Alexander was just stunned upon hearing the last part of her speech. It took him a few seconds to recover from her words. No honestly, he doesn’t know how he is supposed to react in this situation. Should he be happy? Surprise? None come to mind, leaving him completely speechless.

He only stared at her for a few seconds, processing what she just said. Trying her hardest to become his suitable wife means that she accepted the proposal.

He now understood what she was conveying, making him smile.

“I’m honored,” Alexander placed his hand on his chest. “I shall also do my best to become a suitable husband to you. Together, we will become the new father and mother of the Ruthenia Empire.”

Sophie smiled at that. “Thank you.”

Then the mood became silent once more as both of them doesn’t know how things should move on next.

It went awkward that they only stared at one another for a few minutes, probably reminiscing about the decisions they made.

Alexander was the first one to break through the silence as an idea struck his mind.

“Your childhood story is pretty much similar to mine. I also have things that I want to pursue.”

“What is it?”

“Though people already labeled me like being a…” Alexander felt a lump in his throat as he is going to share a fragment of his embarrassing past. “Playboy for example…”

Saying that Alexander winced in anticipation. Surely, Sophie would react to that. But to his surprise, Sophie inquired about something unexpected.

“What’s a playboy?”-.

Alexander blinked twice. She doesn’t know what a playboy means? How could she…oh, probably because of her sheltered life as an aristocrat. In that was the case, then there’s no way for her to know the trends outside her bubble. He has never been this lucky before. It’s a good thing that she doesn’t understand what it means and it’s best to keep it that way to preserve his reputation and dignity as an imperial prince.

“It’s okay, it doesn’t matter anyway,” Alexander averted and continued. “Well, the thing is you shared your childhood story with me. With that, I was able to understand and know a lot about you. I think it’s only appropriate that I share mine.”

“During my childhood days, I love to fool around, not following my father’s orders, not listening to my royal tutor’s lessons, and is always breaking the rules. I found it endearing that both of us share a lot of commonalities. But in terms of passion, that’s where our similarities diverged. You love drawing and painting while I love building things. You may not know about this but I’m an excellent engineer,”

“Engineer?” Sophie repeated, “Isn’t that a profession?”

“Yes, I found myself fond of it when I learned about it in books. Especially the ones that are among us yet found ourselves unable to understand the inner workings of it. Such as how electricity produces light, how the cars move, how an aircraft flies, how tall buildings were built, and a lot more. I envision myself to create wonderful things that will transform the world as we know it today,” He paused and stared at the moon shining brightly in the night sky. “Something like sending a man to the moon, it’s a dream that I wish to fulfill before I die.”

In the past, that dream was fulfilled thanks to his space program. He just thought it would sound cool to Sophie if she were to hear that. But the expectation is damned.

“Sending a man to the moon? Is that even possible?” Sophie cocked her to the side, quizzically.

“Of course,” Alexander answered confidently. “In the past, we humans didn’t believe that men can fly in the sky. But after centuries, we finally created a machine that allows us to fly. It may seem impossible now but in the coming decades, it’ll be possible.”Though the idea came out of nowhere, Alexander is confident that he’ll be able to create a rocket that will allow him to send a man to the moon. It’s possible, he’ll just have to develop new technologies first using pre-world war 2 technology. He already has a plan for what he will introduce and work his way up.

Once he’s back to Ruthenia, he’ll begin working on his plan along with his newly-elect government.

“I am looking forward to seeing it,” Sophie said, smiling upon hearing about his ambitious goal.

“So, shall we return back to the palace? I am certain that they are looking for us, especially my sister,” Alexander chuckled.

“I agree,” Sophie nodded. “let’s go ahead then,” she turned and walked away, only to stop after a few steps as she noticed Alexander was walking by her side, like how a couple would do. She didn’t mind it at all, thinking that it was only normal that they return to the palace together after the proposal.

They walked back to the palace in silence, both of them were deep in thought about what happened tonight. When Sophie finally agreed of marrying Alexander, they only need to announce it to her father, the King of Bavaria.

As they neared the palace, Alexander was met with familiar figures standing by the palace’s entrance. It was Rolan and Ana.

“Brother…where did you go? I was looking for…” she trailed off as she saw a girl by her side. It was the same woman whom her brother danced with.

Yet before she could ask about her identity, Alexander greeted her. “Hello Ana, you’ve been waiting for me right? How about I fulfill my promise to you?”

Instead of being happy from his brother realized her wish, Ana, pressed his brother by asking questions.

“Who is she?” Ana asked while looking at Sophie.

Alexander gulped a mouthful of saliva before answering her question. “Her name is Sophie, princess of Bavaria, and the future Queen of Ruthenia Empire,”

Upon introduction, Sophie kneel down to Ana’s level and smiled warmly. “Hello, Ana, I don’t believe we’ve met but I’m pleased to meet you.”action

Ana blinked twice then she looked at her brother’s face to confirm his words.

“Future queen…don’t tell me…you’re getting a married brother!”

Alexander nodded. “Though the agreement was made minutes ago, she will be my future wife. Now we are on our way to the King of Bavaria to announce it. But first, I’ll have to uphold my promise to you. So why don’t we head inside and dance?” Alexander said as he offered his hand.

