"So… what exactly are we going to talk about right now?" The prince with short-wavy hair asked. He's got his brows furrowed with annoyed expression on his face as he asked a question. His golden eyes with a star-shaped pattern glowed as he gritted his teeth.
"Ahaha, looks like you're not in the mood again, Zain. Did something happen?" another prince with black, smooth and straight long hair smiled at him. This is Aelius Luke de Ciera, the Second Prince of Ciera Empire, and the second child of the Emperor and Empress. He's a calm and gentle child with droopy eyes and a mole on the right side of his chin. He's got the special trait that the Empress' family has, which is the star-shaped eye pattern.
Seeing the second prince's smile made the younger prince take a deep breath and calm his mind.
"It's those damn nobles again, spitting bullshits about Lea." The youngest prince answered after clicking his tongue. His older brother chuckled, while the crown prince listened to them with a small smile on his face.
"You really like Lea, huh?" Helios asked. The third prince glared at him and turned his head away with his arms crossed.
"Hmph, I was just concerned!" Both his brothers laughed at him, and it caused him great annoyance.
"Hmph… I was just concerned." He answered with a low voice. Both his brothers laughed silently, and it caused him great annoyance.
"Let's shift the topic into the very reason why we are called here, can we?" The third prince sighed and shook his head.
"I agree. Why did you call us here, brother?" The second prince asked.
"Right, is it something important, brother?" Diellzain Ray de Ciera, the third son, and the Third Prince of Ciera Empire. He's got wavy black hair, even though he got the color from his father, its waviness is from his late mother, the Empress. He scratched his left eyebrow, and made sure not to hit the mole under it. He then crossed his legs as he turned to their eldest brother.
"It is. But, first… let me ask you a serious question." The crown prince, Helios Rishi de Ciera shot a serious stare at his younger brothers. The two creased their forehead as they exchanged looks with each other. They had no idea about how serious the conversation was going to be, and ended up simultaneously shrugging their shoulders.
"How will you handle having a… younger sister?" The two younger princes stayed silent right after hearing the question imposed by their eldest brother.
A few minutes had passed, and none of the three spoke, nor followed Helios' question. Helios took a deep breath as he spoke again.
"No need to overthink about—"
"What do you mean 'how will you handle'?" Diellzain asked, cutting off his brother's words.
"It is exactly as you heard. My question remains unchanged. You only need to give me your answers." Helios replied, his voice firm and serious.
"No, what confuses me is how you constructed your question, brother. How are we going to 'handle' having a sister, you asked? Are you asking to get our reactions? Our opinions on having a younger sister?" Diellzain specified.
Aelius nodded his head in agreement to his younger brother. Helios stared at them for a few seconds and nodded his head.
"Exactly. You're really sharp, Zain." There was another silence between the three of them before Diellzain spoke.
"Is this about the little girl we saw in the garden before that has the same eyes as us?" The third prince asked once again. Helios chuckled and replied.
"That's right. It looks like I didn't need to explain about that anymore."
This time, Aelius was the one who spoke.
"A younger sister? But, didn't Amara die right after she was born?" He asked, completely confused. Even the third prince and of course, Helios has many questions as well. But he knew he won't be able to answer all of those on his own.
They can't deny or ignore the fact that they saw that little girl, all of them witnessed the existence of that little girl. And what surprised them are the girl's eyes, hair, and mole that resembles their mother.
"That's exactly why I called Father here as well, because I am also confused. And remember the issue with mother before? When she suddenly imprisoned herself within the Antares Palace? And this very palace disappeared to thin air after Mother's death," Aelius lowered down his head as he massage his temple. Diellzain, with the expression of disbelief stared at his Big brother.
"That's exactly why I asked for Dad to join as well, because I am also confused. However, it looks like he still hasn't finished his paperworks." Helios replied, glancing at the door of the conference room that has yet to open.
"Additionally, remember the issue with Mom before? When she suddenly imprisoned herself within the Antares Palace? And this very thin place also disappeared right after the news of Mom's death." Helios added. There are many unanswered things in his mind. Piled up questions that not only him, but his younger brothers as well have in their mind.
'Right… we have no idea of the reason why she suddenly started acting strange…' Diellzain thought. His expression cannot hide the bitterness that he felt. He loved and adored his mother, and knowing that she was pregnant with Amara before got him very excited to finally have a younger sister.
'She started acting like a mad person and then decided to imprison herself inside the Antares Palace. We've… never seen her since, until the maids within it announced her death five years ago… along with the disappearance of that specific palace.' even the second prince is confused. The question that he has is the same question that his brothers are thinking about.
"The reason you're bringing this up. Did you met her again?" Aelius asked, in which Helios agreed to by nodding his head.
