"Marcus, I will be finished in 10 minutes. Wait for me in the salon," I say. 

Marcus can be described as a dedicated household assistant, or on a more personal level, my assistant. However, I view him as more than that, considering him something akin to a best friend.

Black hair, tanned skin and light blue eyes. He is 23 years old, which means he is 2 years older than me. He's apparently 180cm so I suppose I'm a little taller, standing at 182cm.

"Yes, your highness," Marcus replied, his voice tinged with a hint of contentment.

He sure seems happy.

The hair has been successfully dyed black, the contact lenses have been put on, and the use of distortion magic is also impeccable. Furthermore, the clothing is of high quality, and a pair of silver glasses serves as a perfect complement for my new identity as Alber.

It is time to exit the room. I proceed to open the door and head towards the salon. As I walk through the hallway, I notice an impressive collection of art displayed in the frames that adorn the walls. Undoubtedly, nobility holds art in high regard and provides a dedicated space for its appreciation.

Is that Isabella I see next to the salon? Hmm, I believe so.

It seems that Isabella is in close proximity to the salon but has not yet noticed my presence. I will seize this opportunity to surprise her. I chuckle at the thought of her flustered expression.

She is slightly older than me, but the age gap is not that significant—about five years, I reckon. 

Isabella is someone with whom it is enjoyable to engage in conversations, and she has proven to be someone that I value a lot.

I conceal my presence and instantly appear in front of her. It takes less than a second for her to notice me and then...

Isabella lets out a small gasp, which quickly escalates into a loud scream. Amidst her frightened sobs, she tries to address me as "you thief." Did I hear that correctly? However, she struggles to pronounce it accurately, resulting in something like "yoouuuu thiiiff" or something along those lines, followed by her screaming "Marcuuuus".

What did I do to be called a thief?

I am left contemplating my actions, wondering what I could have possibly done to be labeled as a thief but before I could think of what I did Marcus appears from the salon and focuses his attention on me, as well as Isabella, multiple times before bursting into laughter.

"Wha...?" I exclaimed, along with Isabella.

Isabella, upon hearing my voice, quickly approaches Marcus with an expression of doubt, embarrassment and a little bit of anger. She demands to know why he is laughing.

I would like to inquire about the matter as well. Explain yourself, Marcus. This is what I think but do not say it out loud though.

Marcus greeted me with laughter in his voice as he respectfully addressed me, "Your highness." In response, Isabella's gaze focused on me, her expression a mixture of embarrassment and lingering anger but softening the more she looked at me. It was at that precise moment that realization struck me, and I found myself uttering, "Oh, shit".

I exclaim "surprise" in an attempt to mask my current feeling of embarrassment, as I had inadvertently forgotten that I had concealed my presence. 

This time I use distortion magic to make me look like the real me.

Isabella gazes at me with a genuinely startled expression. It appears evident that she was completely caught off guard by this fun or maybe not so fun, turn of events.

"Your highness, I was unaware that it was you. I deeply apologize for mistakenly labeling you as a thief." Isabella apologizes sincerely. 

"Everything is alright. I just wanted to play a prank on you, but it seems like I ended up going too far". I say 

"No way, there's no need to apologize, more importantly why are you here, Your Highness?" Isabella inquires, indicating some degree of joy.

"I have come here to discuss certain matters with Marcus. I must leave now, but let's catch up to talk later, Isabella," I said.

"Of course, Your highness ," Isabella replied happily.

"Shall we, Marcus?" I asked.

"Yes, Your highness," Marcus answered.

I bid farewell to Isabella and entered the salon, taking a seat at the table with Marcus facing me.

"Marcus, you do have an idea of what I am about to do, am I right?" I say nonchalantly.

"I can't say that I don't know, but I also can't say that I know for sure, I have some vague idea," Marcus says.

"Putting aside small talk, let's get to the point, Marcus. But first, you have to promise me that what I say here stays here," I say with a serious face.

"I swear, Raphael, what I hear here will be known only by the two of us," Marcus says.

I smile.

That's what I expected to hear.

"Blood rose, does it ring any bells?" I say.

"Blood rose? Are you perhaps talking about the vampires' strongest empire?" Markus asks somewhat reluctant.

Blood rose rank's 3rd place in strength between all territories so I guess he's quite shocked to hear me mention it, after all it's not just about me choosing a strong empire but choosing the vampire's strongest empire.

"Yes, that blood rose, my objective is blood rose's royal family blood". I say determined.

Marcus slams his hands on the table with a good amount of force and...

"Are you being serious? Don't say something like that again, that's a no. I'm not letting you do something that stupid, do you want every person you love dead?" Marcus says with anger.

I open my eyes a bit more than normal in surprise of what I heard, but I guess it's understandable after all, they're the first in line descendants of the progenitor Giure Grando and one that is not his descendant does not have the right to share the same blood as him, at least that's what they preach and they showed it with actions too.

I look at him directly in the eyes and say "not stupid, not crazy,  just tired of being still".

