~ Sometimes Brother and Sister ~ 16
──that kind of development, I never knew it……
On the Royal Palace’s garden, Christina’s complexion went bad as she breathed a sigh.
The previous day, Christina went to Marquis Klüger’s mansion in order to meet with Irene. Although Alberto had informed her that he would tell Irene about the meeting with Tobias himself, Christina started to worry when she thought about Irene’s feelings so she went to see her. Besides, there were also feelings within Christina that wanted to ascertain just what kind of woman Irene truly was.
Forced marriage would result in sorrow. Precisely because she thought so, Christina had decided to help her. However, it ended up with Irene having to meet with Tobias, and as Christina unable to imagine what kind of action would Irene take, she wanted to grasp her personality first beforehand.
When Christina reached Marquis Klüger’s mansion, the butler came to greet her and said that Irene was in Marx’s room then went to guide her there. And the moment the door was opened, she heard it, the confession to Alberto.
Although immediately after it Christina was hugged by Alberto and was told it’s alright in order to calm her down, she just couldn’t feel relieved.
The Game I thought has already finished, perhaps still continues even now──she couldn’t help but think like that and her trembling wouldn’t cease.
Seeing Christina who was on the verge of crying, Alberto sighed and later gently escorted her back to her mansion. Just before they parted, he softly whispered beside Christina’s ear.
[Listen, okay, Kuu? Tomorrow make sure you come to the Royal Palace. I’ll arrange for the welcome, so make sure you come, okay?]
Before that, it seemed Alberto had also muttered something else, but what Christina remembered were those last words of him only.
The next day, Christina went to the Royal Palace and was told by Alberto, I’m sorry but suddenly some work that need to be tended fast come, so would you please take a breath at the garden first?, thus she made her way to the garden where she once had tea together with Anna.
“What should I do…… if Irene-sama, become my love rival……”
With the reason of wanting to have some time for thinking alone, Christina dismissed the maid and walked aimlessly.
In the Game she knew, Clara was the protagonist. That’s why she was Christina’s love rival. However, what about the current situation?
Clara was expelled to some remote region, exiting the scene of the Game. ──and then Irene appeared.
Suddenly realizing something, Christina looked up into mid-air.
“──perhaps, a new story is……!?”
For a popular Game, getting a Second or Neo was something that frequently happened.
What if this time, it became a new Game’s world with Irene as the protagonist, and unchangingly Christina as the antagonist in the story’s setting──
“──No……!”
Christina unintentionally muttered her real feelings.
This time I’ll show that I can face her, despite saying it to Alberto, she had not much confident of managing to stand a chance against the Game’s progress coercion. This time, she held no background knowledge about it. Whether it’s Second or Neo, it was not within her previous life’s memory after all.
“What shall I do……”
When she muttered her uneasiness, Christina suddenly halted her step. As she approached another garden, she heard a voice. It was a voice she knew well.
“……and, I think it matches Chris onee-sama well”
Hearing her own name being mentioned, Christina’s heart jumped.
When she raised her line of sight, she had unawarely come before the rear shrine near the Royal Family’s private room.
Although that garden was accessible by those who weren’t part of Royal Family, however one needed to have a special permission in order to use it.
In the garden where beautiful white Iberis flower bloomed magnificently on the ground, Anna was showing a lovely smile on her face.
Looking a lot like Alberto, her glossy black hair. Her dress today was the popular stripe pattern one. The drape on her puffy and plump skirt was accentuating her loveliness even more.
Her round black eyes were sparkling joyfully, showing her pure expression towards the male beside her.
──Annsama……
Christina had always been allowed to go in and out of that garden. However, she somehow felt that she must not come closer, and stood still.
Sitting beside Anna was Marx.
Wearing a dark blue suit adorned with chic silver embroidery, he was looking at Anna with exceedingly gentle gaze. It was just like that of a brother.
“Yes, I think it is very nice, Anna hime. Then, let us think about the design, shall we?”
“Un!”
Both of them was sitting next to each other on the bench in front of the rear shrine of the garden, looking very close with each other.
──It’d be bad if I interrupt them.
