Douglas ceremonies were known for their brevity. The kingdom's nobility attended more out of obligation than enthusiasm, and although no one dared refuse an invitation from the duchy, few truly enjoyed their company. The Douglases inspired respect… but also fear.
An hour after the ceremony ended, Lusian was saying his goodbyes to Emily and the Carter family. Everything had gone according to plan, without incident. However, inside him, a faint exhaustion began to press on his shoulders. One final meeting still remained.
In a private room of the Temple of Sangus, Queen Adelaine Erkhan Stanley, Crown Prince Andrew, and First Princess Elizabeth were waiting. As soon as Sophia and Lusian entered, the queen gave a calm order:
"Have all the servants leave."
The air seemed to grow denser. Instinctively, Lusian expected a rigid diplomatic conversation, filled with protocol and restraint. But what happened next left him completely stunned.
Adelaine and Sophia embraced.
Not a cold gesture or formal bow, but a sincere, warm hug between old friends reunited after too long. Then they clasped hands and sat together, laughing naturally, like ordinary women escaping—if only for a few minutes—the titles that bound them.
Lusian watched the scene with a certain fascination. It was strange to see his mother, the Duchess Douglas, smiling like that.
But there was an explanation for everything.
Since the founding of the kingdom, there had been an ancestral oath between the Crown and the Douglas Duchy: to protect the kingdom's stability together. In theory, it was a sacred pact. In practice, things had changed.
The current king, Philip Erkhan Stanley, had inherited more resentment than wisdom.
His younger brother, Prince Jeremy, attempted to usurp the throne by leading a rebellion with several nobles, including Viscount Richard Jones. To avoid civil war, the then-duke Damian Douglas, Lusian's grandfather, executed Jeremy with the approval of the regent at the time, Adrian Erkhan Brown, Philip's father.
Even so, Philip never forgave the Douglases.
Since then, the king avoided any direct dealings with the duchy, delegating everything to his wife, Queen Adelaine. Laurence Douglas did exactly the same, trusting those duties to Sophia.
Thus, what looked like a conversation between friends was, in reality, a meeting between the two true intermediaries of power.
Lusian was so lost in thought that he didn't notice someone approaching him.
"Tea?" a soft voice asked.
He blinked and looked up. Standing before him was Princess Elizabeth, holding a cup with elegance. Her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her blue eyes sparkled with a lively, almost mischievous light.
For a moment, Lusian was speechless.
Elizabeth Erkhan Stanley.
He recognized her immediately. In the game, she was the Demon Queen: the princess kidnapped by a cult and turned into a vessel for an infernal entity. Her story was the most tragic… and, in a way, the most human.
"Is something wrong?" Elizabeth asked with an amused smile. "Do I have something on my face?"
"No, Your Highness," he replied, regaining composure. "I was just distracted for a moment."
But Elizabeth's smile turned sharper… even dangerous. And she wasn't alone.
At the other end of the hall, Prince Andrew was watching him with the same amused expression, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. Clearly, they were plotting something.
Elizabeth sighed theatrically, placing a hand on her face.
"Oh, Lusian… were you thinking about your fiancée? Are you really going to abandon me for her?"
Before he could react, Andrew stepped forward and gave him an exaggerated pat on the back.
"So you made my sister cry! First you charm her, then you ignore her. What a cruel man you are, Douglas!"
Lusian looked at him, confused. Were they really doing this?
Suddenly, he remembered fragments of the original Lusian: similar scenes, where the two princes constantly teased him whenever they could. Now he understood why he avoided them.
He looked at his mother for help, but Sophia was still chatting happily with the queen. Not a single glance in his direction.
He sighed.
"Tell me, Your Highness," he said emotionlessly, "when exactly did I make her fall in love?"
Elizabeth made a thoughtful face.
"It was love at first sight. Are you really not going to accept my feelings and take responsibility?"
Lusian narrowed his eyes.
"And when was that love born?"
"Since you were seven," she replied firmly. "You were so cute… I fell in love then."
Seven years old? That meant she had been nine.
Very well. If they wanted to play, he could play too.
In a soft, seductive tone, entirely intentional, he replied:
"Why didn't you tell me earlier, my sweet princess? We could have announced our engagement that very day."
Elizabeth blushed slightly, but did not back down.
"I didn't tell you before… but I like you, Lusian."
Andrew raised a hand as if making a solemn declaration.
"As future monarch, I officially approve this union."
Lusian looked at him calmly.
"Insufferable," he muttered.
And without thinking too much, he did what always worked in his previous life when someone annoyed him too much:
He kicked the crown prince in the shin.
"Agh!" Andrew let out a small strangled cry, doubling over in pain.
Lusian, completely calm, sat beside Sophia as if nothing had happened. Queen Adelaine and Duchess Sophia, who had witnessed everything, exchanged an amused glance. The queen chuckled; Sophia pinched her son's cheek.
"Behave yourself, Lusian," she whispered with an indulgent smile.
Andrew rubbed his leg in indignation while Elizabeth laughed openly.
"It seems Lusian has changed, Mother," she commented.
"Yes, my daughter," Adelaine replied calmly. "He is no longer the timid boy they used to tease. Right, Andrew?"
The prince muttered something unintelligible. The two women smiled knowingly. The little Douglas was no longer a child.
That night, when Lusian and Sophia returned to the Douglas mansion, the silence of the carriage was comforting. Upon reaching his room, Lusian collapsed onto the bed, exhausted.
He didn't think about politics, or engagements, or gods.
He only murmured one word before falling asleep:
"…insufferable."
And so, amidst laughter, blood-bound secrets, and a destiny beginning to shift, the day ended in which Lusian Douglas's life began to change.