Lydia Augusta the Fourth of House Hohenzollern, Princess of Steel and Princess-Regent of the greater Brandenburg state, Protector of Prussia, Sworn-Lady of the Knights of Teuton, Granddaughter of Frederik the Great and many other titles that only nobles with way too much time could come up with, was not happy with John.

He couldn’t exactly blame her. She had been back for about 20 minutes, and the only words she had spoken thus far had been “black tea” and “John, to my room”. The choice of tea was remarkable because Lydia had a stance towards caffeine that was to only ever drink it when she actually needed it to get done with things.

Legs doing that energized bounce, she was rushing through paperwork and making calls for all kinds of arrangements, flowing through four different languages, German, English, Dutch and Danish, over the phone. As John only spoke 2 of those, he only understood about half of what was going on, but that was enough to stitch together the whole situation.

Apparently, Lydia had been forced to pay some sort of reparations to Romulus. Nothing valuable, at least not monetarily, just a painting of her grandfather. A prized painting, one that showed him at the moment he ascended to the German crown. The reason why this held no monetary value was because Romulus wasn’t going to keep it, not forever at least. It would only be in his possession until someone was crowned ruler of Germany.

The reason for this exchange would be kept under lock, and the way it would end up in Romulus’ hands had to be obscured to make it seem like a random occurrence. All of this was just to give Lydia a giant headache and to send an easy message.

This is my city, you are threatening it with your mistakes, and I will hold you accountable.

What he demanded of her wasn’t money, it was prestige. It was like a stranger walked into a throne room and demanded to be put on the fanciest seat around, and then Lydia had to actually oblige and let him sit on the throne. It was pure humiliation.

So, Lydia took her job of covering her tracks very seriously in order to make this loss of face known to as few people as possible. That way, she would at least be able to sweep this under the rug within a few weeks. Romulus intended to display the picture to his visitors, so some amount of rumours would be impossible to avoid, but it would be just that: rumours. Luna had given her guarantee about that.

When Lydia finally slammed her phone on the table, John jumped. Not because it was unexpected but because it was the gesture of a pissed Lydia, and he did not look forward to being on the receiving end of that. He had experience with a lot of facets of her personality, most of them stern, one of them shy, quite some of them ruthless or annoyed, but the one time she had been completely and genuinely pissed off had been not towards him but towards Nariko.

“Do you have any inkling about how much I adore that painting?” she started, and John was immediately certain that he was fucked whatever he was going to say. He opened his mouth and was proven wrong, he was fucked even if he said nothing. “Certainly, you don’t, you only care about how big the tits on your elementals are.”

“Now that is…”

“Shut – Up,” Lydia immediately interrupted him, “You will speak when I ask you to, are we clear?”

“Yes…” John gave ground, not only because he was indirectly at fault here but also because of several dozen pieces of iron currently pointing their sharp bits towards him.

Lydia had dark bags under her eyes from the stress. Their colour was that of charred steel, which did not really exist as a material but it was the best analogy John could think of. She was stressed, annoyed, and only grew more so from his lacklustre answer.

“Yes, princess,” he corrected himself. Her eyes lightened up a bit until they hit just steel colour. Stained steel.

“Good, you remember manners,” Lydia leaned back in her wooden chair. She picked up her cup of tea and looked at it as she took a couple of heavy breaths that quickly approached a calm pattern. “Do me the favour and tell Aclysia that I will need some non-caffeinated tea. Preferably peppermint,” she mumbled in a tired tone.

“Done, princess,” John answered.

“Haaaa,” Lydia let another deep breath out, “you can drop it already. I ask for your forgiveness for lashing out, this was a rough day and it was your fault… in a sense.”

“I am willing to take full responsibility for what Undine did,” John said.

“I am aware, and be assured that you owe me something for this,” Lydia tiredly let her hand slide over her face. “…My parents are dead.”

“What?” that came out of nowhere. He had known about this since Nariko had let that information drop, but this was just about the last moment he expected her to bring this up.

“They didn’t die in a day, it was a long process. My mother suffered from cancer, that was before I knew the Abyss existed, and she, the member of my family that linked me to it, never told anyone even as she was on her deathbed. My father committed suicide the moment her grave was plundered.”

