“I... had no knowledge of this.” Izuku leaned up in his bed, coughing hoarsely as he looked at Emperor Katsuki, who sat beside his bed.

“My daughter’s leaving for Seraphis Kingdom?”

The emperor’s fingers were clasped together at his waist, drumming together in what looked like contemplation. He drew in a breath through his nose and began to speak.

“Hazel and I have both feared the worst scenario. We assume the conspiracy against you has people like Felonious and Kael behind it, or at least within it. So, I’ve sent Hazel to the kingdom to find and pick up Felonious for questioning—he’ll either arrive conscious or unconscious, depending on how cooperative he is.”

Hearing this news, Emperor Izuku’s eyes widened. “Why would Kael try to kill me? I’ve known him since I was a boy! He taught us how to fight with swords, he helped us dress for those elegant evening parties; I can’t imagine five hundred years going to waste like that!”

Emperor Katsuki looked down at the carpet beneath his feet. It was a rusty brown color with ornate green and orange patterns. The two patterns were intricate and interlaced, like a series of snakes conjoining and flaunting their iridescent scales.

“I’ll be working a lot harder these next few weeks, so I don’t know if I’ll be seeing you much until then. But if anything—anything happens to you, I don’t care how sick you are, you'd better come running to my feet from that damn bed.”

“But... you told me to rest, didn’t you?”

“I know, I know.” Emperor Katsuki clenched his fists at his sides, the dent-mapped metallic plates lining his knuckles creaking out loud.

He stood up, approached the window of the medical room, and looked through the round window. Outside, the clouds had dissipated and blown away, revealing the multi-colored sky and the bright, burning sun that began to rise over the Pliniege Sea.

“I instructed Demetrius to become my new head advisor for the time being until I know Kael’s not a threat anymore. But even if Kael is proven to be innocent in this matter, I’ll determine whether I should keep him or permanently enlist Demetrius.”

“As for his friend Felonious, if he does admit to his crimes, his tail will be displayed above my fireplace as my mother would have done. But if he, too, is innocent, I’ll let him run while my mood is still in spirit.

Emperor Katsuki gazed to the horizon, watching as the sun continued to rise, the fiery gas giant gradually showing more and more of its blazing autonomy over the darkness and shadows of every crevice of the kingdom.

“I’ll be taking more risks, doing more as my mother would have intended me to. It’s not that I haven’t been a good leader until now, but the better the streets are, the better I can sleep at night.”

Izuku chuckled, leaning back in bed. “Something happened last night?” He asked teasingly.

“I simply discussed the current matters with Demetrius and sent him off to bed. After that, I gazed down at my people and saw a group of kids playing in the street. Their mother emerged, thinking that their game had stirred me from my slumber, when in reality, I wanted to watch them all night.

“Sometimes I don’t want to be an emperor, sometimes I want to go back to our hometown, be kids again, and play with our wooden swords and help in the village until the sun sets... but... this is the price I learned long ago. A good leader takes risks for others—for their people—for their friends.”

Emperor Katsuki turned to Izuku, cracking a small smile. “I hold you very close to my heart.”

Izuku’s lips twitched upwards. “Now, you should go and seize the day while I still have the energy to speak.”

Katsuki nodded, heading towards the door. Before he left, he paused and looked back at his bedridden friend.

“I’ll have a servant or two drop off your breakfast. And if the nurse stops by again, it’s for a routine inspection. If she gives you that serum—”

Izuku raised a hand as Katsuki’s words jumbled out, chuckling breathlessly. “You worry too much about me. Our people need us, and you must carry that responsibility I cannot feign while I’m sick like this. Now, leave and make the people cheer... it’ll do us all better.”

At that moment, Katsuki heard huffing and puffing from the hallway. He caught sight of Demetrius scurrying down the hallway on all fours. Unlike his routine, haggard appearance, he was dressed in more formal attire.

“Your majesty, the people have already gathered outside for today’s serum distribution. Should I let them in?”

Katsuki fell silent for a short moment before placing a hand on the vulpur’s shoulder. “I have other matters to attend to this morning. So, as my head advisor and current closest ally, I shall entrust you with the serum distribution this morning.”

