Within Aizen Kingdom's Royal Castle's Great Hall, the two princes were having an early lunch.

"Here you go, Rein." Roland smiled as he fed his little brother some chunks of well-cooked meat.

"*Nom* *Nom*." Reivan's cheeks puffed out as he chewed the meat thoroughly while sitting on Roland's lap. He didn't intend to do so, but the servants around them couldn't get enough of his endearing appearance as he ate.

As the little glutton in his chewed, Roland also partook in a light meal.

Halfway through their meal, a butler walked up to them and bowed deeply before announcing. "Your Highness, Prince Roland. Your fiancé, Lady Stella, has come to visit. She is inquiring whether you are available for a meeting."

"O-oh! S-Stella has come...?" Roland's ears turned red as he fidgeted with his shirt's collar. "W-well... Tell her that I'd love to--"

Roland's eyes widened, and he brought his sleeve up to his nose and took a sniff. He grimaced.

"After I've freshened up a little," Roland added as he sniffed his other sleeve. His grimace deepened. "A lot. After I've freshened up a lot."

"Certainly." The butler bowed once again and left.

Roland stood up and plopped Reivan down on the chair he'd been sitting on, ruffled his little brother's ivory-colored hair one last time, and then instructed a maid to feed Reivan as he left.

"..." Reivan, who'd watched the entire exchange, just continued to chew quietly. However, he was actually trying his best to suppress the smirk that threatened to come out.

'Oh? Hey hey hey. What's this? Big bro has a lady?' His brother's love life intrigued him. 'And he obviously likes her a lot. I want to see her.'

Reivan decided to chew through his food faster, so he wouldn't miss it.

"Who's Stella?" Reivan asked the servant to feed him. He already knew, but he had to start the conversation with something.

"Oh. Lady Stella is His Highness' fiancé--" The maid was about to answer, but she realized that the young Prince might not know what the word meant. She amended, "She is going to become Prince Roland's wife someday, Your Highness. It's like how your mother, Her Majesty Queen Vianna is His Majesty, King Rodin's wife."

"I see!" Reivan beamed. "That means they'll be a family someday!"

"Yes! That's correct, Your Highness!" The maid nodded with a warm smile.

"That means she'll be my family soon too!"

"Yes. Correct again!"

"That means I have to meet her!" Reivan enthusiastically chirped.

"Yes, Your Hig--" The maid was just about to affirm Reivan again, but then what he'd just said sunk in. "Eh? Meet her...?"

"Yeah! They said they were going to have lunch, right? I wanna go!"

"Eh... but..."

"I wanna go!"

"I-I see... H-however I d-don't thin--"

"I wanna go!"

"..."

"Father didn't say anything about not seeing her right? I'm not forbidden from going!" Reivan needled. He sensed that the maid just needed one last push. "Also! I've never met anyone from outside the castle. So I wanna meet her!"

You have used [Essence of Falsehood]

'Oh. It never did that before...' Reivan was a little bewildered, but he just shrugged it off. 'I guess I did, technically lie. If you include the people I've met in my previous life.'

"W-well. That's true..." The maid heaved a tired sigh as she nodded. "B-but please tell Prince Roland that it was your idea..."

"Okay!" Reivan beamed, his white teeth peeking out. He inhaled what was left of the food and then ran off

*****

"Hello!" Reivan bubbly greeted as he entered a private dining room.

"R-Rein...!?" Roland exclaimed like a cat that just had its tail stepped on. His face was flushed and there was still a smudge of crimson on a corner of his lips.

"Oh?" A beautiful young woman with eyes and hair as dark as night wiped her lips with her thumb seductively as she sat shoulder to shoulder with Roland, then looked at Reivan. Her eyes brightened at the adorable newcomer. "So, this is the Prince Reivan I've heard about? He's much cuter than I imagined."

"Ah, well... yes." Roland fidgeted as he smoothed out his slightly wrinkled clothes.

'Oof. It seems I interrupted something. Sorry, big bro...' Reivan, who had a grown person's soul within him, saw the writing on the wall. The two were obviously being intimate with each other, and he'd almost walked into it. 'But I wonder how they were able to stop just before I came in?'

In any case, Reivan toddled over beside his big brother and raised his arm. Roland, still a bit flustered, understood Reivan and carried him up to his lap.

