Roon x Nero (kinda) (no cringy sex ahead)

ARC 0 (V)

Daniel replaced his father a week after his death. His first day of work was mostly under Trieste's supervision as she explained the dynamics and assisted him. She would continue watching over him for two more days before he was left on his own. Even though he still had to get the hang of it, he chose not to have any secretaries: he would feel guilty of delegating his work to the girls who had worked so hard for his father, and unlike him, Daniel was much more considerate. His choice wasn't considered viable by his temporary "coach", so she decided to look for a secretary herself. But, predictably, she failed, since no one wanted to be enslaved yet again. After her short search for a secretary, Daniel personally told her that if she wanted to get a secretary for him, he would appreciate Prinz Eugen by his side.

This preference of his wasn't random: he had always been fascinated by KMS Prinz Eugen's history, furthermore he had met her multiple times during his childhood and — he'd never tell a soul about this — had one of those childhood crushes on her.

Memory II
"Oh, great... As if I weren't annoyed enough..." Prinz Eugen muttered while sitting down at her desk in her room.
"... If you really don't want to babysit me, I can leave... I should be able to handle myself..." The 8 year old Daniel said as he felt uncomfortable inside the bedroom of a person who didn't like him.
"I wish I actually could let you go" she continued, "But if I do, your father will blame me. And I don't want to be near that man for more than a second."
Daniel didn't add any comment and stood still in front of the door while scanning the room.
"So you'll just stand there?" She asked after he had remained still in the same point for a minute.
"Uh... Does it bother you..?" He asked timidly.
"No, I just want to know your intentions."
"Then... I guess I will stand here..."
Eugen turned her chair sideways (from Daniel's perspective) and sat with her legs crossed while checking her phone out of boredom. Daniel's gaze was eventually captured by her: he had always thought she was a really beautiful woman and he wished he could get closer to her, but he didn't think she'd like that at all. Eventually, Eugen noticed he was staring at her intently.
"What?" She asked after raising her head and turning to him. Daniel was caught off guard and looked away from her as fast as he could, but he wasn't fast enough. He knew she noticed him and he was scared of what she could do or say.
"What is it? Do you need to go to the toilet? Are you hungry? Or thirsty? Speak." She fixed her eyes onto him as she awaited a response.
"No no, don't worry, I was just spacing out..!" He said while still looking away.
"Listen, kid." She suddenly stood up and began approaching him. His anxiety grew exponentially.
"Do not make this hard for us both. I must make sure you're doing well, and if I don't, I'll get a very unpleasant scolding from your dad. Therefore, I'd really appreciate it if you told me your problem so that both of us can be at peace. I don't want to repeat myself. Speak." She looked at him as though she was piercing his soul with her eyes. He felt an overwhelming pressure and lowered his head in a desperate attempt to avoid her eyes. She began worrying slightly about this reaction.
"Hey..." She placed her hand on his shoulder, "Seriously, tell me what's wrong." She softened the tone of her voice, changing her approach.
"It's... It's nothing... It's not your fault if I'm feeling this way, so... You don't need to worry..." He timidly reassured her while gradually mustering up the courage to raise his head and look at her.
"But why are you acting like this if it isn't my fault?"
"... This'll sound very straightforward, but I really can't keep this to myself anymore: I... Really admire you, Prinz Eugen... So, knowing that you despise me makes me feel a bit underwhelmed and uneasy... That's all..."
Eugen took some time to process what she had just heard; in fact, it caught her by surprise.
"... I'm sorry if I gave you that idea... I do not despise you at all, Daniel. I'm just a little frustrated today... Because of your father, of course." She clarified.
"What happened..?"
"Let's say I wasn't planning to babysit you today... I had other plans. I assume your father knows about your admiration towards me, the fact that he chose specifically me to look after you can't be a mere coincidence. But do not feel responsible for this, obviously you don't have any blame."
"Are your other plans important..?"
"Oh no, not at all, I just wanted to relax here without having to worry about his kid. It's been an intense day as usual, so I simply wanted to rest. But your dad doesn't like that, apparently." She said the last phrase with a hint of sarcasm mixed with frustration.
"In that case, you don't need to worry about me! You can rest, I won't cause any problems!" He suggested with insistence.
"... Can I really trust you, then?" She asked as her lips curved slightly into a smile. Daniel nodded without hesitation.
"You're a really good child..." She gently hugged him, "It's a shame that you had to end up in the hands of that man..."
Daniel hugged her back and said: "Don't mention it... I want to make sure I don't become like him, and this is one way to show that I don't want to follow his example. When I replace him... I swear I will make all of you happy again!"
"I... I'm looking forward to that, Daniel." She hugged him a little more tightly, "You're our only hope."

Memory II end
"So, this moment has arrived at last..." Said Eugen while entering the office.
"Yup. Even though I've changed a lot since I made that promise... my objective has remained the same." The commander, now Daniel, replied while sitting at his desk.
"Still, it surprises me that you remember about that..." He continued, "It's been something like five years."
"How could I forget? It was such a beautiful promise, considering who was in charge back then and his regime..." She said ironically, with a small shade of contempt.
"Well, I'd appreciate it if you forgot about him. This alliance has been plagued by tyranny for far too long... And now that the tyrant is gone, the new ruler has to ensure that all his traces are cancelled. It is a difficult task, but it must be done. I feel like this is my mission now." He affirmed with conviction.
"I'm glad to see you've still got this spirit in you." She smiled, "Shall we begin fixing his mistakes, then?"
"We shall, starting from the Academy's schedule."

Daniel's advent was followed by multiple reforms which aimed to counter his father's:
- He reorganized the Academy's schedule from scratch, even adding some more subjects. He inserted the new subjects where there once were subjects with too many lessons, reducing the 'concentration' of a single subject and increasing variety;
- He removed the compulsory afternoon exercises at the beach, which were entirely useless and unproductive;
- He decreased the excessive military and R&D spending and balanced it to dedicate some funds to the construction of leisure facilities, such as the much needed hot springs, some cafes and restaurants, and also a swimming pool;
- He dismissed the secretaries in excess, reducing their number from 18 to a single one;
- In accordance to that, he significantly reduced the secretary's workload;
- He strongly promoted unity and diversity by making all the classrooms mixed, as each classroom could only contain girls from one single navy when his father was in charge;
- Like him, he researched a way to create male KANSENs, however he didn't succeed. But a couple of years later, he found a way to successfully turn a human into a KANSEN. This breakthrough would be used for the first time on a teenager living in the USA...