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Lord Aquabelium. A simple nobleman. From the country side. And is devoted to help the Empress.

I mentally memorized his introductions before nodding. "Nice to meet you, Lord Aquabelium. I assume you already know me."

He smiled. "Ofcourse! Please be seated and don't mind me. I hope I'm not being an annoyance."

"No, not at all." I shook my head. "I just have something to report to her majesty."

"Why are you being formal?" I glanced towards Eldest, whose forehead creased in confusion. "Aren't you gonna call her mama like you always do?"

I frowned. "It's none of your business."

She frowned. "Ouch."

"Indeed, don't be formal." The Empress spoke as she leaned back from the chair. "Call me the way you are comfortable with."

There is also one thing that changed the Empress when 4 years passed. It's her attitude! She really made it obvious that I'm her favorite son, that's why the nobles are trying so hard to take me down.

"Is it about the Count of Benedict?" Aureus, the Empress, is really sharp and clever. Altho it was already obvious, there were still other nobles who visited me this week. It was just a coincidence that this day is the day I'd always give her my reports.

I nodded my head. "Yes. He talked first about the Emperor's well-being." The Empress didn't have a reaction about him so I continued. "Then he introduced his daughters to me and proudly declared that they are worthy to become the crown princess."

"As your fiance?" Eldest scoffed. "As if."

"And then he made me drink the tea he brewed himself which is poisoned."

The Empress looked up to me, her silver eyes pierced through me. "But you didn't."

I nodded. "Yes. Because Eldest was the one who drank the tea and even confirmed that it was poisoned."

She held her chin as she looked down her desk. "Trying to assasinate a member of the Imperial family is unacceptable. I'll give him the worst punishment."

"Isn't the dungeons enough, mother?" I asked. "His daughters are also being interrogated as of now. I think we can use them against him if they ever try to justify themselves and request a trial at court."

"Then I'll make sure his family won't be able to hold a trial." She flatly replied with a blank expression.

I gulped the lump on my throat. "How?"

She held one of her pens in between her fingers, before snapping it in half. "."

"Your majesty, pardon me, but I believe you should refrain saying such a scary thing infront of his highness!" Lord Aquabelium voiced out his concern in a polite manner.

The Empress spared him a glance. "If he wants to take over the throne with no threats, he must know that brutality exists in this hierarchy."

"I couldn't agree more." Eldest responded with a shrug. "And it seems like the crown prince is getting used to it, which is even better. He practically asked for it, afterall."

Confused, Lord Aquabelium looked up to Eldest. "Asked for it?"

She nodded. "Yes. Now there's no point in worrying about his mental fortitude."

"Oh," was the only thing he replied before sighing in relief. "If that's how it is, then indeed, there is no problem."

"I'll be taking this matter into my own hands, so make sure you do what you always do and rest from time to time." the Empress stated before patting my head.

I smiled brightly. "Yes mother!"

And so, we left her office and went to my room. Since I don't like walking too far, we decided that we'll study at my room. Eldest didn't seem to mind, so she agreed with it.

"I still haven't finished reading the books about all of the nobles." I informed her as soon as we entered my room. Jamie managed to prepare a small snack and laid it on the table before she took her leave.

Eldest waved a hand. "Then continue it. After that, you'll have to familiarize yourself with the political affairs. Or you want to learn more about your position and ?"

She emphasized the word fiance as she plopped down the couch. My forehead creased in confusion. "I understand the part about my position as the crown prince but, why talk about a fiance?" I took my seat on the other couch, glancing at her whose busy reading a book.

"...there are already plenty of nobles pushing their daughters to you, yet you act like you don't know anything?" With a grimace, she flipped the page and ignored my questioning look.

I squinted my eyes before grabbing the book I'm almost about to finish when I suddenly realized something.

With a grin, I stood up again and walked behind the couch where Eldest is seated. The moment I tried to face her, she turned her back to me and faced the other way. As expected, she is avoiding me.

"This is the first time I saw you acting like a kid," I commented as I chuckled at the sight of her frowning face. I tried to face her from the other side, but she turned her back to me again. "Seriously?"

"Don't disturb me." She hissed as she flipped the page again. I rolled my eyes. She isn't even reading the book if she flip it all the time. And she already finished reading that book before!

Kneeling down, I rested both my arms in the siderest of the couch, my chin rested on top of my arm. "Eldest~" I called out lazily as I pouted. "Are you really ignoring me?"

She didn't even flinch nor bother looking at me. I had no choice but to play with her long blonde hair. The moment my fingers had brushed them, I felt how smooth and soft it was.

Her hair resembles that gold treasures from a hidden basement. Oh wait. I do have hidden treasures!

Remember that time when I was merely a baby whose crawling down the floor in my own room? I discovered a hidden box in the floor and hid all the jewels I also found in there. I wonder if it's still clean and safe in there.

Since I got bored, I ended up braiding a little bit of her golden hair. Even tho it looks like I'm not good at it, I'm actually pretty expert in braiding.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a boy in my past life, but I had a younger sister who became my braiding doll in practice. So here we are, my talent lived even in this different world.

"....what the hell are you doing?" Eldest asked as soon as she realized that I'm no longer playing with her hair and instead, I ended up braiding them. Magnificently!

"Braiding your hair." I answered, which is obvious. The moment I finished, I tried to connect two of the braids before facing her. "There you go. You look pretty."

I closed my eyes and almost frowned when I realized how confident Eldest could be if she ends up receiving compliments. Am I gonna receive an reply like the Empress did back then?

Glancing at her, I blinked my eyes the moment I saw her flustered face. Did I just see that right?

The Great Eldest is blushing!?

She sighed before pushing me away, one hand covering her face. "Damn, why do you have to grow so fast. Sooner or later you'll be an adult in a blink."

I blinked my eyes, confused since I didn't hear what she was mumbling to herself. "What was that?"

"...nothing." And so she raised the book to cover her flustered face. "Go back to studying or else I'll kill you."

"Pft," I chuckled at her comment before I stood up. "Okay. I'll study then you'll have to leave afterwards."

Surprisingly, she put the book down. Her golden eyes stared at me curiously. "Why?"

I raised a brow. "Because I need to change into a more casual clothes." My lips tugged upward into a grin. "Do you even want to watch me while changing?"

Her eyes twitched as she covered her face with the book again. "I didn't hear that. I'm leaving afterwards."

Chuckling, I sat on the couch and grabbed my book again. This time, feeling motivated to study so I can tease Eldest again.

What a surprising day it is today.

~*~

It's been a while since I last updated. Anyways, if you want something else to read while waiting for the next update, you can try my KnY fanfic or my Death Note oneshots that I just posted today. You can check it out in my profile. Happy reading everyone!