A single word that could be used for the party that night would be opulent. Needlessly so. The full moon was large that night, and the stars twinkled. The second most significant event of the night was a falling star.

The orchestra played as they were instructed to. The lead performer, Jeanne Hildr, added her own magical touch with the violin. But it wasn’t a simple violin. Francis would be amused if he could find a violin exactly like that. It was unique to the say the least. The pure metal on metal clashing that he was used to hearing from sword fights was repurposed for musical tastes.

Her single sided blade ran across the metal strings. The high, sharp sounds permeated throughout the ballroom. Slow, and sharp. Francis gripped Haein’s thin hands as they danced. All eyes were on them. The princess took it seriously, her legs moving in rhythm and tempo. In time and in sync, they made their practice bear fruit.

“Magnificent,” a nobleman commented.

Francis turned to look at him. Count Hodings, fat, with a face full of oil. The ones around him were no better. Birds of the same feather. He recognised all of them. And knew what they didn’t want to be known. The people in the slums made for excellent informats. Of course, Francis had lots of information about the crimes they committed too. Every single one of them in that group had at least a page’s worth of information dedicated to their sins.

His fat fingers wrapped around the stem of the wine glass. The white wine swirled within as he inhaled its aroma. Good. All according to plan. It seemed impossible to not notice the strangely spicy taste within it, but apparently that fat man failed to. Were his nerves damaged? If so, that made the assassination easy.

As the piece reached its crescendo, the imperial couple concluded their dance. With a bow, the two made their way back to the throne. Much of the room applauded, save for a few. The count gripped his chest and fell onto his knees. The nobles around him rushed away, for whatever reason.

“Hey, you alright?”

“Should someone call a doctor?”

“Shit, what should we do?”

“The empress must be furious...”

Francis sighed and turned on his heel. Making his way back towards the scene, the nobles cleared the way. Lying on the ground, with a look of complete terror on his face, was the count. Foam formed at his mouth. Francis placed his fingers on the dead noble’s neck. He shook his head, and stood up.

“Heart attack.”

“Is that so, Your Highness?”

“Yes. He passed quickly.”

“Then get this filth out of sight!” a nobleman pointed at a nearby guard.

The emperor made his way back to his waiting wife. He never could tell what she was thinking. Unlike the more obvious types like Katalina and the occasional Iris, Haein was something else entirely. A stoic face, never changing. Like a moai statue standing against the tide, facing the great blue sea.

Despite the death that happened less than a few minutes ago, the nobles already got back into the party at full swing. Rather, they partied with more fervour than before. Those that were near the deceased had already shunned him away after the fact. ‘That old man was going to die soon anyway’ and ‘He had it coming for how much of a prick he was’ and the like.

“They move on immediately, don’t they?” Haein commented.

“It's horrifying, to be honest. Someone in their circle just died and they’re partying even harder than before.”

“Indeed it is. I would be mortified if someone here was involved in it, though.”

“Absolutely. But you’re safe with your knights. As am I.”

“Mhm. It is comforting to know.”

Haein chuckled. It was plainly obvious to all that she knew. Contradictory to her unreadable face, that was the sense that he got. But if that was the case, how much did she know? An empress was much harder to get rid of than a random noble that lived in the countryside. And even beyond that, if she was the one the populus liked, there was a risk of revolution at hand. That was not saying that there was never a risk of revolution, but definitely having the right ruler sated that fire. Was he the right ruler? Rather, was he even doing the right thing? Indirectly, he had just killed a man. Yet he felt... Nothing. Just as he always felt. It wasn’t the first time he killed someone. And certainly not the last time either. To rid the world of evil, one had to become the greater evil. To produce the greatest good, there had to be a counterweight. For every Sherlock Holmes, there had to be a Moriarty. Now the question was if he was to be the hero that the world desired for, or would he fall to fate?

In every aspect of society, evil was present. But certain evils can be dealt with easier than others. For example, it was far easier to deal with an evil within the circle of maids that operated within the palace, than to do the same for another imperial palace in a foreign nation. But what if?

“I suppose we should end the festivities, given the current state of things. It is not in good taste to continue on with this after what just happened.” Francis looked at the empress. She always had that neutral look on her face.

“It would be best.” She nodded in agreement.

“Do you want the honours, or should I?”

“I’ll let you do it. You have to show something, at least.”