“Really?” Demetrius’s tail wagged behind his back.

Katsuki nodded. “Indeed.”

He gave the vulpur a pat on the back before sending him off. “Only a few drops per item; we don’t want an accident. I'll have to clean up again!”

...

“Stop pampering me like it’s my first expedition,” Hazel sighed as she brushed off Emperor Katsuki’s grip on her.

“I know you’re my uncle and all, but you’ve seen my father send me off to all sorts of places.”

Hazel—clad in more adventurous attire, a pair of high boots, a collared jacket, and a white laced shirt—hauled a large leather bag over her shoulder and approached her closet. When she opened it, Katsuki could see various items inside. He approached the closet, marveling at its contents.

Though his attention quickly gravitated to the current matter. He had been previously fixated on an eccentric and hazardously looking sword, but he cleared his throat and pointed to the door leading to the hallway.

“Your escorts to the harbor will be here momentarily.”

Hazel scoffed, rolling her eyes as she took an item or two and stuffed them into the bag. The bag contained what seemed to be an infinite, inky darkness, and every item she dropped fell into infinity.

“I don’t need escorts; my father never sends them for me.”

She looked back at Emperor Katsuki, smirking. “You act like I’m not a damn demi-god.”

At that moment, Emperor Katsuki remembered the gap between the two of them. Emperor Katsuki was an Order 6, while Hazel had transcended to Order 4.

“You’re still the Caesar's only daughter; you’re royalty here. Maybe I am a little rash to assume you can’t hold your own, but, at the same time, I care about you, your father, and everyone in this kingdom.”

“The only person I gotta worry about is my former lover, Kael.”

“Your... former lover?” Emperor Katsuki gulped.

Hazel nodded. “It may seem out of the blue for me, yes, but if every lead we’ve acquired points to Kael being a traitor, I can’t have myself be affiliated with such filth. Even if he is innocent... I feel... like I’ve never truly loved him.”

“Never truly loved him?” Emperor Katsuki asked.

“I was at a dinner party once,” Hazel began, zipping up her leather bag.

“It was a celebration of my father's birthday. You were talking with some people you knew, and my father was discussing current events in the empire, leaving me alone.”

Small sparks of orange energy burst from Katsuki’s palm, which had begun to tremble slightly.

“Did he do something to you?”

“No! If he had assaulted or raped me in a secluded spot, I could have used my abilities to either castrate him or throw him right to my father's feet! Now, if you’d let me continue...”

“I apologize,” Emperor Katsuki’s face flushed a little.

Hazel sighed and continued to speak. “Kael had a group of people he knew, one of them a man, the other a woman—Crylla—who we know in the castle. One of his friends approached me. He sat down across from me at the table and spoke.

“He said that Kael had always had a passionate love for the encounters one has in bed. He loved the feelings of lips on another pair of lips and the feeling of bare skin against his own. And, this pig of a man said to me... the only value I had to Kael was what was held between my legs.

“I think about that encounter often whenever I stand before Kael or when we do make love. He has given me gifts, taken me on small boat rides along the shore of the island, and done everything a good lover should, but... his compliments seem stale—almost objectifying and brash, as if I’m more of a pleasure doll than a competent young woman.”

Hazel made her way to the door. “’I’ve thought about that for a long, long time, and I feel with everything we’ve gathered, it’s the right decision—for the kingdom, and for you and me.”

“So it is done.” Emperor Katsuki moved to close Hazel’s closet, but stopped a millimeter short before opening it again.

He pointed to the sword in the corner, smirking. “Can I keep this? It looks nice, and it complements my armor.”

“Alright, fine. It was a gift from my father, though, so speak to him before you go around using it in your little training battles.”

Hazel moved down the hallway, walking past the two armored guards who were on their way to her chambers. They looked back at her, momentarily stunned.

One of them opened their mouths. “We were sent to—”

“I can handle myself, but I thank you for your chivalry.” Hazel waved her hand almost dismissively, sending both of them on their way.