger pointed at you, capable of blasting a hole in your head. And another with her sword touching your back.”

Benjamin sneered. The veins in his head were about to pop.

“Why do you even hate me anyway?”

“You bastard. You don’t even know what you did.”

“Of course not. You’re not giving me any information.”

“Fine. Does Ella ring a bell?”

“Nope.”

His eyebrow twitched. Francis could feel the breathing on his face. Benjamin Wynt was not lying.

“Are you seriously planning to kill me? Just because I don’t know who Ella is?”

“Was.”

“And why are you bothering me with a dead woman? Did I kill her parents or something?”

“You killed her.”

“Ah. That certainly complicates things.”

“You need to atone.”

“Don’t tell me Ella was your mistress.”

Benjamin did not react. If anything, he pushed the blade closer. The cold steel bit into the skin of his neck.

“You killed her. And you will atone for that. Not to mention, you are a very real threat to Her Highness.”

“I couldn’t care less.”

“You bastard.”

He released his grip on the blade. Benjamin sighed, shook his head, and motioned for Francis to sit down. Collapsing into the velvet seat, he motioned for the two women to calm down.

“Katalina, could you open the windows please? It’s rather stuffy.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The knight walked towards the glass windows. With her gloved hands, she pushed the two glass doors open. A gust of wind kicked in. Cool and dry, perfect for autumn.

“Ella was someone precious to me. She worked as a maid in your manor, and you killed her.”

“That narrows nothing down. I have had many maids, and who knows how many people have died. What was the cause?”

“Disease. You forcing her out into the cold caused her body to plummet. And you had the nerve to embarrass and humiliate her too.”

“Right, but I still don’t understand your relation to her.”

“She was my best friend’s mother.”

“Edmond’s mother worked for me? Damn.”

“He isn’t my best friend. We’re close friends at best.”

“Huh. Learn something new everyday. Wait, humiliated her? And out into the cold? Did I strip her down and force her to run.”

“You did.”

“Yeah I can see how that would be a problem.”

“She died, and he threw himself off a building.”

“Ah. I’m sorry. I’ve changed since then. I promise.”

“We’ll see about that. But the fact is, you are an unknown, and a threat.”

“I understand your concerns. And I ask that you trust me.”

Francis bowed his head slightly. The other nobleman grimaced. Was it really that strange of a sight?

“I still fail to see why you enjoy getting into this kind of getup.” Benjamin motioned to the clothes that Francis wore.

“I don’t think the term exists here, but I’m just far more comfortable in this. And let’s get back on topic.”

“Fine. But just know that if you ever, ever overstep your bounds, I will end you.”

“Big words.”

“Look-”

“And a commoner interrupts us. Care to punish your retainer, or should I?”

“Touch her and I will piss on your bones.”

The man raised his eyebrows. With a strange look, Benjamin started laughing. Why was he laughing? Was something he said funny?

Francis looked around. The two women gave him the same look. What? Did he say something weird.

Katalina walked behind him. Dressed in her usual outfit, she looked like a knight out of her armour. And Hye-Sung on the other hand was far more casual. In a simple white button down shirt and black pants, she was as charming as ever.

But of course, Benjamin had to show everyone up. With an elaborate set of jewels and decorations, everything about it screamed tacky. Or perhaps it was the clash between two different worlds’ fashion senses. Even the sleepy voice of the original agreed with his assessment. Far too top heavy, and tried too hard.

“Maintain the status quo. If you ever overstep your lines, that sword will end up in your chest.”

Francis rolled his eyes. Benjamin stood up, and walked off. The doors closed after he left.

“What the hell is going on?” Iris asked.

The blonde kicked the doors open. Indeed, she was still impeccably dressed. In a bespoke suit, she was as well dressed as one could be. A loose black tie hung around her neck.

“I got threatened by a certain Wynt.”

“Oh he’s like that in every timeline. Don’t worry about it.”

“You’ve had experience with him, I assume?”

“He’s competent. Somewhat irrational at times. But overall, very skilled. He’s weird.”

Iris nodded. They were all in Francis’ quarters. A gust of cool wind blew in. The chatter of maids were outside.

“He’s an ass. Actually, pretty much everyone here is an ass,” Hye-Sung said.

“I agree.”

“Same here. My Lord, are you sure you want to continue on with this? I don’t think you should stay here, especially with people going after your life.”

“I still don’t understand that part.”

“Right so basically. There’s this group called ‘Last Order’ and they detected your stunt.”

“And they’re after me for what exactly?”

“I interrogated one of them. And apparently they want to put a god in your body.”

“Let me guess, Stasis?”

“Yeap. So even the cult for the fucking Forbidden One wants me. Urg.”

“That’s stressful.”

