***

“My Lord!”

Vaguely he heard someone screaming his name.

Someone began shaking him which made his body groan in protest.

“My Lord are you okay? Please say something!” someone earnestly called him in a panicked voice tinged with worry.

Groaning Alex slowly opened his eyes.

In front of him was a young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and a pale slender face. A beautiful pair of blue eyes gazed at him with worry.

“Who are you?” asked Alex

Suddenly his head was engulfed with overwhelming pain.

A flood of memories poured into his brain at breakneck speed.

After several moments his head stopped throbbing and he was able to think clearly.

After getting a grip and sorting through the memories that flooded his brain, Alex began to wonder which one of him was the real Alex.

‘Why am I not dead?’ he wondered.

Glancing around he noticed the teary-eyed woman still staring at him looking as if she would cry at any moment.

‘Where am I?’

He glanced down at his body and realized that it looked nothing like his own, in fact, it looked younger.

'It seems I am not in my body either, this is quite problematic.'

‘I suppose it would be best to say I have memory loss, this should allow me to get some answers. '

“Where am I? who are you?” he asked the woman leaning over him looking at him concerned.

“My Lord do you truly not recognize me?” asked the woman with a trembling lip.

‘Well, it seems we’re close, not so good but ideal for the situation.’

“Ah, I’m afraid my memory seems to be a bit fuzzy,” he said, clutching his head to prove his point.

After he said that the concern In the woman's eye's faded slightly.

"My Lord I am Marie, your personal maid.."

"We are currently in your personal residence."

'Personal residence? Does that mean I’m rich?'

Alex’s eyes narrowed as he contemplated what to ask next.

“Who am I?” he asked tentatively unsure if he had pushed his luck too far.

"My Lord do you truly not remember?"

"No, I don't"

"My Lord you are Alex Rath heir to the Duchy Of Rath."

Alex suddenly recalled an event from his past but quickly stuffed it back in.

“If I’m the heir to the duchy, what are we doing here?” he said.

“My Lord, his grace has sent you, here, in preparation for your wedding ceremony,” Marie said looking anxious.

‘Marriage? That’s a bit quick, isn’t it? It’s been a while since I’ve been married, well that didn’t end so well.’

‘Hmm, in the meantime I should rest and process this, it's a bit hard to take in. It looks like it’s getting quite late outside, so it should be around dinner time right?’

Outside the windows, the sun had already almost set, and the mansion was getting dark.

“Marie, is it dinner time yet?” he asked.

“Yes My Lord, dinner should be ready within a matter of minutes, we should hurry to the main dining hall,” said Marie leading the way out of the corridor.

Walking into another corridor with walls made of dark oak wood, he glanced at the tapestries lining the wall in interest.

The first tapestry he came across was that of an old man in his 50’s seemingly still handsome and holding an imposing aura, his eyes looked as if they looked down on everyone else.

Peeking at the next painting. He noticed the man in that painting was considerably younger than the one in the previous painting; his posture showed off a domineering aura and his rugged face showed signs of battle. However, what caught Alex’s attention was the man’s eyes. The man’s eyes contained something Alex was very familiar with. Madness.

Tearing his attention away from the tapestry in fear of recalling bad memories he proceeded down the hall with Marie until they entered a wide hall with stone pillars on its sides and a beautiful ornate marble staircase above which hung a sparkling crystal chandelier.

Servants and maids bustled around them as they prepared the mansion to receive the guest the following day. Every time a servant passed by him they would bow in a show of recognition as the heir to the duchy.

Walking into a wide dining hall with an exceptionally long table that was clearly meant to entertain multiple people. He glanced around taking in his surroundings. Burgundy-colored walls mixed with wood and a wooden floor. Along the walls lay portraits of many different things such as people to landscapes.

Above the seat at the end of the table lay a tall portrait nearly taking up the entire wall from top to bottom in which the figure of a tall and imposing man could be seen. With short-cropped gray hair and a thin mustache. The man in the portrait gazed at those sitting at the table as if watching over them.

“Who's the man in the portrait?” he whispered to Marie.

“My Lord, that is your father, his Grace Duke Richard,” she said.

‘Ah, I see, so the current family head must have their portrait displayed on the wall to show their position.’

Glancing around he noticed that there was no one else sitting at the table, with the only other man in the room wearing a butler’s outfit standing by the door to what he assumed was the kitchen.

Reaching the head of the table he sat down to the right of the head seat. After all, Alex was once a prince so he knew the customs of nobility.

As Marie sidled up behind him the butler quickly walked over.

"Who is he?" He asked her.

"My Lord, that is Graham the Chief of staff."

"In private you don't have to call me my Lord, it's too tiring just keep it up in public." He said glancing over at her.

"My Lord dinner will be served promptly," Graham said upon reaching Alex.

Nodding his head Alex waited as a plate full of food was wheeled out of the kitchen.

Glancing at his food he hummed in satisfaction.

On his plate was a beautifully cooked steak that appeared to have been seasoned properly with what he assumed were imported spices. Alongside it was a side of roasted potato and some spiced vegetables.

Practically drooling at the sight of the food Alex wondered how long it had been since he had last had a steak.

'Probably not since the beginning of my campaign.' he thought.

Suppressing the resurging bad memories he began to eat the food elegantly with the manners of a noble while a glass of wine was poured for him.

Picking up the glass he swirled the wine around before downing its contents.

Once finished with the meal he proceeded to exit the dining hall with Marie and entered the second floor of the mansion.

