526 A Not-So-Modest Proposal
The Cube, Avalon Island.
“Finally, a moment of peace,” Aron said as he lay on the roof of the enormous edifice. As utilitarian as it was—from the outside, at least—it was still his home and the place he was the most comfortable. No amount of busyness or rushing caused by the day-to-day operation of the Terran Empire would ever disturb his peace there; it would all just fade away and become background noise in the background to his ears whenever he was present in the real world.
Even now, as he lay gazing into the sky on the rooftop, the work of the empire was endless. Helicopters, space vessels, and other vehicles continued landing and taking off around him as if he wasn’t there. Maintenance robots, haulers, and other assorted purpose-built robots streamed around him like ants around a stick, carrying cargo to and fro. His small section was ignored by them, as Nova had cordoned off the area he was resting at.
“Yeah, some alone time is nice, every once in a while... outside the bedroom, I mean,” Rina coyly responded from her place next to him, her head pillowed on his arm and her arm draped across his chest.
Although she’d had a little bit of alone time with him as a couple during their recent vacation, there hadn’t been much. After all, it had been meant as a family trip for everyone to get to know each other better. Though they were acquainted with each other, the Rothschilds and the Michaels had only been that: acquaintances.
Plus, Rina had been busy lately, spending time in the simulation practicing her mana usage. Even with knowledge downloads, practice was still required to gain proficiency in actual usage of the skills implanted into people. And Rina, though smart and talented, was no exception to that time-
honored rule.
Aron hummed in agreement as they cuddled on the busy rooftop, lost in their own little world. “How’s your training coming?” he asked after a short, companionable silence.
“It’s... difficult,” she said. “I mean, I’m okay at it, but I much prefer to avoid combat. I’m just not much of a fighter. It is nice to have something to do, though, and I feel... conflicted, sometimes.” She sighed and looked at Aron’s chin, her second-
favorite feature of his face after his eyes.
“Conflicted?” He frowned. “Why should you feel conflicted? I mean, it’s not like you HAVE to fight.... You’re going to be the Empress of the Terran Empire, so if you’re forced to fight, then we have much bigger problems.”
“It’s not that, it’s just....” She sighed again. “It’s... I don’t know how to put it into words,” she said, then paused to gather her thoughts. “You know my family was just as bad as the Morgans, so I sometimes feel like I have to make myself useful to you, like it’s a necessary part of making amends.”
“You really don’t, you know. Nobody put their thumb on the scale either way in your family’s case—the innocent were let go and the guilty have already been punished. It was absolutely fair, and the burden doesn’t fall on you to bear.”
The imperial judiciary had been firm, but fair to the Rothschilds. Though they were no longer among the ultra-
wealthy after paying so many financial penalties for the crimes they committed across the generations, they were still rather well off. And they had paid for their sins, not only financially but through other punishments. Arieh, for instance, was currently serving a sentence in the simulation and would soon be headed to the Trojan Asteroids to serve a sentence in reality as a minerals processor once the infrastructure was built and mining began.
As he said that, Rina pointed her finger to the sky and a small, intricate magic circle filled with beautiful moving patterns appeared above her fingertip. A ball of fire ignited in the circle and floated above it, then began wavering as she tried in reality what she had learned in the simulation earlier. But she failed, and, instead of morphing into a flower, the fireball began destabilizing and she flicked it away, launching it with the intent of being as far away from her as possible before it finally detonated.
The security VI in charge of monitoring the Cube noticed the uncontrolled and unstable fireball. It calculated the route it would pass through and, within milliseconds, diverted all the flights that were likely to cross its path.
“How about you?” she asked, frowning at her failed attempt to show off. “Too busy to train lately?”
“Nah. I’m back to being a hands-off emperor after finishing the shield. Everything else is on track and doesn’t need my interference. There’s a reason that ministers and agency heads exist. After all, if I had to do everything myself,” he shuddered at the thought, “I think that even I would die of exhaustion. So, for now, at least, I’m relatively free. The only thing we need now is time.”
“Don’t jinx it,” Rina giggled and playfully hit him on the shoulder.
“Oh, shit,” he said, looking around in mock panic. “Remind me when we go back inside... I should really find a piece of wood to knock on,” he laughed.
(Ed note: Knocking on wood is a folk charm to counteract bad luck, specifically of the kind that comes from mentioning things that are going too well. Not sure how far the custom has spread, but it’s fairly prevalent in the US to say “knock on wood” every now and then, and actually find a piece of wood to knock on.)
Aron’s laughter proved infectious, and, if there were to be a human observer, they would probably give the couple a weird look or two before quickly moving their gaze away after being exposed to the very public display of affection.
Soon, the two calmed down and Rina moved her head from Aron’s arm to his chest as he played with her hair. But after moving her head to his chest, she heard—and felt—his heartbeat increase and his breathing hitch.
“Aron? Are you okay?” she asked, her body stiffening in worry. She lifted her upper body and supported herself on an elbow, looking at his face with a worried expression; she hoped he was okay, as if anything were to happen to him it wouldn’t just be a disaster for her, but for the entire human species.
He visibly calmed himself, then took a deep breath and mustered his courage. “Rina Rothschild,” he said, then got up on one knee. “When we first met, it was because I had a utilitarian goal in mind. I wanted to use you and was willing to offer you my aid in exchange. But once I got to know you, something started changing in me.
“You became a part of me, an indispensable one. Then, during your family heir competition when your brother was trying to assassinate you, I finally realized that I had feelings for you. I wanted you to walk beside me through this journey called life. Only after realizing that did I know what it meant to call another person my other, better half.”
He pulled a small box from his pocket, then opened it and continued, “Rina Ariel Rothschild, will you marry me?”
