3 Prologue 3

After the audience with the Emperor, Mago and Enki both went to the Supreme Commander's mansion.

The mansion was located close to the Imperial Palace within the Noble Quarter of the capital. It took them only slightly over ten minutes to arrive.

The mansion itself was big yet relatively simple, with a slightly eastern design. Unlike most of the other noble mansions or the palace which were made with white marble or some other stone, this one was made out of high-quality Crimson wood, making it stand out among the other mansions and giving it an elegant feel.

While the mansion was elegant yet simple, were its grounds enormous. The mansion grounds were almost as big as the Imperial palace's, with several huge training fields where men were constantly training. It also had a small but beautiful garden.

Even before Enki and Mago had set foot inside, two girls at the age of seventeen and fifteen came rushing out, jumping upon them.

"You are finally back, big brother.", squealed Violettina Barca with tears in her eyes. She had seen her brother the last time, five years ago. She had been ten back then and cried for her brother every night for the first few months.

Meanwhile, Enki was being bombarded with questions by Elise von Imvidra, his twin sister. Like Mago and Violettina, Enki and Elise hadn't seen each other in five years and were happy to see each other again.

Elise had heard about Enki being summoned by the Emperor and had been worried about him ever since. Elise had only ever briefly seen the face of his father on the day she had moved out to the Supreme Commander's mansion with Enki and didn't know much about him but she knew that if the Emperor wanted to see Enki, it couldn't be for anything good.

"So what did the Emperor want from you guys?", asked Elise, finally letting go of her brother.

Upon the mention of the Emperor, both of Enki's and Mago's faces darkened. Noticing this, Violettina and Elise glanced at each other, worry etched on their faces.

"He wanted to reward us.", said Enki, trying to be as evasive as possible.

"Oh, doesn't that sound nice. What kind of reward did you get?", asked Violettina, filled with curiosity.

"Mago was given the rank of Captain and enlisted in the army Primigenia. In a few weeks, he will go on the southern campaign with them.", replied Enki.

"Oh. Congratulations brother. I didn't know you would leave so soon.", said Violettina with a dejected look.

"Don't worry, I'll spend the next few weeks with you so we have time to catch up and do something together.", said Mago while ruffling his sister's hair.

"What about you? What did the Emperor want?", asked Elise from Enki with a piercing glare.

"He... he uh... he made me the crown prince.", stammered Enki.

"HE DID WHAT!", exclaimed Elise and Violettina at the same time.

"Let's continue this discussion inside.", said Mago while glancing around them. The outburst from the girls and earned them some curious glances.

"Yeah, come on in.", said Elise absent-mindedly, still reeling from shock.

"Why thank you very much for inviting me inside my OWN HOUSE.", replied Mago sarcastically earning a glare from both Elise and Violettina and a small chuckle from Enki.

"Don't be mean to sister-in-law!" said Violettina while glaring at Mago.

"The what-in-law now?" exclaimed both Enki and Mago at the same time.

"Didn't you know? The Emperor wishes the son of the Supreme Commander to marry one of the Imperial Princesses. He has talked about this with dad and dad told him that if you are to marry a princess, it would be best to have it be someone you are already familiar with." told Violettina.

'That damned old man making decisions regarding my future behind my back. This also explains why the Emperor showed such favor towards me today.' thought Mago with a frown.

Misinterpreting the frown, Elise grew worried. She and Mago and gotten along well since they were children, and she had been sure that the young boy had fancied her while growing up.

'Maybe he found a sweetheart in the Academy.' thought Elise.

"Why, are you unsatisfied with me?", she asked from Mago while feeling dejected inside.

"Huh? What of course not. I would have married you anyway, even without the meddling of the two geezers.", replied Mago, still lost in thought. After finally realizing what he had blurted out, Mago went beet-red and glanced at Elise while blushing.

"Who would have married you anyway.", muttered Elise bashfully while feeling relieved.

Enki looked at the two idiots with a slight smile on his face. He had noticed the way his friend had looked upon his sisters while growing up, and how he had shown no interest in the girls within the Academy.

"Come on, you lovebirds let's get inside.", teased Violettina the two, making both of them blush further.

After Mago and Enki had gotten settled in, they met up with Violettina and Elise in the mansion's dining room.

