Chapter Twenty-Four: A Meaningful Discussion

It had been a week since Ren had woken up from being poisoned. He finally started being able to walk around on his own and felt like he had some of his energy back, although he couldn't overdo it as at times he would get lightheaded.

However, he always had someone to help him. Since Lucilia wouldn't leave him alone, she stayed by his side through all of it, and whenever he needed something, she was there to help him. Ivy was around pretty often as well, but she was working on paperwork for the trip to the planet Titania that was happening soon, so she was occupied for the most part, but she didn't miss out on the occasional teasing of Ren and Lucilia.

The maids of the house also started to warm up to Ren even more since he never treated them like servants and more like equals. Even the ones who weren't a big fan of him being there started to become a little warmer to his presence in the house.

*Inside of Lucilia's office*

"So? Is it almost ready?" Lucilia asked a woman on a hologram.

"Soon, just needs some more tuning, and it should be ready for field tests, princess." the woman said.

"Good, hopefully he'll like this gift..." Lucilia said with a smile.

"If I may ask, princess, why are you going through all of this trouble for someone who's supposed to be a prisoner, and why give him such a grand gift?" the woman asked.

"Because I needed to do something to apologize to him, he nearly died on my watch, but there is also another reason." Lucilia said.

"And what would that be?" the woman asked.

"Because I think he needs to go back to where he shines the brightest..." Lucilia said with a sparkle in her eye.

"I'm going to pretend like I know what you mean by that and just say sure, princess." the woman said with a laugh.

"See, this is why I like talking to you; you don't treat me like someone who shouldn't be crossed." Lucilia said.

"That's because I've known you for years, Lucilia; I know how you are." the woman said.

"And you stick by me anyway, Mae." Lucilia said.

"For better or for worse." Mae replied.

"Now, I think Ren should be waking up soon. I'll talk to you soon!" Lucilia said.

"I'll tell you when your gift is ready; it should be completely ready for the trip to Titania." Mae said.

"Good, I hope he loves it!" Lucilia said.

*Ren's Room*

Ren barely managed to open his eyes to the sunlight peeking in. He had worn himself out the previous day helping out the maids with some of their chores. Ren didn't like the feeling of being a burden on Lucilia and the servants, so he wanted to help out where he could, even if it was just small chores like doing the dishes and dusting here and there.

It turns out he bit off more than his body could chew the previous day, and he slept for nearly half a day.

Ren sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes as he yawned.

"Good morning, Ren~" a woman said on the side of the bed.

"Ivy? What are you doing here, and why are you wearing lingerie?" Ren asked, looking at Ivy's seductive body. The undergarment she was wearing reminded him of lingerie he would see on Earth; it looked very similar to black lace with red; however, it was also see-through around her stomach and even most of her chest, as Ren could make out the exact shape of her chest and even see her hardened nipples showing through it.

"What? Am I not allowed to watch my future son sleep?" Ivy asked with a seductive smile.

"...damn succubus." Ren thought to himself but wouldn't dare say it out loud.

In the week Ren has been resting, Ivy has teased him relentlessly; sometimes it was something as simple as just saying something here or there, but other times, like now, she would wear something that could get a rise out of anyone. He took a deep breath to calm down.

"Well, now that it's just us two, I have a question." Ren said to Ivy, who looked even more curious.

"And what would that be?" Ivy asked.

"I would ask Lucilia, but she would just blow it off now that it's over, but please tell me the full truth: why did Cilan really want me dead?" Ren asked.

Ivy's face turned serious as she took a breath and got ready to explain.

"Tell me, Ren, what is it your people believed happened on that first day our two species met?" Ivy asked Ren.

"We were taught that when we sent an exploration ship into the Alpha Centauri system, your people destroyed it and afterwards invaded us, which started this war." Ren explained.

"I see, no wonder both of our perspectives on that day are different." Ivy said.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"Well, from what we were told, you sent a warship into our territory unprovoked, and when we sent diplomatic ships to try and negotiate with your people, you engaged us, causing us to shoot the ship down, and it crashed on one of the outer planet's moons. This ignited the war that Cilan's younger brother Silas would die in. So he has always been supportive of our people taking over your planet, and when you moved in here, his anger overtook him." Ivy explained.