“Oh God,” John felt his insides crumble up from helplessness and sympathy. What could he even say to that which wasn’t horribly inadequate.

“My grandfather picked me up shortly before my father’s death, and he has been my only family since. His health was already bad back then, and it is a literal magical wonder that he is still with the living,” Lydia continued. Her iron eyes bore into his with unrelenting fury. “This is his favourite painting of himself, and it hangs in the mansion he raised me in. Just so you are aware of how much I adore this painting.”

The sharp objects pointing at John removed themselves when Aclysia opened the door and neatly put themselves into predetermined spots all across Lydia’s orderly room. John relaxed the slightest bit in his chair.

“I didn’t finish the previous pot, I apologize,” Lydia informed the artificial guardian as she picked up the old tea.

“It is of no matter, princess… just refrain from threatening my Master further, please,” Aclysia requested.

“I do not intend to, my anger has been tamed,” the princess promised and Aclysia, with a small bow, left the room again, the pot on her salver.

The door closed behind her, and the two of them were alone again. Undine was hanging around, incorporeal, in case Lydia wanted to talk to her, but aside from the silent water spirit, they were truly alone. His familiars were likely intensely eavesdropping, but…

‘Okay, I am never truly alone,’ John admitted to himself.

“I have been meaning to tell you that for a few days now,” Lydia sighed; “but, alas, I feel like you can use that bit more weight attached to this information.”

“I am really sorry,” he apologized.

“I am sure you are,” her tone softened up a bit as she poured herself a new cup of tea; “Would you be willing to stay after the tournament?” Another question that came out of nowhere.

“Sorry, but I have other plans,” he answered in truth.

“I suspected as much,” Lydia sighed and took a sip; “A man of your power and personality is not going to be remaining in a subservient position. I expect then that you are planning to pacify your homeland?”

“Yes,” John admitted.

Lydia put down her cup and stood up. She leaned over John, nailing him against the back of his chair. Knee gently pressing against his crotch, she asked, “Is there no way to convince you otherwise?”

“Uhm, what are you doing?” John was bamboozled. He did not take Lydia for someone to try seduction… although this also could be intimidation. Either way, it wasn’t working.

“I wish for you to stay,” the princess told him, her clear blue eyes displaying a slight bit of greed. “For several reasons, I have need of you. The primal one out of the way first: Intercourse with you is highly enjoyable. Truthfully, however, I have need of you in the future. You would make for a good chancellor.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I would much rather not be bound down,” John said. He had originally skipped out on the Golden Rose because Collide granted him more personal freedom. It was the same now, becoming part of Rex Germaniae would mean that he had to play by their rules, but if he took over the USA, he could write his own rules.

As a proper American, John desired liberty above all else.

“In time, I am likely to fall for you,” Lydia whispered in his ear. Now that was proper seduction. “You could be king, I will leave you your harem, it is not the first time a monarch has had scandals regarding sex. There is no law against polygamy here in any situation either,” she continued. “Unusual that it is the king-consort that has his official harem, but not unheard of.”

John just shook his head, “I am not interested in being your king, Lydia. I am interested in you, not in the power you could grant me… I am a bit annoyed that this doesn’t seem to be true the other way around, to be honest.”

Lydia fell back into her own chair with a disappointed sigh. “It was worth a try,” she said with a dismissive gesture, her face slightly reddened from the exchange; “Convincing you would majorly benefit me on a pure level of force I can muster, but I would be lying if I wouldn’t be happy if you were just going to stay as a male concubine.”

“So, it’s about my dick instead of my powers now?” John was intentionally taking her words in the least complimentary way, just to get Lydia to say something he wanted to hear. A bit manipulative, sure, but the princess was too smart to not get that he was playing her, and a glance showed that she did not appreciate it. She did relent, however.

“I suppose you just staying around to be talked to would also be satisfactory,” she admitted. “I have come to enjoy your company over the past few weeks. While this current affair leaves a sour note on our history; once you leave, I will be losing one of the few friends I have in my age group… and friends, period. I would be most pleased if you could stay, and if you need any reason, I am happy to become that reason.”

