‘’As for love, I don’t see the necessity right away, however marriage is another story, the power that comes from a faithful partnership, exceeds those based on frivolous feelings.’’

After his breakdown, Nikias falls asleep in Alkaios arms, the Crown Prince takes his brother to his room and proceeds to call a physician, however he had to wait as the doctor was treating the Empress. The moment mother wakes up she'll be furious, the pink eyed man thinks as he pulls a chair closer to the bed where his brother lies. And that's true, the Empress cares more for her children than herself, and finding out that her subjects neglected her youngest child's health for her own, will certainly earn some to be fired. If only she knew how they treat Nikias on a day to day basis… Alkaios snorts, their parents are always so busy that they rarely take care of their children directly, even if they love them infinitely.

It's a fact that the Emperor and Empress would go to hell for their children, that's one of the reasons why there wasn't any signs of harm towards the royals until now. Their safety is the most important thing. However the moment that Nikias was poisoned changed things, it was announced to the world that the second Prince was an easy target, therefore the whole Empire is busy mitigating the political aftermath of such information leaking. Alkaios stares at his brother's peaceful face, they were never close, on the contrary, from Nikias perspective they weren't even acquaintances, but for Alkaios, his little brother was his entire world. Even with his bad personality he never stopped loving him, even when he found out that Nikias was poisoning him he found it cute.

Well, you can't put standards of normality upon those who are born in a situation far from normal. The weight of the entire Empire is upon their shoulders, who lives, who dies, such responsibility is sure to bring madness with it. While Nikias was reckless, self-absorbed and violent, Alkaios was obsessive, perfectionist and also just as violent, except that the older Prince was better at hiding his true nature. There's only two people who are subject to Alkaios obsessive nature, his younger brother and his soon-to-be fiance. For them, he would burn the entire Empire if necessary.

The moment I find out who poisoned you… Alkaios thinks, lightly touching his brother's forehead which is burning. His expression twists with anger, if the doctor is late by another minute… 

Nikias' room's door opens and one of his servants enters with a tray. Water, towels and medicine, it appears that they're used to taking care of the youngest Prince without the help of the Palace's physician. On the outside Alkaios seems cold and uncaring, Lowe's eyes drift from his lord to the Crown Prince.

“I greet your highness, the star of the Empire”, he bows, however the man doesn't wait for the Prince to dismiss him, he goes to the other side of Nikias bed and starts treating the man. Alkaios watches in silence, he isn't bothered by the lack of manners of the commoner servant, on the contrary, he's glad that he's treating his brother. However, to Lowe, the Crown Prince seems to be glaring at him with anger.

“Does this happen frequently?” Alkaios asks after a few moments watching the man treating Nikias fever. Lowe nods, but doesn't stop the treatment, placing the wet towel on Nikias' forehead and using a syringe to apply the medicine directly on Nikias bloodstream. “Doesn't the physician ever treat him?” The question seems stupid in Lowe's eyes, since when does the Crown Prince care if Nikias lives or dies? He never even looked his way.

“The first time the physician visited his quarters was yesterday”, Lowe answers either way. He was in the middle of dealing with Nikias' request when he felt a burn in his right hand. When someone makes a mana pact, he's bound to the person forever and a mark appears on a part of their body proving the success of the bound. They can sense threats towards the person and if they die they feel extreme pain in the area where the mark lies. In Lowe's case the mark settled on his right wrist. A small mark the size of a copper coin and in the form of a golden crown, if he hadn't seen the mana test before the mark appeared, he would know about Nikias' magic just glancing at the mark.

When you pledge a mana pact towards someone without mana, the mark is a fading dot the size of a grape. However, in the cases where the person has mana the mark takes shape according to their mana type. Golden, and the symbol reflects what fate expects of him, a crown. Be it the crown of the Empire or something else.

Unacceptable. Alkaios thinks with anger. How can a royal physician never treat a Prince? “After he was poisoned, how did the treatment go?” He asks with a sigh, trying to regulate his own anger, nothing good will come from showing his anger in front of his subjects. Everyone is aware of Nikias' tricks and bad behavior, however he's a Prince, so good treatment is a given, that's why no one ever supervised if it happened indeed. The youngest Prince had a hard personality, that's why his family assumed he would just tell them if he wasn't being treated with respect, just like Alkaios would do in his place. To think that the boy was being treated badly under their own noses. Alkaios blood is boiling he wants to decapitate the physician and every single servant inside the palace that was a bystander to such treatment. Be a good ruler, Evangelia words ring inside his head, he's trying so hard to appease both subjects of his love, but at some moment he'll need to choose.

If he wants Nikias or Evangelia to be happy. Because both are bound to conflict. Evangelia hates Nikias and vice versa. Alkaios knows that more than anyone, however right now, he'll try to balance both happiness in the tip of his sword as long as he can.

“It didn't”, Lowe answers with caution. He isn't aware that Nikias already revealed his mana to his brother, in the servant's perspective revealing it might cause the youngest Prince's death. To everyone, Alkaios despises Nikias, even for Nikias' himself that is an undeniable fact. Even if the Empress and Emperor adore the man, they're too busy to notice the neglect, and if the Crown Prince himself despises his younger brother, then the servants are bound to mistreat the Prince. “He recovered by himself”.

Alkaios snorts, crossing his arms and staring at Lowe, his anger verging on the border of the glass, about to spill everywhere. His pink eyes that most times look kind and caring now are glaring at the servant with fervent anger. However Lowe isn't scared of the Crown Prince's anger, Nikias' glare is scarier. 

