After some time, when Love's anger calmed down, she said,
["Your name is Nyx Alexiue and you are the son of the emperor of this kingdom."]
"Oh! Now that's more like i—" Hearing this, Nyx jumped in excitement and shouted, but Love interrupted him midway.
["Sit down quietly and listen to everything first,"]
Love shouted.
Nyx got scared immediately, sat down, and said,
"Ok,"
then began listening to everything carefully.
["You are the son of the emperor of this kingdom... and also, the grandson."]
Nyx's eyebrows rose in confusion. "Wait, what do you mean by also the grandson?"
["It's a bit complicated,"], Love replied, ["So let me explain from the beginning."]
Love began unfolding the deep, twisted history of the Alexiue family.
["The Alexiue family has ruled over the Sylvan Harmony Empire for 75 years. It's a kingdom known for its peaceful lands and majestic, floating mountains. Your father, Nero Alexiue, has been the ruling emperor for the 21 years. He became the emperor at the age of 15. During this time, he led the empire through one of its most prosperous eras. People loved him. The nobles respected him. Peace bloomed, and prosperity sang through the markets and meadows."]
["But as is often the case in such stories, the perfect image masked cracks hidden in shadows."]
Love paused for a moment, as if carefully choosing the next words.
["Years ago, Nero married a woman named Bryanne Einarsson. She was noble-born, a brilliant strategist and philosopher, and as stunning as she was intelligent. She came from a northern family famous for their wisdom and strong magical bloodline. Though the marriage was political at first, Nero and Bryanne truly fell in love. They became inseparable. She helped him govern, often standing beside him in court, and soon became the heart of the empire."]
["However, their happiness was shadowed by the absence of a child. For three years, despite many attempts and healing magic, Bryanne couldn't conceive. This caused concern in the royal court, especially among the elder nobles who feared the Alexiue bloodline would end."]
Nyx was listening intently, almost as if the memories were echoing faintly in some hidden corner of his soul.
["But then, Bryanne did get pregnant. Everyone rejoiced. Nero was the happiest anyone had ever seen him. The empire prepared for a festival months ahead of the birth. Yet, when the time came... tragedy struck."]
["Bryanne died giving birth. The child survived, a girl—Alice Alexiue. But Nero was devastated. He fell into despair. He didn't eat. He refused to hold or even see the child. To him, the daughter had taken away the love of his life. He blamed her."]
["He named her Alice, a name Bryanne once said she liked. But he never called her by it. He left her to be raised by nannies and tutors in a secluded wing of the palace. He ruled, but he was never the same. Something dark had grown inside him."]
Nyx, who had been smiling earlier at hearing he was royalty, now wore an expression of seriousness.
["But here's where it gets strange and a little disgusting... I guess"], Love said.
"What do you mean disgusting?"
["You'll understand it just listen."]
["Everything was just bad, kingdom was about to doom. People were unhappy.]
["But one day, everything changed."]