“Miss Velloa, these two are my closest friends. The one wearing glasses is Dmitri Hammond and the younger one is Zephyr Reve.” Prince Kai introduced smilingly.

I appreciate the introduction, but I know who they are already. If anything, I know about these capture targets more than anyone…

Trying my best to keep a kind and calm expression, I give a friendly nod. “It is my pleasure to meet the both of you. My name is Velloa Imitheos.”

Following my introduction, Virgil and Cain stepped forward to introduce themselves too. In the midst of that, I instinctively looked up in Zephyr Reve’s direction, a few steps behind him I caught the gaze of a caramel-haired girl around the same age as me. Her eyes stared at me, probing. With her hair tied in a single ringlet side ponytail and topaz-like orbs, something about her seemed familiar.

Having noticed my gaze, Zephyr followed my line of sight, spotting the girl behind him, he beamed and called out to her. “Sister! Come join us!”

My brows knit together upon hearing those words. Zephyr had an older sister?

The girl approached our group with a gentle smile. “Greetings. My name is Haizea Reve. It is my pleasure to meet the children and apprentice of Imitheos.” She said with a curtsy.

Haizea…? My eyes slightly widened. That’s right! She took the top spot as an air elementalist in our year in the academy! Not to mention… She’s the game’s dedicated tutorial character and the MC’s best friend.

With a signature sparkly and shiny smile, Prince Kai spoke. “Why don’t we find ourselves a place to talk and sit?”

I shot Cain a meaningful look. “Your highness, please forgive us, but could you allow us to withdraw? We were told to change our clothes after the performance.” He smoothly articulated.

With slightly widened eyes, he finally let go of my hand that he had been holding the entire time. “Oh, no need to apologize, if anything, I should be the one to do so. Please forgive my rudeness, I should have asked beforehand if you needed to be somewhere else.”

Virgil spoke. “Please do not apologize, your highness. We’re all still children, so please be rest assured.”

Nodding at Virgil’s words, Prince Kai beamed. “Then do please re-join with us later on.”

Before I could even think about voicing a no, Cain lifted me up onto his arms. “Of course, your highness. Now then, we will withdraw ourselves for the moment.”

As Cain turned to leave with me in his arms, I once again caught Haizea’s inquisitive gaze. Great, now I have to watch out for her too…

The moment the three of us stepped out of the hall and far enough away from earshot, I let out a sigh. “I’m tired…”

Whilst patting my head, Cain spoke reassuringly. “You’ll have to bear with it for now, princess.”

Puffing out my cheeks, I huffed. “Don’t wanna.”

“Entertain Prince Kai for now, Vell. It’s only for today.” Virgil spoke gently.

With pursed lips, I gave in after I caught Virgil’s tender gaze. “Fine…”

I’m the child of a noble house; interacting with other children who are also from noble parents shouldn’t be surprising… Wanting to rest my head for a moment, I wrapped my arms around Cain’s neck and laid my head on the crook of his neck. Cain better not say anything. I’m seriously feeling exhausted from all the anxiety…

Thankfully, he didn’t. There was only the sound of movement as we made our way to the same room we had been in before the performance. Upon entering the room, the servants who had been waiting for us immediately got to work. I sank back into my thoughts as the maids did their thing.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Alright, deep breaths Velloa. You can do this. It’s only a gathering of children… Children that are perfectly capable of ruining my future- Wait no! Stop that! Be more positive! I controlled my breathing as the maids tightened the bodice of my dress. At the end of the day, this is reality. I am the heir of the Imitheos family’s Grande title, at the very least they shouldn’t be able to easily mess with me. Even if they want to, they have to pay attention to their parents’ relationships with my parents. Besides, the game didn’t specifically show whether or not Velloa had suffered greatly after any of the endings. While Prince Kai’s good end with the MC may cause the greatest damage to my reputation, as long as I still have my life and my family then I’m good.