"Hello! My name is Reivan! But you can call me Rein since you're going to be family soon!" Reivan grinned as he tried his best to appear cute. He would use the techniques he'd taught Kyouka when she was young.

"Ah!" The young woman, Stella, put her hand against her heart. Reivan thought he saw hearts flash in her eyes as she warmly smiled at him. "Where are my manners? It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. My name is Stella Mercer, from the Grand Ducal House of Mercer, which has served the Royal Family for thousands of years. You can just call me anything you want."

"Okay. Big Sis!" Reivan chirped.

"Oh my." Stella covered her mouth as a blush invaded her smooth, fair-skinned face. "That sounds lovely. Please call me that again."

"Big Sis!"

"Yes!"

"Big Sis!"

"Yes!"

"Big S--"

"Okay, that's enough." Roland interjected in exasperation as he covered Reivan's mouth.

"But we were just getting to the good part..." Stella protested as she brought her face close and rested it on Roland's shoulder while pouting.

"W-what good part...?" Roland turned his face away, finding her expression too fatal for his heart. He turned his face towards his little brother with a slight trace of resentment. "And you. What are you doing here?"

"Hehe~♪" Reivan smiled innocently, then he dropped a bomb. "You just left me alone in the Great Hall, so I followed you! I was lonely!"

"Ah..." Roland gaped.

"Oh, how could you!" Stella's forehead wrinkled as she looked at Roland with blame in her eyes. She scooped up Reivan and hugged him to her chest. "There there. Your brother's so mean to you but Big Sis is super nice, you know? I'd never just leave you all on your lonesome like that."

"But I left so I could be with you..." Roland muttered dispiritedly.

'Haha. She looks fun.' Reivan mused. He was a bit worried that his brother's fiancé would be some weird woman that would stress him out a lot, but that didn't seem to be the case. Although it did seem that she would stress him out a lot in a different way. 'Guess I'll take a look at her stats.'

Name: Stella Mercer Species: Human Realm: Mortal Age: 15 Sex: Female Favor: (Fondness / Loyalty / Non-Romantic) 74 / 100 Threat Level: N / A (This unit's Loyalty prevents it from being a threat.) Might: 987 Special Abilities: None Elemental Affinities: [Lightning] [Wind] Extra Skills: [Qi: Unleashed]

'Oh, wow. She already has her Qi unleashed? I don't know how old people usually are when they unlock that, but I think fifteen is pretty early.' Reivan was also amazed by her Might stat. Wasn't his brother's at the hundreds? Didn't that mean she was nine times stronger than him? As Reivan began to wonder if there was some sort of rule where Aizen's rulers could only marry women stronger than them, he couldn't help but complain. 'It's nice that I can see their Favor for me, but I wish I could see their Favor for other people...'

Just as he had that thought, a new window popped up in his vision.

Favor

[Stella Mercer]

X

[Roland Aizenwald]

(Fondness / Affection / Romantic) 81 / 100

'Oh. So I can see it. That's great!' Reivan inwardly celebrated the discovery. One day, perhaps he'd be able to fully use his [Supreme Insight]. Baby steps. 'Well, it seems pretty high. She doesn't seem to be toying with him either. But damn. It's about to be topped up even when they're still so young and not even married yet? Good job Big Bro!'

Reivan smirked as he gave his big brother a thumbs up, but Roland frowned at the gesture. His little brother had just gotten him in trouble with his fiancé, and he was now grinning while giving him a thumbs up? He could only interpret it as some sort of prank.

Reivan rested his head on Stella's soft chest, as he tried to wingman for his brother. "Don't be angry at Big Bro! He's always really nice to me and gives me yummy things. I love him!"

"Oh, do you?" Stella raised an eyebrow as she hugged Reivan a little tighter. "But wasn't it uncool of him to leave you like that?"

"Maybe!" Reivan smiled as he admitted, getting a giggle out of Stella. "But it's okay since he's cool enough! You should've seen him swinging his sword around, he was amazing!"

Reivan tried his best to imitate his brother's movements from earlier this morning, but his arms were stubby and Stella was holding him firmly, so he didn't really do that well.

