Eros Orna Vasilios/Timeline

## Background

Eros was born into the imperial family as the first heir to the throne of the Vasilios Empire. Having had everything handed to him since birth, Eros found life as a royal mundane and monotonous. His position as crown prince and the promised future of inheriting a powerful empire seemed pointless. At an early age, he recruited several young civilians of low socioeconomic status to join a secret unit comprised of elite, undercover knights and carry out covert missions for the imperial family. Even as a child, Eros was able to manipulate his public image and draw favor to his side. He met Psyche early in life who he inadvertantly came across surrounded by several mortally wounded criminals. His fateful encounter with Psyche meant that there was a possibility he knew the full extent of Psyche's two divinity abilities. As he grew older, Eros became engaged to Medea Solon under the orders of Emperor Vasilios, who was fond of Duke Thesion Solon and his family. During an official meeting, Eros realized that Medea regarded their engagement as a stepping stone to further her own political career.

At a certain point in his life, Eros discovered the existence of Psyche Callista and her divine power. Despite the strife between the imperial family and the Temple, Eros coveted the divinity and formulated an elaborate plot to steal it. He strived to raise his status above mere royalty and become a higher being by obtaining Psyche's power. He arranged to have Psyche freed from the basement where she was locked away under the protection of Countess Callista. Once she was released, Eros sent expensive furnishings to the count's manor as gifts to decorate her new chambers. These kind acts earned Psyche's favor and provided him an appropriate excuse to establish a connection with her. After her formal debut in high society, Eros and Psyche began meeting secretly at night. During their first rendezvous, he claimed responsibility for rescuing Psyche from her hellish prison, and slowly earned her trust and love. He posed as Psyche's "god" and constantly reminded her that he was the person responsible for granting her freedom. Though Psyche confided in him, Eros refrained from revealing his affiliation with the royal family.

He then convinced Emperor Vasilios to cancel the arranged engagement with Medea and hold a contest to select the future crown princess. Knowing that Psyche could not best Medea in intelligence and knowledge, Eros hired a spy to blend in with the public and spread sympathy for Psyche's disadvantaged circumstances. He then devised a policy for her to present during the last round of the competition that would garner the public's favor and establish her reputation as an empathetic leader. During the round, Eros revealed himself as the crown prince. When she accused him of committing a lie of omission, Eros reminded her that most people would be thrilled to discover that their lover was a royal. He reassured her that their future together would not be lost even if Medea won the contest. On the day the results were announced, Psyche was declared as the future crown princess despite publicly losing the competition to Medea. To earn the public's approval, Eros kissed her passionately in front of the observing crowd and declared his undying love for her as a man. As Psyche tearfully accepted his proposal and agreed to become the future crown princess, the House of Solon was severely impacted by Medea's shameful defeat.

Soon after, Duchess Solon visited the imperial palace to give Emperor Vasilios an ornate jewel necklace as a congratulatory gift for the imperial engagement. Seizing this opportunity to destroy the Solon's reputation, Eros promised to relay her sentiments and accepted the gift. He secretly laced the necklace with poison and presented it to his father. Emperor Vasilios wore the necklace and subsequently fainted from the poison. Eros condemned the House of Solon as traitors for attempting to assassinate a member of the imperial family, and imprisoned Duchess Solon for her alleged act of treason. During this time, he continued to foster his intimate relationship with Psyche, whom he declared ardent love for. Eros professed his admiration for her compassion and generosity towards the weak, promising to protect her forever.

## Plot

Several months after their engagement, Psyche and Eros decided to vacation at an ocean resort. There, he encouraged her to purchase a blue ring trinket for Medea, refraining from mentioning how easily misconstrued the gesture would seem after the crown princess contest. After returning, Eros learned that Medea assaulted Psyche in the Grand Temple on the day of the yearly prayer. He quickly rushed to the count's manor to check the condition of whom he believed was Psyche. He vowed to sentence "Medea Solon" to death as punishment for her crimes. When the real Psyche arrived, Eros mistook her as Medea and threatened to behead her. He then escorted Medea into town the next day, where he attended a private meeting to discuss empire affairs. When he saw Medea studying historical events of the empire, Eros ridiculed her for attempting to read such a complex book. He later feigned concern for her well-being as she claimed to suffer from partial amnesia after recent events.

The next night, Eros's servants intercepted a carrier raven departing from Psyche's chambers. After reading the attached letter, Eros confronted Medea, whom he believed was Psyche, about its contents. Though Medea provided a reasonable explanation, Eros locked her in the manor basement until the night of the imperial banquet as a precautionary measure. He then gifted her cuff bracelets to hide any bruises left from handcuffs and a sacred relic necklace to wear to the festivities. During the first dance, Eros declared to Medea that he found his purpose in life after meeting her. He then excused himself to a private room, where he ordered his elite knights to murder Psyche while he continued to publicly host the festivities to create an alibi. He instructed them to use any means of torture until Psyche could no longer use her divinity to heal her body. After the sacred relic absorbed the residual divinity, the knights were instructed to deliver the necklace to Eros. Eros returned to the banquet hall and greeted King Hennel, who noticed the visible joy in the crown prince's expression. As Medea's absence from the banquet hall lengthened, Eros determined that he had been blessed by the guardian deity on his day of birth.

