Two years had passed.
And in that time Alexander's life was surrounded by nothing but paperwork.
First, he had to renew his citizenship.
Even though he was born in the kingdom, most of his documents were registered in Ambur.
After regaining his citizenship, he further had to fill out the paperwork to reclaim his lost home.
Which took months.
During which he had to stay in a small apartment in the capital.
This cost him greatly, and since he didn't have an active income, he had to rely on Elizabeth.
It took a minute too, as Alexander was hesitant to rely on her.
He only agreed when Elizabeth stated she wanted to be paid back.
When Alexander was finally approved for his home, he took a trip to visit it.
And was horrified to see nothing but a grass field.
Alexander had spent months not buying a ruined mansion, but empty land.
He was heartbroken.
And spent a few days mulling over his old city grounds.
Which were mostly empty.
No one wanted to live in a place that was just a day's march from the empire's borders.
After a while, Alexander asked for a quote on the cost to rebuild his family home.
And he was met with a sum so great he nearly fainted.
Not only would he have to pay for the materials, but also for the construction and hazard pay.
This was because no one was willing to operate so close to the empire's borders, leaving only independent contractors.
Elizabeth offered to pay for it, but he refused.
Instead, he figured it was time to start earning money the way his father did.
And to do that he had two choices.
He could either A: reinstate the Daname house, which would get him access to government contracts.
But while it paid well, it would no doubt take another year of paperwork at a minimum.
Or B: go independent, which means he was paid directly by the client.
Not only was B riskier as work wouldn't be steady, but it also paid far less.
Elizabeth offered to speed up option A.
But Alexander refused, instead opting to go independent.
And that's how he ended up covered in the guts of a forest bear.
— — —
Elizabeth and Hinata clapped as Alexander gagged.
"Oh goddess… it smells so bad."
He wiped a chunk of meat from his cheek, pinching it before tossing it aside.
Behind him was a massive bear with an even bigger hole in its stomach.
Alexander shook his head with a sigh, before retrieving his knife.
"I'm gonna cut off the claws for proof, so, uh… look away."
Alexander flashed a teasing grin, before kneeling beside the bear.
As he began cutting, Elizabeth glanced at Hinata.
"What's the progress on reinstating his House?"
She whispered.
Hinata frowned.
"The Fallen Kingdom is in no shape to manage another house bidding for contracts. He could get his House reinstated tomorrow, but nothing would change."
Elizabeth sighed, her expression one of exhaustion.
"So it's another night of wild animal meat and water."
"So it is," Hinata affirmed.
Elizabeth watched Alexander finish his grisly work, a strange mix of pride and pity took hold of her.
On one hand, she loved seeing him so fiercely independent and determined.
He was building a future for them both, on his own terms, with his own hands.
But, Elizabeth also knew this was destined to fail.
He was barely making enough money to afford their apartment, how would he ever save enough money to rebuild his House?
Both literally and politically.
She had to intervene, and she was doing it tonight.
"All done!" Alexander announced, whipping his bloodied knife in the grass.
He looked up, catching Elizabeth's gaze with a triumphant yet tired smile.
"One step closer to getting our manor."
Elizabeth returned the gesture.
"You're doing beautifully, my love."
— — —
After turning in the contract and cleaning himself up, Alexander and the others returned home.
Once inside Hinata began working in the kitchenette—cooking another pot of stew…
Elizabeth joined Alexander at the table, smiling innocently.
"So, Alex."
Elizabeth began, her voice soft and measured.
"I've been thinking about our situation."
Alexander rested an arm on the table, giving her his full attention.
"Hm?"
"These last two years, watching you work to provide for us has been wonderful. In fact, it's made me love you even more…"
She reached across the table, taking his hand in hers.
"But I'm afraid it's not sustainable my love, we're barely scraping by."
Alexander sighed, averting his gaze as he pulled away.
He knew this conversation was coming.
He just didn't want to hear it.
"Elizabeth, I told you, I just need more time. I'm building connections with the locals, it's only a matter of—"
Hinata spoke from the kitchenette, without turning around.
"You should listen to her highness, she stayed silent for two years. It's only fair."
Alexander glanced in her direction, his expression softening.
"But—"
Elizabeth took his hand again, squeezing it.
"Alex," she said firmly, "you've more than proven your worth, to both the world and yourself."
She leaned closer, "but it's time we put your time and skills to better use."
Alexander held his protests, "What… what did you have in mind?"
"Our biggest concern is the lack of funds, without a steady flow of income we can't allocate capital."
Alexander frowned.
"Elizabeth."
Elizabeth quickly shook her head, "No, I'm not offering any money, at least, not directly."
She continued, "I was thinking we could buy a shop."
Hinata turned from the kitchenette, carrying two bowls of piping hot stew.
"The kingdom's economy is unstable, so it wouldn't be as expensive as you'd think, Alexander."
She chimed, setting the bowls down.
Alexander paused, sucking in his cheek.
He had to admit, the idea of owning a shop was very appealing.
Instead of chasing work, it would come to him.
And it was scalable, one shop could turn into two, two into four…
Once he got big enough, he could look into buying out his suppliers and becoming a real competitor in his kingdom.
It wasn't as flashy as bear hunting.
But it was effective.
Alexander let out a long sigh.
"You know what? Let's do it."
Elizabeth smiled warmly, her eyes filled with relief.
"Oh, you won't regret it, my love!"
Hinata nodded in approval, "You'll finally make a dent in your ambitions, Alexander."
— — —
Meanwhile, in the Fallen underworld, a new face had appeared.
She sat in a shanty pub, nursing a small pint of ale in the back corner.
And dressed in a cloak darker than the night.
A man approached her, dropping a stack of golden bills on the table.
"You the Midnight Hunter?"
The woman didn't look up.
The man frowned, but continued speaking.
"Look, I don't care about your no-talking rule, but at least give me a sign I'm talking to the right person."
The woman silently raised a thumb.
The man breathed a sigh of relief, before sitting down and lowering his voice.
"Good, I need you to… kill someone, someone very important."