Like the rest of the mansion, the dining room was simple yet cozy, with a few paintings hanging on the walls and a table in the middle of it.

"So the old man really made you the crown prince?", asked Elise while stuffing her face with the lunch that had just arrived from the kitchen.

"Yeah, and it looks like I need to move back to the Imperial Palace when Mago leaves for his campaign. Apparently, it isn't appropriate to have an Imperial prince living outside of the palace when not on official duties. This is to be considered a small vacation since I just got back from the Academy.", replied Enki while rolling his eyes. The Emperor had no qualms about him living outside the Palace when he had no use for Enki.

"Luckily, you can still stay here if you want to. And by the looks of it, it seems like you are quite welcome here.", continued Enki while meaningfully looking between Mago and Elise, making them once again blush.

"That's good to hear. I didn't want to go back there anyway, so it is a relief that I have now officially permission to stay here.", replied Elise while clearing her throat.

"Speaking of the Palace, guess who has frequently been visiting our dear little Vio?", asked Elise.

"Who?", asked Mago with a frown. He had a bad feeling about this.

"The second prince, Darren. He visits at least once a week, wishing to see Vio. It seems he has taken quite a liking to her.", replied Elise while giving Mago a meaningful glance and causing Mago's frown to deepen.

Darren was known among the nobles as the most ruthless prince. When he had been nine years old, he had beaten one of his maids half dead because she had accidentally spilled some tea on his lap. The maid was found a few days later, mysteriously dead within the servants' quarters. He was also known as a womanizer that frequented the capital's brothels often. After his visits, most of the workers that had tended to him seemed to mysteriously disappear. It didn't take a genius to know what was going on there.

'Dude is a merciless beast doing anything to satisfy his cravings and needs.' thought Mago to himself.

He wasn't surprised that someone might fancy his younger sister. She was a beautiful young woman with her slender figure, jet black hair, and slightly tinted emerald green that gave her a feline-like grace. But he was sure that the second prince didn't choose his sister just because of her good looks. He certainly had some other agenda.

"Inform me the minute he attempts to visit in the upcoming weeks.", ordered Mago, one of the servants in the dining room.

"Darren isn't the only friend I have made. Lots of the young noblemen have visited.", said Violettina innocently, completely clueless about what the young men were after.

"Besides, I'm not the only one they visit. Sister Elise has almost as many visitors as I do.", she continued.

At this point, Mago had started to sweat profusely. He had to barricade the mansion and prevent all young men from the Empire from entering. Otherwise, never mind his sister, but someone could woo his future fiancé.

Enki was watching his friend's anxious expression with an amused smile from across the table.

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Within the mansion of Count Treton, Bismark was leisurely sitting upon the couch. He had just woken from his nap. He felt so blissful while thinking of the upcoming months where he didn't have to lift a finger. Ah, life was truly wonderful.

While Bismark was lost in his fantasies of lazing around, a servant knocked on his door and asked permission to enter.

"Enter.", answered Bismark.

"Young master, there seems to be an Imperial edict for you. It just arrived from the palace.", said the servant while handing a scroll to Bismark. Bismark took the scroll with a confused look. He did not know why the palace would want anything to do with him. He had graduated with the lowest grades in his class, making sure that the Imperial Council and other officials would completely disregard him.

'Could they have heard something from the geezer that previously taught me?' Bismark thought while opening up the scroll.

Bismark was already at the rank of a High Mage, close to reaching the rank of Archmage. That kind of talent was almost unheard of and if spread it would make him highly sought after, especially when combined with the fact that he had a unique affinity.

Mages were divided into six ranks: Apprentice, Mage, High Mage, Archmage, Sage, and finally was the legendary Saint rank which very few people had reached in the history of the Empire.

While reading the edict, Bismark's face contorted the further he read.

"THAT GOD DAMN SON OF A BITCH!", Bismark raged while throwing the edict against the wall.

He had been called upon to join the southern campaign. He would be assigned to the fifth brigade of Primigenia. Apparently, the Captain of his brigade had personally recommended him. The Captain's name was Mago Barca.

A similar scene was taking place in the mansion of Earl Vason, in the room of Ragan Vason.