As Christina who knew about Anna’s feeling of love, she decided to take her leave and turned around. Yet suddenly a white wall appeared before her, startling her and making her body stiffened.
“──wha”
Almost letting out a shriek, Christina gulped it down as she raised her line of sight.
Meeting her gaze, the corner of his mouth went up.
“Well, what a coincidence, Miss Christina. Is milady also in the middle of strolling around?”
With his vivid red hair tied together, the young man whose emerald eyes beautifully shone── Wearing white shirt and red pants adorned with golden embroidery, despite his simple appearance, his arrogance somehow oozed out.
No matter who, I’ll make them kneel before me ── clad in that kind of aura, the one who put on a royalty-like smile ── was the one who promised to stay in the Royal Palace until he met Irene, it was Tobias.
Christina who ended up stiffening at once, immediately changed her ambience and put on a faint smile on her face.
“My, how do you do……Your Highness Tobias”
Beside him, a young man with short brown hair and blue eyes, seemingly to be his attendant was waiting on him.
Realizing it was not a situation where they ended up alone together, Christina spontaneously let out a sigh of relief.
Tobias chuckled.
“Quite a strong wariness you have there”
“Eh?”
When she raised her face not understanding his words, he was looking at direction opposite of Christina.
“Oh my, there’s another cute princess in that kind of place”
“……Your Highness. Anymore excessive behavior is……”
It was unclear whether the attendant beside him really intended to stop Tobias with that flat tone, however Tobias just ignored his objection as if it was natural.
“Let me see, today let’s tease that”
To say ‘tease’ ──
Christina couldn’t just overlook how he called the princess of the country as “that”, and most of all, she didn’t want there to be any nuisance to the two, thus she coughed once, clearing her throat.
The young prince glanced down at her ──he is certainly four years older than me, but I can’t helped but think that he is young── Christina smiled and said to him.
“My, to say ‘tease’. Since it’s a rare occasion……”
──how about having tea with me? But before she said such, he had opened his mouth.
“──Aah, that’s right. Observing the two of them would be more interesting, is it not so?”
“──eh?”
Christina was left dumbfounded by that unusual proposition. Perhaps Tobias hold no doubt what so ever towards his own proposition at all, as he started to lean against the small gate at the entrance of the garden. He folded his arms in front of his chest, and entered a stance of observing the two.
“E, umm……”
While it may be true that this gate is certainly covered by rose and ivy, and he’d be unseen from the other side , it doesn’t mean he should just peep, he has such a bad taste──.
When Christina looked at the attendant, he, with an expressionless face, just stayed there without saying anything.
His thought of if my master would stay docile, than anything is okay was clearly transmitted.
Christina was hesitating, whether it was okay to rebuked the Prince in front of her, and for now decided to shift her attention towards the two.
Whenever Marx said something, Anna would always laugh in delight.
That bright smile of her made Christina’s cheeks slackened.
──I wish Annsama’s love would be fulfilled──
Narrowing her eyes as she thought so, her heart suddenly leaped.
Marx leaned closer to Anna, and whispered something beside her ear.
Anna was being conscious as the distance between them was getting closer, and with a surprised face her cheeks were dyed in red.
Haa, with a faint voice Christina let out the breath she unconsciously held.
──……When the person you like get closer to you, your heart would surely throb fast. ……But Marx should also think a little about their distance── thinking so, she looked at prankster, and was stunned.
Marx was looking at Anna, who was looking downward with a red face.
That expression of him──causing Christina’s heart to clamor.
Within the color of his eyes, there was something familiar to her.
It shone deep within his softly narrowed eyes, something that caused her heart to lose its calmness──
Christina gulped.
──I know that……
Christina knew those eyes.
Those of which Alberto had sometimes when he looked at her, which caused her spine to jolt.
Like a beast concealing its presence, aiming at its prey, the gaze of a predator──
“……Marx……?”
Christina muttered with a faint voice.
Her voice didn’t reach them, but on the next moment Marx erased that light on his eyes. Occasionally fixing Anna’s hair that was disheveled by the wind, he returned her with a gentle smile as she glanced up at him.
──It was as if, that gentle smile was made in order to control his own feelings.
