It would be interesting to marry someone that is allied to the heroine, therefore I can have other protection besides the fairy… The heroine has four main allies during the course of the story besides the Crown Prince, they all die at the end though. I don’t care if they die after I get married, and after the war the heroine won’t have the time to worry about me. That’s cold, to want to marry someone even knowing they’ll die, and not think about preventing it and rather how to benefit from it. 

The first is Rainier Baudry, duke of the south, he was the first to help the heroine, he was a boy from the slums that became a hero after saving the Crown Prince when they were both children, he was adopted by Duke Baudry, that never married or had children, as his heir. He’s Alkaios friend, and part of the royal knights if I’m not mistaken, he certainly is good enough, however he despises Nikias so much that he killed the fairy to hit him in one of the heroine’s previous lives. Philippe Doujan, he was the knight that was appointed to Evangelia after she became the Crown Princess, he’s probably the easiest to access since he lives close to the palace. However as son of a Viscount, he isn’t of high status enough to be a good match to Nikias.  He was described as quite loyal, which is good in a marriage, but I quite dislike the golden retriever type of man like him. 

And the last man of the four allies, is Margrave Nicholas Larchier, he was an ally that appeared at the third book, however he was essential for the win of the Empire against the ancient god, he was described as a man with no honor and a strong sense of power, a powerful magician, he became a Margrave at the age of 15 and closed himself off in order to complete his mana research. He has ties with the magician’s tower, which is quite nerve-wracking, and he won’t appear until late so I can’t pretend to fall in love at first sight like a fool.

So from the heroine’s allies, the best option is Rainier Baudry. How am I going to make him accept my proposal? The marriage would benefit him as well, but he hates my guts. Finally the second Prince stops running, his whole body is dripping sweat, but no one that sees him at this moment could say he looks disgusting, he rather looks like a model from a sports commercial. The knights that glance at him blush with the realization of the beauty the Prince is at the moment. Gross, Nikias thinks when he notices the gazes full of lust directed at him. I think I'd rather someone that hates me than someone that wants me like that. He walks towards the knights bathroom to wash his face and get rid of a bit of the sweat. When he enters he finds only one other knight there, who only glances at the Prince with seemable disinterest. Thankfully this society is advanced enough with magic to have a plumbing system. The man thinks, distracted enough.

‘’I thought you gave up playing royalty’’, the knight comments with disdain after a couple minutes. Nikias scoffs. 

‘’And I thought that royal knights were smart enough to not be insolent towards their employers’’, his eyes are full of disdain and anger directed at the young knight. By the dull appearance of the man he seems to be a commoner, black hair and green eyes are common in the Exos Empire, and his clothes are full of holes and patches, almost as if he’s stitching the holes that keep opening again.

The knight doesn’t back off. ‘’Do you known what the people think of you?’’ Not really, Nikias thinks but awaits for the knight to continue. ‘’They see you as a disgrace, compared to Prince Alkaios, you’re the trash of the Empire’’. Nikias laughs, however his laugh isn’t of amusement but disbelief. ‘’You should just die soon’’. The knight attempts to leave the bathroom but Nikias stops him.

His eyes are glowing with the challenge, his lips are up in a smirk. He looks completely mad. ‘’Who do you think you are? I never asked for your advice, I allowed you to talk because it was amusing to see someone speak complete bullshit’’. His grip on the knight's arm tightens, his other hand grabs the sword on the man’s hip. ‘’I couldn’t care less about a bunch of rats like you’’, he raises the heavy sword towards the man’s throat. ‘’However, don't think you can insult a royal and live to see another day’’. His tone is confident, making the knight falter, the commotion at the bathroom door catches the attention of the other knights.

‘’What’s happening here?’’ The bravest of the bunch asks. Nikias doesn’t divert his gaze.

‘’Let this be a warning, to all of you insolent rats’’, the tip of the sword cuts the knight’s throat slightly enough to bleed. ‘’I am Nikias Gregor Chrysl, second Prince of the Exos Empire, and however decides to act with insolence towards me…’’ With a clean cut, the man cuts the knight’s throat, gushing sounds are heard in the silence of the training ground as every single knight there seems to have grown quiet. ‘’Will not live to see another sunrise’’, he completes his phrase, cleaning the blood that splattered onto his face.

Shock, confusion, fear. The emotions that cross the knights face is rather obvious, they can’t attack the Prince back as they will be accused of treason, however they also can’t avoid but want to fight back. 

It might even seem like the second Prince suddenly went crazy, a man that never touched a sword to suddenly kill a trained knight with one. Even if the man didn’t fight the Prince off, holding a sword and doing such a clean cut isn’t as simple as he made it look like. In his life as Vahe, this isn’t the first time he killed someone, survival of the fittest, that was how living on the streets was like. It was kill or be killed, traumatizing to a child, of course, but to Vahe, that was never a struggle, he didn’t like killing, but he understood the necessity of doing so. That’s why he enjoyed ‘Odd Eyes’ so much, Evangelia did what she had to for the good of the majority. However Vahe did what was best for himself only. He isn’t unable to feel empathy or pity, but he learned that sometimes, people don’t deserve mercy.

As a Prince of the Empire, he can’t show weakness, he needs to show that he isn’t the poor old Nikias anymore, that he won’t be walked all over again. Vahe isn’t a pushover, and he won’t start being one now.

I hate the smell of blood. He thinks, before taking the path back to the Palace, leaving the mess for the other knights to deal with. I need a shower and a good cup of tea. I wonder if Raphael and Lowe finished their assignments. A sigh leaves his lips, his hands start shaking, just because he is used to killing, doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a toll. Maybe I should take the war route instead of the marriage one. Nah, I don’t intend to die in a meaningless war for a people I don’t even know. In the death of night, Nikias walks calmly, covered in blood, trembling, but his steps are just as confident as ever.