They were inside the carriage, on the way to the embroidering meeting. Cain had Diana on his lap, and they were both looking out the window.
Elise thought that just by looking at them, you would think that they were just a regular pair of siblings who got along.
The two looked very much alike. They got their golden hair from their father and their blue eyes from their mother. They both had almond-shaped eyes, but these eyes were large and round, so they didn't look too cunning. They made a friendly impression – not too offensive, and easy to like.
When Diana got close to Cain, he would sometimes break into a pained expression of adoration, but usually, he just smiled at her, joyfully. Diana always returned his affection as a four year old, would – loudly and with a huge smile across her face. She tended to cry, though, and get angry, and then be surprised. Her expressions changed so often that Cain had his hands full with reacting to her different moods.
Because of Diana's shifting moods and Cain always reacting to catch up, their relatives often said they didn't seem very alike. When they were both calmly looking out the window like this, though, they were almost identical.
"I'll say it again," said Elise. "You're not to cling to Di, Cain. You are here to participate in the embroidery meeting."
"You don't have to keep reminding me, Mother," said Cain. "My goal is to become great at embroidering so that I can one day present Diana with a beautiful wedding gown."
Elise had lost count of how many times she had warned Cain about the coming meeting. This time, though, his response was something she wasn't expecting. She widened her eyes and looked at him.
"Cain! So you do want Diana to be married off, after all," said Elise.
Upon hearing those words, Cain smiled, sadly.
"What kind of monster do you think I am?" said Cain. "I want Diana to be happy, above all else."
"I thought that you might be an obsessive older brother who planned on never letting her leave the household," said Elise.
"Of course not. My main goal in life is to ensure that Diana will be the happiest girl in the world. I want her to be happier than anyone, at all costs," said Cain.
Cain appeared gloomy when he said this. He was smiling, but it wasn't a genuine smile.
If Diana married the crown prince, he would end up choosing the Heroine over her, and Diana would ultimately be shipped off to an unhappy household. If the Heroine fell in love with the knight in training, Diana would become possessed by a demon and eventually be killed. If the Heroine fell in love with the student of magic, Diana would be experimented on with psychological spells, and she would have a mental breakdown. If the Heroine fell in love with the assassin, everyone but the Heroine would be killed.
Every single time, no matter whom the Player (a.k.a. the Heroine) fell in love with, the Villainess (a.k.a. Diana) would meet a terrible fate.
The Heroine would make Diana unhappy every time.
These were simply the scenarios laid out in the game Cain had played in his past life.
This world was like the world in the game he had played, but now, this wasn't a game, anymore. It was Cain's reality. There was no law that said his reality had to play out the same way the game would. There may not even be a Heroine in this reality.
Even so, Cain made an oath.
This time, he would pull it off. He would make Diana happy, this time.
"Anyways, when you take our ages into consideration," said Cain, "Wouldn't arranging for me to meet a possible bride come before arranging for Diana to meet a possible groom?"
"…Have you thought about getting married, my dear?" asked Elise.
"I'm the firstborn son of a Duke, so of course I have. Well, come to think of it, there's only a three-year difference between the prince and me. So, if you consider that he might want to marry someone my age, I may have to wait for him to get married before anyone would consider me for marriage," said Cain.
"Sometimes I forget that you're just seven years old," said Elise, putting a hand to her cheek and sighing.
Even as a parent, Elise could admit that his schooling schedule was a bit on the heavy side. Even so, he was getting through it matter-of-factly, and all of his tutors praised him endlessly for how well he grasped and absorbed the material he was being taught.
He didn't complain as much as a child usually would, and he was a good brother who was always taking care of his little sister, too.
Elise considered that since he was able to do so much on his own, perhaps she had neglected him, a bit. Maybe, since he wasn't getting enough love, he was making up for it by pouring his own love into Diana.
When she thought of the situation in this light, Elise decided that once they returned home, she would have to give him some loving attention and spoil him, a little bit. [Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "Novel Multiverse dot com" website @ novelmultiverse.com]
"And what kind of girls do you like, Cain?" asked Elise, "If you're thinking of getting married, that is."
"I suppose it would be someone who can love Diana with me and someone who wouldn't be envious of me putting Diana first," said Cain.
"…Are you really serious about getting married?" asked Elise.
"Are you getting married, Bwother?" asked Diana.
"Some day. Not any time soon. I'm going to be your older brother for a little while longer and stay by your side," said Cain.
"Should Di be Bwother's wife?" asked Diana, tilting her small head to the side and looking up at Cain.
Light shined in through the window behind Diana, and within the carriage, flowers bloomed and burst into a flutter of petals, while butterflies danced around. Angels flew about, playing their blessed trumpets and casting rose petals about. A warm, spring breeze blew by, gently, and lightly stirred Diana's hair. From her back erupted a pair of white wings, and they spread out behind her.
"Cain, get a hold of yourself," said Elise. "We'll be arriving at the royal palace shortly. Diana, you make sure you protect your Brother's dignity. Don't get too sweet with him."
"Degnitee?" asked Diana.
"If you want your Brother to look good, you will not be sweet to him in public," said Elise.
"Okay!" said Diana.
The carriage passed under the gates of the royal palace, and they arrived at a large building that served as the queen's reception area for guests.
When they entered this reception area, the queen was right there, before them.
The queen was about the same age as Mother, and while the clothes that she wore were elegantly simple, the one-piece dress she had on was made of a cloth of the highest quality, and it glimmered brilliantly. She wore an armband on her shoulder with the royal emblem of the two wolves embroidered on it, and so anyone could identify her as the queen upon first glance.
"You must be Cain and Diana," said the queen. "I've been looking forward to meeting you two."
"Please allow me to thank you for permitting us to participate in this meeting. It is an absolute honor that you bestow upon us with your presence," said Cain.
"Pemitting us perticipate thank honor you for us present," said Diana.
Cain bowed deeply and politely, and Diana followed suit, dipping her head down, a little awkwardly. When she bowed, her arms extended and pointed back, behind her.
The queen laughed gently and said, "How proper you both are. However, these embroidery meetings are informal affairs. Please, raise your heads."
The kind way with which she laughed was fitting for the mother of this nation. Her demeanor was overflowing with affection.
Since neither the king nor the queen ever appeared in the game, this really was the first time Cain had ever met her. It was hard to believe that this loving woman's child had the potential to give Diana away just because he fell in love with someone new. It actually brought up some very complicated feelings within Cain.
"Hello, Your Highness," said Elise.
"Hello, Elise," the queen replied.
Cain saw the queen and Mother exchange these casual greetings and thought that this really was an informal event.
"Is it really all right to be speaking so informally before the queen?" asked Cain.
"Everyone here has a rank of Marquis or higher, and so it's fine," said Mother.
They called it informal, but it was still a gathering of highborn noble girls who had had manners drilled into them from a young age.
Along with Mother, Cain took a seat at a round table, where chairs were set up all the way around it. The reception room was large and looked out on a yard. Half of the room was set up like a greenhouse, as the walls and roof were all made of glass. Perhaps because they were expecting many children to attend, a large, fluffy rug was laid out across the room, and picture books and building blocks were set up, all around.
After making sure Cain was comfortably sat, Mother nudged Diana forwards, telling her to go play with the other children her age.
She ran over to the other children who had already arrived and started playing. She exchanged greetings with them and began to mingle. Cain looked on with a miserable look on his face.
"Diana needs friends her age, too, you know," said Mother.
"I understand, Mother. I will do my best to master embroidery, for Diana's wedding day," said Cain.