Wei grabbed my arm. 

"No! It's mine!" I tried shoving him away but he overpowered me. He opened his mouth wide and tried biting the biscuit in my hand. I moved the biscuit away and he missed, biting down on air. This caused Wei to grow angrier. 

"I told you that you could have one biscuit, but I never said that it could be my favorite honey triple-layered nut!" He tried grabbing it but I sprung away from him, beginning to run as I shouted. "It's my favorite too!"

"You little—!" Wei began chasing me and I tried running as far as my shorter legs could take me. But I was lastly cornered. Reaching a dead end, I faced Wei. He was panting heavily, more than me, but his eyes screamed his hunger for the last treat. He breathed heavily and then rushed at me. My hand shook as I was ready to crush the biscuit in my hand. I'd rather none of us have it than let Wei steal it back. 

Wei let out a yelp. Someone stood behind him and was pulling at his shirt. I saw Heath towering over the shorter boy, scowling. He looked at me and his frown deepened. 

"I was wondering what was causing the attendants to grow worried and nervous. It was you two playing around." Wei hissed.

"Playing around? This is a fight to the death!" Wei declared. I glowered at him.

"You're doing all of this just for a cookie?" Wei snarled at me.

"Yes! Because you were planning on taking it and eating it." I tried protesting but Heath had had enough of us. 

"Shut up! Both of you! You are acting like children!" Wei and I gave him blank looks. Heath paused. "Like... babies! Just ask one of the bakers to make you more." Wei crossed his arms and pouted. "But that takes too much time." I glared at Wei while Heath shot him a dirty look. 

Wei grumbled something under his breath, dragging his feet as he walked away. I sighed in relief, feeling safe. And then froze. I raised my hand and felt the biscuit crumble in my tight grip. Shit. I had used too much force. I tearfully let the remains of the treat fall. I wasn't joking when I said it was my favorite snack...

Heath gave me a look-over before gesturing for me to follow him. I did so without a word, as blood-bound allies. Okay, not blood bound, but secrecy bound. 

I'd been in this world for a month now and I'd gotten to know the friendliest family members. We'd gotten quite close... however I still felt there was a distance between us. I looked at Heath's wide back. He never tried talking to me unless he had to or Wei was with me. Of course, he could be kind but only as far as an acquainted ally would. Wei did the same too, of course, he would bother me at times but only when he wanted something. Once he got it, he left me alone. 

I won't lie, it was pretty miserable living here. I had read a lot of books to pass time but I needed genuine human interaction, not forced small talk with my 'siblings'. 

I sighed and stopped walking, nearly colliding into Heath. He had stopped in the common room and there was a pile of... something on the ground. And they all had one thing in common. 

"These are all letters addressed to you. They came a bit late due to... problems but they're here now." I wanted to be happy but there were a lot of them. Heath gave a small smile if a bit strained. "It seems that your debut went well then." And he raised his hand, hesitated, and lowered it. He left without another word. 

Not minding his strange action, I picked up one of the letters. I called on attendants to help scoop them up to my room. They were a little reluctant—because they're used to bullying and harassing me— but I wasn't having any of it.

"Is this not your job? I thought something as simple as this would be easy to accomplish. Should I perhaps call father? Tell him to replace disobedient and frankly useless—" I gave them a cool glance. "—attendants?" I smiled cheerfully. I keep up the nice act most of the time, but I won't lower my head when it came to these shallow attendants. The attendants looked horrified at that revelation and quickly began picking them up. I nodded. Now, there were no attendants that dared to look down on me anymore. 

In minutes, I was seated on my bed, looking through the various letters that I had received. I started reading them, as quickly as possible.

'Good day, Rael Vandergarden. 

I, Housen Carst, would be forever in your debt if you were to contribute and help my family's house. We would be delighted to join your faction and help you become king, even! All we need is a bit of donation. It isn't a lot, seeing as how successful your debut went, you are sure to get it all back.

