Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 112 - 16 Memory

Chapter 112: Chapter 16 Memory

King Philip, already drunker than usual, beckoned his wife over when he saw her enter the banquet hall.

"Your Majesty, you should not drink so much," Cleopatra reproached, "It’s bad for your liver."

"It doesn’t matter," Philip said with a dismissive wave. "A banquet celebrating a war victory—even Dionysus would be particularly lenient."

(Dionysus, god of wine in Ancient Sirius mythology)

While Peggy was quietly enjoying her pudding, a Macedonian noble approached her with a wine glass to chat.

However, Prince Alexander was scowling silently at the head of the banquet table. To ease the awkwardness, the Macedonian noble turned to Peggy for conversation.

"I heard Miss Andrea is from Athens? I studied at the University of Athens myself, focusing on Rhetoric and Film Studies. What is Miss Andrea’s opinion on ’Trojan Horse’?"

Peggy set down her fork and gave him a toothy smile.

"Uh," the Macedonian noble felt this was a subtle mockery, as Macedonia’s culture was vastly inferior to that of Sirius; it was natural for her not to engage in an art discussion with him.

"I think this work..." he bravely continued his understanding of movies and arts.

Peggy kept smiling.

In her polite smile, the Macedonian noble finally admitted defeat and left the scene, his face flushed with embarrassment.

Peggy resumed eating her pudding.

Suddenly, Alexander stood up furiously, drawing the attention of the entire hall.

"What did you say just now, Your Majesty?" he asked through gritted teeth.

King Philip, also drunk, responded in bewilderment, "What happened? I told your stepmother to take care of herself, after all, she’s carrying the heir of the Kingdom of Macedonia..."

"He is your heir, then what am I? A bastard? You despicable bastard!" Alexander roared in rage and hurled his wine glass.

The glass struck King Philip right on the nose with a clang. His Majesty’s nose swelled immediately, blood streaming down, which sent all the nobles and bureaucrats rising to their feet in alarm.

"Ungrateful child!" Being publicly humiliated by a wine glass, King Philip also erupted in rage, grabbed a nearby iron bowl, and hurled it.

Alexander drew forth his sword and fiercely batted it away.

King Philip also pulled a longsword from a guard nearby, aiming to kill Alexander, but tripped over a chair beside him. Only with the swift support of the guards did he manage to avoid falling.

"Look!" Alexander jeered loudly, "A king ready to conquer the East, yet he can’t even step over a chair!"

Outraged and helpless, Philip could only throw his longsword, which Alexander accurately batted away again.

Metal clashed against metal with a clang, startling Peggy, who was still enjoying her pudding.

She looked up, bewildered, at the tense confrontation between Alexander and Philip, finally realizing something.

Then, she grabbed Alexander’s arm and without another word yanked him towards the exit.

After all, Alexander belonged to the Transcendent of the Arcane Sequence—all his Extraordinary Power geared towards his mind, his Physical Power not even matching Peggy’s—and she easily dragged him out rushingly out of the palace.

The event happened so suddenly, the nobles and bureaucrats present couldn’t react in time; even the guards at the door were too slow to stop them.

Only King Philip, still bleeding from his nose, supported by his young wife Cleopatra, was left angrily gritting his teeth.

—————

"If I hadn’t pulled you out, you would have died in that palace!"

Under the night sky, Peggy, who was driving, complained, "And I didn’t even finish my pudding!"

Alexander, his handsome face ashen, sat silently in the passenger seat.

"Drive more carefully," he finally broke his silence, looking at the swerving road ahead, "Can you keep the steering wheel straight?"

"I can’t!" Peggy said. "I’ve only recently learned to drive from Nora—getting the car moving is already quite impressive, isn’t it?"

Alexander was speechless.

"Actually, you shouldn’t have dragged me away," after a long silence, Alexander coldly said, "I wanted to see if he, the king of Macedonia, would really dare to strike his own son in public."

"If he had struck, you would be dead," Peggy said.

"He wouldn’t dare," Alexander coldly declared.

Gazing into the distant darkness shrouded by night, memories of conflicts with his father resurfaced, along with some suppressed resentment that seemed to coil around his heart like a snake.

"Actually, he might dare!" Alexander squeezed a few words through his teeth, his voice trembling nearly out of shape, "If this continues, I will be driven to a dead end; I must strike first..."

"Do you plan to assassinate your father?" Peggy asked him.

"I won’t do it," Alexander’s face darkened as he stared grimly ahead, saying ominously, "Of course, if an accident were to occur around him, then who knows..."

"I think you’re not suited for this sort of thing," Peggy said.

