Chapter 33: An Unexpected Guest

"Ha! Your Grandpa is a real jerk huh?" "War" said after overhearing their conversation.

Hearing his situation be simplified in such a way, "Light" couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, I suppose he is."

"Listen, sounds like your grandpa wants to lump you guys in with us. If that's the case you might as well work with us. Don't you think?" "War" asked.

"It's not ideal but I suppose you have a point." "Light" said deep in contemplation. "What do you think brother?"

"I don't care either way I'll just go wherever you go brother." "Darkness" replied while yawning.

"Great insight as always brother." "Light" said sarcastically, "I suppose you have a deal "War". It's not like we have much of a choice anyway."

"We might not become friends, but if you guys fight for me I'll fight for you." "War" said as he shook hands with the two of them.

"Oh, one more thing, you guys are the grandsons of the Minister of the Left right? Are you guys related to that freaky lady who runs Research and Development?" "War" asked.

The two exchanged glances before "Light" said, "She's actually our mother."

"Oh sorry about that. Wait a minute aren't you guys like 30? How old is she?" "War" asked.

"I can't really say for certain, but she's at least over 100 years old. That's how long she's been running her experiments at least. I know her ability allows her to maintain her youth, an ability she developed to be able to continue her research. Other than that I honestly don't know much about her." "Light" said.

"Man I'm even less interested in participating in her research now that I now she's some old witch. My interest was already at a zero too." "War" thought to himself.

"She may have given birth to us but she has never been a mother to us. Apparently we are the two highest performers among here experiments, but still she designated us as failures and turned us over to our grandfather. Now it seems that he doesn't have a use for either." "Light" said sorrowfully.

"Eh, don't worry about it buddy, now that you're with me I'll make sure you guys get stronger than ever. You'll show those guys that they shouldn't have underestimated you." "War" said confidently slapping the two on the back.

"Lord "War", you have a guest that's requesting an audience." Toudou said as he entered the room.

"A guest? That's unexpected. If it was one of my superior officers they wouldn't be requesting an audience, and if was one of my teammates they'd just come talk to me. I have no clue who it could be. This could be interesting." "War" thought. "Send them in, and get some tea ready, did they give their name?"

"Yes sir, it was the third princess of Sora, Victoria Thureos." Toudou replied.

"Oh that's an interesting curveball. What the heck could she want? Who even is she?" "War" said.

Princess Victoria was already sitting in one of the conference rooms when "War" walked in. He was accompanied by a few servants who set a tea pot on the table, Toudou and Denjimi were there as well as they go anywhere "War" goes.

"So princess, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?" "War" asked while pouring her a cup of tea.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my father King Victarion sends his regar-"Princess Victoria said before she was interrupted by "War".

"I'm sure you didn't come all this way just to exchange pleasantries, so can we just skip to the part where you tell me what you want." "War" said.

"I'm sure that you're familiar with Kara Nakajima?" Victoria said unfazed by "War's" blunt rudeness.

"Yes I am." "War" said seemingly already bored of the princess.

"Her name used to be Kara Thureos, she is the crown princess of Sora and my eldest sister. She was married to Chihiro Nakajima, who was the crown prince of the neighboring planet Shin. This marriage secured an alliance between our kingdoms." She explained.

"OK." "War" said. "When is she going to get to the point?" He thought.

"As you know Chihiro was also the captain of the 7 Elements, making him the de facto leader of Vercheg. Therefore, the alliance between our nations extended to Vercheg as well." She continued.

"Wait does that make me the leader of Vercheg then? I think I need to pay attention more because that's news to me." "War" thought.

"Chihiro and my sister had a son, and through him the alliance between Sora and Shin will remain intact. However, with Chihiro's death, the alliance with Vercheg is now void. Therefore, a new marriage pact must be forged between our nations." She said.

"Uh oh, I'm starting to see where this is going." "War" thought.

"My eldest sister is a widow and I believe it would be in poor taste to force her to remarry. Especially with the man who killed her husband. The second princess is currently married as well, therefore as eldest remaining daughter it is my duty to marry the captain of the 7 Elements and reinstate the alliance between Sora and Vercheg." The Princess announced while standing up.

"Crap! How do these things keep happening to me? I'm getting sick of this." "War" thought, "Thanks but I'm going to have to pass. The reason is because I don't wanna." He said.

"I wonder if you think that I want to marry the man who killed my sister's husband?" She asked sharply discomforting "War" a bit. "This is not a matter of want. It's a matter of duty and honor, if you are a man of chivalry you would fulfill your duty to your people."

The words duty, honor, and chivalry struck "War's" heart like an arrow. "Alright I'll admit that those things are usually right up my alley, but this is different. I'd prefer to not marry someone who probably hates my guts." He said.

"And I'd prefer not to marry someone who I probably hate, but again this is about an alliance between nations not feelings." Princess Victoria said.

Her argument was rock solid and she wasn't budging, as "War" was struggling to come up with a way out Toudou whispered something in his ear.

"Oh! Right! I'm sorry my lady but I'm afraid as an Imperial officer I can't enter into any marriage pacts without the permission of either High Command or the Emperor's approval." "War" said seemingly proud of coming up with an excuse.

In response the princess pulled out a sheet of paper that was a marriage pact approval form signed by High Command. "Now I'll take the room furthest away from him, I'd prefer not to interact with you more than is necessary for our arrangement." She said.

Looking at the paper flabbergasted, "War" could only say, "Toudou, Denjimi, show her to her room I guess." He said scratching his head.

"So what do you think "Wind"? Is there any way for me to get out of this thing?" "War" asked after he filled "Wind" in on the situation.

"Well if it's already been approved by high command, there's nothing that you can do." "Wind" replied.

"Come on you can't be serious this sucks. I thought you were supposed to be a genius bro. I really thought you could figure a way out." "War" said exasperated.

"Now now. I said there's nothing you can do, but there is one person you can overturn decisions made by High Command. Right?" "Wind" said.

"The Emperor! You are a genius! Wait there's no way the Emperor would be interested in something as minor as who I marry." "War" said.

"You'd be surprised. The Emperor actually sets up a lot of political marriages for Imperial officers. Apparently he thinks matchmaking is a fun way to pass the time. Plus he has taken interest in you in the past, there's a good chance that he would cancel your engagement if you asked. Although you would have to live with whoever he set for you to marry." "Wind explained.

"The biggest problem with this plan is getting an audience with the Emperor." "Wind" continued. "Your best bet would be an Exemplary Service Ceremony. On rare occasions, those who achieve extraordinary accomplishments are invited to an Exemplary Service Ceremony. Among those invited, the ones with the top achievements are granted a brief audience with the Emperor himself." He continued.

"Sounds like a real long shot, but whatever I'll just have to avoid the wedding until I can talk to the Emperor. Exemplary Service Ceremony! Here we come!" "War" said getting fired up for a relatively mundane goal. Meanwhile back in Imperial High Command.

"So brother your next plan involves marrying "War" off to some woman? I can't say I understand how this is supposed to be effective." The Minister of the Right said skeptically.

"You'll understand when he has his throat slit while he sleeps." The Minister of The Left said with an evil cackling.