"Brother!"
The 10-year-old blonde girl jumped into his embrace. The young girl giggled.
"Don't run like that; you might fall, Nasharis."
"But you would catch me, right, brother?"
She raised her head from further burying her face into her brother's chest and sent a cheeky grin. Michaelis scoffed at that.
"What would you do if I were not?"
"No way. You must catch me every time."
Nasharis pouted.
"What if I am not there if you fall?"
"You would come for me, right? Don't say you already have a lover when you go to the Forest of Miracles!"
Nasharis widened her eyes, looking at her brother like he had betrayed her.
"No, how did that idea cross your mind?"
"Because you said that just now, sounding like you won't be there when I need you."
Michaelis patted her head when he heard the sad tone. She has been too attached to him.
"I was just joking, Nasharis. I would be there for you anytime you needed me, okay? But you must make sure to wait for me before you get into trouble so that I will always be there to cover you."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Nasharis narrowed her eyes at him. He formed a lopsided smile.
"Well, I can't just teleport myself to you, so don't get into trouble when I am not there with you, little girl."
"I am not going to get into trouble, brother."
"That's reassured me, then."
He pinched her cheek. She whined.
"But if I am there with you, I will always catch you every time you fall and save you every time you get into trouble. I promise."
"Humph, that's better."
She buried her face in his chest again.
"How cold of you to leave your older sibling out of your sibling bonding, my younger sister and brother?"
Both siblings turned towards their oldest, who was leaning against the wall. They turned their heads back and continued hugging each other.
"Hey, don't ignore me! Both of you have become rude!"
Helenis crossed her arms while looking at her two younger siblings. An irk mark appeared on her forehead when she was ignored. Oh ho, her younger siblings sure have the guts to act like this.
She walked towards them and engulfed them in a tight hug.
"Big sister!"
"Uff!"
"Humph, you can't leave me out, brats."
"Said someone who has been away for a long time and can't even eat together with us."
"True true."
"I am undergoing training!"
"You just always went out with that ugly guy, big sister!"
"He is not ugly, Nasha!"
"He's quite ugly to me."
"Not you too, Micha."
Nasharis and Michaelis chuckled at Helenis' outburst. Their older sister would keep defending whoever the guy was who had caught her interest while both of them continued to throw insults.
×××××
"Sister, papa would be your first dance, right?"
The youngest asked the oldest.
"Why did you ask?"
The three siblings sat on the couch after the dance practice. They have been practising like this since the preparation of the debutante ball this year.
This is actually the first time they have attended the same class together. Zera, their mother, insisted that they attend this class together; she said it is good to have a bonding sibling sometimes before Helenis officially becomes an adult.
"Because that way I could dance with my brother!"
"Mom would not let you do it, Nasha."
"But, brother would need to dance with the older lady later!"
"Hmm, what can he do? That's what Mom ordered him to do."
Helenis sent a cheeky smile at him. Michaelis frowned, distracting himself with his book rather than the conversation, which he did not like at all.
He hadn't yet found a way to avoid such an order. He needed to be quick before Zera herself would pick anyone as his dance partner.
"Brother, do you really need to dance? Why Mama insisted he do it?"
"Well, our only brother here,"
Helenis wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. He grumbled.
"Had not yet been associated with any noble children except Young Master from the ducal house of Nuribenstin. So, Mom wants him to at least make himself known by dancing with one of the ladies."
"Is that really necessary?"
Helenis nodded. She put her hand on his head and ruffled his white locks. He protested but was ignored.
"Yeah. He is a crown prince, after all. It was time for him to make an image for himself. He would be attending the academy next year after all."
"Aww, I will be lonely."
"I can reject the offer to attend the academy if you want, Nasharis."
"Really?" Nasharis' eyes sparkled.
"Nope! You can't, Micha. Why are you so insistent on not going? The academy is fun."
Michaelis crunched his nose. Fun? Since when is school fun? He just wanted to lay around and wait until he was old enough to travel alone. Why would he need to learn anything that he can just get through the books?
"Reading is already enough. Why would I get out of the palace?"
His cheek was pinched harshly by Helenis. He shouted in pain.
"You're still going on with me becoming the emperor, aren't you? That's why you won't even step out to know about the other nobles."
"Let me go!"
"Just so you know, Micha. I also won't give up on my own decision to give you the emperor position."
"But—!"
"Nu-uh. End of discussion. Case closed!"
Helenis let go of his cheek. He glared at her while touching his cheek. Always like this. All of the family already knew about his lack of interest in becoming emperor. He also pointed out that he would give the position to Helenis instead.
And what did he get as a response? He was treated like he was sick. They asked him if he was threatened by someone or if the events—the drowning and vampire biting—had taken a toll on him. He told them he wasn't and was just telling the truth, but they didn't believe him.
However, Helenis knew about his seriousness and was not going to back down or tolerate his decision at all. She insisted that he sit on the throne rather than herself. She also said that she was not interested in ruling the empire and wanted to be an expert technician instead. She wanted to help in maintaining and creating new technologies that would benefit the empire.
She just said she didn't want to associate herself with politics, and he also said the same to her. They would have gotten into a fight because of this if their parents had not prevented it.
Right now, they are still pushing the position onto each other, but he is losing right now because the crown prince title has been on his shoulder since the beginning.
'I should have just run away from the start.'
"You just want to get married to that guy, right?"
He was annoyed, and he would annoy Helenis too.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Big sister, don't marry that guy! I don't like him at all."
Nasharis chimed in.
"Why don't you like him? He is a good guy."
"Ugly."
He nodded in agreement.
"Your taste in men is bad. Maybe you should wear glasses, sister."
"You really get on my nerves, Michaelis! Since when have you become such a brat? Give me back my adorable younger brother."
He dodged the hit and chuckled.
"I never change, sister. I am still your adorable younger brother."
He smiled innocently, but that made Helenis irked. He kind of liked this situation whenever it happened. Oh no, he actually loves to tease his big sister.
He hopes that this atmosphere will last forever, even when he is not around. No, he hopes that he will be there forever with this family. He wanted to live with this family. He wanted to stay by their side forever.
He just hopes that everything will be fine forever.
But he knew this was like the calm before the storm. Michaelis wanted to ignore the unsettled feeling inside him. He knew something was going on. He knew that the world was not just a rainbow.
Like what he had experienced in his past life, he knew that nothing lasts forever. Including happiness.
×××××
A black bird flew inside the room from the opened window. The bird landed on the extended hand.
"You are back. Here's your treat."
The bird pecked at the treat on the hand. Occasionally making a happy sound.
The person looked at the bird with a smile. Then, the person looked up at the calendar, where a circle was made on a certain date.
"It was near."
Chirp!
"You want more?"
Chirp!
The smile widened, and the person got food for the bird. The person then looked up at the night sky.
"The prologue will start, and the main story will begin."
The cold breeze came into the room.
"The plot will need to go the way it needs to."