_Yawn, Yawn, Yawn_Rudolf opened his eyes as he stared at the decorated and gold patterned ceiling above, with faces engraved into the ceiling that mimicked that of a dragon, an orc and the lengthy tongue of a snake—all colored in reflective gold.

  He blinked twice before breathing heavily and speaking for the first time, at least in this new cycle. _ “Am I…” _ Rudolf remembered the words of his assaint that were spoken to him just before his timely death, _ “Prince of Lithuania…?” _

  Rudolf sat up on the comfortable bed as he took in his surroundings, it was like the chambers of a prince. Could he have swapped with a person of royalty this time? Being a royal was rare, although since he had died a few times and got to transfer his consciousness to different people, he had been able to become prince and prince-consort a few times. Marrying into royalty was the most common outcome for him if he was the son of a knight or if he met Princess Medaine of Isoskeles.

  Lithuania is the ultimate omniscient being out of all the gods of Transtus, I have never been called Prince of Lithuania before, never have I heard of that title either. Then again, that person… she called me weaker than she anticipated. Perhaps…

  _ “I wasn’t the person she was meaning to get rid of?” _ Rudolf thought to himself as he processed the words all over in his head, again and again—trying to make sense of the addressed title. Lithuania was an unseen, omnipresent all knowing being, he didn’t have any kings or princes. At least according to the prophecies that is.

  Prophecies are either the key pieces of paper given by messengers of Transtus or the word of mouth that have been carried out by nobles and royalties for centuries. Never have they been false, nor have they been neglected after the Ark.

  People trust prophecies more than they trust themselves nowadays, I guess I am one of them as well. For now, I need to focus on stabilizing myself with this new scenario at hand—alongside understanding the retionships and ongoing conflicts of this new body.

  _ “I-It is real… It’s real gold?” _ Rudolf said to himself as he touched the wall trims of the chamber. The walls were painted white, perfectly mixed and dried as if the paint was just recently done. The wall trims and pilrs were all in the shade of bck and prima rose-gold.

  The bed that Rudolf had id on prior to waking was made in the base of redwood and—the structure being supported by golden innings. Everything seemed so… luxurious and comfortable as he was awestricken. No kingdom or royalty he had seen ever had such fabulous sleeping quarters, such a rich sleeping chamber at least.

  I should be around eighteen years old just like all the past times I have died and transferred. My memories become semi-obsolete, and age gets regressed to young adulthood before the cycle begins again. Three years to live before death at twenty-one is not a good thing.

  _ “Young Master…” _ A soft voice spoke behind Rudolf as he quickly turned around to see a bent over maiden who was bowing down while holding a marble pte that had a singur gss of orange liquid.

  _ “Uhm… Yes?” _ Rudolf replied, unaware of any better responses that could suit his situation.

  _ “Please allow me to help you consume your daily orange juice…” _ She said as she slowly leaned back and stood up, her legs shaken and her voice quite shy. Her solid bust was rger than the circumference of the marble pte, being appropriately covered by the white apron that hung to her curves from her neck all the way to her waist.

  _ “W-what?” _ Rudolf responded, breathing heavily while leaving a hint of blush on his face. oblivious to his growing blush and confusion, the maiden approached him, lowering her head in the face of respect and making her way to him from the framed door to the other side of the bed. Her reflection shining on the mirror pced just near the bed and towards the left of Rudolf.

  _ “Here.” _ she said before hastily grabbing Rudolf’s hand and making him hold the orange juice.

  Rudolf quickly drank up all the juice without a moment of wonder before questioning the maiden about herself. _ “So… what’s your name?” _ His throat refreshed and his body feeling properly hydrated.

  _ “I-I’m Crity…” _ She answered hesitantly before continuing, _ “I am your new caretaker, remember? Ms. Sakura retired but she still rests… in the emperor’s chamber, serving the lord” _

  So, she is a new maid, hired specifically to care for the ‘needs’ of this prince… I do not think she’s going to be in my harem though, speaking of which, I have never touched a woman have I—huh. Wait, I have not touched a woman?!

  If only Rudolf had been more open to the concept of women as a whole and not incredibly dense, he could have had his own fair share of advances along the line of his reincarnations.

  He shrugged while scratching his head before grabbing the chin of the maiden and making her look at him as she was lowering her head beforehand.

  _ “How can I be of… service to you…” _ She slowly spoke as her words were no louder than sweet whispers.

  _ “Shall we py a game…?” _ Rudolf smirked as he spoke those words, his intentions were inaudible.

  _ “What game, young master?” _

  _ “You answer my simple questions and, I… I-I” _ He fumbled with his wording before he continuing shortly after, _ “I… will grant any of your simple wishes.” _ Crity seemed confused, with a hint of something else as she nodded her head in a yes.

  _ “What kingdom is this? What nation, what part of the region and who is the king?” _ Rudolf questioned Crity while she took a step back to create a bit of distance between them before answering.

  _ “This is the empire of Ayequilterus…” _ She replied before looking downwards and continuing, _ “We are currently in the capital, situated at the very middle of the state. We do not have a king as the empire is ruled by the emperor, whose name… I-I” _ She apologized while she crified that no one knew the emperor’s name except for his loyal ministers.