“You look wonderful, Vell.” Virgil’s voice brought an end to my contemplating.

Trying my best to hold back a bitter expression, I thank him. “Thank you, brother. You also look absolutely striking in your outfit.”

Virgil was currently twelve years old, so he still retained that feminine look that a lot of children have. His outfit consisted of an icy blue long-sleeve button-up shirt, a cobalt vest with silver embroidery, knee-length black shorts and matching cobalt boots that went up to his calves. Along with his hair back in its signature loose braid, he was a pretty boy through and through.

Brother… I hope I don’t ever get to see the day you betray me for some… ‘Girl’.

Before my expression could break, I turned away to distract myself with my reflection on the full body mirrors. My dress was actually one of the designs shown to me earlier as a potential dance outfit, at least before it was found out that dresses didn’t suit the dance style. The dress was made from azure charmeuse fabric, its bodice showed off my collar bones and it flared out freely from my waist into a bell shape. My shoes were only an inch tall and made of a matching azure brocade with silver flowered patterns. As for my hair, it seemed to stay at its million-dollar worth, for even though it was done in a simpler half-up style, the jewellery was switched to a clip-on front headpiece that had various blue gemstones like aquamarine, tanzanite and turquoise, there were also a few strings of gemstones hanging down the length of hair.

Ignoring the jewellery, my outfit looks a lot more mature than I realized, but I guess that suits me better…

“Well then, are you ready, princess?” Cain said with his usual teasing smirk.

Without much thought, I took the hand that Cain offered. Ah, wait. I should have decided to walk with Virgil instead… Looking up at Cain’s deep sapphire eyes, I caught a mischievous glint within them. Too late…

“Don’t I look good too?”

I let out a sigh. With him currently seventeen years old and practically fully grown, he looked tall and fetching. The indigo high collared velvet jacket he wore had silver trimming and buttons and the black dress pants he wore also had a silver line on each side running along the length of it. Along with the matching close laced indigo ankle-high boots, his military-like outfit exuded a mature and mysterious air that only served to highlight his already good looks. He already knows how good he looks. Seriously, why is he like this?

In exaggerated exasperation, I agreed. “Yes, Cain. You look absolutely fetching.”

After thanking the servants, we left the room and made our way back to the hall where all the children were sent to. Speaking of children, I glanced up at Cain.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you joined Father?” I questioned.

With a chuckle, Cain essentially brushed off my question. “Does the princess want to get rid of me? I’m hurt.”

I rolled my eyes at his words. He probably just finds it too bothersome to deal with any of the nobles…

Just as we were nearing our destination, I spotted a certain caramel-haired girl standing out in the garden alone and admiring the coral roses. It was Zephyr’s older sister, Haizea. At the sight of her all alone, a thought crossed my mind: The greatest advantage I have against the bad end is that I have the time and numerous chances to make the first move…

And so, with that thought in mind, I steeled myself. I turned to Cain and Virgil and told them to go on ahead because I wanted to take this opportunity to finally befriend a girl my age. Virgil agreed with a tender smile, but Cain eyed me with a raised brow. Hey, I’m technically not lying… However, after taking some time to convince Cain that he can come back after escorting Virgil, the two of them finally let me be.

Most likely having noticed the argument between Cain and I, the moment I turned to approach Haizea, I momentarily froze for I had instantly made eye contact with her.

Noticing that we made eye contact, Haizea gave a friendly smile and ended up approaching me instead. “Nice to meet you once again, Velloa Imitheos.”

“Likewise…” I said as I struggled to control my nervous heart.

After some silence, Haizea once again took reign of the conversation. “Please forgive me for being so blunt, but have you perchance fallen in love with Prince Kai?”

Eh, What?

Did… Did she just…?

Fall in love? Me? With Prince Kai? Wha…?

“…Pardon?” I stared at the girl in front of me, dumbfounded.

Nani the hell did she just say?!

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