"Really now...? He's been working hard to catch up to me then." Stella tittered in amusement at Reivan's cute imitation, then she leaned gently on Roland. "Isn't that great? Your little brother said you were amazing."

"W-well..." Roland failed to suppress a grin as he scratched his cheek. "I-I'm not that great..."

"Mm." Stella nodded sagely then moved away and sneered. "It's good that you're self-aware."

"Hey..." Roland didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Stella kept playing with his mood, bringing it up and down as she wished.

"Geez. It's a joke." Stella lightly tapped her fiancé's gradually drooping shoulder and said, "I've just been studying Martial Arts and Military tactics, while you've had to study a much broader spectrum of things. Don't beat yourself over it. I don't even know half the things you do."

"... That's true. Thanks, Stella." Roland reached forward and held Stella's hand.

"Mm." Stella nodded with a warm smile as she tightened her grip on Roland's hand. "All I know is swinging swords and telling people where to swing theirs. You are studying how to run an entire nation. Let's just do our best in our duties. For Aizen."

"Mm. For Aizen." Roland replied, his face was now free of worry. The two young teens stared at each other's eyes as they got lost in their own little world.

'I'm still here guys...' Reivan inwardly retorted. But he tried his best to not make any noise as he waited for them to snap out of it. 'Well, it's good that they get along so well. Hopefully, she'll help reduce big bro's stress levels so the new ego doesn't turn out to be a mega asshole.'

The ability's description mentioned that the [Alter Ego] would be born of Roland's desires, insecurities, and regrets. So, if Roland didn't have any insecurities and regrets, then Reivan hoped that the ego might not turn into a totally harmful existence. As for his brother's desires, Roland couldn't do much about that except trust that Roland wouldn't suddenly want to role-play as a Demon King or something.

'Baby steps, Ken-- I mean, Reivan.' He tried to pump himself up. 'A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Even if you can't help your brother in a big way at the moment, if you keep doing it for five, ten, twenty, or even a hundred years, won't it add up? This world is one where lifespans can be increased through training. You have plenty of time and opportunities to make sure that damned [Alter Ego] doesn't fuck up your brother's life. Just try to take every single one of those opportunities!'

While he was talking to himself, the couple had already snapped out of it and began talking about something else.

"By the way, is Her Majesty here?" Stella asked with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

"I swear to god Stella, you ask that every time. It feels like you come here for her, instead of me." Roland shook his head, an exasperated expression on his face.

"Hey, that's not true... Meeting her is just slightly below my desire to see you." Stella defended as she hugged Reivan tighter without thinking. "Besides, can you blame me? Queen Vianna is the idol of every girl my age that aspires to be a knight! Sure, she benefits from her racial abilities to increase her Martial prowess. But still! The story of her being an immigrant from a distant land and then rising up to become the Queen as she strived to serve Aizen is a story every girl knows! Anyone who grew up here would develop some Loyalty to the crown, but she isn't even from here! That makes it way more amazing!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Roland just let Stella's rant enter one ear and come out in the other. He was expressionless as he snatched his brother away from his fiancé's clutches before she could smother him to death. "If you want to see her that much, why don't you just get Rein to call her? As long as she's within the capital, if Rein calls for her, she'll come running."

"Really...?" Stella's eyes widened as she looked at Reivan, her smile deepening.

Favor: (Fondness / Loyalty / Non-Romantic) 74 / 100 --> 80 / 100

'

Ooowah... It increased by six? She likes my mom that much?' Reivan was inwardly amused at the sudden influx of favor. 'I should check her Favor for my mother.'

Favor

[Stella Mercer]

X

[Vianna Aizenwald]

(Idolization / Admiration / Possibly Romantic) 100 / 100

'Oh my god! She's a super fangirl! Also what's up with "Possibly Romantic"!? Does that mean if mom invites you like that, you'll agree!?' Reivan exclaimed inwardly. She'd geeked out over his mother, but Reivan didn't expect Stella's sexual orientation to change at the drop of a hat depending on Vianna's whims. 'I guess I'll be seeing her a lot in the future...'

Now that the fan discovered an easy and surefire way to meet her idol, why would she let it go? Naturally, she would stick close to Reivan from now on, in the hopes of getting a few seconds of interaction with Vianna.

Reivan Aizenwald, three years old, worried about the future with complicated feelings.