The night has considerably darkened. Stars above the blanket of darkness stretch out in all directions, and the moon’s ray shimmered on the surface of Alexander’s skin as he stared at the horizon through the window of his car. The soft glow of a street lamp outside illuminated the snowy road as they drove along.

As Alexander was enjoying the scenery from inside the car, Rolan, who was driving the car, turned to his boss.

“We’re almost there.” He stated as he pulled onto the main entrance of Peterhof Palace.

“Woah….” a soft gasp escaped from Anastasia’s mouth as she peered through the windshield of the car.

Alexander couldn’t help but smile at her adoring face as she looked around. The lights of the palace were still visible behind a layer of ice fog.

“Peferhof Palace!” Anastasia cutely exclaimed as she pointed at the sight before them. Alexander let out a chuckle as he gently stroked his little sister’s silver hair, then turned his attention back to the palace.

“It’s not Peferhof Palace…It’s Peterhof,” Alexander corrected, caressing his little sister’s hair once more.

Anastasia frowned, then began to pout as she continued to look through the windows of the car. Alexander chuckled softly at this behavior of his younger sister.

“Why was it called Peterhof Palace?” Ana asked curiously. She leaned forward slightly to look more closely.

Alexander gave an apologetic chuckle. “To be honest, I don’t know. But one thing I’m certain of is that the Peterhof Palace was built to rival the Palace of Versailles. A palace in Francois.”

“Verchaile?” Ana repeated.

“It’s Versailles, not Verchaile,” Alexander corrected her pronunciation again.

Rolan parked the cars close to one of the gates, where two guards were waiting for them. As soon as the door opened, both of the guards immediately rushed out, taking their places by the car’s side. They nodded as if to thank Rolan before opening the passenger side doors and helping Anastasia and Alexander out. Once they were fully out of the vehicle, the two guards performed a salute.

Alexander nodded at the guards and took Ana by the hand as he made his way toward the palace. It was quite cold outside as the chilly winds blew against his face. He shivered slightly as he hugged himself tightly with his arms. He felt Ana wrap her tiny arm around him as he kept her close to his side.-.

They walked up the steps towards the entrance and entered the palace. Immediately after entering through the door, the warm, yet comfortable air washed over them in the form of a warm blanket of light. It felt like they had just stepped into a cozy home.

Alexander pulls off his overcoat and hat as a servant comes forward to bring it somewhere to hang and dry. The same is done with Anastasia’s furs. Her recovering body needed more warmth from the cold.

“Why are we here dear brother?” Ana asked, tugging his sleeves gently. Alexander smiled at her.

“Because we’re going to meet someone important,” Alexander said.

“Who?” Ana curiously inquired.

Alexander let out a sigh as Ana was looking at him expectantly. “It’s a very important person from another country. You’ll see soon enough.”

“Okay,” Ana said, nodding understandingly.

After a short journey through the palace, they arrived at a huge gilded double door. The door was intricately painted with gold embellishments in intricate patterns, exuding a luxurious aura. It reminded Alexander of a Winter Palace. Does every palace owned by the crown look like this?

Alexander knocked on the door three times. It wasn’t long until the door opened to reveal a man with dark brown curly hair and dark green eyes. He appeared to be wearing a simple yet elegant butler suit. He smiled politely when he saw Alexander, bowing slightly.“Who are you?” Alexander asked politely.

“I am the personal butler of Her Royal Highness Diana Rosemary Edinburgh, Lancelot. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty,”

“Royal Highness…Diana?” Anastasia repeated as she glanced at Alexander, “Who’s that?”

“She’s a princess from Britannia Empire Ana,” Alexander revealed, glancing back at his younger sister.

“Princess of Britannia Empire…woah~!” Anastasia exclaimed, her eyes shining brightly as if she was seeing stars. This caused Alexander to laugh as he watched his younger sister stare at the butler excitedly. He noticed the butler staring at the young girl, who seemed to be extremely excited.

“Her Royal Highness is waiting for you…”

“Alex~!!” A familiar voice rang from inside the room, causing Lancelot to cut his words as Alexander and Ana’s gaze flickered to the source.

Before he could identify the source from the distance, Alexander was suddenly caught by a tight embrace.

“Alex~! Way…yer allive leyt?” the lady stammered.

“Wait…Sophie?” Alexander leaned his head back to try and look at the woman in front of him.

“Ay em~!”

This was definitely Sophie. But her face is flushed red and she seems to be drunk. Alexander blinked a few times before chuckling as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Sophie returned the hug eagerly before pulling away.

“Yer finally gettin’ here Alex!” Sophie exclaimed, slapping Alexander playfully on the chest.