All I need is 5,000,000–' I looked at all the zeros that just kept going. This was a little? I wasn't an idiot, I knew the value of the currency of this country. I ripped the letter to shreds. Did they want to use me to pay off their debt and then join my faction? As though I had any chance of becoming the heir? Ridiculous. Sneering, I threw the pieces away. They thought that because I was an illegitimate child, I would fall for ridiculous scams such as these? 

I sighed. Now I know why the pile was so big. It was because a lot of nobles or royals wanted to take advantage of the fact that the previous Rael was a bit naive. Too bad that they're dealing with me now.

I began opening the rest and none of them seemed to interest me. There were a lot of marriage proposals, but I wasn't planning on getting married or engaged... ever. I rub at my temple. This is a romance story for Ophelia, not me. Falling in love and having my heart skip a beat every two seconds is not on the plan and it would distract me from going back home. 

'I will be having a tea party as an apology for my horrendous behavior at Prince Rael's debut. I will be handing out gifts and treats for everyone who appears. 

Signed, Al Tyre.' 

My lip twitched. So this was his punishment for what he did? It was sort of fitting. I stroked my chin. It wouldn't be too bad going, would it? I was bored and lonely here so being acquainted with other nobles and royals would do me good.

I stared at the date. It was in three days. I stood up for my seat. Perfect, I had something to keep me busy besides reading books. I left my room with a small smile on my face.

——

The nation of Yrd was a snowy land. Even though it was one of Urel's neighboring countries, it consisted of only snow and ice. But thanks to magic, the nation thrived well and used its snowy landscape to its advantage. Yrd was known for its beautiful and unique architecture. Most houses were built with strong ice of various colors that wouldn't melt under any circumstance. That made the buildings even sturdier than those made of stone and wood. Houses made of ice were also enchanted so that the residents wouldn't freeze to death inside. 

I watched the many houses in awe as the carriage was nearing the castle. When I saw the castle, I had to gasp. The castle looked illusionary as the rays of the sun reflected from it, causing its pale blue colors to glimmer. The castle, being built from ice, allowed it to have all sorts of shapes, seeing as the towers were swirled into tips and another nearby building was tilted, as though melting. I was mesmerized. How come Urel wasn't like this? 

It didn't take long to be allowed through the gate. I was smiling and feeling giddy when Peri opened the door to the carriage. I felt a chilling cold assault me and immediately hugged my body for warmth. My teeth rattled. Oh right... It was really cold in Yrd. I hated the cold. Peri had to help me out as my body didn't feel willing to move. 

"Please wait, your highness. We'll soon be allowed inside. Walk around to regain warmth." Peri tried but I was shaking too much to listen. I felt the warmth leave my body quickly as I was stuck in place. It felt like an eternity had passed when the doors to the castle opened. I ran inside, using the last of my strength, and felt my body grow relaxed as the warmth enveloped me. Much better. 

I looked up and met eyes with the person who'd planned on greeting me. I gave the 2nd prince of Yrd, Al Tyre, an awkward smile.

"It was quite chilly."

——

Al smiled as he led me to where the tea party was hosted. I stared at the stairway made out of ice and followed him.

"I'm happy that you agreed to come. I had thought only spiteful nobles would appear but I guess I was lucky." I awkwardly chuckled at his remark. Wasn't this whole situation his fault? Whatever it was, I was bored enough to come, so I hope it'll be worth it. 

Al opened up a door and stepped inside. I peeked in and saw a lot of young aristocrats mingling around a wide table. The table was set with treats, tea, and silverware. I saw a boy sip his tea, look up at me, and promptly choke on his tea. 

The loud coughing made the rest stare at the door and look at me. I let out a shaky breath before stepping inside with a smile, greeting anyone I recognized. I didn't remember their names so I kept the greeting short. I looked for somewhere to sit and saw Al wave at me. He patted a seat right by him and I walked there, sitting down.