As they eventually settled down inside the mansion. Aunt Stella gave them in their respective rooms. Elizebeth's room as the center per request by the duchess and the duke on the second floor. The arrangement was tolerably the same as her mansion arrangement while the knights' rooms were on the lower floor. The parents and Indulf in front of her and Demien and Kyle's room side by side with Elizebeth.
After the dinner made by aunt Stella and mother, the children and the parents sat separately where the duke's aura felt like 'I chose the wrong day to be here. I'm out' since he couldn't enter the female topic affair freely. Thankfully, uncle David came running inside the house not long after without toeing off his shoes.
"Brice!" He howled.
"David." The rare happy expression filled the duke's face and hugged the brother-in-law in so heart wrenching and emotional before both went outside the house without bidding goodbye to their wives.
Like the kids, the grouping at the corner of the house, and bonding. Kyle and Demien surprisingly get along with their cousins. Though the topic in their hands without dissent out of normal social norms. 'Humans (mainly royal clowns) are weak'. Hence, the debate began though Elizebeth had an entirely different idea.
She would try her best to stir the topic into her favor. Watch her.
In a short amount of time, they had already become close. Dante was a cool brother that Demien desperately wanted. He never once stops following Dante's silhouette with his dreamy eyes with his indifferent face.
While Indulf fell in love with Logan, he stuck to him like glue, his hands caressing Logan's legs without a rest. Kyle, on the other hand, was busy serving Elizebeth to care for the blooming love here and there. After all, Elizebeth was his priority still.
The arrangement of their sitting was Demien and Dante sat on the sofa, Kyle that beside Demien sat on the floor with Elizebeth in his arms. Indulf and Logan sat facing them on the floor while snuggling. It was rare otherwise a perfect scenario for the whole family.
"Our cutie Elizebeth sweeps man left and right, ya say?"
"Really?" Logan sparkled his eyes before changing his vision from Dante to Elizebeth.
Demien, Kyle, and Indulf who are already familiar with their vulgar style just hummed so proudly. Elizebeth shrugged like whatever before nuzzled her head into Kyle's chest seeking the warmth of the brother.
"The king and the prince, as a matter of fact, the whole of the royal's family and the whole region," Indulf spoke for Elizebeth.
"Wow!!" Dante clapped his hands, in awe. "We are related."
"The prince is not my cup of tea." She gestures a cut head sign means 'he's not passed a vibe check'.
"Brother, you have the same experience?" Logan shouted so suddenly.
"Brother Dante?" Kyle blinked in disbelief. It was believable because he had the exact copy-paste of Elizebeth's face but much cooler. He has a cool look, masculine, gentle, and tall. It's understandable but wow.
"Yes, brother had the same experience before too." Logan pointed at Dante with amazement.
"Brother too?" Demien turned his head.
Dante laughed, ruffled Demien's head with affection. "Well, sorta."
"What happened?" Indulf leaned forward, detached his head from Logan's arm and head hang.
After stroked Demien's head, his hand retreated, "I…" he paused at his words. He mumbled, muttering words that he only knows as Logan realized something wrong. He flashed a smile-like as his face turned awkward.
"I don't mean to make ya remember, brother." He murmured ruely.
"Nah…" Dante waved his hand.
The gloomy atmosphere between them slowly engulfed the area. The four siblings were nervous, afraid they asked a sensitive topic because the reaction showed was definitely reckon with.
"The princesses of the siren kingdom liked me. They fought among them without my knowledge. The king blamed me for a discord, almost forcing me to make a choice to choose either. I don't want to. Mom and dad hated it, so we returned to mom's old town. And we were back here. Months after we resided here, humans had one side beef with us, so we changed our location inside the magic forest." He simplified the whole story that Elizebeth wanted to ask without opening her mouth.
Demien and Kyle turned their heads in shame. Demien didn't dare to make eye contact when he did nothing to restore the siren's honor and Kyle was ashamed for the fact he trash-talked them without knowing the whole story.
"And a few days ago, the princesses contacted our family regarding our brother," Logan added the last detail.
"Uncle David went there to negotiate?" Despite the gloomy atmosphere, Elizebeth asked excitedly. She almost understands the bigger picture. The incomplete picture even if she read the whole book. The dispute between humans and siren and also siren with the mix siren. Coincidentally the arc was related to her as well. What a coincident or well-planned strategy.
