Kisuke and Hanako held hands again and returned to the palace.
"It took you a long time, did you get what you needed?"
"Yes, I have enough resources to train for a while. The shop was just kind of messy and I had to waste time searching for the herbs."
Kisuke was making plans for his escape while he nodded and hummed absentmindedly whenever Hanako talked to him.
"Kisuke, are you okay? I feel like you aren't listening to me."
Hanako pulled his hand gently, bringing his attention back to her. Surprised, he looked at her and patted the back of her palm with his hand.
"I'm okay, don't worry. We will have a conversation about it when we return to the palace."
'Should I just charm her and use her to save myself? Should I trust her instead?'
Kisuke thought to himself while considering his options. Charming the princess would be an easy way out, but it would be betraying her trust. She even offered him help if he was a spy, he just wasn't sure if this offer extended to the possibility that he was Elizabeth's son.
'I can assume that the Amistrys Empire was sure they could get me killed here any time by simply telling The Empress that I was a spy. On the other hand, I'm sure they never expected me to have a relationship with the princess. Now that she is the only princess other than the Third Princess, her word has even more weight.'
The Amistrys Empire would never think he could get involved with the princess because of two reasons. The first was that it's not that easy to date a princess, and the second was that they always liked the local features, and Kisuke looked like a foreigner.
He was weighing his options. With the new device he got from his mother, he could try to escape to another dynasty. However, he didn't want to move; he liked what he had with Hanako.
'Lena and Mother would tell me to run away and stay safe, but I think it can be a great chance. After all, why would The Empress deny a Higher Ruler Human? I could be her dynasty's greatest weapon and shield if I marry Hanako.'
After thinking about it he decided to give it a try and talk it out with Hanako and see her response. Although he created huge losses to the dynasty by reporting the attack on the Order's base to his home empire, he believed that just having him on their side was more than enough to make up for the losses.
"Hanako, let's talk alone when we are home."
"Okay."
---------
"Honey, I want to tell you something about me."
"Of course, what is it?"
Kisuke and Hanako were sitting on their knees in front of each other in Hanako's house. Magic circles and Kisuke's Darkness spell made sure nobody was listening.
"It's as you suspected; I really am from the Amistrys Empire."
"I see. Why did you change your mind now? You didn't want to tell me the other day."
Kisuke looked straight into her eyes and held her palm in his.
"I thought about it and realized that I don't want to part with you. I want to remain here in Nikkokuni by your side."
He rubbed the back of her palms with his thumbs as he came clean and told her the truth about himself. He then remained silent and waited a few seconds for her response.
"I want to be by your side as well. So you were at the fourth stage since the beginning? And is 21 your true age or the artifact can change that too?"
She felt shy after her first sentence and started blurting out the questions that came up to her mind awkwardly. Kisuke enjoyed looking at her averting her eyes from his gaze.
"I am 21, but I will turn 22 in two months."
"And your stage? Could it be that you advanced before coming and the truth is that you're a Higher Elite Human?!"
Her eyes were full of hope when she asked it. With a Higher Elite Human powerhouse by her side, she would have equal strength to Kagura whom her mother favored because of her potential. The best part was that Kagura didn't compete for Nikkokuni's throne.
"I wasn't at the fourth stage when I came here."
"Oh. Intermediate Elite Human is still amazing. It's a huge loss for the Amistrys Empire."
Kisuke smiled at her. She didn't succeed in hiding her disappointment completely, but he knew she still loved him regardless. He didn't plan to hide his real status from her, he just enjoyed showing off.
"No, you're getting it wrong. I was an Advanced Mage when I entered the borders and joined the Imperial Guard. I'm a Ruler Human."
He chose not to reveal his complete status and let her misunderstand that he was a Lower Ruler Human for now. It would create a larger impact if he dropped the bomb later when needed.
He didn't plan to hide it from her; it was completely pointless to hide it when basically everyone important in Amistrys Empire knew about it. Sooner or later, Nikkokuni Dynasty will find out about it as well.
"Ruler Human!"
She widened her eyes in surprise, and Kisuke enjoyed every moment of it.
"Honey, does it mean I can stay with you safely?"
"Of course. You can hide while I speak to my mother. I will come to find you once she gives me her approval."
He was genuinely happy that she didn't hesitate to promise to make sure everything will go smoothly, and even send him into hiding until it was sorted out just in case. It showed him how much she cared.
"Wait… there's one more thing you should know first."
She looked at him attentively before guessing what it was about.
"Are you the one who reported our attack on the Assassin's Order to Amistrys Empire?"
"Oh, right. There are two more things you should know first."
He forced out a smile when she reminded him of another problem.
"There's more?!"
"Yes. Do you know about the woman who killed 2 magi and some geniuses of the dynasty?"
"Yes, what does it have to do with you?"
Kisuke squeezed her hand and explained.
"You see, she's my mother."
Hanako gaped at him when she heard that statement. He kept dropping bombs on her which only made the situation more complicated.
"Mother… as in mother and son?"
She asked hesitantly with a slight hope that those words could be interpreted in a different way that she didn't know of.
"Yes, as in she is my mother and I'm her son. Do you think it's going to be a problem?"
"Ahm, no, no. Doesn't it mean that if we take you in, we will solve the problem of her attacks? She might even join us. We just need to make sure you hide really well, you know, just in case."
She stroked his arm with a mirthless smile. Hanako's mind was racing as she started coming up with ways to convince her mother that marrying someone who was only second to his mother in the amount of damage he inflicted on the dynasty.
"Honey…? You're stroking too hard."
Luckily it was only his arm, but it was still starting to get painful. Hanako woke up from her reveries and pulled back her hand.
"Is there anything else I should know before we start making plans?"
"Yes. I'm not just a Ruler Human. I'm a Higher Ruler Human. I had contact with mana for the first time when I was 19."
"Is this real?"
She shouted as her voice was filled with excitement. It would make her mother even less willing to kill Kisuke instead of recruiting him. She believed that the fact he came to her and confessed instead of running away will help her showcase his love to her.
"It's real."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Wasn't the impact much better by telling you in parts?"
She pouted cutely and conjured a water ball above his head. He could dodge or block, but he figured he had it coming, so he let it land.
"I guess you have a point."
She was appeased by his heroic sacrifice and admitted it was a good strategy. She planned to implant it when she spoke to The Empress later. She watched him control the water and make it float away from his clothes and evaporate it with fire.
"But Kisuke, I have one more question before we plan our next move."
"Ask away."
Kisuke fixed his sitting position and listened earnestly, eliciting a smile from Hanako.
"In the future, you will become much stronger than me. I won't be able to hold a candle to you if we compare our power as magi."
"It's fine, why are you worrying about it? If I'm stronger than you, I will make sure you will be safe and sound forever."
She placed her palm on his cheek before proceeding with her question.
"That's not what I'm worried about. When that happens, nothing will be able to stop you from doing anything you want. Even imperial families don't have Ruler Humans, let alone a Higher Ruler Human."
"Doesn't it mean that your reign will be safe and peaceful?"
"It does. But it also means that you can marry another wife whenever you want, and I will not be able to do anything about it. My whole authority will come from your power since you will be the strongest and the emperor. Can I trust you to never have any other woman?"
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