“Fine by me.”

Francis stood up from his throne and clapped his hands. With a single clap, everyone looked at him. They seemed confused. Should they bow? What should they do? But all of them remained standing. A few even drank their wine as he stared at them. Did he not even command the least bit of respect? Nay, not even respect, basic human courtesy at least. With a mental note of those who so blatantly disregarded him, he continued on.

“I will be cutting this party short. If there are any objections, talk to me directly.”

The room stayed silent. They had no idea what to do. It wasn’t out of the question. The previous emperor would never have stopped a party in its tracks just because someone died. And the others certainly didn’t seem like they were going to let a death impede their enjoyment.

“Dismissed.” He sat back down on his throne and crossed his legs.

Despite the grumbles, the nobility did eventually start to shuffle out of there. As disorganised and hectic as it was, it was still progress. The nobles shoved and pushed others out of their way. And for what? Just to get back home earlier? Still, it was good. Once gathered in a building together, a fire could very well wipe them all out.

“Good job, my husband,” she said once everyone had left and the servants began to clean up.

“You know, I really hope that one day we can actually fall in love with each other. Not to be offensive, but your parents aren’t exactly the ideal couple.”

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“Trust me, I know. I was raised by a maid more than them. And they aren’t really in a happy marriage either. But that’s just politics. A young prince gets married to a princess in a foreign nation far away, and the two parties are stronger than ever. Love and attraction doesn’t even come into the question.”

“Yeah. If you could, would you change the system? Get rid of these pointless marriages?”

“Ideally? Of course. But we can’t. That’s just how the world works, Fran.”

“We have similar interests.”

“Indeed we do. But I believe that we have different ways of going about it.”

“Perhaps. We should talk about this in private.”

“Oh my. Let’s turn down for the night then. Shall we?” Francis stood up and took her hand.

“We should.” She grabbed his hand and walked out.

It would have been hard to tell who was escorting who. The imperial couple linked their arms and walked towards their quarters. No doubt, a security detail would have been attached to them. But if there was, they didn’t make themselves known.

After looking behind his back, he pushed the door open. This was their private chamber. Had there been someone listening in, they would lose their head. Or heads, even. They had sex in this room, for crying out loud. But one could never be sure. Whether a secret service existed, he did not know. Once he ascended to the throne, no one even handed him a memo. No, if anyone knew, it was Haein herself. He didn’t even know what sort of secrets she was keeping from him. Where were the spreadsheets? And the reports? With a shake of his head, he closed the door after she entered.

“Be honest with me.” Francis stopped her from moving on further in.

“With?” Haein raised her eyebrows.

“I am the emperor. I need to govern.”

“You really don’t need to. Just relax and don’t worry about it.”

“What? Why?”

“Well you just need to sit there and look pretty. I’ll even let you wear your pretty dresses if you like.”

“Why would I even think about doing that?”

She shot him a look. With her hands, she motioned for him to sit down on the bed. He sat down next to her, and he leaned against her shoulder. Haein gripped his hand, and rubbed up next to him. Still in her long ball gown, it certainly wasn’t sleeping attire.

“It's a great role. I can provide you with everything. And you don’t need to do anything.”

“So that’s why you chose me? Because Benjamin’s too ambitious? And Edmond has convictions to actually do things? I’m just meant to be a doll?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just want you to be happy.”

“Please. You don’t need to lie. Can we just be honest?”

“Fine. You know that game? Truths and Lies?” He was familiar with that game. Played it under the eyes of Truth.

“Yeah. I swear to the goddess Truth to sacrifice my soul and body if I violate the rules of this divine game.”

“Great.” She repeated the words. “Now, three questions. What are you planning?”

“I am planning to improve the empire’s situation and expand. What are your goals?”

“To push our borders further. I want to seize the Rinal Valley. Did you assassinate Count Hodings?”

“I did. Will you have me killed?”

“Depends on your answer to this. Will you kill me?”

“Probably not. I actually enjoy being with you.”

“Then I probably won’t kill you. Your last question, go.”

“Fine. I’m just going to throw this question away, anyway. All my goals from this game’s satisfied.”

“Sounds a lot like you’re beating around the bush.” Haein chuckled.

“It does. Well, then it's an obvious question with an obvious answer. Do you think you’ll ever come to love me?” Francis laughed as he asked. After all, it was so plainly obvious. Of course not. Who could ever come to even fathom the thought of that?

