Soviet hid quietly in a small nook in the palace library.

He had been hiding there for quite some time actually, hiding from a punishment from his father, Russian Empire, for something he didn't even do.

But his father would never believe him.

Luckily for Soviet though, his father had a lot going on and was supposed to be travelling to Prussia for some Imperial meeting, so he didn't have time to chase the young boy around and unleash all his anger out on him.

Finally, he heard the familiar sounds of hooves outside, quickly crawling out of his hiding place with a book in hand and peeking out the foggy windows.

His golden eyes watched as the Imperial carriage left, and only then, Soviet exhaled in relief.

He was finally free from his father's tyranny, at least for now.

Soviet and his father were never close, the Tsar didn't even seem like he could handle being in the same room as him without getting annoyed. He was always blamed for his mother's death, who unfortunately died in childhood.

Perhaps that is why Russian Empire resents him so much.

“Free, at last.” Soviet smiles slowly to himself. In quiet times when his father left, like this, it was only really one of the few moments he felt like he had freedom.

Even if it was just for a moment.