Duke Alaric was sitting in his study. Over the months he laid off one-quarter of his staff to put up the facade that he was struggling financially. But he had set up a few secret accounts years ago that no one knew about. He used to keep most of his minor lords on his side.

He also arranged the marriage of his oldest daughter to a powerful noble family that was across the White Sea.

The Noble Family was a part of the Kingdom of Gavina. It was a small island nation made up of two major islands that housed most of the population and five minor islands. It was a peaceful kingdom that was rich in agriculture. So it was perfect for his daughter. And the kingdom was far away, so if something bad were to happen to Quinus, she wouldn't be close to the Kingdom of Faifyr to become the next heir.

Marcus was the one who lost his right to be the next heir to the throne, but his daughter did. She was still considered a part of the royal bloodline. So she would have become an obstacle for her brother.

So Alaric took care of two problems. But he had a hundred more to deal with. It was becoming a juggling act that would end his life if he made one slip up. So he had to be vigilant, especially for the next five years.

And as far as the other Noble Families knew, he was showing them that he was in a tough spot. He needed to keep it that way until he could strike again.

***

Alaric was sitting at his desk when he heard a knock on his door.

"Enter," Alaric said.

Belial the butler entered his master's study with a message.

"Your Lordship. I have news of that traitor. She's getting married and she is also with child. Should we send word to the Assassin's Society?"

Alaric leaned back in his chair and brought his hands up as he intertwined his fingers together to think.

"Hmmm... So she's with child and getting married?..." Alaric muttered to himself while pondering. He took a moment, weighing out the pros and cons.

"How long will the messenger take?"

"It takes about three week's ride to get there and back if they ride their horse into the ground."

"Tck!... That's too long... I doubt she'll be going on a honeymoon..." Alaric said while shaking his head.

"But she might be away from the Prince after she gives birth, My Lord."

Alaric thought about it some more.

"Maybe... But then again, my nephew could still be around her. And I doubt that she would leave the palace to give birth... It's too risky, Belial. We'll wait. For now, we need to make sure that the funding coming from the Kingdom of Gavina doesn't get tracked by my brother's people or the snake Duval. I need that money to keep the minor lords on my side."

"Yes, My Lord," Belial said as he bowed.

"Is that all? Good. I need to finish the ledgers. You're dismissed."

"Very well. I will see to the arrangements."

Belial left the room and the Duke went back to writing his ledgers on the new taxes he needed to pay to the kingdom.

"75% of our income is gone now..." Alaric muttered to himself. He did have his secret accounts but that would draw too much attention. And he could only use what money his brother knew about. And he knew it wasn't going to be pleasant.

'Goddess damn it... Of all the things I need to deal with. Sometimes I wish I could use my gold to make life easier.'

Alaric was pissed off that his assassin turned on him and nearly got him executed by his brother. And his financial situation is the way it is, thanks to Marquess Duvel trying to bleed Alaric dry to weaken his support with the minor lords. But he was too naive and thought he could have control of the Duke and the kingdom.

"I won't let you get the best of me, Duval... You will regret letting me live. Mark my words..."

Alaric grumbled as he continued to write.

***

Wina's pregnancy was progressing nicely and she was starting to show.

Quinus was still reading up on the various beasts and monsters that roamed the continent. He found it odd that all these creatures that lived on the planet of Tertius were the same as the mythological and fantasy creatures written in novels and old texts back on Earth.

Most of them were identical to the writings he read before his death, but there were some monsters with the same name but were slightly different from the ones written back on Earth. Like, one of the monsters called a Chimera. It was like the three-headed hybrid monster from the Greek myths. But instead of having a goat's, lion's, and serpent's heads, it had a crocodile's, a dog's, and a bird's heads instead. It was weird how close some of these monsters were to their counterparts back on Earth.

'Why is there such a resemblance? Was there some weird crossover between Tertius and Earth?'

He couldn't answer the question. But he figured it was best to just not think about it. Or it would drive Quinus crazy.

He was trying to focus on reading but his mind kept thinking of different scenarios.

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'Wait. What if the Gods came from Earth and decided to come to this planet? But then we would have had monsters running all over the place. Gah! Just stop trying to make sense of it!' He thought while shaking his head.

Quinus never thought he would be living in a fantasy world, especially one where magic and monsters are real. And now he was stuck being a 19-month-old kid's body learning Royal etiquette from his Mother. Which was really frustrating because he wasn't able to do anything without someone looking after him.

Quinus looked over at Wina who was in the middle of her second trimester which made her curves even more voluptuous and she had the glow of pregnancy, radiating from her body. He had been admiring her body as she grew. Her breasts were swollen and had a nice full shape. They were soft and firm, and he would have loved to play with them but his Mother wouldn't allow it.

'Ugh! Mathew is a lucky bastard. I wish I had a long-term girlfriend or wife before I got reincarnated to Tertius... Damn it. I won't make the same mistake twice. I'm royalty now and I'll make sure to find me a woman just as awesome as Wina...'

Quinus wanted to experience love and start a family. But he was now a man in the body of a child. He couldn't do anything. And he could tell that his body wasn't working as it normally would until he hit puberty again.

He looked at her one last time while she was reading a book about childcare and pregnancy.

'Yeah, I need to be patient. She's married and is going to have a kid. Plus I'm not 30 anymore. I may be older mentally but physically is a different story. I'd be making her a pedophile and that's not fair to her... There are other women in the sea Quin.'