“Yes, it is. Do you have experience with them?”

“Nope. This is the first time that cult and Stasis got involved.”

“Damn it.”

“Oh right. The princess is here.”

“This is the imperial palace. If she wasn’t here I would be somewhat surprised.”

“No as in, she is on the way here. I suggest you change out of your dress and greet her.”

“Ah. Somewhat troubling, but I will try. Stay here with me. Just in case she brought with her several friends that want to kill me.”

“You do know that I have killed you many times over.”

“Yes, and I trust you with my life at this moment.”

“Fine. I’ll stay here. I didn’t think you would be so popular with women. A lady knight, a powerful mage, the princess. They all seem to have some connection with you.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m changing, so don’t peek.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

With a nod, Iris closed her eyes. Following her, everyone else either turned away or left the room. Or rather, only Katalina left the room. She never did handle this types of situations well. Hye-Sung was always much better at this. In fact, after a brief moment, she dropped her act altogether.

“Well.” Francis made eye contact as he took off his casual dress. It was not for meeting someone as important as the princess. Benjamin on the other hand, just forced his way in.

“Very nice. Oh but I’m not interested. Just so you know, I think you fit nicely with your knight.”

“Too bad she’ll never see me in that way.’

Kim Hye-Sung chuckled. She shook her head, and opened her mouth to say something. But as the lost words left her mouth, she closed it.

“It’ll be fine.”

“Lord Francis?”

A knock came at the door.

“I’m coming.”

Fully dressed in slightly more formal clothes, he turned the doorknob. Pulling the door open, his eyes met with the princess. Truly in every sense of the word, she was a princess. There was always this air of nobility around her. And that she wasn’t someone that a random person could meet. There was an ethereal beauty.

Her hair was accessorised with a neat red ribbon flecked with diamonds. When she walked, her long dark teal dress dragged behind her. Her Highness had puffy sleeves that stretched down halfway down her arm.

“Good day, Your Highness,” Francis said.

“Yes, same to you. Why was your knight outside? Did you two fight? But you two fit together so well.”

Kim Hye-Sung smirked whilst Iris stayed silent. Her look said everything she had to say. An expression of ‘I told you so’ and the smugness that came with it.

“Let’s be more casual with each other. It's just us, and your... What is this, I don’t know your relationships. Your harem?”

“They’re not in love with me, nor am I in love with them. We’re close friends.”

“That’s fine by me. But Fran, how are you?”

“I’m alright, Your High-”

Her glare shut him up. He knew what she wanted from him. And she wanted to drop all the formal stuffiness that came with nobility.

“Haein,” he corrected himself.

“Good. Your solution for the famine worked perfectly, by the way. How did you do it?”

“That’s a secret. What’s the next task?”

“Oh? You seem a lot more motivated to do this now. What changed?”

“Let’s just say that I know what I want.”

“My, my. You want me that badly?”

“What?”

His cheeks burned. The princess laughed, and eventually calmed herself down.

“You’re very cute when you blush, you know. You shouldn’t try to hide it.”

“That’s that and this is this. What’s the next task?”

“Ahh. About that, I think, no, it is near impossible for you to win.”

“And why is that?”

“It is simply because the two others will outshine you. There is no way for you to win.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I don’t think you can even beat me in swordfighting.”

“Ah, so that’s why.”

“Yeap. You can’t.”

“I know. I won’t even try.”

“Good. I don’t want to see you get hurt. Now, there is something you can do, however. Have you tried talking to His Majesty?”

“The emperor?”

“Yes, him.”

“Talking to the person who has my future job, huh? Sounds like a plan.”

“You’ll be a much better emperor than him.”

Haein smiled. The birds chirped outside, singing their own mating songs. Did she know? How much did she know? She mentioned something about an oracle. What was that? Could someone hold sight of the future? How was that possible?

“Care for some tea?” Francis asked.

“Oh, I’ll have a cup when I get back.. And don’t forget the formal dinner tomorrow.”

“Yes, I know.”

“And your servants.”

“Wait what.”

“Yeah. Do you remember them?”

“Uhhh...”

“I’ll take that as a no. Good luck. I have other business to deal with.”

“Wait.”

“Hm?”

Francis blinked. With a smirk, the princess stood up and took her leave. Pushing the doors open, she walked out.

Iris sighed, and sat down to face Francis. She crossed her legs. The suit enhanced her figure, though it wasn’t as though she wasn’t good to begin with. But clothes made her from amazing, to something much more. If the gods were the directors and producers, she was the main actress. Indeed, she had the looks and charisma to command that role.

“You are dumb.” Iris got straight to the point.

“And why might that be?”

“Because you haven’t put in any effort at all.”

“Ah.”