Faced with Raphael's stubborn and proud declaration, Aegon stayed silent as his eyes shone in the dimly lit surroundings. Then, he lowered his head as he also crushed the cigarette behind him on the wall.

"Clinging to reality, huh. That's a nice perspective too," Aegon admitted and said. "So, you're going to struggle till your death?"

"Pretty much," Raphael shrugged.

Aegon nodded, as he didn't ask anything further about that. He was curious about what had actually happened with Raphael, but clearly Raphael wouldn't speak about it. If he did, it would be lies, which Aegon didn't want.

"You wanted me to join you?" Aegon asked, thinking of something.

"I still do. Besides my hate, I do acknowledge your power and position, which can help me a lot," Raphael nodded calmly and said. "But all this while, I've already seen your intentions."

"What might those be?" Aegon asked, curious about what the prince thought of him.

"You don't like politics. Not hard to guess, considering your origins too," Raphael answered with a smile.

"Pretty much." Aegon nodded, not even surprised. "You don't want the throne, do you?"

"What made you think that?" Raphael laughed gently and said. "I'm obsessed with that throne. I'll take it no matter what."

"You admitted it pretty easily. Don't you think this is a declaration of war against the Crown Prince?" Aegon asked, amusement filling his eyes.

"It's a statement from someone insignificant," Raphael shrugged and said. "And you don't look like a snitch."

Aegon stared at him for a second before taking a step forward and said, "As I've ruined your opportunity, I'll give you some advice. Take it from someone insignificant."

Raphael scoffed at his words but still listened carefully.

"You're walking while thinking only of the destination. It doesn't matter to you how you reach there, since reaching it is all that matters," Aegon smiled and said. "Perhaps you didn't reach your destination for the same reason. The journey is just as important as the destination."

"I disagree," Raphael instantly shook his head in denial. "The world cares about results only. As long as I win, what does it matter how I won?"

"You're right about the world," Aegon nodded in agreement and said. "But are we really talking about the world?"

Raphael's eyes shot up, looking at Aegon in amazement before he burst out laughing. "I can't believe it. By Apollo, you're so detestable."

"Mutual feelings," Aegon shrugged and turned to leave. "Just remember that you can't guess his thoughts, but it's easy to guess that he observes everything. Make him believe you deserve that position if you're really going for that throne."

Silence consumed the passage as his words fell on Raphael's ears, only to be broken by his heels clicking against the floor as Aegon marched off toward his room.

Raphael glanced at his back before shouting, "Can I take this as you supporting my claim to the throne?"

Aegon didn't even stop, as he simply flipped a middle finger and replied, "In your dreams, fucker."

"Hahahah!" Raphael continued laughing even after Aegon disappeared in the distance. He couldn't help it, as he laughed more and more until tears started brimming in his eyes.

He wiped them with his sleeves and grinned. "How interesting. Now I want you even more, Aegon."

…

Aegon strolled back toward his room while whistling happily. Finally, he felt like he had really won and didn't have that heavy feeling anymore.

[I don't understand what truly occurred, but it seems like you're finally happy, Boss.]

"Yup! I needed that peace of mind."

[The conversation was that important?]

"Kind of. It did teach me another important thing," Aegon nodded.

[May I ask what that is?]

"That I need to stay the fuck away from politics and aristocratic circles in general," Aegon said, before coming to a sudden stop. "I mean, that's completely impossible given my position and what I'm planning to do, but I'll probably do that as a different persona."

[Different persona?]

"Yup! Since Xiu already created a mysterious owner for my company, I might as well use it," he smiled and said. "I don't want to get too much entangled in their shit, but I still need to be there."

[Contradictory feelings, huh.]

"Yeah. It's wants versus needs," Aegon groaned slightly and said. "That's why I'll just pretend to be some mysterious lord who rarely meets people and all."

[Can't you just let Chief handle this?]

"I can, but I don't want to," Aegon nodded and said. "She needs to have a life that doesn't revolve around me, you know."

[I'm sure she'll be happy to assist you, Boss. It's a life she likes.]

"I know. But I just hope she enjoys more things," Aegon said, stretching his hand before him. "She used to be so free, but to raise me, she restricted her freedom so much. I just want to give her that freedom again."

[…]

"In any case, it's something to deal with later," Aegon said, resuming his walk. "For now, I'm just happy to be born in the Augustus family. At least I don't have a life like his."

Hecte stayed silent once again, but he didn't mind it. She was usually a woman of few words with others. Only with him did she talk this much, but even then she preferred to stay silent on topics she had only half knowledge about.

Soon, he reached his room and opened the door, only to be greeted by something soft and creamy smashing against his face. He could have avoided it easily, but he simply let it be.

Standing there silently, he heard laughter around him and smiled. Taking the cake off his face, he asked, "Whose idea was this?"

"It doesn't matter, little brother," Xavier laughed, swinging his arm around Aegon's neck. "You see, we're going on stage before the whole world, but your face is too ugly. It lowers my standards, so this way they can't even see your face."

Aegon quickly used a few Rank 1 spells to clean and dry his face before turning toward Cali. "I'll make a celebration dinner for us, but remember to kick your little brother out first."

"Consider it done," Cali instantly agreed, even going as far as giving a thumbs up.

"Hey! Take revenge on me, not my poor stomach."

"Then stop wasting food on useless stuff. And if there's any toad in this group, it's your ugly ass."

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