"Your Highness, it's already morning." I yawned as I slowly opened my eyes and it fell right into Themis who's opening the curtain of my window—wait, no! That is not my window! I'm in a different room!
"Let's bathe you quickly, the Emperor and the Princes requested that you join them for breakfast," what did she just say…?
My family requested what?!
Noooo! I don't want to meet them! Arghhh!
"Your Highness?" And why does she keep calling me 'Your Highness' now?! She usually calls me 'Princess' too and only calls me Your Highness when the conversation is serious!
"Themis…" I mumbled.
"Good morning, Your Highness. Let's make haste. The Emperor and the Princes are expecting you," She said with a smile on her face.
Dang it, what a pain.
This is it. The first day of my miserable life has come! I feel like crying…
My chest hurts… I feel like there's a lump in my throat…
*sniffle*
"Y-Your Highness?!" Themis reacted when suddenly, a tear fell on my cheeks. Who wouldn't cry in this situation?! I know exactly what my future will be and how those people will treat me! And now they want to have a freaking breakfast with me? What the heck should I do once I face them?!
"Your Highness, what seems to be the problem? Are you hurt anywhere?" Themis asked as she ran by my side and quickly wrapped her arms around me. She gently pushed my head on her chest and caressed my back.
What should I do now? Should I ignore them? No, no. Diellzain definitely wouldn't want that. Hngg—dang it! But I can't just act close to them even if they're my family. Should I observe for now? But they might get suspicious of me and blame my maids due to it. Should I just… entertain them?
"Themis… where are we?" I asked. My voice even cracked because of my sobs.
This room is not familiar at all. The interior design is more extravagant and the loots here look more luxurious than the ones in the Antares Palace! Please, God of this world! Just allow me to go back to my previous world with these loots here!
"Your Highness, we are currently at the Alphard Palace. This is the place where the previous princesses stayed. The Emperor ordered that you stay here from now on," I sniffled as Themis explained everything. I gently pushed her away and wiped my tears away. I looked at her, but there were still tears coming out from my eyes. She looked really worried as she wiped my tears away.
And not just that, she looked worried about other things too! Is she concerned that I am with my family now?
Well, that's right! I am also feeling the same thing for my own life! Ahhhh! Goddess of Fate!
"But why should I stay here? You said that the princes are my brothers… then does that mean that the Emperor is my father?" I already know he's not—so, please reassure me with that, Themis!
"Hmm," Themis stayed smiling at me without saying anything, she only nodded her head. Of course, she has to lie!
There's no way you would tell a five year old the harsh truth that you've got a different father from your older brothers. Not when Alina's been looking for her family ever since she started thinking.
"Are you feeling alright now, Your Highness?" She asked. Her smile didn't fade, and such a soft and gentle smile made me feel something in my chest.
"Yes…"
She nodded her head and chuckled as she pinched my cheeks gently.
"Well then, let's bathe you and dress up. Ryna, Ande! Can you assist me with bathing the Princess?" Themis called, and right away the two servants she called entered my room and bowed their heads.
"Greetings, Your Highness the First Princess," Ryna greeted.
Nooo, don't call me like that! Argh, goodness. Why are they acting like this? They usually just greet me 'Good morning, Princess' because that's how I asked them to greet me!
"Greetings to the First Princess," even Ande, the energetic one among the two, has calmed down! This is not right!
"Good morning! Looking forward to your service!" I greeted as I crawled down from my bed. Ryna and Ande smiled at me.
"Your Highness seems really happy," No. N.O. I am not happy. This is an act, AN ACT!
Why does this have to happen? Just when I thought that everything has already calmed down and my life has become peaceful! Goodness gracious… maybe I should've taken advantage of those peaceful days and spent my meals with all of the maids. Because how am I supposed to eat with them now that I am needed everyday at the dining hall?!
"Hehe… of course! But—but, can we guys still eat together during my meals? Will that be alright?" I asked. I couldn't be any happier if they are allowed to dine with me. At least I still have a peaceful time in my life!