Ana only stared at him, her arm crossed to her chest. She still couldn’t accept the idea of his brother getting married to a woman he just met. Just thinking about it made her dizzy. They went to Austrea because the new king’s crown ceremony not to…Wait, Ana realized something…So is this what his brother refers to as “Important matters?”

Ana shook her head. “I’m not in a mood to dance tonight, brother. It’s been a long day, and I’m tired.”

Alexander’s brows creased at her unexpected response. “Why?”

“Because you lied to me brother. You didn’t tell me that the important matter you’re talking to is her,” she said, pointing at Sophie. “Who is she anyway? Princess of Bavaria? Did you just casually ask her to become your Queen?”

Bombarding Alexander with questions, Alexander let out a breath. So is this the reason why she’s mad huh?

“Sorry, I didn’t explain it to you clearly. I’m sorry for not telling you everything. I’ll tell it right now. Princess Sophie is the woman our father arranged for me to marry. Both parties agreed and she happened to attend the crown ceremony of King Licht. So I went here to look for her and asked if she’s willing to go through our marriage.” Alexander glanced at Sophie after explaining the events to Ana. “Isn’t that right Sophie?”

Sophie nodded in affirmation. “Yes, your brother indeed has asked me if I can become his Queen and I accepted. I apologize if this hurt you in some way, Your Highness,”

“So that was it huh?” Ana uttered, convinced by their explanation. “Fine…I’m sorry if I acted rashly brother….” she began twiddling her fingers, her cheeks flushed. “I’ll take back my words…please dance with me.”“Is everything settled now?” Alexander chuckled softly upon seeing his little sister’s bashful face.

“Well…It’s not like you have a choice right brother? it’s the duty of the imperial prince after all. Mother taught me about the roles and responsibilities of the royal family. Being a princess I am also expecting that I will be wed to the prince of another country.”

Alexander and Sophie scowled. They were just talking about being forced into marriage earlier. To see that Ana is already open to the idea of the royal marriage is something that saddened both of them. Being part of the royal family has left you no choice but to fulfill your duty.

Now that she also mentioned their mother, Alexander remembered the ongoing investigation of their death. There was no progress and he was getting impatient. Once he returns back to Ruthenia, he’ll address this issue right away.

Alexander grabbed Ana’s arm affectionately. “Let’s go inside.”

Before entering the palace, Alexander glanced over his shoulder. “Sophie, I’ll be going first. Please do inform your father about your decision. I’ll catch up once I finish my dance with my sister.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll see you later.”

Alexander entered the palace and joined the rest of the crowds. He entered in the middle of the dance hall with Ana by his side. They danced and managed to attract the eyes of the crowds. Then after that, he left Ana once again in Rolan’s care and hurriedly head to a room where Sophie is located.

Wiping off the sweat on his forehead and straightening his suit. Alexander knocked on the door and entered.

Inside, Louis, Sophie, and the King of Bavaria were present. The atmosphere inside was amicable compared to the last one.

“Thank you for waiting, I had to care of something,” he said as he strode all the way to his chair and sat. He glanced at the members of the royal family of Bavaria before speaking.

“It’s okay, Your Imperial Highness. We were done discussing your marriage after all.”

“Is that so?” Alexander fixed his tie and looked at the king amiably. “So, since the matters have been discussed I now only asked for a blessing. But before we proceed, I would like to ask Sophie once again, if she’s willing to be my wife.” Alexander’s gaze flickered to Sophie, whose hand was held adoringly by her sister, Louise. “Sophie?”

Sophie placed her hand on Louise’s, enveloping it. “I accept the marriage, Sir Alexander.

Alexander smiled in satisfaction.

“Very well, I shall give my blessings to you two.” the King of Bavaria chimed in. “Your Imperial Highness, I’ll leave her to your care,”

“Don’t worry sir, I’ll take care of her,” Alexander assured.

“So, we were discussing developing your relationship with one another,” Louise joined the conversation. “I know this is political marriage but you two must create an everlasting bond that will mutually benefit one another’s relationship.”

Alexander nodded his head, liking the idea. “Of course, I’m aware of such, so what do you have in mind?”

“My sister will live with you in the Ruthenia. Which means, she’ll be going with you when you return to your country,”

“Okay, that’s fine by me. We’ll leave in a week. Sophie, please spend your time with your family before we depart,”

Sophie gazes down somberly. The idea of leaving her family in a week and spending the rest of her life in a foreign country whose culture, language, and customs are different from Deutschland, is heartbreaking.

Seeing that, Alexander waved his hand. “Don’t worry Sophie, you can still see them of course and they can visit you in Ruthenia. I apologize if I made it sound like you’re parting ways with each other.”

“See, His Imperial Highness told us that we can visit you there. So don’t be sad now okay?” Louise comforted her sister.

“Y-yes,” Sophie uttered weakly.

Concluding the meeting, Alexander successfully fulfilled one of his roles. To find a Queen.

There are only two remaining. Produce an heir and gain territory. Fulfilling all the three would make him the best emperor of the Ruthenia Empire.

He would see about that.