He was therefore shocked when Medea returned to the imperial banquet covered in wounds. Despite Medea's attempts to insinuate that he was the mastermind behind the assassination attempt, Eros asserted that a high-ranking noble had impersonated him. He proceeded to cease the festivities and interrogate all the esteemed guests while he himself visited the scene of the crime. The accompanying imperial knights reported that the evidence indicated a skilled swordmaster, either a strong woman or a short man, had stolen one of the swords and defeated each opponent with single fatal strikes. The next day, Eros used his elite knights as scapegoats and hung their corpses in front of the palace walls to publicly condemn them as traitors. He then learned from Medea that her savior was a tall, cloaked man with red hair. After granting Medea permission to learn swordsmanship, he began to search for the savior who allegedly thwarted his plans. When the search did not produce any results, Eros decided to personally lay a trap to capture the clever culprit. Imperial servants later determined from the lack of results that either Medea had miscalculated the savior's true height, or a skilled swordsman had created false wounds on the corpses to hide evidence. Eros then began wearing a ring forged from remnants of the sacred relic necklace.

He was later notified that the Temple had received a new oracle, the clearest message that they have received in three years. When Medea claimed to have no knowledge of its contents, Eros visited the Temple to discuss the details with the Pope. Rumors began to circulate high society, claiming that Thesion Solon had arranged a marriage between his daughter and King Hennel. Eros confessed that he was unsure of how to respond to the news when his servants offered congratulated him for avoiding a precarious engagement with Medea. He then arranged an inspection at the Grand Temple to document the names of all the visitors, knowing that the contents of the oracle may incriminate him, the closest known person to the heart of Vasilios, as the inevitable bane of the empire. During the inspection, he severely injured a child trafficker to prevent him from escaping. Eros then discovered an imperial knight bound within a carriage, and caught sight of its original occupant escaping the guards.

Recognizing the purple tendrils flying from underneath the escaper's hood, Eros decided to intercept her at the duke's manor. He was greeted by an inebriated Thesion, who attempted to prevent Eros from entering Medea's chambers in the middle of the night. Ignoring the duke's futile pleas, Eros entered the chambers and was surprised to Psyche, whom he believed was Medea, incapacitated. He then became distracted by her submissive, shameful demeanor and confessed that he preferred to have her as his empress. Declaring that he never loved Psyche, Eros encouraged the woman whom he believed was Medea to continue pursuing the seat of crown princess. Eros arrived once again at the Grand Temple after learning that Perion had returned to the empire. After a heated argument, Eros realized that Perion suspiciously resembled the description of Medea's alleged savior, and wondered whether he had visited the imperial banquet. Later that night, Eros noted that the sacred relic ring did not resonate in the presence of Medea, whom he believed was Psyche.

He visited the count's manor the next day and asked Medea to heal an injured bird using divinity. Seeing that Medea could not heal the bird, Eros instructed the count and countess to lock her in the basement until her divinity returned. The countess accidentally fell off the stairs as Medea protested, sustaining heavy injuries to the head. Unbeknownst to Eros, Psyche suddenly returned to her original body and healed the countess with divinity. Eros experienced a brief moment of satisfaction until Psyche suggested to end their relationship. He attempted to make amends by bestowing her with opulent gifts, even going as far as gifting her a stunning, rare necklace, 'The Tear of Eos' which had been missing for 200 years. Out of all his gifts, Psyche only accepted the sword created solely for her after Medea, in Psyche's body, mentioned one time to Eros she wished to learn swordsmanship.

A week after their break-up, Eros prepared to visit Psyche under the belief she reached her limit. After arriving, Eros purposely presented himself as frail and forlorn as if he had been lamenting her and he shed tears at Psyche’s refusal to forgive him. Although Eros expressed his despair at breaking up, Psyche admitted her love for him could gradually change over time. He subsequently urged Psyche to accept her responsibility as crown princess and proposed they enter an arranged marriage like most children of nobility. In response to his proposal, Psyche offered him 100 days to change her mind before officially breaking up their engagement for good. Eros eventually accepted her demand and the two parted ways.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Episode 19
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 10
3. ↑ Episode 45
4. ↑ Episode 11
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Episode 28
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Episode 17
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Episode 8
8. ↑ Episode 13
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Episode 16
10. ↑ Episode 14
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Episode 15
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Episode 1
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Episode 33
14. ↑ Episode 2
15. ↑ Episode 3
16. ↑ Episode 4
17. ↑ Episode 5
18. ↑ Episode 6
19. ↑ Episode 7
20. ↑  Episode 9
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Episode 18
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Episode 20
23. ↑ Episode 24
24. ↑ Episode 22
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Episode 37
26. ↑ Episode 25
27. ↑ Episode 26
28. ↑ Episode 30
29. ↑ Episode 35
30. ↑ Episode 31
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Episode 32
32. ↑ Episode 34
33. ↑ Episode 36
34. ↑ Episode 38
35. ↑ Episode 40
36. ↑ Episode 41
37. ↑ Episode 48
38. ↑ Episode 49
39. ↑ Episode 50
40. ↑ Episode 51
41. ↑ Episode 52