He looks at me with disbelief and disappointment "I thought you were finally making the first steps towards your future but now...". Marcus says with disappointment.

"But now what? I thought you were with me on this" I said with a smile that's not really a smile.

"I never said that, I said that no one would know what was discussed here, not that I would go with with your crazy plan". Marcus says with traces of anger in his voice.

"You didn't even let me tell you my plans, you just heard a part so calm yourself and listen". I say.

"No, I'm not going to help you with this". Marcus says with anger stamped in his voice.

"Marcus" I say .

"No, this conversation is over, I'm leaving". Marcus says.

"Marcus? Hey Marcus? Are you there? At least answer me. For Cleveland's sake will you answer me?". I say.

"Cle... Cleveland? You kno..." Marcus says

"Yes, I know, of course I know, there's no way I wouldn't know don't you think? After all these years together, did you really think I wouldn't know your past trauma?" I say.

"If you knew then... why? Why did you never bring that up?" Marcus says with a mix of anger and sadness in his voice.

"Do you really need me to explain it out loud? Traumas are better when they are left to be forgotten, don't you think? Why would I bring your traumatic past up? To satisfy my curiosity? I could, I for sure could, but you should know very well the type of person I am." I start saying all this with a serious face but it seems that it turned into a smile gradually.

"So? Have you decided to listen to me now? I ask.

"Apologies, I lost my composure. However, please explain to me why you intend to go to such extremes, even if you haven't experienced their brutality and methods when it comes to their 'pure blood'. I assume you are aware of how ugly things can get when that topic is touched upon." Marcus says uncomfortably.

"Yes, I know, but allow me to ask you how strong do you think I am?" I say it, curious of what you're going to say.

"Overall strength or specifically within the magical and superhuman systems?" Marcus asks.

"Both" I answer.

"In Bragança and Alexandria, you are undoubtedly strong, but in the stronger territories, you are only slightly above average," Marcus says.

"You have reached the 8th rank out of a total of 13 in terms of magical ranks. In terms of superhuman ranks, you have achieved the 9th rank out of a total of 14."

"You are absolutely correct. Having said that, It would be an accomplishment worth boasting about to have achieved the 10th rank in either the magical or superhuman systems; 10th on both of them and you would be in a league of your own." I say.

Marcus gazes at me with a quizzical expression, as if seeking clarity on my words.

"What I am attempting to convey is that the general population of bloodrose is ranked 9th in the magical system and 10th in the superhuman system. Both ranks surpass my own, and these rankings solely pertain to ordinary individuals." I stated as matter of fact.

"Do you understand the point I am trying to make?". I ask.

"I understand you highness " Marcus replies.

"Good. So are you finally going to listen?". I question him.

"Yes, Your highness. Sorry again for my outburst and the words I said" Marcus says with a nervous type of voice.

"It does not matter. I understand why you made the statement, but I kindly request that you refrain from interrupting with questions until the end of the discussion. Otherwise, I may not have sufficient time to fully explain everything today."

"Yes, your highness" Marcus says resolutely.

"For starters I'll get my hands on blood rose's blood, depending on the ways I can be injected with the blood making me a "half blood" or injecting it myself making me a human with vampire blood that is if I survive the second option". I say.

But, would any vampire willingly gi...". Marcus says or at least tries.

I'll answer all your questions in the end so for now just listen" I say.

"Yes, your highness"  Marcus says somewhat embarrassed.

"After that, I'll be training one year to be sure to get my new me to peak condition, reaching rank 10 or even 11 in super strength will be a massive improvement". I say pausing for a moment to make sure he is listening carefully.

"But that is just the beginning, I'll be aiming for the 14th and 13th ranks by other words the system top rankings." I say confidently.

Marcus looks at me with an incredulous expression.

There's only a handful of individuals who maxed one system and even less both of them, his reaction proves to be what I expected but a bit sad that he really thinks of my plan as practically impossible.

"When I get stronger I'll be participating in the Superpower of the seven kingdoms, (a tournament including both my family kingdom/empire and five others to find the strongest powers of our nations) with my identity concealead for the whole tournament, revealing myself at the end". I say.

Getting myself the attention of all watching the tournament will send a message to the world "Prince Raphael has returned" the rest does not matter, I only need those words circulating, that will be enough to send a message to the ones who destroyed my life, tortured me scarring my body, all to satisfy their jealousy, but the ones I can't really forget are the ones who kidnapped me to try and satisfy their sexual desires, fortunately before they could do anything to me, I destroyed my reasoning with insanity allowing me to break my bones cutting parts of my flesh with it and getting out of there, cause if not... I don't think I would have the strength to be here.

"Afterward, I'll begin my vengeance and with the widespread knowledge of my return, they are bound to reappear, but this time I'll be the one making the rules and the shedding of blood shall be the last of their concerns" I say calmly, yet brimming with fury.

Marcus remains silent, looking  at me with a sorrowful expression, that's expected, after all, he was the only one i truly told my "ugly" past.