"Why?" Alexander narrowed his eyes.

"Because of your personality," Peggy replied, gripping the steering wheel and looking ahead, "You can tell, you’re a very proud guy. With your noble birth and brilliant talents, you certainly have the right to be proud."

"I guess you’ve never faced any adversity growing up, have you? That’s why the moment you encounter setbacks, your thinking immediately becomes extreme."

"Think about it. Just because of a drunken remark from your father, you were ready to confront him right there and then. What does that tell you?"

"It tells you that you are afraid, afraid that he might really strip you of your position as heir."

"In fact, given your current prestige in the army and among the nobles, if he truly intended to replace you as heir, how could it be so simple for him to just declare it outright?"

"You’re right," Alexander was stunned for a moment before he suddenly realized, "even if he wanted to test me, he wouldn’t do it right there in front of so many people."

"That’s what I’m saying," Peggy shrugged her shoulders. "You see, being willing to kill over a single sentence is extremely reckless behavior."

"If you really went through with it. Given your personality, you would definitely regret it later."

"Indeed." Alexander nodded and said, "I should first return to Epirus, where my mother’s family is strong."

"Even if he really plans to make a move against me, I could calmly organize a counterattack."

"Otherwise, if it was really just a drunken remark and I reacted so drastically, wouldn’t that prove I’m afraid of him?"

"You are afraid of him," Peggy remarked.

"No, I’m not afraid of him," Alexander said firmly, his face regaining a confident glow. "Listen well, Peggy."

"I, Alexander, will become a king greater than my father."

"He conquered Sirius, I will go on to conquer the vast lands of the East."

"If he conquers the East first, then I will have to conquer the whole world!"

"Becoming the king of Macedonia is just a minor step in my life, not worth worrying too much about."

"And you, Miss Peggy," he turned to her, his gaze intense as he stared at Peggy.

"I wonder if you would be willing to become the future queen of Macedonia?"

"I would not," Peggy said.

"Hmm..." Alexander turned awkwardly to look out the window.

"Is it because of that fellow Aske?" he asked quietly after a long silence.

"Yes," Peggy answered frankly.

"Why?" Alexander asked.

"You only fell for me because during your moment of despair, I pulled you out of the mire with a few words," Peggy’s fingers tapped on the steering wheel.

"And he did the same thing."

Alexander watched her quietly.

"Alright," Alexander sighed bitterly, "he really is a lucky fellow."

"Lucky are those like you and me who get pulled up before falling into the Abyss," Peggy said.

"You’re right, I’m growing fonder of you," Alexander shook his head. "It’s a pity."

"Don’t feel bad, you’ll find a better woman." Peggy said, "Hmm, I’m not good at consoling people."

There was silence in the car for a moment.

"It seems I must find another way to repay you," Alexander said seriously. "Alexander does not owe favors to anyone."

"Help me find Aske, and I’ll consider your favor returned," Peggy said.

Alexander fell silent for a moment, his voice suddenly lower and magnetic:

"There’s no need to look for him; once you leave my memory, you will naturally meet him."

Suddenly, the outside scenery froze, as if the whole world had come to a standstill. Peggy, surprised, stepped on the gas pedal, but found the car didn’t move forward, as if stuck in some sort of sticky glue.

"Honestly, I’ve replayed this memory countless times," Alexander’s pupils dilated as if focusing on a distant point. "Each time, I deeply question whether I really needed to take action against him then."

"Actually, when he later sent people to Epirus to propose reconciliation, I had already sensed something was amiss. However, the assassination order was already issued, and I was unwilling to admit that I had acted impulsively. I could only convince myself that it was a necessary choice for self-preservation."

"It turns out, I was indeed deceiving myself."

"It seems that even the greatest kings cannot avoid all flaws. I have made mistakes, the least I can do is not lose the courage to face them squarely."

"Thank you, Miss Peggy. Thank you for sharing the life and experiences of a man wandering in the Subconscious Ocean, helping him finally see clearly into his own heart."

"As a token of gratitude, I will give you my ’Illusion Sword.’ Since Hannibal perished at the hands of Solomon, this Extraordinary Swordsmanship has been lost in the main world, a fate it should not have had."

He reached out a finger and touched it to Peggy’s forehead. Her mind buzzed, and she felt something new in her memories.

"That... you..." Peggy hesitated, "who are you really?"

"Aren’t you quite clever, Miss Peggy?" Alexander smiled breezily. "Do you still not understand who I am?"

"Go," he said softly. "Let me rest completely."

All at once, in Peggy’s vision, the entire scene shattered like broken glass.