After a couple more days of rest, Alexandra was finally fully situated in her new position. The doctor had declared all of "her" memories restored, and she was now free to walk around and do as she pleased. As she walked down the halls of the manor, she thought about what to do with her predicament. Over the course of her bedrest, Alexandra had decided that the best way to ensure her stability in this life was to cut ties with the first route: the Prince.

First things first, she needed an excuse. It wasn't like she could just casually annul an engagement to a member of the royal family. Imagine, walking up to the King and saying "Hey, your son is a womanizing douchebag and it only took me three years to understand that. I don't want to get married anymore."

She'd be exiled or beheaded long before the ending of the game.

In order to achieve her long-term goal of succeeding at life in this game, she would have to maintain her status, her reputation, and most importantly, her life. That meant that she couldn't do anything that would harm her family name or get her killed. Requesting to end an engagement with a royal without an acceptable reason would be social suicide...and maybe even actual suicide. 

Alexandra shuddered. That would be a waste of her second chance at life.

But how to annul the engagement? She wouldn't be able to live on as the fianceé of such a sh*tty person, not only because it could eventually lead to her exile but also because she, as a person with decent moral character and pride, did not deserve such treatment. Even commoner women kicked their unfaithful husbands out of the house. But as a noble, she had traded in her societal freedom for creature comforts and extra mana. 

*WHAM*

Alexandra looked up to see who she had collided into and was met with cool silver eyes and red hair identical to her own. 

"Elias?"

"Alexandra." Her younger brother's cool tone was only reserved for his sister, it seemed. It was so unlike the brash and haughty tone he used in the company of others. She wasn't entirely sure whether the different tone was a good thing or not. His route wasn't that much of a danger to Alexandra's wellbeing, so she had no need to be cautious or hostile around him. Unfortunately, Elias seemed to really dislike Alexandra for some reason, but she didn't have the time to think about it. She needed to find a way to dump the prince!

"Sorry for bumping into you, I'll be on my way now." Alexandra moved to walk past him, but the look on his face stopped her in her tracks.

He wore an expression of bewilderment and—was that wonder?—that seemed uncharacteristic of him. Was getting an apology out of his sister that rare for him? Momentarily curious, Alexandra tried to get a better look at his face, but he quickly turned his face aside. 

"Hmph," he sniffed, "as long as you know." 

That attitude irked her. When she lived as Aiko, she didn't take sh*t from anyone, not even from her kendo teammates. Anyone who tried was met with a scathing glare and a demonstration of why she was one of the most talented kendokas in school. She wasn't about to go quiet and submissive now. A younger sibling being dismissive of the elder sibling with no reason? Unheard of in her previous world. Maybe it was because he was a boy? Did Old Alexandra just roll over and take it? Well no matter the reason, Alexandra was about to show him that she wasn't one to be trifled with.

"Ow, ow, OW!" Elias grunted as she suddenly seized his ear and yanked him down so that they were at eye level with each other. Blast boys and their beanstalk hormones. He was one and a half years younger than her and still he towered over her by a whole head. 

"Oi..." she frowned at him. "What did I do to deserve this attitude?" She cocked an eyebrow and stared at him expectantly. He gaped at her, obviously shocked by her behavior. Huh, maybe she was acting pretty differently from Old Alexandra. Well, she could always blame the personality change on the accident being a life-changing event.

"Well...?" she asked leadingly. Elias averted his gaze and puffed out his cheeks in a childish pout. Alexandra bit her lip to stop herself from grinning. With a face like that, he was almost actually cute. In a Gr*mpy C*t kind of way, not like an attractive-cute kind of way.

"Nothing..." he huffed out. Alexandra smiled in satisfaction. 

"Right," she nodded. "So I don't really deserve this, do I?"

He frowned even more. "No..."

She nodded and let go. He immediately straightened back up, rubbing his now-red ear. However, he still wore that expression of mild astonishment. It seemed that there were things that the game never showed. Either that or she wasn't paying attention when Kana was blathering on and on about it. Probably the latter.

"What are you doing today?" she questioned.

"Father gave me the day off..." he grumbled reluctantly. 

Alexandra smiled. "Would you like to come to the library with me then?"

A peace offering. A carrot after the stick. 

"Sure..."

***

Out of all the luxuries that came with this new life, Alexandra's favorite by far had to be this library. It was easily the size of one of the bookstores in her previous world. The vaulted ceiling and large arched windows made the room feel bigger than it actually was. Plush green seats could be found everywhere and the wooden bookcases seemed to stretch on forever. 

Alexandra hummed happily as she settled into a chair with a small mountain of books in her hands. Thank the isekai gods that she understood the language and writing of this world. Elias had shamelessly gawked at her when she began to gather books by the armful. Perhaps Old Alexandra had never read that much before? What a shame. 

As she cracked open her first book, a historical text titled The Founding of Iridia, she glanced over to her brother. He sat in a chair next to one of the large windows, face illuminated brilliantly by the afternoon sun. Looking at his short wavy hair, silver eyes, and long figure, Alexandra began to understand a little bit of why Kana was always squealing over his looks.

Elias was slowly becoming a curious character. During her bedrest, Alexandra did not pay much attention to Old Alexandra's memories of Elias because his route was not a threat to her. However, she was beginning to see a complex story that intrigued her. He appeared to show disdain for Old Alexandra, and she wanted to know why. Maybe she could improve the relationship? After all, since he wasn't a threat, there was no harm in befriending one's own brother. 

Keeping one eye on her book and one eye on her brother, Alexandra began to reach into Old Alexandra's memories of Elias.

Just what exactly is the relationship between these two?