“Why not?”

“Huh?”

“It's not like you’re unlovable, right?”

“I killed a man.”

“That’s not really a sin when you’re this high up in the world. I’ve ordered assassinations, my parents ordered assassinations, it's a normal thing here.”

He raised his eyebrows and stood up. What kind of thinking was that? Just because something was normalised? ‘Everyone here killed someone before’ was not a valid reason.

“But why now? It looks like you’ve only now fully realised the extent of your actions. Is this your first killing?”

Francis gripped his head. No. No. He literally shot a man in his previous life. More than a single person. If it was his previous life, his hands were already soaked with blood. After the first few killings, he just got used to it. Business, nothing else. But why now? Why here? His head throbbed. Suddenly everything made sense.

He had killed. And he had gotten used to that. But he hadn’t. To him, this was the first time committing such a heinous act. Despite the abuse that he dished out, was killing really that far fetched? How? How was he so soft?

“No. It's not.” Francis shook his head.

“What’s there to be scared of then? The first time’s always the scariest.”

“I think you’re a psychopath.”

“What’s that?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take a bath.”

“Oh, can I join you? We are husband and wife.” Haein stood up and followed him into the spacious bathroom. Indeed, it wasn’t a question of if they could fit inside, but if they wanted to.

“Right, I suppose we should start doing that. Not sure if sex is a valid substitute for honest love, but maybe it could blossom.” Francis leaned against the tiled wall.

“Kind of strange, though. I’ve been taught that love isn’t needed in a political marriage like this.”

“Better to be married to someone you enjoy being with than someone you hate, right?”

“That’s the idea I guess. But you can love me right?”

“Don’t see why not. You’re attractive, calm and collected, smart. A lot of positives.”

“And you’re more than just a pretty face.”

Francis smiled. That was somewhat affirming. At least she was willing to talk it out like a mature adult.

They got in together, as despite how unreal it seemed, they were indeed married. Still, he couldn’t quite help but feel like she was lying. They were both sitting across the table, each unsure of the other’s alliance and intents.

“Still, we’re both thinking of war, right?” Francis asked.

“Yeah. It's the best means for expansion and prosperity.”

“But how? We’d need a reason for war.”

“True. But we could always stage an assassination attempt and use that.”

“You’re not wrong. They won’t admit to anything because they didn’t do it, so they’d keep denying it.”

“We don’t even need to fabricate evidence. Just claim that a nationalist attacked you and go from there. Still, it feels weird that we’re doing it here.”

“Well there’s two reasons. One, this is hot. Two, if someone’s listening in, we have a reason to send them for an all expenses paid trip.”

“Pardon? I didn’t understand the second one. But I agree with the first one. Just wish that it was someone more handsome.”

“Y’know. Make them disappear.”

“So murder?”

“Whoa whoa whoa. That’s a strong word. I didn’t say anything about murder. Just an early retirement. Make this their last job.”

His words echoed around in the bathroom. Yes, it was an odd situation to be in. He could feel her body on his back, and the softness of her skin did not go unnoticed. It seemed like she had taken notice of him too, and looked away.

“I know about what you’ve been doing.” The empress held him, bringing his body even closer to hers.

“What do you mean?”

“The information you have is vital to reforming the system. My father was an idiot. He let them have too much power.”

“Is that so?”

“But if we get rid of them, there’s suddenly a sizable vacuum in power.”

“I’m listening.”

“And there’s a convenient family that I’m married to.”

“The Rayleighs.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice? For your sisters to have the powers of the princesses of the imperial family? After all, the nobles can’t complain, can they.”

“Without a head they can’t.”

“Then we’re in agreement. After all, I have my own evidence against quite a few of them as well.”

“Good. Now then, who shall we start with? Viscountess Fritz in my-”

“Before that...” She motioned for him to turn around. They faced each other within the spacious bathtub. The water reached up till her breasts and his chest, close to the armpits. She propped her elbows on the area behind her, on the cool material of the tub. A thin layer of soap and bubbles covered the surface of the water, but he could still make out most of her details. The positioning of her legs, the midriff, and everything else. Undoubtedly, she could do the same. With his staring came hers.

“I don’t see why not,” Francis said and chuckled. There was only one thing that it would logically lead up to.