When the ss reunion finally ended, Renata walked straight up to Alex and Sofina.
"So," she said lightly, "how are we getting back?"
“By car, of course," Sofina replied, confused. "Why?"
Renata grinned. "Come on. Your husband has a V?XEN Seraphine and a V?XEN sixth generation. You''ll obviously follow him home. So why not let me use the
V?XEN Seraphine?"
Sofina nced at Alex.
"No. The Seraphine is out of the question,” Alex said firmly. “She can use the sixth generation, but the Seraphine is a hard no.”
Renata let out a resigned sigh. "Fine. The sixth generation, then.”
Alex shrugged,pletely at ease. "You''re Sofina''s best friend. If she''s okay with it, so am I."
"Then it''s settled," Sofina said.
Renata rushed forward, grabbed Sofina''s face, and kissed her on the lips. What started as a quick peck turned into a deep, lingering kiss.
Alex could only scratch his head.
Back in Estoria, this would have been unthinkable. Here, among Prussians, it was normal-friends kissing, male or female, without shame or meaning beyond affection.
He wasn''t used to their culture, but he wasn''t about to make it awkward.
A momentter, Renata headed for the V?XEN sixth generation and drove off to pick someone up.
"Who''s that?" Alex asked casually, just to have something to talk about as they drove home.
Sofina exhaled softly. "Matthias von Sturmfels. Our university senior. He and Renata were lovers. But her father despises him.”
"Why?" Alex asked.
"The usual," Sofina said. "Renata is a duke''s daughter. Matthias is only the second son of a count. But Renata truly loves him. He''s kind. And loyal."
"Loyal?" Alex echoed.
"It means he swore he would never sleep with another woman except her," Sofina said. "People call it outdated. I call it romantic."
Alex nodded. In Prussia, marriage ced no limits on desire. People slept with whomever they wanted, even after marriage, and multiple spouses were normal. Loyalty, as Sofina defined it, felt foreign-conservative, rigid, and outdated.
"Part of the reason Renata came here," Sofina continued, "was to be closer to him. I really hope they''re doing well. She''s already given him so much."
"Given him what?" Alex asked.
"Basically everything," Sofina said quietly. "Including her savings. All of it. She poured everything she had into helping him open an automotive workshop. I heard it''s struggling, but he''s working hard—and Renata is supporting him with everything she has. They''re still trying to get approval from Duke Winter."
They finally reached the house. The moment they stepped out of the car, they ran straight into Sofina''s parents.
Felicia screamed the instant she saw the vehicle. "Sofina! Where did this V?XENe from?!"
Albert Bauer-Sofina Scheinwald''s stepfather-froze, then his eyes lit up like a child''s. He circled the car once, awe written all over his face.
"Wow. A V?XEN," he said slowly, savoring the word. "Sofina, is this your new car? You''ve be quite the big spender."
Sofina reacted immediately. "Mom. Step Dad. I didn''t buy it. It''s Alex''s."
"Alex?" Albert frowned and turned sharply toward Alex. "Where did you get the
money for this car? You used Sofina''s money, didn''t you?"
Alex raised both hands, irritated. "I work at Eden Group, remember? I''m not unemployed like you."
Albert snorted in contempt. He grabbed Felicia by the arm and dragged her around the car, inspecting every line and curve. His tone turned ugly.
"You live under our roof. We pay for your food. And now you buy a V?XEN without even knowing how to tter us?” Felicia sneered. “You ungrateful bastard."
Sofina stepped between them. "Mom, don''t talk like that. It''s just a second-hand, first-generation V?XEN. The cheapest model."
Albertughed, but jealousy bled through every word. "Huh. He buys a V?XEN and thinks he deserves it? There are much cheaper cars for someone like him to show off with."
Felicia crossed her arms. "Listen carefully. I don''t even own a car yet. At my age, I deserve to enjoy life more. If I wait any longer, it''ll be toote."
Then she leaned forward, her tone turning openly demanding. "Why don''t we do this? Give the car to me as a gift. I''ll use it. You married my daughter, but you''ve never given me anything."
The truth was simple.
Felicia was furious.
She had carried the king''s seed-but only as a carrier. It was a legal term used for people like her.
In Prussia, a carrier-also called oneayda-was a woman who bore the noble''s child without ever bing their wife or concubine.
They were bound by oath to lifelong
silence, forced to keep everything
secret for the kingdom, their
existence stripped down to
something functional and
vel
degrading often described as nothing more than temporarily carrying a noble''s sperm.
