Ivan looked out the window of his carriage at the massive celebrations that had been prepared for his arrival to the Empire. He couldn’t help but feel slightly proud at the welcome he was receiving and made sure to play up to it. Opening his carriage door, he let himself hang out of it and waved to the people he passed. The people welcomed his playfulness.

"Ivan, get back inside." Dimitri sighed, looking at him, and shook his head when he received a hand wave in response. It was times like this when he had Alexei at his side; only he could get Ivan to listen.

"You should be more welcoming. Look at how happy they are to see me."

"They are happy because they got a day off," Dimitri grumbled under his breath, getting a chuckle from Ivan.

"Slow down for a second." Calling his driver, the carriage slowed, and Ivan jumped out and went to a mother and child he saw. Bending over, he took off one of his rings and placed it in the boy’s hands before jumping back into the carriage and closing the door. Dimitri slammed the wall, and the carriage sped up once more. "Appearances, my friend. They have to love us to justify an alliance with us."

"It’s still dangerous. If something happened to you, then I can’t imagine what your father would do."

"He would probably be mad." Ivan playfully smiled at Dimitri. "Tell me. Why am I here, then? I know you sent word, but I couldn’t be bothered to read it all."

Dimitri looked at him for a few seconds, trying to see if he was lying, but Ivan’s smile hid his real thoughts. "Alfred is about to move. The Commonwealth fell into civil war last year, and what should have been an easy victory for Snowid has been dragged out. Guess why?"

"So it was him." Ivan laughed, causing the man before him to roll his eyes. It was a wonder why Ivan acted the way he did, especially with someone like Alexei as his father. "So he is going to war again."

"Seems like it. Vladmire has been at relative peace. I know we have the church to deal with, but your father is enough for now." Rubbing his hands in anticipation, Ivan looked at the Palace before them. A large force waited for him, and as the door opened, he was greeted by everyone saluting in unison.

Smiling and waving at the soldiers, he entered the palace, followed by Dimitri. It was the first time he had actually been in it, and looking around, he nodded in satisfaction. "It’s almost as good as ours."

"They have had the funds to upgrade these past few years." The two casually talked on their way to the throne room. Stopping before the massive doors, Ivan fixed his appearance, ensuring everything was perfect. Looking at his hands, he saw his empty finger and frowned.

"Give me one of your rings." Turning to Dimitri, the man blankly stared but sighed and took one off, handing it over. Licking his hand, he brushed his hair out of his face and felt perfect. Looking at the guards, he nodded and put on his best smile.

The doors opened, and Ivan saw the man he had seen all those years ago. Not much had changed since he last did. Only Alfred looked slightly more mature. Next to him, he saw Isra. He had never seen her before but couldn’t help but recognise her as a beauty, one hiding a deep chill in her eyes.

Walking forward, he disregarded all the formalities his father had told him to follow and spread his arms as if welcoming a friend. "Alfred." Raising his hand, he paused. "Forgive me, Your Majesty." Ivan bowed towards Alfred, with the man chuckling.

"You haven’t changed, Prince Ivan." Pushing himself off the throne with a small grunt, Alfred went down the steps. "How have you been?"

"Amazing," Ivan said happily. "But I’m more interested in you. The Empire has been up to some interesting things since we last met."

"Get out. All of you." Alfred called out to the soldiers in the throne room, leaving him, Isra, Ivan and Dimitri alone. Looking up at Isra, Ivan took a deep breath. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Where are my manners? I greet the Empress." Ivan made sure to bow respectfully towards Isra. While he didn’t care how he acted to Alfred, it differed from the man’s wife. Isra just gave him a small smile and leaned on her armrest, watching the two. "So?" Looking at Alfred, he acted like an eager puppy.

"First. How is the going with expelling the church." Ivan started his head and sighed.

"Slow. Honestly, my father respects my wishes and is taking his time with them. But it’s being done."

"That’s fine. But it should be done before the Holy Seat moves. When they do, they will use whatever remnants are left in your land to work against you. Try using the sisters. You need to be quite fanatic, but they are good at shifting opinions."

Ivan turned to Dimitri, and his eyes hardened. "Send word to father. Give him the advice." The man lowered his head, and, facing Alfred again, he returned to his playful way. "Tell me. How much of the Commonwealth’s issues were you?"

"I don’t know what you mean. It was all a coincidence that the pirates invaded; the Dabrowski heir and his bastard died. I mean, we did spread the word about destroying the pirate lords." Ivan chuckled at Alfred’s words, a little terrified of his ally.

"A lot of coincidences that played out perfectly. So what is the plan? You need Vladmire, or did you just want to see me again."

"The Commonwealth is scrambling to find allies. They have no choice anymore. The Church has made it clear they can’t move in full force yet, and Snowid isn’t dumb enough to look to God for help. I need Vladmire to show they will join if any foreign power tries to intervene. And if they do, I ask you to join me."

"It’s a tough ask. But doable." Ivan licked his lip and smiled. "We will need some assurances, however."

Alfred fought the urge to roll his eyes. They were already in an alliance. But he understood he was asking a lot from Vladmire, considering what was going on in their borders. "What do you want."

"Two choices. Grain, gold and people. We need a lot to expel the church and establish a new faith. But if you do not wish for this, how about another marriage? Your daughter to my son." Ivan’s attitude changed instantly, and his eyes became deadly serious. He heard the slight movement from Isra on her chair, and peeking at her, she saw her eyes have a slight murderous look.

"Is my son not enough, Prince Ivan," Isra said coldly. "Or did you think we lied when we said he could have children?"

"Of course not, Empress. But you must understand I mean nothing ill about this marriage. I understand the girl is a bastard, so it is perfect. She has no claim to the throne and poses no threat to your son. There is a reason I offered it to the girl and her brother. After all, I have another daughter."

Isra squinted but said nothing, unable to counter the logic. Alfred looked at the two and sighed. "I need to think about this. But why? The marriage to Edward is enough, surely." Alfred could see that there was a larger scheme in Ivan’s head, it was just he didn’t understand what it was. He had many thoughts, but getting lost in them would only make him paranoid about his closest foreign ally.

Ivan also could see Alfred saw through him and smiled. "The Blessed One. My friend, it’s not just a title; it is a holy line now. We have already said we will create a thousand-year alliance, and I meant every word. I simply want to monopolise you. Our children will have children who will marry. Of course, not siblings, but cousins and all that. The Blessed One’s bloodline will be kept, and my dynasty can claim descent from you."

’Madness.’ Alfred could think, looking at Ivan. He knew the risks of such inbreeding—even the common farmer in the world did. He was sure Ivan knew but ignored it. The man wasn’t religious enough to think being a Blessed One gave a person supernatural abilities to offset this.

But he didn’t say anything. Even in his old world, when people knew the risk, they still did it. He thought about the Habsburgs and imagined his own dynasty becoming like that in the future. "Like I said, I will think about it." Despite his thoughts, he didn’t put an end to the idea. It would only work as Ivan wanted if everyone agreed anyway. But he could also see Ivan wasn’t only wishing for it because of that. There was more to the proposal.

"Perfect." Ivan smile.

"I will set you up with a room. We will have dinner later." Ivan nodded happily as Alfred and Isra led him and Dimitri out of the throne room.