Next to her, Tobias snorted while laughing.
“I see, it’s interesting”
He seemed happy. I wonder what’s interesting?, as she turned towards Tobias, Christina all of a sudden paled up.
──Marx is, Irene’s fiancé
And that him, is currently spending time intimately with the princess. It’s not difficult to treat this as the main factor for concluding that Irene and Marx’s engagement as a fake one.
“Your, Your Highness Tobias……”
I must somehow gloss it over, deciding such and calling at him, his gaze returned at Christina and suddenly had an expression as if he held an interest in her.
It was like the day they first met, his gaze crept along her eyes, nose, lips, to her hair swayed by the wind, causing her to get goosebumps from it.
“……っ”
When her shoulders jolted, she saw from the edge of her vision, his hand smoothly combing Christina’s hair.
I can’t let him touch my hair──
Christina remembered the previous incident when she was blamed and pinned down by Alberto in anger, and reflexively brushed away her hair and escaped from his hand.
Although it was impolite, Tobias let out a stifling laugh and smiled.
“……Unexpectedly, Milady is also strong-willed. …… That’s hair is also wonderful, but your hair is truly wonderful. Someday, I’d like to have it on hand and decorate it” (T/N : What’s with him and hair? Hair fetish??)
“──”
This is not about strong-willed or not. Christina held herself from flinching, and answered him back with a strong gaze.
“You Highness Tobias. Within Noin Kingdom, males are not to touch females thoughtlessly”
His expression turned serious, and he tilted his head.
“Is that so? Even so, I happened to catch sight of Milady’s fiancé touching Milady a lot”
Although he might not actually see it, being told that he often see it made her blushed.
“──A, Alberto-sama is……my fiancé. It’s alright for Alberto-sama to touch me”
Tobias again, laughed.
“I see, so if they’re engaged, then it’s okay to do anything“
It was a mean reply. Receiving a tease hinting at physical relations, Christina clenched her fist. Even so, in order to not lose her elegance, she responded with dignity.
“Your Highness Tobias. In my opinion, to make a woman your own, it’s not by pressing her down with power, but by grabbing her heart”
He was a person who would use his social status as a pretext in order to force someone else. That’s why Irene ran away in fear. Even though in order to obtain one’s heart, it should not be by power, but by offering one’s heart. Like this──he who only attacked the other person, would even lose the one he could have obtained.
Tobias who was told clearly your way of doing is wrong, opened his eyes wide for a split second.
However, immediately after, cynical smile as if ridiculing other person floated on his face.
“……A really unlovable woman. That, and you too”
Christina closed her mouth.
Despite her position as the Crown Prince’s fiancée, she had earned the other person’s displeasure, and Christina felt disappointed at herself. No matter how terrible his attitude was, he was the country’s guest.
As if losing interest in Christina who casted her eyes down, Tobias turned his gaze away.
He kept silent, which caused Christina to feel suspicious, and when she raised her line of sight, she unintentionally raised her voice after seeing that expression.
“──Annsama, is off-limits……!”
Tobias was looking at Anna who was chatting pleasantly with Marx, with eyes as if he was yearning something.
──I want her to be happy. I want her to be together with someone she really loves.
Because, she is Alberto and my precious little sister──
As she unintentionally exposing her personal feelings, he gazed down at Christina and uninterestedly muttered.
“What I want is, a woman who will love me ── Miss Christina”
“……”
──If that’s the case, isn’t Irene not the right one?
The words that almost leaked out, were held back by her reasoning.
He, while laugh stiflingly, turned his back towards Christina.
“However, it couldn’t be helped. Because I want to snatch everything away from that person “
“……that person?”
Not knowing who he was referring to, Christina asked, but Tobias just walked away without answering anything.
Whoosh, the wind blew through.
The expressionless attendant, quietly followed behind Tobias’ back, leaving Christina in bewilderment.
The one Irene loved, was perhaps Alberto.
Was she her new love rival? even while she continue holding the fear inside her heart, Christina didn’t wish for her to be unhappy, furthermore, she also wished for Anna to become happy.
Within this complex situation, Christina just absentmindedly stood still at that place until Alberto came to pick her up.
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