Alexander couldn’t believe what he was seeing right now. Sophie, his fiance, was heavily drunk! This doesn’t feel right at all. He had this impression of her being an innocent lady with a sweet personality, well, though, sometimes she can be naughty. But her drinking? It surprised him.

But considering her relationship with her father, the King of Bavaria, and his new body being a rebellious drinking brat. Such problems might drive one to be drinking behind closed doors. A habit worsens by royal privileges of having large wine cellars and ownership of royal breweries and distilleries.

Or it might be Sophie’s first time having a glass.

Alexander wandered his eyes around the room, scanning it, and saw a bed occupied by a petite lady who was hugging a pillow with her face half-buried in its soft fabric. He could see her peeking, staring at him.

But before he could take a closer look, a pair of soft and warm hands grasped his face and moved it so that he would be staring directly at Sophie.

“Way…yer…naut…loaking at…mee?” Sophie stuttered out, her words becoming incoherent due to alcohol intake.

Alexander rolled his eyes. The alcohol has made Sophie rather brazen. He’ll have to put her in the bed before things get too far and make sure she gets some rest.

He removed Sophie’s hands from his face before picking her up bridal style. She giggled quietly and wrapped her arms around his neck while burying her head in his chest. Alexander could hear a sniffling sound as Sophie nuzzled her nose deeper into his chest.

“Alex~!…yer…smell…so good!!” Sophie slurred happily.

Lancelot and Anastasia were watching both of them dumbfoundedly. This is getting awkward.

“Well, it seems like I’ll have to take care of her first…Ana, stay here,” Alexander said before turning towards the doorway and asking one of the Imperial Guards who knows the palace the location of the king’s bedroom.

On the way back after tucking Sophie in, Alexander made plans in his head to deal with alcoholism problems in Ruthenia.

After five minutes, Alexander returned back to where he met Lancelot.“Sorry about that…let’s get going,” he announced, grabbing Anastasia’s arm and dragging her across the room.

Just as they walked deeper into the room, a lady wearing a face mask stood in front of them.

“Alexander…I’ve been waiting for you.”

Alexander looked down on a short lady in front of him. There’s no mistaking it, she’s the Princess of Britannia Empire, Diana Rosemary Edinburgh.

Alexander smirked as he remembered the times when they met each other.

“You haven’t changed at all, Diana, your appearance was the same as the last time I saw you…still a shorty,”

Diana scowled, “Huh?! What did you call me?! Just so you know my height is 164 centimeters. To think that you’d call me short is kind of…rude don’t you think? You still have that same attitude of yours despite ten years have passed,”

Diana’s lips twitched in annoyance and irritation while she glared at Alexander. She can’t believe that the reunion between them would start with banter.

“Why is her face covered…brother?” Ana asked.

Diana’s gaze flickered at Anastasia and the moment she saw her cute face, Diana’s eyes softened and relaxed instantly.

Anastasia felt a sudden childish urge to hug her.

But

“No hugging,” Alexander placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from her tracks.

“Why?” Ana looked up to Alexander once more.

“Because Princess Diana here has a disease similar to yours, months ago,” Alexander said.

This catches Diana’s attention as she realizes that Anastasia is very lively for someone who recovered from years of being bedridden from tuberculosis.

A miracle.

“So, she’s the one you treated with your cure…Alexander?” Diana’s attention returned back to Alexander.

“So, you’ve done your research?” Alexander said.

“For an average man to invent a revolutionary cure…of course,” Diana narrows her eyes at Alexander, looking for the scoundrel hiding behind his façade of a man of science.

” I, as the princess of Britannia Empire,…have done my research….on you.”

“There is a possibility after all that you’ve stolen it from the real inventor, by means I do not know, just to improve your image…..A prince who has no knowledge in medicine somehow magically created a groundbreaking cure…..Doesn’t that sound highly improbable?”

Alexander scoffed, that’s a rude assumption to assume. Well, thinking it properly, Alexander was stupid in academics before he took over. So there’s really a chance that people would grow suspicious of Alexander’s sudden insight into scientific knowledge and technologies decades ahead.

“Well, in that case, I’ll have to defend against a smear upon my honor as a prince by proving to you that I am not a fraud. But first, let’s get into details. I’ve cleared my schedule just so I can meet you since you’re an important guest after all. You can see that my sister is alive and well, this proves enough that my medicine works.”

“If…It is even yours-“, Diana chokes suddenly and coughs.

Her mask picks up blots of red from her bloodied sputum ejected up her airways.

Her butler, Lancelot, appeared by her side to comfort and provide care.

Alexander, seeing that Diana is in need of some privacy, held Ana’s shoulder to take her out of the room.

Diana looks at the retreating form of Alexander as she clears her lungs painfully even with the aid of warm towels on her back.

She will find out the secrets behind the sudden change in Alexander.