I waited for them to answer, but they only exchanged gazes with each other.
I wanna cry...
Why aren't they answering my question?!
"We apologize, Your Highness. I'm afraid the Emperor and the Princes would not approve of that," Themis answered. Why not?! No, please, I want to remain sane. If I keep spending my days with those people, I'll end up killing myself, you know?
But, there's no way I would tell them that.
"Then… I'll ask the Emperor about it!" I giggled and held Themis' hand.
"Let's make haste, make haste!"
***
I feel like throwing up. My stomach hurts, I feel cold, it feels like there's a lump in my throat. These chills won't stop… and the cause of these mixed emotions within me is…
"Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Highnesses. Alina Devi de Ciera is honored to have finally met you." Haha! No way in hell I am honored to meet these beasts! And why are they all smiling to me in that way?!
"Good morning, Ali. It's nice meeting you," Aelius greeted as he smiled at me softly and gently. Bruh, you can't sway me with that beautiful smile of yours!
"Good day, Ali! You don't really have to address us as such. Feel free to call us by names, or just 'brother' is fine," This time, it was Diellzain who spoke. Why is he smiling at me? And he looked very excited too? Is he acting?
Still, something's really really really strange. Is this how they treated Alina when she first arrived in the Alphard Palace? Not just the way they trespassed the Antares Palace, even the way they're treating her is different. They even gave her a nickname, Ali?
But I'm very sure that the book never mentioned Alina receiving this kind of affection from her family.
Also, if that's the case… Why the hell did they ruin her peaceful life in Antares Palace just to treat her like a bug?!
This Clara is in literal confusion.
"Indeed. You don't have to be so formal to us, Ali. You can even call Dad by his name and it's fine," Helios added to what Diellzain had said a while ago. Aelius and Diellzain even chuckled and nodded their heads to agree!
Goodness—why are they acting like this?
"Hehe… then good morning, brothers!" I acted as I gave them a huge smile that I always use to melt the maids' hearts.
Yes… haha. What's plan B again? Yeah, ignore them and live the best of my life. And what was plan C? Try my best to live with them around… and that's exactly how this is going to happen.
If I ignore them when they're the ones approaching, they might think I am disrespectful, and it might lead me to my early death. And that's the ending I'm trying to avoid!
"Haha, how's your sleep, dear?" Helios asked. He's really trying hard not to look scary in front of me, huh? And what did he just call me? Dear? DEAR?!
"It was great, brother! It was comfortable!" I replied, my smile not fading at all. Because this is necessary!
"That's good to hear. It would be a shame if we can't provide an even more comfortable room than the one in the Antares Palace," Diellzain spoke. He's smiling but he sounded arrogant about that one. And why is he comparing the Alphard Palace's bedroom from my favorite bedroom in Antares Palace?! So competitive!
"It's nice to finally meet you, my child. It's your Dad," I looked at the one who spoke. He's sitting at the end of this long table, across where we are standing.
This man is gorgeous. He's got jet-black hair, and his eyes are deep red. These red eyes are distinct to those of Ciera, but only one of his children got his eyes. It looks like Odilia's gene is that strong, huh? You can't even see a hint of Alina's father in her appearance. Even the hair is Iliana's even though Odilia's hair color is blonde.
Why is it silver? Well, it's Iliana's mother's hair color. Most Odilia inherited the golden-blonde hair, but some of them, Iliana included, got their other parents' hair.
Anyway, that man that sits across from me is the Emperor, Orpheus Raven de Ciera. The only one who has the same color as his eyes is Amara Euniq de Ciera. The First Princess. However, she still has the eye-pattern that is unique for Odilia, and Iliana's hair color too.
Wait, he said 'it's your dad', didn't he? Didn't he?!
Ahhhh! Don't emphasize that!
"Nice. Meeting you, Daddy!" Ahhh! I messed up! I didn't mean to put a period on that nice! Now they're looking at me with widened eyes! Spare me… spare this kid!
