𝒩𝑂𝓥𝑳xt.𝒸𝑂𝑀

After tribute had been properly paid to the Alfheim Princess on behalf of her Royal Mother, she dismissed the gathered parties so that they could properly prepare for the Centennial War Games. She then immediately returned to her private quarters, which was practically a palace in and of itself, where she looked at the wrapped gift that the Germanic Star-Empire had given her.

There was a curious look on the Elven beauty’s immaculate face, as if she were debating whether to plunder this one gift for herself. After several moments of silent thought, she heard a familiar voice, which seemingly came out of nowhere.

“Your highness? Is everything alright?”

Celestia damn near dropped the gift to the floor from her sudden fright, that is until she realized who the voice belonged to. She then looked over at her older brother, who was also her personal assistant, before scolding the man for his stalking.

“Why must you always do that, Celarion?”

Celarion was an exceptionally handsome Elven male, with a thin, and lean body, as well as long flowing golden locks. His eyes were a bright yellow, similar to the color of Earth’s sun. Unlike the majority of his bloodline, Celarion did not inherit the signature snow white hair and golden eyes of his family. Because of this, he was not treated as a Prince, but as a mere servant to the Royal Household.

After all, the Alfheim Dominion was a matriarchy, where men did not have the right to inherit titles or property. It was almost the exact inverse of the Germanic Star-Empire in that regard. Becasue of this he bowed respectfully to his royal sister and apologized for his skulking which he was so well known to do.

“Apologies, your highness, but it is not my fault that you have poor senses.”

Celestia could only scoff at this remark. It wasn’t a matter of having poor senses, Celarion just had an unnatural ability to not only remain completely silent as he moved, but to blend in with his surroundings. He could seemingly appear out of thin air and surprise just about anybody in the Alfheim Dominion.

In fact, he had even been present at the Tribute ceremony, but nobody had really paid attention to him. He just sort of faded into the background. Just when Celestia was about to comment on this, her brother made a particularly bold remark.

“You seemed awfully interested in that silver-haired Germanic male. Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly begun to suffer from the same affliction as our royal mother?”

Celestia did not panic at this remark, instead she simply scoffed once more before enlightening her older brother on her reasons for acting in such a unique manner towards Erich.

“It is not myself who is interested in that man, but our Royal Mother. In addition to leading these war games, she gave me an additional command to size up this man who is the heir apparent to the Germanic Star-Empire and their Oni allies.

Besides… There is something unusual about him. I can’t explain it, but I have this ominous feeling in my gut every time I look at him. As if we were somehow bound by fate. Perhaps… No, it can’t be!”

Celarion rolled his eyes when he heard his Royal sister speaking about fate yet again. She was perhaps the only one in the current line of succession who actually placed an emphasis on those “prophetic” words spoken by a bunch of old fogies.

Yet he knew he was going to have to listen to her speak of such nonsense anyway and thus he was quick to ask her about what was currently going through her mind, with the most pedantic voice he could muster.

“What is it this time, your highness?”

Despite the tone in her brother’s voice, Celestia did not take the least amount of offense to his words. She had long since become accustomed to how her family treated her obsession with the prophecy of the sages. And thus, she ignored the almost mocking tone that her brother spoke with, and informed him of her thoughts, regardless as to whether he wanted to hear them or not.

“The last time I visited the sages, they told me that there was another like them born somewhere else in the galaxy. And my destiny was intertwined with his. Supposedly, he would bring war to the galaxy and set it ablaze, forever shaking up the order that our ancestors have spent so much blood, sweat, and tears to build.”

Naturally, Celestia left out the part of her being bound to this man’s will by sheer virtue of his charm, as that was something she would never admit, even to herself. In response to this, Celarion simply sighed heavily in exhaustion, before posing a question he knew was little more than nonsense.

“And what, you suspect, this minor player, from a mere regional power, is that man? Do you even hear yourself, Celestia? This is complete and utter madness! I have no idea why mother favors you so much, when you are willing to listen to the superstitions of a bunch of old madmen…”

In his annoyance, Celarion had dropped the honorifics he was supposed to use when speaking to his female relatives at all times. An act which did not escape Celestia’s notice. She quickly turned around from gazing at Erich’s holographic projection, and glared fiercely at her brother, where she questioned his sanity.

“And who precisely gave you permission to use my name?”

In that moment, Celarion grew fearful of his Royal Sister, and immediately fell to the floor while kowtowing to his Princess. He begged for forgiveness, knowing that she could easily take his life for such an offense.

“I beg of you, your highness, please spare this fool who does not know his place!”

A cruel sneer formed on Celestia’s lips, as she placed her foot upon her brother’s head, while applying pressure to it. There seemed to be a hint of sadistic joy in her eyes as she abused the man, before giving him a royal command that he would come to regret.

“Oh no, brother… You can not be forgiven for such impudence so easily! Or else, what would be the point of my esteemed title? I’m afraid I’m going to have you participate in these War Games. After all, your skills on the battlefield are quite legendary, are they not? I want you to stalk this man and relay his actions to me. I want to see every single move he makes, even if he is simply relieving himself in the forest!

And if he turns out to be the man that I think he is, you are to covertly eliminate him! I don’t want a single trace of his body found! Mother would be furious if you caused a diplomatic incident to occur between our dynasty and her favorite pets, don’t you think?”

Celarion’s eyes widened in disbelief as he heard these orders. But he did not dare refuse them, and thus he thanked his Royal Sister for her mercy, while promising that he would do as she had instructed.

“This fool thanks your Highness for her eternal benevolence, and will do as you ask!”

After saying this, Celestia smiled, and released her hold over her brother’s head. Allowing him to rise and take off from his Royal Sister’s personal quarters. Celestia then returned her attention to the holographic projection of Erich and wore a bitter smile as she spoke her thoughts aloud now that she was truly alone.

“It would be such a pity if you turned out to be that man… After all, you are definitely my type….”

It was only after saying these thoughts aloud that the Alfheim Princess realized just how scandalous her words were. This only further confirmed in her mind that Erich was the man who would set the galaxy ablaze in his future wars of conquest. Yet until she could confirm his prophetic ability for herself, she would not dare make a move against him.