They received only minimal payment, and once the child was born, They were quietly discarded and erased from political and social relevance and support.
The child, however, was officially acknowledged and financially supported by the
state.
In essence, oneayda meant being used, paid, and forgotten, a legal mechanism designed to protect noble bloodlines while ensuring the woman who bore them gained no power, no status, no recognition, and no money after the process was done.
They were simply thrown away, contacted only if their silence or advice was ever needed again. And the payment for that service-Felicia had nearly cried when she received it. She had never known a man as stingy as the king.
Yes, the king paid her while she was pregnant with Sofina. After Sofina was born, the royal government took over, covering the child''s living expenses directly.
The money went to Sofina―not Felicia—until Sofina was old enough to choose her own path, just like the other daughters born of royal blood.
Some of those children chased their own dreams and erased their fathers from their lives. Others followed the pathsid out for them, stepping into nobility and walking in their real father''s footsteps.
People like Felicia were already long forgotten.
In the end, she was nobody.
Sofina pressed her lips together and looked at Alex. "Alex... what do you think?"
Alex had more money than most people could imagine. He was, quite literally, the richest man in Prussia.
One car or a thousand made no difference to him. Still, the V?XEN Seraphine was far too much for Felicia.
"Hm," he said gently, turning to Felicia. "Mother-inw, this is a first-generation. V?XEN. It''s the cheapest modelpletely outdated. People even call it the worst, most obsolete version of the series. I''m worried they mightugh at you if they see you driving it."
Felicia''s face darkened. "Why?" she snapped. "You don''t want to give it to us, do
you?"
Alex waved his hands quickly. "No,
no—of course not. That''s not what I
met
mean. I just can''t let my mother-inw drive something so low-end. How about this? Let Sofina keep this car, and I''ll buy you a second-generation VOXEN instead. It''s a full ss above the first generation. Much better for your status. Doesn''t that sound right?"
Felicia frowned again, this time with interest. "You still have money to buy a second- generation model?"
"Yes," Alex replied calmly. "I only paid very cheap for this one. I still have funds left. Don''t worry. I''ll go to the showroom tomorrow morning."
Wide, glowing smiles spread across the inws'' faces the moment Alex said he would buy them a better car tomorrow.
What Albert Bauer didn''t realize was that he had just missed his chance at the V?XEN Seraphine.
Later that night, after they returned to their room, Sofina couldn''t hide her unease.
"Alex I''m sorry about my mother. Do you really still have enough money to buy another car? I have some savings. Take it tomorrow."
Alex waved his hands at once. “No. I don''t need your money. I still have enough.
And I''m not buying a brand-new one just a second-hand V?XEN, second generation."
Sofina looked down, guilt heavy in her voice. "I''m really sorry. I didn''t know my mom would act like that..."
Alex smiled calmly. "What are you saying? Your parents are my parents too. We''re family. I''m happy to give them gifts once in a while."
Sofina Scheinwald looked up at him and smiled warmly. "Thank you, Alex."
Then her eyes fell to the ring on her finger. Her expression shifted. "And this ring," she said softly. “It''s too expensive. I can''t ept it.”
"Sofina,” Alex said gently, "that ring is a family heirloom. My family told me that when I take a wife, she must wear it. I didn''t buy it. Please. Just keep it.”
Sofina stared at him, deep and searching. "Sometimes," she whispered, "I wonder...
do you really love me?"
Alex blinked. “Why would you think that?"
Her face turned red. "Because everything feels too perfect. Like it''s not real. Like I''m
just standing inside a miracle that doesn''t belong to me."
Alex pulled her close. "If it didn''t belong to you, it wouldn''t feel this fragile."
She trembled. "I''m afraid it will disappear."
He replied gently, "Then we''ll learn how to hold it longer."
"Alex," Sofina whispered as their lips met. Heat surged between them, fierce and sudden, like a miracle pulling two souls toward heaven and beyond.
In that moment, Alex and Sofina werepletely lost—man and woman searching
for meaning, for closeness, for life itself, bound together by desire and quiet wonder.
From the corner of the room, Eve was watching.
Far away in Estoria, Eve''s mother-Be-stood alone, motionless, staring at the projection Eve had cast into the air. On the screen, two bodiesy naked on a bed, exposed, unguarded,pletely unaware they were being seen.
Be didn''t look away.
She didn''t blink.
Her voice was calm. t. Final.
"War," she said. "I want war with Prussia."