“Lydia, I am happy to always be at your side… I love you, just as I love everyone else in my harem,” John said that knowing full well that Lydia did not feel the same for him. Their relationship was more akin to that between friends with benefits than actual lovers. Out of all the girls he knew, he actually had the least romantic interest in Lydia.

But she was interesting, she was stern, she was ambitious, and she had the mind to make those ambitions reality. She could be harsh when she wanted something, ruthless if she needed to protect something, could barter and strike deals whenever necessary. All for her one true goal, one which made it near impossible for the two of them to ever be a true couple. They may turn into lovers, truly two people who wanted each other’s company. Ambitions, however, placed them on different sides of the planet.

“You know the Virgin Queen, right?” It was John’s turn to ask a seemingly unrelated question.

“Elizabeth, yes, what about her?” Lydia wondered.

“I think you are a lot like her,” John said. “She was a great woman, loved by her subjects, and she loved her country. So much in fact that she never married. She had lovers, yes, but she never bound herself to anyone forever.

“Lydia, I am happy to be your ally, I am happy to be your lover, but I cannot stay here with you. Your love is for Germany before anything else. I do not want you to change that, but you will have to understand that the current arrangement we have, where you are part of my harem and I am part of your plans for your nation, are the best we are ever going to get.”

Lydia looked at him with silent blue eyes for a while. “The Virgin Queen, that is a high pedestal you are elevating me to there,” she finally spoke.

“It is where I see you, and I don’t think you intend on proving me wrong,” John said.

The princess gestured for him to stand up. He did and crossed the small distance between them. “I do not want you to leave, but you are right,” she said as they exchanged a hug as friends; “Nothing can ever be as important to me as my land and my people.”

“And I admire you for it, Lydia; just because our paths can never be the same, it doesn’t mean that they will never intertwine again.” John brushed back a strand of her auburn hair. “Whatever I build, you’re welcome to visit me whenever, just as I hope I will always be welcome here.”

The hug was over, and they were looking at each other. “Falling for you could make decisions I have to make in the future much more difficult… yet I think I will allow myself this one weakness,” Lydia said, and they exchanged a kiss as lovers.

“That is the highest compliment I could ask of you,” John whispered back.

