Alex walked the long gravel drive toward the Rosenheim Mansion, his footsteps echoing against the iron gates that guarded the estate.


    Two military-grade androids stepped forward, their movements crisp and synchronized.


    "Sir Alex," one said. "You are advised not to enter this residence."


    Three years ago, those same machines would''ve opened fire the moment they saw him. But time-and skill-had changed everything.


    For three long years, Alex had lived like a dog under Rosenheim''s roof-tolerated, watched, and barely human in their eyes.


    But while they looked down on him, he worked in silence. Bit by bit, line by line, he slipped into their systems, rewrote their code, and bent the mansion''s sentinels to his will.


    Now, the same machines built to protect the Rosenheims could obey him with a single word.


    Yet Alex never gave the order. He let them stand there, loyal and silent- pretending nothing had changed.


    "Tell me the reason."


    The android tilted its head slightly, sensors whirring as it spoke. "Master Otto issued standing orders three years ago," it said.


    "But after your separation from Miss Katarina, those orders were expanded. Additional android units and security cameras have been installed throughout the estate."


    "Every camera is active and linked to the central station. If youmit any harmful act toward the Rosenheim family, it will be reported instantly."


    "Your citizenship could be canceled permanently. Given your current stance, my rmendation is that you refrain from hostile actions-for your own future''s sake, Master Alex."


    Alex stayed silent for a long moment. The android was right-and he knew it. In Prussia, someone like him, half-Prussian and half-outsider, never truly belonged.


    Citizenship was a privilege, not a right. One wrong move, one usation, and the government could tear it away without a second thought.


    That was why Alex had swallowed his pride and stayed silent for three long years, no matter how deep their insults cut or how far they pushed him.


    And clearly, the Rosenheims had been ready for this moment all along-waiting for the day he''de back.


    He turned away, his coat ring slightly in the wind, and lifted off into the sky.


    In Estoria, he was a king-untouchable, above thew.


    But in Prussia, he was just another name on a list. A "new citizen" under surveince.


    Watched. Judged. Controlled.


    When hended on his penthouse, he moved quickly-through the quiet halls, down a hidden corridor, into an unmarked elevator.


    The doors slid shut, and the it sank deep underground.


    At the bottom level, a heavy door opened into a cold, humming chamber. The walls glowed faintly blue. A massive machine stood in the center, alive with quiet energy.


    Alex stepped up to the console and pressed his hand to the scanner. The screen flickered to life—and three faces appeared in a grid of static and light.


    Samuel. Keaton. Logan.


    "How''s the report from Estoria?" Alex said. "Let''s start with you, Logan."


    "Your Majesty," Logan''s voice came through the screen, steady but charged with pride.


    "Three years ago, you slipped an entire vault of data through Kingswell. With Be''s IQ breaking two-fifty, she used it to build a newmunications system— something beyond the Prussian quantum links."


    "Faster. Smarter. Untouchable. Within a year, shepleted the neutrino channel. Those ghost particles can move through anything-undetectable, unstoppable. Even the Prussian scanners can''t trace them."


    He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "That breakthrough made Prussia blind to ourmunications. And with your Eden Company quietly diverting their data streams for the past two years, we''ve been siphoning Prussian technology straight into Estoria-piece by piece, byte by byte."


    "Our industries have been copying, improving, and rebuilding everything we can get our hands on," Logan continued.


    "We''re catching up fast. With Be''s mind leading the way, we''re close to breaking past Prussian tech entirely. Give us a decade, and we''ll have it spread through every citizen."


    "Good," Alex said. His voice was low, steady. "Samuel, how are things on the ground?"


    "Your Majesty,” Samuel replied, his face appearing on the next screen. “You gave us that cultivation method-you said it came from the Xia. We''ve implemented it among both soldiers and civilians. The results are astounding. Health, stamina, mental rity-all up nearly fivefold."


    Alex''s eyes narrowed. "That''s only the surface level. What I gave you wasn''t the true Xia method. It came from refugees who escaped their homnd and be immigrants on Prussia."


    "They learn that thing from childhood in their schools. What we have is just the foundation. Someday, I''ll visit the Xia''s Country myself and take the full system. Their techniques are too valuable to leave behind."


