The orange glow of sunlight streamed through the windows of Alexander's office. The gentle rays falling on his face gave him a warm feeling, it was a feeling he hasn't felt in quite a while. He sighed, rubbing his eyes and stretching slightly before turning to see who had walked into his office so late in the morning. When he opened his eyes he found Sevastian walking over to him with a face saying "I have something to report".
"Sevastian...you leaving the Command Ops means that you have something you want to talk personally and not over the telephone."
"I could have done that, Your Majesty, but I prefer that you hear it from me in front of you," Sevastian said as he sat down opposite the King's desk.
Alexander smiled and gestured for him to go ahead with whatever it is he wanted to tell him; if Sevastian wanted to be formal then fine by him.
"Well, Your Majesty. I have something to report."
Of course, he has. What else could be the reason for him coming to his office?
"Proceed," as he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.
"The operation that the Deutschland Empire tried to pull by sending troops to the Port of Shanghai was successfully prevented by our submarine patrolling in the area. The number of casualties is unknown but we assumed that it would be over a thousand."
"Hmm. Hopefully, the Deutschland Empire or the Britannia Empire will be deterred from doing it again. Speaking of which, did they contact us about the situation?" Alexander asked.
"So far no, Your Majesty," Sevastian answered and continued. "We think that the two empires must have thought that it was the Hanese who sunk their troopships. There's nothing for them to implicate us other than shocked faces."
"Shocked faces?" Alexander tilted his head to the side as he repeated his words.
"They must be in shock that the Hanese managed to sink the troopships under the watch of their state-of-the-art destroyers," Sevastian clarified. "As long as they think it was the case, the thought of them thinking it was us won't cross their minds. Still, I'm sure the day will arrive when they'll be suspicious of us so we have already prepared an appropriate response."
"Which is what?" Alexander asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That we don't know anything about it," Sevastian replied simply. "We will just deny their allegation until they stop trying to bring the matter up."
"That's actually a simple response," Alexander smiled amusedly. "Since the problems presented by the Deutschland Empire and the Britannia Empire no longer exist, let's speak about something else."
"Anything you like to talk about, Your Majesty, I'm all ears."
"So how is the investigation progressing about the President of the United States?"
"So far so good, Your Majesty, the Foreign Intelligence Services agents have managed to infiltrate the White House and are feeding us invaluable intel. The FIS believes that the president is hiding something big, we just don't know what."
"That president, I don't know how but I have a feeling that the president is not what he seems to be. Like he is connected to the Black Hand Do everything you can to gather as much information about him. I don't care how much it will cost us, if he's what I believe he is, then it's worth it."
"Will do, Your Majesty. We will inform you as soon as we know more about him," Sevastian bowed politely. "Now, I don't have anything to report, I will take my leave now Your Majesty."
Both of them stood from their seats and exchanged handshakes. After exchanging pleasantries, Sevastian made his way to the door—
The door flung open, alerting Alexander and Sevastian.
"Darling!"
Shouted the beautiful woman who suddenly entered Alexander's office.
"Sophie? What's the matter? You look pale…" Alexander walked over to her, scanning her appearance carefully. "Are you alright? Is there anything wrong?"
"Darling...Anya...Anya is..." Sophie stammered out, her lips trembling.
"What happened to my daughter?" Alexander demanded as he placed his both hands on her shoulders in worry. "Is she sick?!"
"Your Majesty, I will call the doctor at once," Sevastian offered.
"No, she's not sick," Sophie took a deep breath, composing herself.
"Then what?!" Alexander inquired desperately.
"She...she won't come out of her room!" Sophie revealed.
Alexander and Sevastian at this revelation, staring at her blankly.
"Sophie..." Alexander growled softly, pinching her nose.
"Ouch...ouch..."
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Alexander chided. "You making it sound like something bad happened to her."
A wave of relief washed over Alexander, his heart calming down. "Don't you ever do that again, okay?"
A light pink dust covered Sophie's cheeks.
"Okay, dear…" She whispered softly. "Anyways...I need you to come with me."
"Sevastian you may leave, I'll take care of this."
"Good luck, Your Majesty," Sevastian said.
***
Walking down in the great hallways of the Winter Palace side by side, Alexander began to speak.
"Care to explain what happened to Anya?"
"I don't know, the painter and the servants watching her having her portrait said that she immediately ran off."
"Why would she run off?" Alexander muttered to himself. Well, he will find out about it as soon as he arrives at Anya's doorstep.
Arriving there, a painter and a servant can be seen talking to Anya who is hiding in her bedroom.
"Oh, Your Majesty, you have come!" said the painter.
"I heard that she ran off while you were doing her portrait. What made her run away from you so suddenly?" Alexander asked.
"Uhm...I just told her that the portrait is beautiful and her future fiance from another kingdom would love it," the painter explained.
"You said what?" Alexander's eyes gleamed coldly. "Why would you tell her that? She's not even past five years old."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I didn't mean to offend you..." the painter lowered his head apologetically.
Alexander sighed. "Leave us, I'll talk to my daughter."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
The servant and the painter left the two alone.
Alexander stepped forward and knocked on the door where Anya was hiding.
"Anya, this is daddy, come out now," he ordered.
The door slowly opened, revealing a small figure who was hiding behind the door that was opened ajar.
She seems to be in her low spirit like something had happened to her that made her sad.
"Anya? What's the matter?"
"The painter said that once that painting is done, it will be sent to the prince of another kingdom. And then…and then…I'll be sent to a foreign land to be married!"
Alexander and Sophie's eyes widened in shock.
"What? That's nonsense, don't believe the painter's words, Anya. I will not send you to another kingdom, not on my watch."
"Really?" Anya stopped clutching her little hands on the door and slowly walked out of her room.
Alexander knelt down and caressed her head gently. "Of course, what the painter said was a lie."
"That's true dear, I and your father won't send you away, I promise you that," Sophie assured.
"So I will not leave the palace even after the painting is done?" Anya asked once more.
"Your papa is the emperor of the Ruthenia Empire, if I said you won't be sent off to another kingdom then you won't. And I don't think I can survive without you by my side. Look at you aunties. They have already reached adulthood yet they are still here. Not to mention, they also have their own portrait."
"Well…if you say so…papa," Anya finally responded.
Alexander hugged her little daughter tight. Inside his mind, he was wondering what to do to the painter that made her cute daughter sad.