  Rudolf stood there, completely frozen and almost phased out in front of her. He was sweating profusely; he had never been to Ayequilterus. It was the nd of gold and fertility, the phrase: “Divine right is of kings” matched the best with this specific empire.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck… this is some new stuff. I have heard of Ayequilterus, the kingdoms united in one by the legendary emperor whose name is known by few but actions are known to all, yet it… terrifies me to have incarnated here.

  I’ve heard of him being referred to as the man chosen by the gods themselves due to the sheer impossibility of his legacy.

  A kingdom is a singur state of area governed by the ruling monarch while an empire is many kingdoms united under a single ruler; known as an emperor or empress.

  _ “Are you… okay, young master?” _ Crity questioned Rudolf as he barely regained his composure and smiled at her.

  _ “Is that all or do you have any more questions for me? I am truly oblivious to the identity of the emperor, no one has ever really risked their lives to know his identity due to our... prosperous living conditions and no need, for rebellion.” _

  Rudolf ate her words up as he prepared his st question, _ “Who… am I?” _

  Crity smiled a bit, not knowing if it was an actual query. After a while, her smile faded as she understood that Rudolf was honestly interrogating her about his identity. “You’re young master Rudolf Tangent the first, the first prince of the empire and the heir of the throne.”

  Heir?

  Rudolf never expected such a revetion. His expectations had always been low, and this news struck him like lightning, sending waves of emotions through his body. He could barely process it as he turned to Crity, the maiden beside him.

  “W-what is your wish?” he asked, ready to grant her anything in his dazed state.

  Ayequilterus, the richest empire formed by the mythical legend… and I-I would be the heir? Technically this prince—'would’ have been but now, it’s going to be me. That’s some news.

  Crity hesitated, gripping the edges of her apron. _ “M-May I… kiss you?” _

  Rudolf wasn’t even listening. Lost in his own thoughts, he absentmindedly muttered, _ “Sure, yes, okay.” _

  Crity’s breath hitched. _ “On the cheek, of course… if it’s possible. Otherwise… my bad, it was stupid of me to even consider—” _ She rushed to crify, her voice soft and quick, barely keeping up with the pace of her racing heart.

  Pcing a hand over her mouth, she peeked at him, but he was still lost in his own world. Seeing no rejection, she closed her eyes, tiptoed, and leaned in.

  Her mind raced. Cheek or lips? Which is less bsphemous?

  Just as she was about to make her choice—

  _ “Young Master!” _

  The loud voice shattered the moment.

  An older maiden, dressed in a deeper shade of blue than Crity, rushed into the room, panting. Rudolf snapped out of his daze.

  Crity gasped and pulled back instantly, wrapping her arms around herself, her face burning red.

  Rudolf blinked in confusion. _ “Huh?” _

  _ “Madam Sakura… what’s wrong…?” _ Crity spoke, a hint of red appeared on her cheeks before disappearing due to the gravity of the actions she was about to perform before being interrupted by the higher maid.

  Ah, so she is Sakura. The old maiden who has supposedly seen the ‘Lord’, my current father or also known as… the mythical emperor.

  _ “Crity, have you informed the prince about the predicament?” _ Sakura shouted towards Crity, a feud among two maiden servants of the empire.

  _ “N-No, I have not… I meant to.” _ Crity was cut in her nervous toned expnation as Rudolf interrupted the conversation.

  _ “What is the situation?” _ Getting to know about the current situation at hand and finding a solution for it fast can make it easier for me to start anew.

  Then I can use my free time or at least the post-climactic time to make sense of the previous hassles (Prince of Lithuania).

  Sakura fixed her composure as the old maiden turned towards Rudolf and formally began the iteration, _ “Lady Agatha, the minister of spirituality and her nobility has called you for urgent matters regarding the Skalenos journey.” _

  _ “Skalenos journey?” _ Rudolf questioned, trying not to seem too oblivious.

  _ “I heard you knew about it… nevertheless, dy Agatha knows best—shall you go to visit her chambers.” _

  _ “Where is she right now?” _ Rudolf said, before changing up his perspective, _ “I meant where can I find her right now?” _

  _ “The dy is in her chambers young master, like she always has been.” _ Sakura said as Crity joined in the conversation, interrupting her and continuing, _ “It’s the ministry office, you can go there via downstairs, the right from here that leads to the grand staircase.” _

  _ “Insolence, you dare speak to the prince like he does not know his own pace?!” _ Sakura lectured her before being calmed by Rudolf.

  _ “It’s alright, I needed directions.” _ Rudolf quickly continued with a second statement, _ “My mind is pretty hazy from sleeping all night. Not like I did not but… you get the hang of it!” _

  He immediately rushed out of the room and into the hallway, taking the turn right as stated by Crity. In his rush, he completely forgot to check his attire! And his physical build.

  _ “Crity, I suppose we need to talk.” _ Sakura the higher maiden said to her in a passive-aggressive tone as Crity lowered her head.

  “Lithuania, I’m hungry!”