Chapter 40

In one of the harem rooms, Kiara was looking up at the sky while hugging a stuffed animal. The cloudless weather seemed to reflect Kiara's heart.

A few days ago, a letter from her cousin Alvis arrived with an apology. He wanted to apologize for the day after the party and set up a meeting. Today was the day of that meeting.

Perhaps because she was excited, Kiara woke up earlier than usual and even made the maids laugh. But it was only because she had been looking forward to this day so much.

"Just one more hour..."

Kiara is the second princess of the Rubelia Kingdom. Her mother is a concubine. Her sister has the same mother, and her half-brother is the only legitimate son. Her half-brother, as the only prince, had already become a distant figure by the time Kiara was old enough to understand. They met only a few times a year, and it seemed she saw him less often than her father. She was told that it was inevitable because he held an important position as the crown prince, but she did feel lonely.

Alvis, in a way, took the place of her brother. Her cousin, who was also Rithine's childhood friend, used to visit the castle from time to time before entering the academy, and Kiara was sometimes allowed to join their tea parties. Alvis always smiled kindly and listened to Kiara's stories silently, making him the ideal older brother.

While Alvis was at the academy, he rarely visited the castle, even though he was in the capital. They only met on Kiara's birthday. When she heard that he joined the knights after graduation, she was happy, but as a knight, he couldn't even meet her on her birthday. When he transferred to the royal guard, the opportunities to meet increased, but his attitude was that of a princess. He no longer treated her as a cousin. When Kiara cried in confusion, Alvis smiled helplessly but didn't change his attitude, even saying that if she gave an order as a princess, he would have no choice but to follow it. Once she gave an order, their relationship would no longer be that of cousins. Even as a child, Kiara understood this. So, she had no choice but to give up.

The turning point came with her half-brother's misconduct. Kiara didn't know the details, but from Rithine's anger, she assumed her half-brother was at fault. Regardless, Kiara didn't care much about what happened to her half-brother, with whom she had a distant relationship. Even if he left the castle, their relationship wouldn't change. She had once wanted to be involved, but now it didn't matter to her.

As a princess, she was excluded from the line of succession, but she wasn't completely indifferent to the throne. When she heard that someone other than her half-brother would be the next king, the first person who came to mind was her uncle. If things went as planned, the Belphias Duke's family would inherit the throne. In that case, Princess Kiara might be married into the Belphias Duke's family or to another noble family. Either way, she might have to leave the castle sooner than she imagined. It was during this time that she received some good news.

Alvis from the Belphias Duke's family would become the crown prince. The two people with the highest succession rights had renounced their claims, and Alvis, now first in line, would become the next king. Kiara was overjoyed, but her happiness was dampened when she learned that Alvis would also become engaged upon being named crown prince. Still, if he lived in the castle, she would be able to see him more often. For Kiara, this was undoubtedly good news.

Although they were already in the same castle, it took over a month before Kiara could meet Alvis. Even as the crown prince and her cousin, Alvis was not her real brother. She couldn't visit the harem freely, so various procedures were necessary to arrange a meeting. Despite finding it troublesome, she had to follow the rules as the daughter of the king.

On the day after her birthday, she had set up a meeting through the necessary procedures, but Alvis didn't show up. He apparently had an emergency. If it was urgent enough that he couldn't even send a message, she could understand. She wasn't that unreasonable. Her mother had also sternly told her not to blame Alvis.

"Even without being told, I never intended to blame Onii-sama. Do I seem so selfish?"

"That's not the case. Your mother understands. However, His Highness Alvis is very busy..."

"You mean I shouldn't keep him too long? I understand that."

She understood, but her tone still sounded a bit sulky because her mother and the maids kept saying she was selfish to Alvis. The maid in front of her was even smiling. It was understandable that she found it amusing.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. One of the maids opened it, and a female guard appeared.

"Excuse me. I have been informed that His Highness Alvis has left his office. Princess—"

"I'm coming now!"

"...Yes, I understand."

Kiara cut her off and quickly put on her cape, rushing out of the room.

"Princess Kiara! Please wait!"

"I can't keep Onii-sama waiting! Hurry, hurry!"

The voices echoing down the hallway made the guard who brought the news and the maids left in the room exchange smiles.

---

I just made it in time.

This is my last post for the year.

I hope you all have a wonderful new year!