ᴡᴍᴍᴀᴘ: ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛꜱ

Baby's Breath

The only princess of the Obelian Empire: Princess Athanasia de Alger Obelia. The heir presumptive, and the impeccable prodigy of every topic she had ever studied.

Roger Alpheus thinks these rumors that fly around the noble circles are pure folly, blown out of proportion. If anyone was a genius, it was his son who had already mastered subjects that were difficult even to Arlantian Academy graduates.

The only thing the princess had going for her was the fact that she had no opponents for the throne, and that she had been born into the imperial family in the first place. Roger Alpheus also believes, his foster child, Jennette Margarita, would be the princess's duly made opposition to the throne.

His smile reaches new heights as he thinks of the glory his house would receive if the elder child of the emperor, Jennette, once she entered the palace and became the emperor's crown heir.

Roger Alpheus's plans get him nowhere. He finds himself at a crossroads, where he is boxed in and shut inside.

At the tender age of two, Emperor Claude formally inducts Princess Athanasia into the imperial family's register as crown princess, and signs away that he doesn't have any other children except her, and will never deign to have anymore in his lifetime.

And when Roger Alpheus heard of this disastrous news- he flies into a fit of rage. Whisking Ijekiel away from the family estate and into the the noble Academy of Arlanta- where he could become a better heir- his only. Just like - that  princess.

He dragged a hand down his face and a small hand tugged at his sleeve. He opened his eyes to see Jennette, the- he swallowed roughly, unwilling to admit he had been wrong about his assumptions. But...it was true. 

The fact that the emperor had signed, meant he had done it in blood- and the fact that he hadn't been struck down on the spot, meant that he hadn't been lying. He had no other children-and he wouldn't in the future.

Meaning.... meaning he would not have any particular reason to adopt another heir in case of emergencies or just in case-even if it was his brother's child. It meant- that he, the emperor, would protect his only daughter and legitimate heir apparent, with all he had- and he was announcing it for everyone, across the countries and Empire to know.

And Roger Alpheus knew- he would not be able to take down such a formidable opponent. But by the gods above, he would try. He couldn't let his years of raising this tyrant's bastard child go to waste.

And so, Roger Alpheus took Jennette to the palace nearly weekly, requesting an audience with the emperor-and was promptly refused at the gates when he said he had a child with him.

"If not your legitimate son, you should have no other children- and so We don't see the point of you asking." He was rejected over and over.

News from the palace being things like, the Emerald Palace was her highness's primary residence- he crumpled the paper in his hand, before he smoothed it out again to read to the bottom, - yet she spent more time in the emperor's residence than her own palace- he tossed it into the fireplace. Watching it burn up into ashes, just like his hopes.

But one day, he gets lucky enough to meet with Duke Robain, and... Crown Princess Athanasia. His first impression of her was that she was someone worthy of being a princess.