The reason she was here, the dream, her as Elizebeth. Everything was the clue. She had to puzzle it into one bigger complete picture for her to understand.
"Correct." Dante nodded, hugged Demien's head, and brought him back to his side. He ruffled Demien's head as the realization slowly hit him. He turned at Elizebeth once again in shock.
"I see…" Elizebeth mumbled something, half-aware that Kyle asked her to scoot over to make a space between them for him to do something to Elizebeth's hair.
"How'cha know bout dad…" He stopped his track, "nevermind." He shook his head and ruffled Demien's head again. Occasionally glancing at Elizebeth in interest. "There's something bout her I can't pinpoint what."
"I have planned something big." She mumbled with a common voice, without her being aware of.
Shocking everyone. Only Derrick and a few of her trusted servants saw her very sight, but now not anymore. Dante's lips stretched while watching Elizebeth seriously considering everything.
"What do you plan, Elizebeth?" Surprisingly Kyle asked her in a calm voice. As if he was aware of her tendency.
"I need to find someone." She answered seriously, knitting her brows, rubbed her chin with her palm, curled her toes.
"The traveler you were searching for?" Indulf oddly got along with her as well. "I was with you remember?" He continued when Elizebeth looked at him astonishingly.
"I see. Yes. Him."
"Do you still want to make him your teacher?"
"Yes." She nodded to Indulf and looked past her brother. The biggest hand patches on the wall attracted her attention. "He might know something, no! He knows something. He came back here for a reason."
Dante and Logan who didn't understand the topic of a sudden serious topic, listening without interfering. Assessing the information and learning everything with their sharp observation. They could feel the topic was delicate among them.
"This requires the king's support and traveling. I need father to arrange the meeting with the king- oh wait. I can arrange the meeting myself." She blinked. Extremely serious in her decision making.
"What do you want to do, Beth?" Demien twitched his brow. Elizebeth sounded nonchalant, speaking about the king and traveling. She's planning something ominous that only she knows.
"Annoying." She huffed. Ignoring or more to don't hear the question. "This is annoying. I need to plan everything for my highest surviving rate. And my family as well." She mumbled alone. Once again, shocked the rest.
"What's annoying?" Dante asked carefully.
In his observation, Elizebeth was a gifted kid. Her intelligence might be higher than her brothers after all. Her expression, her thinking, and her mind, she was not a mere five-year-old kid. Sitting inside his cousin's arms was an experienced lady who had years of hardship, not a noble lady.
"We are living in a despotic world, I'm three steps away from staging a coup." She rolled her eyes, huffed lethargically. "I can't rest and hide until then." Blinked and started to realize where she was.
Rest and hide? "Ya only five-year-old." Dante chuckled as he covered his mouth in politeness.
"I can't find your motive. It's ambiguous. What do you want to do actually, Elizebeth?" Logan asked nervously. From the beginning, he knew Elizebeth was not a normal kid. She threatened him before, and he could feel it under his bone that she was a unique being.
She smirked without remorse. "As far as I am concerned, I'm not obligated to tell you, or maybe, but not yet."
"Lil cousin, I knew we were related. I'm with you in shaking the world into chaos. Count me in." Dante flashed a thumb up in a proud face.
Logan narrowed his eyes, "oof. What with the attitude, little lady?"
"She's the cutest in the house," Indulf whispered to Logan for a head up.
"So?" Logan couldn't understand.
"She has a pass," Kyle answered this time while Elizebeth nodded angelically.
"Wow. That's what we called entitled."
"Yes, I am." She was so proud, nodding her head vehemently.
Logan facepalm hard with harsh breaths blows between his nostrils.
"So the prince…" Dante smirked knowingly.
"Nah…" The four siblings waved their hands away with identical facial expressions; disgusting. Everyone collectively agreed to not raise the previous issue.
"He's bad news?" Logan perked, interested yet again.
Demien leaned against Dante comfortably, "I wish. Elizebeth saw him, we saw him, none of us ever turned his way ever again."
"Worthless." Kyle shrugged his shoulder as he played with his sister's hair in an attempt to make a braid princess style.
"Pure rubbish," Indulf added. Hugged Logan's leg and caressed it.
"That's what it is."