Lydia Augusta the Fourth of House Hohenzollern, Princess of Steel and Princess-Regent of the greater Brandenburg state, Protector of Prussia, Sworn-Lady of the Knights of Teuton, Granddaughter of Frederik the Great and many other titles that only nobles with way too much time could come up with, was not happy with John. He couldn't exactly blame her. She had been back for about 20 minutes, and the only words she had spoken thus far had been black tea and John, to my room. The choice of tea was remarkable because Lydia had a stance towards caffeine that was to only ever drink it when she actually needed it to get done with things. Legs doing that energized bounce, she was rushing through paperwork and making calls for all kinds of arrangements, flowing through four different languages, German, English, Dutch and Danish, over the phone. As John only spoke 2 of those, he only understood about half of what was going on, but that was enough to stitch together the whole situation. Apparently, Lydia had been forced to pay some sort of reparations to Romulus. Nothing valuable, at least not monetarily, just a painting of her grandfather. A prized painting, one that showed him at the moment he ascended to the German crown. The reason why this held no monetary value was because Romulus wasn't going to keep it, not forever at least. It would only be in his possession until someone was crowned ruler of Germany. The reason for this exchange would be kept under lock, and the way it would end up in Romulus' hands had to be obscured to make it seem like a random occurrence. All of this was just to give Lydia a giant headache and to send an easy message. This is my city, you are threatening it with your mistakes, and I will hold you accountable. What he demanded of her wasn't money, it was prestige. It was like a stranger walked into a throne room and demanded to be put on the fanciest seat around, and then Lydia had to actually oblige and let him sit on the throne. It was pure humiliation. So, Lydia took her job of covering her tracks very seriously in order to make this loss of face known to as few people as possible. That way, she would at least be able to sweep this under the rug within a few weeks. Romulus intended to display the picture to his visitors, so some amount of rumours would be impossible to avoid, but it would be just that: rumours. Luna had given her guarantee about that. When Lydia finally slammed her phone on the table, John jumped. Not because it was unexpected but because it was the gesture of a pissed Lydia, and he did not look forward to being on the receiving end of that. He had experience with a lot of facets of her personality, most of them stern, one of them shy, quite some of them ruthless or annoyed, but the one time she had been completely and genuinely pissed off had been not towards him but towards Nariko. Do you have any inkling about how much I adore that painting? she started, and John was immediately certain that he was fucked whatever he was going to say. He opened his mouth and was proven wrong, he was fucked even if he said nothing. Certainly, you don't, you only care about how big the tits on your elementals are. Now that is Shut Up, Lydia immediately interrupted him, You will speak when I ask you to, are we clear? Yes John gave ground, not only because he was indirectly at fault here but also because of several dozen pieces of iron currently pointing their sharp bits towards him. Lydia had dark bags under her eyes from the stress. Their colour was that of charred steel, which did not really exist as a material but it was the best analogy John could think of. She was stressed, annoyed, and only grew more so from his lacklustre answer. Yes, princess, he corrected himself. Her eyes lightened up a bit until they hit just steel colour. Stained steel. Good, you remember manners, Lydia leaned back in her wooden chair. She picked up her cup of tea and looked at it as she took a couple of heavy breaths that quickly approached a calm pattern. Do me the favour and tell Aclysia that I will need some non-caffeinated tea. Preferably peppermint, she mumbled in a tired tone. Done, princess, John answered. Haaaa, Lydia let another deep breath out, you can drop it already. I ask for your forgiveness for lashing out, this was a rough day and it was your fault in a sense. I am willing to take full responsibility for what Undine did, John said. I am aware, and be assured that you owe me something for this, Lydia tiredly let her hand slide over her face. My parents are dead. What? that came out of nowhere. He had known about this since Nariko had let that information drop, but this was just about the last moment he expected her to bring this up. They didn't die in a day, it was a long process. My mother suffered from cancer, that was before I knew the Abyss existed, and she, the member of my family that linked me to it, never told anyone even as she was on her deathbed. My father committed suicide the moment her grave was plundered. Oh God, John felt his insides crumble up from helplessness and sympathy. What could he even say to that which wasn't horribly inadequate. My grandfather picked me up shortly before my father's death, and he has been my only family since. His health was already bad back then, and it is a literal magical wonder that he is still with the living, Lydia continued. Her iron eyes bore into his with unrelenting fury. This is his favourite painting of himself, and it hangs in the mansion he raised me in. Just so you are aware of how much I adore this painting. The sharp objects pointing at John removed themselves when Aclysia opened the door and neatly put themselves into predetermined spots all across Lydia's orderly room. John relaxed the slightest bit in his chair. I didn't finish the previous pot, I apologize, Lydia informed the artificial guardian as she picked up the old tea. It is of no matter, princess just refrain from threatening my Master further, please, Aclysia requested. I do not intend to, my anger has been tamed, the princess promised and Aclysia, with a small bow, left the room again, the pot on her salver. The door closed behind her, and the two of them were alone again. Undine was hanging around, incorporeal, in case