"The reason you're raising this issue is because you've met her again, am I right?" Aelius asked, which made Helios nod without any hesitation.
"Her eyes were changed into a different color. But I won't forget the feeling of that mana overflowing from her body," he answered. He then looked at his younger brothers as he shot another question.
"So… would you actually accept her should she be introduced as our younger sister?"
Another silence occupied the room.
Helios crossed his legs and his arms as he leaned on the chair's back while waiting for his brothers' answers.
A few minutes later, Diellzain clicked his tongue.
"What kind of question is that? Isn't it obvious? She's our sister, so we should welcome her." Diellzain answered, annoyed by how nonsensical the question is. Helios nodded his head, a small smile formed on his lips.
"Exactly. A younger sister? Isn't that exciting?" Aelius answered as he chuckled.
"That's good to hear. And I'm actually surprised to hear your answer, Zain." Helios turned his gaze to his youngest brother, and the kid sighed before he responded.
"Of course..." he paused. Aelius and Helios looked at each other as they both turn their heads to their youngest brother.
"Well… it's actually surprising on my part as well. All this time, I believed that when Amara died, we no longer had any chance to have a younger sister. And you know exactly how much I am wishing for one…" the third prince's voice started strong earlier before the conversation, and now it's almost silent. As if he's only whispering, talking to himself.
Aelius and Helios exchanged looks as they smiled at each other.
"I also realized how much she could've suffered. She was so young when we saw her before… and even though she looked healthy then, we have no idea how she's being treated by the servants. And it also means that she's living her life away from her family. And where does she reside? I hope it's not in the forest…" Diellzain added, his voice sounded very worried about the little girl they saw from the garden before.
He only encountered the little girl once, but seeing her reminded him of their mother. If it weren't for their mission, they wouldn't let that girl and that maid go out of their sight that time.
"It never slipped my mind to have another younger sister after Mom passed away. But now, I'm very excited—my heart's beating so fast right now. But, just thinking about the fact that she lived four or five years alone, with just the servants, that sounds painful. Is she even aware that she has a family?" Diellzain continued. His expression showed the bitter-sweet feeling he has right now. The combination of happiness from having a sister, and heartbreak from realizing the loneliness that his sister might've felt during her life shows on his face.
'Am I upset because Dad never mentioned anything about this? Or am I mad at me and my brothers because we did not do something about it before? We were fast to disregard that encounter and focus on our missions—until we had completely forgotten about her… why?' Diellzain's face crumpled as his mind becomes full with questions.
Aelius looked at his little brother with a worried face.
"I actually tried looking for her again one time before, but I couldn't find her. Additionally, there's that weird case before about the Antares Palace strangely disappearing. The location of where it was built is now full of trees. And when Father found out that I was looking at this case, he ordered me to drop it. At first I was confused, how can a whole palace just disappear? I tried to force Father to let me investigate it, but he told me that it was already revealed by the Tower's magician how it disappeared," Aelius explained. Helios nodded his head to agree.
"Yes, the Tower's magician said that Mom cast a spell for it to disappear after her death," Diellzain spoke.
"Still, it's strange. Why would Mom do something like that?" Aelius asked, causing his older brother to sigh in disbelief.
"We were so busy with our own duties that we didn't pay too much attention to it," Diellzain glared at the table in front of him as he clenched his fists.
Diellzain, because of his talent with weaponry and magic, was ordered to join the war that lasted for five years due to the increasing casualties of their soldiers. While Aelius acted as the doctor for the injured people that were involved in the war, all because of his amazing talent when it comes to healing and medicines, with Helios as a captain of the First Division's Cavalry, being the strongest warrior who has mastered both his magic power and fighting skills.
"Right. There was still a war two years ago against the subordinates of the sealed Black Magician," Aelius added. Helios sighed as he massaged his temple.
"Let's just ask Dad about it,"
***
"Shaiii!" I spread my arms as I ran to one of the maids here in the Antares Palace. It was only yesterday when I encountered Alina's first brother, I couldn't even sleep last night! Good thing Themis's voice was so beautiful that I've forgotten about that encounter and was able to actually sleep peacefully.
"Your Highness, please don't run. You might fall" I giggled as I threw myself to her. She caught me within her arms and carried me.
"Your Highness seems really happy, I wonder what caused the Princess to be energetic this early in the morning?" Shai asked. Actually, I'm just trying to cheer myself up, that's why I'm acting like this, let's cast away all the embarrassment I'm feeling, because this kid had the right to act like a kid. By the way, the reason I am like this right now is because I am overthinking a lot of things right now, so I'm doing everything I can, even this shameless act of acting cute to the maids! Just to divert my attention to other things!
