[Pope] Ennius Constantinus looked over a piece of parchment where his son’s progress had been recorded. There were dates and level-ups beside them. The head of the Church couldn't help but notice how the gray-haired son of his had advanced the most during the days he had spent with...

“Lumius,” the [Pope] called out, and the boy stood straighter in response.

“Yes, Your Holiness?”

“You made barely any progress this last week.”

The boy replied without even thinking, “I’m deeply ashamed by my unsuitable growth, Your Holiness.”

The [Pope] looked at the boy, knowing that this was just a part of the pomp he had instilled in him so well—perhaps too well.

“You are soon to be thirteen. This is the worst time to relax, child.”

“I will double my efforts, Your Holiness.”

The [Pope] looked at the soldier-like child and wondered if perhaps he had been wrong in expecting his growth to be even faster without the Gens Claudia’s brat hanging around him. It appeared he had been sorely wrong.

“You satisfy the requirements for [Holy Champion], Lumius. However, unlike your two brothers, your mastery over the [Holy Flame] is so high that you might be offered an even stronger class. You must push yourself harder.”

“I shall, Your Holiness.”

“Good. But don’t worry, child, I have arranged a gift that shall motivate you.”

Lumius took a deep breath, knowing that his father had never been a kind man. Whatever this was, it was going to hurt.

“[Archcardinal] Lucretius, bring her in.”

Lumius’s heart jumped in his throat as he heard the word ‘her.’

Lily?! Can she use Light Magic again?!

But his tumultuous thoughts were soon shattered as a woman with waist-long hair the color of the shiniest bronze and a face full of freckles entered the room.

“Lumius, this is [Princess] Ludmilla, your future wife.”

...

A Few Days Later

Lumius followed in silence as the [Princess], his future wife, walked through the gardens and toward the most remote hills around the Papal Estate.

It was expected for the [Pope] to do something like this, Lumius reasoned. There was no way he would remain unwed, especially considering how useful this union could be. [Princess] Ludmilla was the daughter of [King] Karl IV the Large, the strongest vassal of the [Emperor] and the commander of the highest-level army. If Lumius’s father wanted to gather support for his Crusade against the Necromonarchy, this was an excellent move.

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In retrospect, if this had already been on the table back when he had been introduced to Lily, it meant that even he had underestimated just how much [Pope] Ennius hated the Gens Claudia... so much that it begged the question – why?

If the [Pope] had a way of gaining so much from Lumius’s marriage, why waste him on a skinny girl from the Gens Claudia? Was it because she was talented and, therefore, a future threat? Was it to break Lucianus? But again, why?

The heads of the templar order were as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than the Gens Claudia—the Gens Aemilia. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to target them instead of Lucianus? Sure, they were being minced on the front, but all those who survived came back with plenty of levels under their belts.

Lumius continued his covert surveillance of the [Princess], who had revealed herself to be a very quiet and discrete girl—one of the things that made him extremely suspicious of her. Like with Lily, the boy had no intention of getting killed because the new girl was hiding something.

Is she trying to run away? He wondered. That was the most common reaction to this situation, something that he had contemplated multiple times himself. [Princess] Ludmilla was three years older than him, and their marriage would be celebrated as soon as he classed up in a matter of weeks.

As he expected the [Princess] to make a beeline for the far coast, she suddenly disappeared. Lumius blinked multiple times, frowning and not understanding what had just happened.

Then, as a cold blade touched his neck, his whole body went stiff.

“I don’t like being followed,” a voice spoke, sweeter than honey while scarier than a ghost.

A rogue, Lumius thought to himself. A good one, too.

“What is the meaning of this, Your Highness?” Lumius spoke softly. “I was just checking on you.”

[Princess] Ludmilla pressed the blade harder against the boy’s throat, who suddenly felt a tinge of fear taint his calm.

“I don’t like politics,” the [Princess] whispered into his ears. “And I have no intention of being taken for a fool.”

“I am not treating Your Highness like—”

The blade bit into the neck, drawing a few droplets of blood from the shallow cut.

“You really don’t think I’ll kill you,” the [Princess]’s voice was surprised.

“One would expect the wife to wait until she’s sealed the deal, at the very least,” Lumius’s true emotions came out with the sarcastic comment. “There are [Hunters] on the premises, [Princess]. They wouldn’t take kindly to the [Princess] killing the [Pope]’s heir.”

“There was one [Hunter] here,” she said slowly, so close to his ear that it felt ticklish, “and now, he’s dead, my dear. I wanted to come here to see for myself what insanity my father had been plotting. And it appears that your father is even worse than I had initially expected.”

Lumius’s heart stopped when he heard that the [Hunter] had been killed. He was fairly sure that the [Hunters] his father placed on the property were around level 150, therefore, with two classes at their name and a bunch of skills to track down those who ran away. How could a young girl—

“I have grown up in Dungeons,” she said, slowly retracting the blade from his neck and letting him turn around. “I have enough levels to take care of myself. My father had never tolerated any weakness in the family. Most of my siblings died due to his strict martial regime.”

“I know,” Lumius said briefly. “I’ve studied your Kingdom.”

“You should have been more careful around me, then,” she smiled, her auburn hair swirling in the soft wind.

“Your Hi—[Princess] Ludmilla, what is this?” Lumius asked.

“I couldn’t refuse my father’s orders, little boy. His [Trackers] would have caught me if I had escaped. But he clearly didn’t know how pathetic your security is.”

“I gather you want to escape,” Lumius said, feeling his heart speed up. “The question is, why haven’t you already? You could have slit my throat and been on the run—or abducted me. I’m sure you could broker a deal with the Necromonarchy in exchange for me.”

“Those are all interesting ideas,” the [Princess] smiled, cleaning her dagger against her beautiful dress, “but I’ve not come this far to run.”

“Why, then?”

“My intention is to kill both our fathers. And you will help me.”