Author's Note: Hello, my faithful readers! It is nice to come back to continuing this series! Today was my last day of school, which means I will be able to release new chapters according to my schedule during my summer break! As for my exams, I'm pretty sure I got higher than 90% on every one of them so, don't worry about them. Enjoy!
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After giving my speech, I was swept out of the meeting room by the Emperor's guards, alongside his children, who seemed to be just as confused as me. Once we were brought by the guards to the common living area, they returned to their posts at the entrance to the room.
After all, the three children here are all of important status. Anyway, the moment I sat down, I started to look at the Emperor's children. During the introductions, they said that the boy's name was Kaiser and the girl's name was Callisto, right?
These two are the prince and princess of this country, one of the most important people in the whole world as the Elysian Empire is huge and has a large amount of influence. It shouldn't hurt to at least make friends with them while I still can. Sierra will always be my best friend, but I believe having friends in high places will greatly benefit the both of us.
It is the law of equivalent exchange.
I walk towards the place where the two of them are sitting and sit down near them. Um, I think I should come up with a topic that could break the ice. Alright, I did this before. How did I become friends with Sierra again?
...
Oh no.
Wait, the only reason I was able to become Sierra's friend was because she was the one who talked to me first when I introduced myself to the rest of my class. I don't think I have made any other friends, with my classmates being more like nice acquaintances. If only I was a bit more sociable like Sierra.
"... Hello, nice to meet you. I-I am Luscia von R-Roscelto. You are the E-Emperor's kids, right? Do you want to talk?..."
Oh my god!
How bad am I at this?! How was my first impression the most formal way of greeting another person!? Why did I have to be this scared of social interactions?! How was I able to give a speech to the leaders of the world without stuttering at all?!? Is this what happens when my only friend is literally the most sociable person in the world!?! Just when I was freaking out over my obvious social anxiety, the two siblings looked at me.
"We know that already. So, you wanted to talk to us?"
I heard the voice of Callisto and instantly felt a rush of gratitude towards her. I inch a bit closer to the both of them and open my mouth again, this time with much more confidence in my voice.
"Yeah, I feel like the atmosphere has a bit too much tension in the air so, I wanted to lighten the mood by talking to you two."
"Well, I also kind of felt the same way. Since you introduced yourself, we should as well, right, Kai?"
"Yes... Nice to meet you, Miss Luscia. My name is Kaiser Arkas Elysian, but you can just call me Kai as well."
"I'm Callisto Ion Elysian! Call me Calli for short."
Wow, these guys are much more prepared than me when it comes to talking to people. So, just by looking at their reactions, it seems Kai is a bit shyer than Calli. That is just my assumption so, it might not be entirely correct.
"So, what is life like as the successors of the Empire?"
"Eh, it is an okay life. However, I want to be someone with much more freedom when I grow up. Even though I'm the older sister, Kai will be the one who inherits the throne. So, I will become someone who can enjoy life to the fullest, all while helping Kai as well."
"Um... I sort of agree with that. I mean, I will be the one who inherits the throne, just like what Calli said. But, I want to be a wise ruler who thinks about the country, or that's what my father is like..."
Are they okay with disclosing this much information!? I feel like they are talking way too much with a person they just met. Oh, is it because they're children? Am I the weird one for being scared to talk to others? Wait, if they are able to talk this much without inhibitions, the Emperor must have raised them not to be too formal then.
And so, we continued the conversation between the three of us. Calli's dream is to be the person who will find freedom and reach the stars, or that's what she said. Kai said that he will become a good ruler for his people, but added that he thinks that he wants to.
From our conversation, I realized that Calli is a much more idealistic person who is able to talk for long periods of time. Kai, on the other hand, seems to be a bit more normal and hides the things he considers secrets, probably. He also seems to think that he has an enormous pressure bearing down on him due to his father's fame, not that I blame him.
He didn't say it outright but, I just think that he does, what with all of his praise for his father and his gloomy face. We all talked for a long time in that living area when a man came inside as well. When I turned to look at him, my first thought was 'How was he allowed inside of here?'.
He looked like a man who was old, but not so old that he already had white hairs. When he spotted me looking at him, he walked towards me.
"Oh, children here as well? I didn't think that they would allow children into the meeting."
"I can say the same thing to you as well, Sir. Are you someone's assistant or something?"
I can also say that Calli is way too blunt with her words.
"Don't say that! You will hurt this man's feelings, Calli..."
Oh, and Kai is now cowering behind me.
"That's quite alright, child. She was just asking me why I am here. Well, I'm here to pick up Master Firon and Master Matz."
"Firon and Matz?"
"Those two were the representatives of Spadagas, if I'm not mistaken. They were just merchants so, I assumed they only brought guards and not servants."
"Ah, well, I was once a homeless man, you know. One day, they found me and let me stay with them for free. I wanted to thank them for everything and when I tole Firon about this, he said that he can take care of the cooking of meals and things like that when he brought me to this meeting. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself to you. My name is Animus."
The man, whose name was Animus, bowed in front of us.
"Don't do that, Mister Animus. You're an adult so..."
"No, I must. You may be children but you have a much higher social standing than me so, I must pay my respects."
Wow, this man is unexpectedly upholding respect even though we are kids. Those merchants must have taught him very well if he is showing us this amount of respect to us.
"By the way, how long have you been with them?"
"Around a few weeks ago, I suppose."
A few weeks and they are already allowing him to come with them? He must have done so much stuff to have earned their trust so fast.
"Well, Animus, I hope we can all become good friends in the following days to come."
"Yes, Princess, Prince, Lady."
Are those our titles? Why is my title Lady when I haven't married anyone yet? Our discussion then included the man who stumbled onto us. He looked old yet looked so comfortable and didn't look just once a bit bored with our childish talk. I think he is the kind of guy who likes being with children.
After a very long while, I heard lots of footsteps coming from the hallway which signaled the end of the meeting. When those footsteps finally reached the room we were in, we heard the Emperor's voice right behind us.
"Well, it seems like we were able to find some solutions to each of our problems. However, I think we will have to be here for at least a few more days to work out every single problem. So, get back to all of your designated rooms and get some sleep and some dinner. Good night to you all!"
After that announcement, I was brought back to the designated room where I will be living with my father and uncle. I thought that it will only last for one day but, if I actually thought about it a bit more, I would have realized that a problem which involves the entire world will definitely not be solved in a single day.
Over the course of a few days, I became close with the two siblings and Animus. Then, everything changed when I thought I heard something big thud on the floor of the merchant's room. I was running late as I had to find a bathroom around here before I went to the meeting, but I checked it out as there might have been a problem.
The moment I opened it, there was only one thing I could say.
"Blood...?"