A family

After years of time passing, Adam changed, although not much thanks to anti-aging nanotechnology.

A thick beard now adorned his face, the look in his eyes subtly changing from the young, ambitious, and rapid gaze into one of calm, but steady determination, the ambition never decreasing but only growing in its ferocity.

Now that he was a father, Adam ensured his son was a humble, good man, which Adam barely had to worry about.

Adam even briefly considered that his son could be like him, a reincarnation, but after years of careful observation, he was deemed a perfectly normal child.

Still, Adam kept a tight watch on his son, ensuring he wouldn't become a copy of Lucs, Adams long dead brother whom he personally executed.

Adam's son, meanwhile, was completely and utterly unaware of the agents who stalked his every move, and he walked through the corridors of the palace with a slight jump at every step, excited about something.

He raced down the corridors, greeting the many maids with utmost respect and gratitude.

He could still remember a few months ago when, in a fit of childish anger, he insulted one of the maids for forcing him to go back inside the palace after his time outside was up, and hit her.

He shivered merely imagining the burning rage that was hidden behind his father's eyes, and the dread he felt when his father walked up to him, absolutely dwarfing him.

After that, he had no sweets, had to make his own bed and clean up after himself for a week straight, but all those punishments palled in comparison to the emotional damage of learning that he hit one of his mother's best friends, earning her ire along with his fathers.

When your parents are angry, that's scary, when they are just disappointed in you, that- That hurts.

That was the first time the young prince felt the consequences of his actions, and from that day on, he treated the maids and all servants with great respect, not only out of fear of retribution but respect.

He only had to clean up after himself, and it was excruciating work for himself, so for them who cleaned up after him and everyone else in the whole palace, he now had a lot more appreciation.

Anyway, after greeting the maids and butlers, he finally got to his father's office, where he worked on important documents for the Empire.

Now, logically speaking, one cannot enter this room unless it's of critical importance, which, after careful consideration, Alexander decided that his new drawing was of critical importance.

A three-year-old is still a three-year-old, and the desire to impress his father was very strong, hence he decided to take a risk he wasn't even aware he was taking.

Knocking three times on the big wooden door and awaiting permission to enter, Alexander held the surprisingly pretty drawing in his hands.

It was a very realistic drawing of him, his father, and his mother all standing next to each other with a smile on their face.

He didn't make it alone, some maids and his mother helped him a lot, but he was still overflowing with pride at his masterpiece.

Hearing his father yell out "Come in!" He pushed the door open with all his strength and saw his father looking at him surprised.

"Alex? What are you doing here?"

Alex hid his painting behind his back, its edges peeking out, and he responded to his dad's inquiry. "I made a surprise for you with my mom and some of the maids!"

Adam took a quick peek at the pile of documents on the side of the table, and after doing a rough calculation decided he had enough spare time to entertain his son for a while, besides, turning him away here would hurt him, making them more distant, which Adam doesn't want.

"Sure, what is it?" Adam said, intentionally keeping quiet about the painting his son was painfully obviously hiding away.

"This!" Alexander put the painting in front of him, beaming with pride.

Adam looked genuinely impressed and understood what Alexander meant when he said that he got help from his wife, who took up painting as a hobby recently.

After looking at the painting for a few minutes, he clapped and congratulated his son for his amazing work.

"That looks amazing Alex! You might have a talent for this." Alexander's expression immediately went ecstatic, beaming with joy.

"Thank you!! I really tried my best for you." Alexander's joy seeped through his voice, a grin adorning his face.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that." Adam smiled a little seeing his son so happy.

Oh! Also, when are you going to be finished? Mom looked a bit lonely." Alexanders' tone shifted a bit, becoming more concerned.

Adam looked surprised, and looked at his documents, after a few seconds he answered, "I'll be with you two in an hour."

Alexander nodded, happy again, and picked up the painting "Okay! See you later Dad!"

"Wait! Leave the painting here, I will put it up on that wall if you don't mind." Adam pointed at the wall on the opposite side of the room, which had a large tv screen on it now.

"Not at all! here you go."

Alexander promptly left the room and returned to his mother, telling her everything that happened in a hyperactive state, which made Seena very happy.

While the mother-son duo celebrated together, Serena endeared after hearing that her son asked such a thing for her out of his own free will, Adam continued diligently working on his paperwork, wanting to rush it and be done with it.

Which he knew he can't do, so he didn't do it.

After finishing work, Adam walked to his room where Serena and Alexander also slept, leaving the poor Emperor a bit blue balled as he couldn't do that kind of thing while his own child was in the room.

Subtly shaking his head to dismiss such thoughts, he entered and was met with a pillow to his face, his wife and son attacking him.

"Oho? You dare think you can defeat me?" Adam said as he grabbed the pillow, ominously approaching the duo.

"W-" Serena tried to say something, but was silenced by a pillow thrown straight at her head, knocking her down on the soft bed below.

Alexander ran up to defy his father, a brave charge that was doomed to fail.

As he hit his father with the pillow, Adam grabbed it, threw it on the bed, and spoke in his super serious tone. "You two have committed treason of the highest order! You shall be punished by tickling for ten minutes each!"

As Adam declared his verdict, he threw his son, in a very careful way, on the bed just as Serena managed to stand up again.

"W-Wait dear, you aren't actually going to...?"

"Tickle you for ten minutes each? You bet I will, And I will enjoy it." An evil grin grew on his face as he spoke, making the duo shiver.

The next ten minutes were filled with the laughter of the prince and Empress, both begin Adam to stop between laughs, which were ignored by Adam.

What an evil man Adam is.

The next day, the family went to the park for free, thanks to Adam beating the haunted house's highest difficulty, which prompted Serena to pout before Adam and Alexander worked together to improve her mood by being the silly guys they are.

They walked all around, enjoying the attractions but not going into the haunted house for Serena-related reasons.

So what if she was almost traumatized? Pfff, women.

...Anyways! Serena Adam and Alexander enjoyed themselves to the fullest, which they were very happy about since later that day, they received the news that Adam was needed on the front to lead the troops into battle against the Imperium.

The next day, Adam left, and as Alexander watched his father leave to fight for them, he only had one thought in his mind.

'I want to be like that.'

Historians would define this as an important moment in Alexanders childhood.