“He fell into a fever for a couple days, all we did was observe”, Lowe says, a few pained moans leave Nikias' mouth, but he stays asleep. 

“Why wouldn't you treat him like you are right now?” Alkaios is impatient, but Lowe is used to dealing with impatient bastards, even if Nikias was a better lord than the Crown Prince. 

“We used to before the other servants arrived. They outranked us and forbid us from treating Nikias” Fuck, Lowe thinks the moment the words leave his mouth.

“How dare you call the second Prince of the Empire by his name?” Fierce words leave Alkaios mouth, mana circulates the air, suffocating Lowe. He was talented, being experimented by the magicians tower wasn't a small feat, but the power that runs through the veins of royalty is impossible to beat. Crown Prince Alkaios’ pink mana, the size of an apple, the biggest since the first Emperor, he was the most powerful magician in the Exos Empire, that is until Nikias died and came back with golden mana the size of a dragon's heart. Lowe's face loses its color and the man can't even speak, the air soon escaping his lungs, he suffocates more and more.

“What's happening?” Nikias wakes up at the nick of time, stopping Alkaios' magic, and as consequence Lowe collapses on the floor, coughing as he grasps for air. “Lowe, are you alright?” His tone is soft and his voice is hoarse from the pain. I have a fever? Nikias touches his own forehead that is burning at a high temperature. Shit, it's almost as if this body is fighting against my soul.

That's not entirely wrong. Not everyone survives the soul transfer, the body must be compatible, and the process is indeed painful. Memories clash and if you have hidden memories like Vahe, they might be even more painful to synchronize, and in some cases memories of the old owner of the body might blend, causing the new soul to go crazy. Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case for him, at least for now.

“I was disciplining him”, Alkaios says calmly, “How are you feeling, brother?” 

Nikias is annoyed, he's feverish and the pain in his head hasn't completely subdued. And to top everything, he had a dream about his older brother where Zerah got beaten to protect him, however he doesn't know how much of it was memory and how much was dream. “Who gave you the right?” His tone is harsh, Alkaios' is taken aback, Nikias never spoke harshly to him, his eyes had disgust but his eyes were always coated with sweetness.

“As your older brother…”

“My servants can only be disciplined by me”. Cold golden eyes that remind him of their father, filled with anger and determination, the eyes of a cold tyrant. Even with a flushed face, cold sweat and weak appearance, Nikias was the most beautiful being in that room, and for his luck, his brother was weak to him.

“As you wish, brother”, Alkaios says, however he directs a threatening gaze towards Lowe. “However your servant called you by name, as he is lower than you in rank he should…”

Nikias cuts his words. “I couldn't give a shit about how he calls me”. And that's the truth, Vahe was used to being treated as anything but a human being, he was called bug, cockroach, dirt, fly and even pet. Being called by a name that isn't even his, couldn't bother him at all. Of course as a Prince he needs to establish respect and Lowe was sure to receive his punishment, however it isn't Alkaios' punishment to give. “If I need to discipline my subject I will, but he serves me, not you.”

I don't want to be on his bad side, both brothers think at the same time. “I apologize, it won't happen again”, the Crown Prince backs down first, after all what matters most is his brother's health and not some servant.

“Alright”, Nikias sighs, feeling his consciousness fading slowly. “You should leave, brother, you have duties”, he says, closing his eyes slowly.

“It's okay, brother, I'll stay by your side this time”, Alkaios' means so, he doesn't wish to not be a part of Nikias life anymore. He stayed away because he thought that he would be better far from him, but he was poisoned, so that isn't the truth anymore. He'll attempt a different approach this time. “You can rest, I'll take care of you”.

Nikias nods as he falls asleep again. Lowe gets up from the ground, not paying any mind to Alkaios', being suffocated a little doesn't even come close to the things he endured before, but the words Nikias said did touch the servant's heart. Lowe belongs to Nikias, and his soul is forever bound to protect the second Prince, so he should be a little more confident as he and Raphael were chosen. Even if they're trapped around him forever, they shouldn't act pitiful as their survival is what matters in the end.

Before leaving the room to fetch more water, Lowe turns to Alkaios. “His highness used to wait for you on his birthday, but you never showed up”, his words are cold, and the lingering feeling of being suffocated is still there, but he shouldn't back down now. “So you shouldn't give him any more false hopes”. Every year in the middle of spring, the second Prince became a year older, and that was the only day in the year where he let his fragile mental state show. 

The boy would stay still staring at his door, waiting for people to come congratulate him. But they only came to the ballroom in the evening, no one ever visited him outside the party, and during the festivities, he would already be out of control, drinking, throwing things and cursing other nobles. A true reckless Prince, however only Lowe and Raphael knew how broken the boy was to act that way. Even if his parents showered him with gifts, the attention was so little that the boy deeply believed the tales others told him. About how he was abandoned and unloved. That was the only day in the year where Nikias cried until he fell asleep.

Not that his family is aware of such.

“I always attend his balls” Alkaios' answers coldly, he can't understand what Lowe means, however the servant isn't there as a therapist, he couldn't care less about the relationship of the brothers. He just didn't want to pity the second Prince again, as a wicked man shouldn't be worth such a feeling.

“Then, I'll take my leave”, the servant snorts, but leaves before Alkaios can suffocate him again.