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"Wow! Whoa! Yahoo! Slow down!" Vulpes slowed down his horse in front of the castle stable. He got down and handed the reigns to a stable slave. "Thank you."
Unlike Caesar, Vulpes was kind-hearted and despised having people forced to do things for him. He hoped when he became emperor that he would end this horror. This was one of Caesar's fears and knew he had some time to brainwash Vulpes before it was too late.
Vulpes ran to tell his 'father' about his trip on his horse. "Dad! Dad! Dad! I managed to leap above the barrels with the horse. I finally have full control of it and I feel confident to stop rebellions." He muttered, "Peacefully."
"Vulpes, can't you see I am in an important meeting? We can discuss you suppressing rebellions later." Caesar took a sip of his wine.
"You never have time for me. It is like you almost don't love me." Vulpes frowned.
"That's not true. I give you a birthday gift and gifts on holidays every year. Speaking of gifts," Caesar took another sip of wine, "Your birthday is tomorrow. What would you like?"
Vulpes took a deep breath. He had only been wanting one thing for a long time. "I would like to know who my mother is and if I am adopted."
Caesar rolled his eyes, "Son, we have been over this. Your mother died after childbirth and I am your biological father."
"But Dad, I look nothing like you. I don't have your hair color and I can't think of a hair color that when combined with brown hair color, creates red hair. I also don't have our ethnicity's eye shape. I don't think it is probable for me to only have my mother's phenotypes. Look, you told me that our ancestors thousands of years ago came from the continents of Nohr and Hoshido. By any chance, am I biracial? Did you marry a woman overseas?"
Caesar was angry. "I told you nothing but the truth! Now shut up! Go take a bath, you smell and we have important guests coming this evening for dinner."
Vulpes huffed and abruptly left the room.
On his way to take a bath, he heard some guards talking about something that intrigued him.
"I feel like the prince is on the brink of realizing Caesar has been lying to him about his genealogy."
"This isn't the first time. Remember, Caesar had to have a mage cast spells on Vulpes when he overheard people mention the names of his real biological parents."
"The poor kid will never know the truth."
"He is going to be a poor adult tomorrow who will never know the truth when he turns fourteen."
Vulpes considered these words. "Had my dad been lying to me all these years that my mother is irrelevant and he is my biological father? No, he would never lie though that would explain why he does not care much for me." Vulpes thought to himself as he washed up for the guests.
On his way to the dining hall, he overheard guards talking to each other about sailing to the continent of Hoshido or Nohr to see if it was possible to seize some land, not all. Vulpes was surprised because the last conquest attempt failed. He got the idea that sneaking aboard would be a fun way to spend his birthday.
The next morning, he snuck onboard the ship where the assigned soldiers were sailing. Vulpes had his sword ready on him in the event someone tried to kill him. After several hours, they finally landed on the shore of Hoshido. The soldiers had wanted to arrive in Nohr but they failed.
He followed them but got lost. Vulpes was a bit scared because people were staring at him and he clearly was not good at being stealthy. He accidentally found his way into the capital. Fearing Vulpes was suspicious, a male villager reported a potential spy.
When Vulpes knew he was being chased he started running. He managed to evade the authorities chasing him. He needed a place to hide until he could leave in the night. He noticed that he was also getting hungry. He snuck around the area until he ran into Castle Shirasagi. "This could be a good place to find food and hide. It looks like a big area."
Vulpes climbed up several stories and then went into a window that had no glass. He tried to see if he could sniff food or at least find the kitchen. He had no idea he was in the royal castle.
He carefully went through the halls, keeping an eye out for anyone who might walk by. As he journeyed through the castle, he ran into a portrait of Saul and Sakura. It caught his attention. Saul had the ethnic eyes from where Vulpes grew up and he could tell that his eyes were a combination of Saul and Sakura and the same was for his hair. "Are these my real parents? I resemble them. No, dad would never lie.... Or would he?"
"STOP!" Someone shouted behind him. "You are under arrest for sneaking into the castle. Now turn around." The person removed Vulpes' sword.