"Pfft—" Diellzain covered his mouth as he looked away from my direction. I giggled in order to CALM MYSELF! And did he just laugh? He laughed? Is he mocking me?
"I am sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty and Your Highnesses. However, I must leave now, I hope that you have a great breakfast," I turned to Themis and waved my hands at her. She bowed to us then waved back at me as she smiled.
"Hehe…" that's the only response I could give her.
Even though what I really wanna say is…
Don't leave me alone here! No way I'm gonna enjoy this meal at all! All I want to do is cry!
"Take a seat, Ali," Orpheus said. But… the chair is too high for me, sir?
"Ahh…" that's the only thing I could say when I suddenly started floating in the air and my body went to the chair beside Diellzain, across from Aelius.
I blinked a couple of times as I looked at Orpheus putting down his hand after he used magic to bring me to my seat. I gasped and clasped my hands together and faced him.
I made sure I look very excited and amazed right now.
"Woah! That's amazing, Or—Daddy!" Dang it! I almost called him by his name!
Still, I was able to transition that into 'daddy', I hope they didn't notice it, please!
"Do you want to learn magic?" He asked, still smiling. The way he smiles is very beautiful but I won't be swayed by that.
Hmph!
"Yes, yes! It's amusing!" I nodded repeatedly to answer him. And dang it… I feel like tears are going to come out from my eyes. I hope they stay inside my eye socket—otherwise, I'll die!
"You'll learn about it once you turn seven. However, there are instances when a royalty's mana is too much for their body to handle, they'll be taught how to control magic earlier than the required age," Diellzain explained. He faced me and stared at me. His smile is still there… Aren't you guys tired from acting?
"Mana…?" I asked, pretending I know nothing about that shit at all. Diellzain placed his hand on top of my head and I felt my heart skip a beat—because I'm nervous and scared! He won't grab my head and detach it from my neck, won't he?
He ruffled my hair and then chuckled. Wait… isn't he gorgeous? Goodness, is it really normal to be gorgeous in this family?
Wait, no. Don't believe anything you see, self!
And why is he acting like we're close? Stop ruffling my hair!
"Are you happy to see your family, Ali?" Aelius asked, and to answer you, sir…
NO!
Of course not! I know exactly what's going to happen to me here, and I am not happy about that!
And why are they like this, anyway? What's happening? Did the author suddenly turn them into kind and nice people who love Alina? Did they revise the story?! No way!
"Absolutely, brother. I've been wanting to meet you all ever since!" I replied while swaying my body left and right as I giggled excitedly.
Shoot, my jaws are getting tired from all these fake smiles!
"Say, Ali. Are you aware of our names?" Helios asked. He's really trying hard to smile properly… it's not working, bro. Your smile looks scary.
But, how am I supposed to know your names when you haven't even introduced yourselves to me? Goodness these people…
Good thing I know their names. Based on my memory, Themis had already told me their names, so I should know them by now.
My smile remains without answering his question. I can't just say 'yes, I know everything about you', right? But like I said, Themis had already introduced them to me waaaay before I, Clara, came here. Alina's been asking and pestering the maids about her family, so Themis ended up telling her everything about the Empire and the Imperial Family. She didn't exactly show their faces but she described them to her.
"Did your personal maid not tell you anything about us at all?" Diellzain looked at me with a serious expression. Dang it, this guy is impatient! I just stayed quiet for a moment and he's already bringing Themis into this!
"S-she did! It's just that… I am not sure if I got the names right, hehe…" I scratched the back of my head before turning to the Emperor.
"My Dad, the Emperor. Orpheus Raven de Ciera… and my first brother, the First Prince. Helios Rishi de Ciera. My second brother, Aelius Luke de Ciera… and my third brother, Dae—I mean, Di…Diellzain Ray de Ciera," Dang this tongue! It was actually difficult to say Diellzain's name! Why is it pronounced as 'diylzeyn' anyway?!
"Dae? Is that a nickname for me? Haha, I like it," look at him. He's smiling again. Is he for real?
Also, the atmosphere is not so heavy.
Strange…
Veeery strange…
***