The truth is, I am worried about the consequences of meeting Helios at the Callisto Garden. I even prayed to the God of this world and hoped that Helios would quickly forget about our meeting and just let me live happily ever after.
Actually, I realized some things earlier when I was thinking back about our encounter yesterday.
Helios had already seen Alina before. Surely, he's not stupid to think that it's a different person all because my eyes changed colors! That's why I'm overthinking a lot of things right now, not just right now, I've been devastated ever since I realized these things! I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist.
Worst, this is the worst! I have to look back on my plans if my plan B is going to work! Huh… ignoring them while living my best life. Can I do that? Still, I've already experienced all kinds of abuse from my previous family, and I should be able to endure all those princes' insults. The differences between my previous family and Alina's is that they don't resort to physical violence and just stay with verbal abuse, while my previous family does both.
I think I can handle living with them if ever they come after me. I mean, it was shown in Alina's backstory that the First and Third Prince arrived in the Antares Palace, with dozens of knights. But, it was never mentioned why they went there to pick her up, so I had no idea why.
Seriously, this is not good for me. I closed my eyes tight and buried my face in my arms around Shai's shoulder. Dang it.
"Your Highness?" I flinched and pulled away from Shai when she called me.
"Sorry! Did you say something?" I asked. Shai blinked a couple of times before smiling and shaking her head.
"Does the Princess want something from this Shairah?" She started walking in the hallway and I just smiled as I shook my head to answer her question.
"I just want to hug Shai," I answered, wrapping my arms around her shoulders again. Being a small kid has its perks. And it's being hugged and carried by these beautiful maids here. Not only does it help me with going to other places, I also enjoy it! My family in my previous life were never this kind and nice!
"Haha, the Princess is so sweet," she chuckled.
"And… hehe, do you have candies with you?" Shai laughed again before answering my questions.
"Shall we get you candies?" I nodded my head repeatedly with a smile on my face and nudged on her cheeks. She giggled and caressed my back.
"Let's go, Princess,"
"Yaaay!"
Ughh, shame. I'm getting cringed by my own actions!
"But, we have to keep it a secret from Themis and Ryna, hahaha. Your Highness is definitely well aware that they've been decreasing the candies given to you," Well, candies are so sweet that it might lead to tonsillitis and tooth decay if I keep eating it everyday. They even decided not to give me too many cupcakes and cookies, knowing very well that I love chocolate cupcakes.
"Yup, yup! I can keep a secret!" I leaned forward to her and gave her a kiss. It made her chuckle.
"A secret between me and the Princess, that sounds exciting," Shai said. I love how she never takes off that smile from her face whenever she talks to me. It's like it was plastered there permanently. Not just her, but all of them. It warms my heart...
"Hehe ~" I only replied with a few giggles as I leaned my head on her temple while looking ahead on the hallway.
It's… I don't know what time in the afternoon, but it is afternoon. My afternoon tea with Ryna and Ande just ended when I decided to walk around the palace alone to familiarize the place.
The reason for that was to know where to hide in case some monsters in a human sheath arrive and decide to get Alina from the Antares Palace. Just thinking about it is enough to make me shiver, jeez.
I faced Shai again to wrap my arms around her shoulders and lean my head on hers.
Today is so peaceful and calm. It's amazing how I can always hear the sounds of the birds and the whispers of the winds. The trees surrounding this palace relaxes me everytime I see the branches and leaves getting swayed by the wind. The silence of this place at this time of day gives me the feeling of nostalgia whenever we visit our hometown before when we were kids. Ahh...
Come to think of it, I wonder about my grandparents' reaction after knowing that I killed myself and shattered my bones after jumping from the tallest building I found?
Ever since I got here, I've been thinking about how I am going to adapt in this world that I forgot about everything in my previous world, well except my shitty family because Alina's family reminds me of mine as well.
Anyway, I'm still having a hard time getting used to this world. A lot of things are still wandering inside my mind.
How I'm going to act, what exactly should I do whenever I'm around the servants, how should I change this kid's personality without the servants getting suspicious of me. Hmm, but even though they've noticed my changes, they never really pay too much attention to it.
Maybe they're thinking that it's because of what happened to Alina? I mean, she was sleeping for 18 days ever since she drowned. Surely that accident will greatly affect this little kid and realize how dangerous it is outside her palace. They're probably thinking about something like that.
Ahh, one more thing. The blonde boy who saved Alina. Who was that? I don't remember reading about a blonde boy in the novel. And even if Alina's backstory was only shown the moment she died, this blonde boy should still appear in the story, right? Come to think of it, even this drowning accident was never in the book.
Hmm, I understand why, and it's because Alina is just a side character who is destined to die. Anything about her backstory is not important for the readers.
Alright, let's stop thinking about those things and just eat candies.
I hope these peaceful days never end.
***