Walking along a dimly lit corridor he passed by a big library filled with books and art.

Proceeding down the corridor Marie eventually stopped at a set of double doors guarded by two armored guards who promptly saluted him before he entered the room.

Glancing around the spacious room he noticed a big king-sized four-poster bed lying in the top middle of the room. Above the bed lay a portrait of himself staring at the door with a hearty hope-filled gaze much unlike the gaze of the current Alex.

On the side of his bed lay a dresser filled with personal belongings he would probably throw out. Across the room lay a large wardrobe filled with numerous sets of clothes tailor-made for him. The last thing was a desk in the corner of the room with cabinets to store paperwork in. And an oil lamp on it as well as a quill dipped in ink and a fresh sheet of paper. Across the room, there was a door leading into the bathroom containing a tub for a bath as well as a toilet.

'Ah, it seems wherever this is, has invented indoor plumbing, at least I won't have to use a chamber pot.' he sighed in relief at the thought.

"Very well that will be all, thank you, Marie."

"Of course My Lord," Marie said before proceeding out the door and closing it behind her.

Sighing Alex began taking off his clothes all aside from his underwear before climbing into his bed and proceeding to fall asleep.

*** Dream ***

"Ahhhhhh!" Roland woke up to the sound of screaming.

Startled Roland quickly rolled out of bed.

Rubbing his bleary eyes, he ran to the front door and proceeded outside.

Walking outside unsteadily he looked towards the entrance of the village.

At the entrance of the village was a group of 200 armored knights who had begun pulling people from their homes.

As the knights gathered up all the villagers in the town square Roland and his family were brought to their knees.

Out of the group of knights, the only man wearing a black suit of armor stepped forward.

"People of the Archibald Empire! hear me! I am the prince of the Parsche Kingdom, if you surrender to me no harm shall befall you, however, if you do not, you will face the consequences!" he said loudly for all to hear.

For a moment no one spoke a word.

After a few moments, some of the townsfolk got up and began cursing at the prince.

"We will never surrender!"

"We don’t want you filthy animals here!"

Glaring at the villagers with a menacing light in his eyes. The prince stepped forward and walked silently step by step towards the villagers. This eerie scene made some of the villagers back up in fright.

"Hehe, his highness is doing it again." Laughed the knights.

The prince eventually came to a stop in front of the lead villager.

"Who are you?" He asked in a menacing tone.

"I am Bernard Da-" before the villager finished what he was saying there was a flash of steel before Bernard's head separated from his shoulders and rolled on the ground, dying the prince in blood making him look like a demon.

"I don't give a shit who you are." The prince said. His eyes narrowed at the villagers.

"I am a prince while you are all merely commoners and yet you dare act as if you are equal to me?" Said the prince in a mocking tone.

"I think I need to prove my point a bit more." Said the prince before nodding to his knights. Clearly, they knew what this meant because without questions they walked up and began dragging all of the women out of the crowd.

"Nooo!"

"Let go of me!"

"Get your hands off me!"

Cried the villagers.

Roland's wife and daughter were similarly dragged away against his protests.

The knights then proceeded to strip them all naked and bound them in ropes in front of the crowd of men.

Raising his hand the prince said to his knights.

"Now cut off their frontal regions and let them watch as their wives and daughters are taken in front of them."

At this, the villagers fell into a pit of despair.

Roland as one of the villagers already had tears running down his eyes as he begged for them to have mercy.

Roland got up off his knees and ran towards the prince before getting down on all fours and kneeling before him.

"Prince, I beg you to have mercy. We have realized our mistake. Please forgive us and let us surrender!" He begged as tears ran down his cheeks.

The prince gazed down at him coldly before stating.

"I accept your surrender but a punishment still has to be made regardless, as for you I will personally deal with you."

Roland looked up at the prince with despair in his eyes as tears flowed even faster down his face.

As Roland was dragged away all he could do was scream out his wife and daughter’s names as he watched them be taken in front of him.

"Maria! Candice!"

He cried out but it was no use.

As for him the prince slowly walked to him with the setting sun reflecting behind him setting the scene in a dark and gloomy glow and bathing the prince's face in shadow making him look like the devil.

"You're the devil!" Roland seethed as he stared up at the prince.

For once the prince stopped walking as his expression turned rigid.

The prince's eye twitched as his face lit up with rage.

"The devil? the devil?" he said as he began laughing.

"Ay, I see! I suppose I would be the devil to you, wouldn't I?" he said gazing at the villagers.

"I assure you I am no devil, I am quite human, after all, I do this for my own gain, greed is the greatest motivator of mankind!" he shouted hysterically.

The prince then continued walking until he was face to face with Roland.

He then proceeded to pull out his sword before pointing it at Roland's nether regions.

"However if you want a devil, il show you a devil." He said before slicing downwards and separating the man's nether regions from his body.

*** End Of Dream ***

"Ahhhhhh!" Alex screamed as he jolted awake.

Panting with sweat covering his body Alex threw the covers off his body before clambering out of bed and into the bathroom.

He then proceeded to open the toilet seat before promptly vomiting blood into it.

Getting up as he groaned he heard the sound of the door banging open as his guards rushed into the room due to his screaming.

They looked around in a panic before noticing that everything was fine.

Gazing at the prince they proceeded to make sure he was okay before exiting the room.

Alex stood up from the toilet groaning.

'What was that?' he questioned

'I remember that day and I remember that man but why do I possess his memories?'