Quinus closed the 'monster compendium, volume 2' and opened a book about the other races on the planet.

There was an assortment of races.

From Elves to Dwarves. And when Quinus opened the book from the middle pages. It opened up to a drawing of a female Dark Elf. She had dark tan skin with the body of a supermodel. Her ears were elongated and the tips pointed upwards. She was wearing a revealing outfit that showed her curves. Her face had high cheekbones, and her nose was thin. She had a beautiful face. Her eyes were dark purple and her hair was a raven black.

"She's gorgeous," Quinus whispered.

Wina heard the young prince say something.

"Hmm? I didn't know you liked the dark elves?" Wina said with a surprised tone.

Quinus was surprised when she spoke up. He didn't realize he had said anything out loud.

"N-No. It's nothing. I was just reading this book and I opened it to the page that had the Dark Elf drawing," Quinus said, acting like he got caught watching a porno.

"Ahh. Well, they are an attractive race. But they're a secluded race. I think Agon is the only continent that has the last clan of Dark Elves. But I've never met one. Just heard stories from travelers. And I loved them so much that I wanted to learn their language and culture. So I learned the dark elven tongue and writing. I can teach you if you like, your Highness," Wina said, sounding enthusiastic.

Quinus looked at her and couldn't help but like the idea of learning another language, like the dark elven tongue. He wouldn't mind learning the other languages, too.

"Are you a scholar, Lady Wina?"

"Oh, no. Not at all. But I can read and write a few languages..." Wina paused for a moment, trying to find the proper way to phrase her next statement in order to hide the fact that she was an assassin, "I-It's a hobby of mine. My mother taught me how to speak and write the Elven languages. I also know a little bit of the Dwarven tongue as well... I learned that one for work purposes."

Quinus likes the sound of that and with Wina as his tutor. He was sure he could pick it up in no time.

"Interesting... I would appreciate that, Lady Wina," Quinus said with a smile.

Wina was surprised that the Prince took her offer. If she couldn't be his protector during her third trimester then she could at least teach him something to pass the time.

"Hey Lady Wina? You said the Dark Elves are a rare race... Is it the same for the other races?" Quinus asked as he flipped through the pages and noticed that there wasn't as much information on the Dark Elves compared to the other races.

"Depends on the continent. But the most common races are Humans, Demons, Dwarves, Orcs, and High Elves. The uncommon races are Vampires, Wood Elves, Beastkins, Merfolk, Werewolfs, Angels, and Water Elves."

Quinus was half listening while he was reading his book.

"I see. So I'm guessing the other continents have other rare races?"

"Most likely. It's said that the Beastkins have a kingdom and live in harmony with the Dwarves in the Kingdom of Lothar. On the Reimus Continent which is far off to the southwest of Agon. The continent is covered in desert and is rumored to have an entire civilization underground."

"I guess that makes sense... What are the rarest races then?"

"That would be the halflings, who were almost wiped out by the Vampires centuries ago... Something in their blood made the Vampires go into a feeding frenzy. You can find a halfling as a trophy with some rich nobles. Or as a slave with a vampire."

'That's awful... Wait! What the fuck! Vampire?!' Quinus was reading about the Dark Elves in his book and missed the part about vampires being uncommon in the world.

"Vampire?" Quinus asked as his voice cracked.

Wina could tell that he was afraid and surprised.

"Yeah... They can be a bit of a nuisance for us warm-blooded people. They're very dangerous and they're a pain to kill if you aren't a Maja or a Mage."

"I-is that so..."

"Don't worry, Prince Quinus. The kingdom's Royal Knights are more than capable of handling a Vampire. Plus the Vampires find the taste of humans tolerable on average. So they won't go out of their way to make us into cattle."

"R-right... And are there any more rare races?"

"That would be the Fairies and the rarest are the Dragons."

"Dragons!?" Quinus panicked at first.

'Come on, Quin! Of course, there would be Dragons in a magical setting... I need to get used to this crap. I'm not on Earth anymore.'

Wina smiled.

"Yep. Dragons are the rarest race, but also the superior race on Tertius. And the thing that makes them stronger than us is they don't need to slay monsters to grow their mana vein. Where we need to slay monsters to grow ours... They can breathe fire and can be the size of a large mansion. They are majestic beasts that are both intelligent and powerful. They can speak our languages and even the beastkin tongue. But there's one thing that most commoners don't know."

"What is it?" Quinus asked as he was drawn in and wanted to know the secret.

"They can take the form of a humanoid and they almost look human. But you can tell the difference because they have a set of horns and a scaled tail. And their eyes are reptilian and their pupils are slit."

'Why is Wina telling me this stuff?' Quinus thought to himself. 'She must have a reason for this... Right?'

"Is that so?..."

"Yes... So, if you ever run into a Dragon in their human form. I would recommend running away, My Prince."

Quinus could see the serious look on Wina's face.

"Why are you telling me this, Lady Wina?"

"Because you could have a Demi-god mana vein. And if you get strong enough, a dragon will notice you, and who knows if it's a good dragon or not? You need to know this, so if the time comes you'll be ready. Because this world is not a nice place, My Prince. We humans forget that there are other races that can push us around. And you'll have to be prepared."

Quinus took this information in, to the best of his ability.

"Thank you, Lady Wina. I'll be careful."

Wina nodded and went back to her book while Quinus did the same. He couldn't help but be drawn to the illustration of the female Dark Elf.

'I wonder if I'll run into one of their kind...'