Lydia wanted to talk to her, but aside from the silent water spirit, they were truly alone. His familiars were likely intensely eavesdropping, but Okay, I am never truly alone,' John admitted to himself. I have been meaning to tell you that for a few days now, Lydia sighed; but, alas, I feel like you can use that bit more weight attached to this information. I am really sorry, he apologized. I am sure you are, her tone softened up a bit as she poured herself a new cup of tea; Would you be willing to stay after the tournament? Another question that came out of nowhere. Sorry, but I have other plans, he answered in truth. I suspected as much, Lydia sighed and took a sip; A man of your power and personality is not going to be remaining in a subservient position. I expect then that you are planning to pacify your homeland? Yes, John admitted. Lydia put down her cup and stood up. She leaned over John, nailing him against the back of his chair. Knee gently pressing against his crotch, she asked, Is there no way to convince you otherwise? Uhm, what are you doing? John was bamboozled. He did not take Lydia for someone to try seduction although this also could be intimidation. Either way, it wasn't working. I wish for you to stay, the princess told him, her clear blue eyes displaying a slight bit of greed. For several reasons, I have need of you. The primal one out of the way first: Intercourse with you is highly enjoyable. Truthfully, however, I have need of you in the future. You would make for a good chancellor. As tempting as that sounds, I would much rather not be bound down, John said. He had originally skipped out on the Golden Rose because Collide granted him more personal freedom. It was the same now, becoming part of Rex Germaniae would mean that he had to play by their rules, but if he took over the USA, he could write his own rules. As a proper American, John desired liberty above all else. In time, I am likely to fall for you, Lydia whispered in his ear. Now that was proper seduction. You could be king, I will leave you your harem, it is not the first time a monarch has had scandals regarding sex. There is no law against polygamy here in any situation either, she continued. Unusual that it is the king-consort that has his official harem, but not unheard of. John just shook his head, I am not interested in being your king, Lydia. I am interested in you, not in the power you could grant me I am a bit annoyed that this doesn't seem to be true the other way around, to be honest. Lydia fell back into her own chair with a disappointed sigh. It was worth a try, she said with a dismissive gesture, her face slightly reddened from the exchange; Convincing you would majorly benefit me on a pure level of force I can muster, but I would be lying if I wouldn't be happy if you were just going to stay as a male concubine. So, it's about my dick instead of my powers now? John was intentionally taking her words in the least complimentary way, just to get Lydia to say something he wanted to hear. A bit manipulative, sure, but the princess was too smart to not get that he was playing her, and a glance showed that she did not appreciate it. She did relent, however. I suppose you just staying around to be talked to would also be satisfactory, she admitted. I have come to enjoy your company over the past few weeks. While this current affair leaves a sour note on our history; once you leave, I will be losing one of the few friends I have in my age group and friends, period. I would be most pleased if you could stay, and if you need any reason, I am happy to become that reason. Lydia, I am happy to always be at your side I love you, just as I love everyone else in my harem, John said that knowing full well that Lydia did not feel the same for him. Their relationship was more akin to that between friends with benefits than actual lovers. Out of all the girls he knew, he actually had the least romantic interest in Lydia. But she was interesting, she was stern, she was ambitious, and she had the mind to make those ambitions reality. She could be harsh when she wanted something, ruthless if she needed to protect something, could barter and strike deals whenever necessary. All for her one true goal, one which made it near impossible for the two of them to ever be a true couple. They may turn into lovers, truly two people who wanted each other's company. Ambitions, however, placed them on different sides of the planet. You know the Virgin Queen, right? It was John's turn to ask a seemingly unrelated question. Elizabeth, yes, what about her? Lydia wondered. I think you are a lot like her, John said. She was a great woman, loved by her subjects, and she loved her country. So much in fact that she never married. She had lovers, yes, but she never bound herself to anyone forever. Lydia, I am happy to be your ally, I am happy to be your lover, but I cannot stay here with you. Your love is for Germany before anything else. I do not want you to change that, but you will have to understand that the current arrangement we have, where you are part of my harem and I am part of your plans for your nation, are the best we are ever going to get. Lydia looked at him with silent blue eyes for a while. The Virgin Queen, that is a high pedestal you are elevating me to there, she finally spoke. It is where I see you, and I don't think you intend on proving me wrong, John said. The princess gestured for him to stand up. He did and crossed the small distance between them. I do not want you to leave, but you are right, she said as they exchanged a hug as friends; Nothing can ever be as important to me as my land and my people. And I admire you for it, Lydia; just because our paths can never be the same, it doesn't mean that they will never intertwine again. John brushed back a strand of her auburn hair. Whatever I build, you're welcome to visit me whenever, just as I hope I will always be welcome here. The hug was over, and they were looking at each other. Falling for you could make decisions I have to make in the future much more difficult yet I think I will allow myself this one weakness, Lydia said, and they exchanged a kiss as lovers. That is the highest compliment I could ask of you, John whispered back.