    Samuel straightened. "Sire, we owe you. Without that cultivation, Estoria wouldn''t be where it is now. I used to think we were advanced-strong even. Butpared to Xia, we were blind."


    "Keaton?" Alex prompted.


    "I''m overseeing internal security across every state," Keaton reported, his tone steady butced with exhaustion.


    "Since the rollout of new cultivation


    methods and advanced technology, crime has surged. People are abusing their enhancements


    mover


    personal gain-robberies, ck-market trades, even


    underground duels. I''ve tightened enforcement and stabilized most regions. If we can maintain this momentum, Estoria will rise to heights it''s never seen before."  s


    Alex nodded slowly. "Good work. I''ll depend on all of you. Remember this-the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Raise our country from the dust, and make it stronger than ever."


    "Yes, Your Majesty," they replied in unison, their voices firm, echoing with conviction through them line before the screen faded to ck.


    Silence filled the room-thick, electric.


    Then his 3D bracelet lit up with a soft pulse. A message from Sofina appeared in glowing text across his wrist disy:


    "Alex, where are you? Pleasee home."


    He''d promised her a year. One full year in the Wolfsbane territory. A year of stillness in a life built on chaos-a fragile peace in the eye of a storm. "Sofina..." he whispered under his breath. "Does my heart really love her...?"


    ''The heart has its reasons which reason does not know.''


    "Sir," came the calm, mechanical voice of his onboard Al, breaking through the silence. "Governor Logan is requesting a connection."


    "Patch him through," Alex said. "What is it, Logan?"


    Logan hesitated, then spoke carefully. "I''ve taken Be in as my adopted daughter. She''s more Prussian in her mindset than the Prussians themselves."


    Alex''s tone softened slightly. "And...?"


    "Well," Logan exhaled, "with your permission, told Be years ago that you were still alive. But I said you were deep undercover on the Kingswell mission in


    Prussia unable to be contacted for


    a long while. She misses you, sir. Badly."  s


    For a moment, Alex didn''t answer. The silence said enough.


    He''d spent years chasing the ghosts of his parents, trying to piece together his past. If he''d let go of that obsession... maybe he would''ve married Be by now.


    Maybe they''d have a family. A life.


    "What did you tell her?" he finally asked.


    "I told her that once Estoria rises higher than Prussia," Logan said, "then she''ll


    see you again."


    Alex gave a faint nod. "That''s... good."


    Logan gave a sharpugh. "Good? Hardly. She swore she''d make it happen within five years. And honestly-she might. That girl''s terrifying."


    ''To meet is hard, to part is harder.''


    Alex leaned back, a weary smile ghosting over his face. "Logan, If she ever finds


    a good man, someone who wants a real family-help her. Maybe she''ll forget


    about me."


    Logan smirked, shaking his head. “You still underestimate her, don''t you?"


    "She told me every man she''s met in Estoria is an idiot. Said she''ll only marry you,


    or the man behind Eden Company from Prussia-the one who speaks to her only through voicemunication. The only man she truly respects."


    He paused, eyes narrowing with amusement. "Which, of course... is also you."


    Alex didn''t respond. He kept his secrets buried deep.


    Sometimes he spoke to Be directly-using synthetic voice filters, no visuals. It was the only way to share sensitive research between Prussia and Estoria.


    The data flowed both ways: advanced Prussian designs from him, and Be''s groundbreaking innovations in return. Her mind was razor-sharp, rivaling even Prussia''s top scientists.


    Their conversations-pure, intellectual fire-had be the quiet bond neither dared name.


    He''d never nned for her to fall in love with the ghost behind the voice.


    Yet somehow, she had.


    Logan chuckled, his voice light but


    knowing. "From what I can tell, no matter where you run, Be will


    always find you. She''s even working<fnf4a4> Official source is findnovel</fnf4a4>


    regeneration


    on perfecting machine trying to make sure she


    can live at least two hundred years."  s


    Alexughed under his breath. "Let''s hope not," he said dryly. "I''m not the kind of


    man who ns to live that long."


    He wasn''t joking. Danger followed him like a shadow; longevity had never been


    part of his fate.


    Man is born to fight; happiness is the rest between battle.