This shocked Ren; however, he had to think logically here "So basically, both of our people have their own histories of what happened on that day, and because of that, it caused the war that Cilan lost his brother in..."

"It appears so; both of our people are acting as if they were the victims. Only the Emperor and two of our generals know what truly happened" Ivy replied.

"Historical revisionism at it's finest..." Ren said as he sighed.

"What's that?" Ivy asked.

"There's a quote on my planet: 'History is Written by the Victors.' History is always written by those who win history is filled with lies and exaggerations. Considering how our two people have never met before or even seen each other for the most part, selling the lie is easy for both of our people." Ren explained.

"I won't say you're wrong that our history isn't filled with exaggerations and minute details missing or changed, but you said you have never seen our people?" Ivy asked.

"No one is living besides me." Ren said, but then added on "Although that could very well be a lie in itself."

"We were told you captured our people and tortured them for information; as a result, we've done the same to previous people from your planet we captured." Ivy said.

"We may have captured your people; I won't deny the possibility, but it by far isn't public knowledge. Even as a solider, we were never told what you look like." Ren said.

"So it's political propaganda..." Ivy said "Both of our governments tell their people what they want them to hear."

"Pretty much..." Ren said sighing.

"It really seems our people may not be so different in the end." Ivy commentated.

"I've only been here for a few weeks, but from what I can tell, we really aren't that different. There are both good people like you and Lucilia and bad in both of our people, like Cilan; there is no denying that." Ren said.

Ivy respected what he said; he told the truth about the situation, which not many would do. However, she had a very important question for Ren that she needed to ask. Even if it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear, she needed to hear it from him before her daughter did.

"So I have a question for you, Ren, and it's mainly the reason why I was sitting here." Ivy said.

"Ask away." Ren replied.

"You have spent a lot of time with us now, but if you have the opportunity to return to your people, would you take it?" Ivy asked.

"Yes." Ren replied without question.

This answer wasn't surprising to Ivy, but it did cause her to feel angry at Ren; he didn't even hesitate to say he would leave.

"So you would break my daughter's heart then?" Ivy said with her anger showing.

"Not because I want to Ivy, but I have people who I consider family too. My friends are people who I love as well. I can't just forget about them." Ren explained.

Ivy agreed with what he said; there wasn't any doubt he would have friends and family where he was from as well. It made sense why he would want to go back to his home, but then she heard what he said in her head again, and her eyes popped with a realization.

"Did you just admit you love my daughter?" Ivy asked, noticing what he said in that comment.

"What?" Ren asked as his eyes opened up with realization.

"You said 'people I love as well.' So does that mean you love my daughter?" Ivy asked with a smile forming on her lips.

"I...why do you do this to me..." Ren said giving into her probing.

"I didn't do anything; you did it to yourself." Ivy said with a laugh.

Ren sighed, but he had to think about what he just let slip. "Do I love Lucilia? I mean, she has been nothing but caring to me since I got here; she's without question beautiful; she wants to stay with me nonstop; I'm obviously attracted to her; and I like being around her as much as she likes to be around me...oh shit"

Ivy knew he came to a big realization "It seems you figured out a few things. I'll be on my way now, but I'll leave you with this." Ivy moved closer to Ren and gave him a light kiss on his cheek. "If you marry Lucilia, you'd be royalty, meaning you can have multiple wives."

Lucilia waved as she left the room, leaving with his thoughts as she was shocked at what she just did.

"What the fuck just happened?"

However, almost immediately, the door to his room opened once again, and it was Lucilia who jumped on top of Ren and hugged him tightly, but then she noticed something.

Her eyes turned dark, and her grip on Ren got tighter.

"Ren...who's lipstick is this on your cheek?" Lucilia asked with a very dangerous smile.

Ren put his hand to his cheek and realized "Oh shit..."

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