Later that day, after the court meeting, Alex had a private meeting with Sophia.
"Lord Brother, your address before the court… it was for Seraphina and me, wasn't it?" Sophia asked.
"Lord Brother?" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Big Brother," Sophia quickly corrected herself sheepishly.
"I will let it go this one time." Alex nodded to himself.
He looked at Sophia's hooked head figure and then tussled her hair, causing Sophia to instinctively swat his hand away and glare at him.
"That's better." Alex smiled.
He leaned back into his seat.
"To answer your question, the address was for everyone in the hall today, including the two of you. I wanted everyone to know where I stand regarding us as siblings," Alex said.
Then he added, "But you are right. The reason I even bothered was for you two."
"Because you are worried we will be used against you?" Sophia asked.
Alex shook his head. "Because I am worried we will have a bad ending that could have been avoided."
