After organising my thoughts for the meantime and calming myself down, I went to the west wing to welcome back my brother and the crown prince.

Following behind Robbe, I covertly took deep breaths as I am not used to his fast walk. Marie walked behind me while a different attendant, a lady called Clarisse, assisted me by holding my right wrist and elbow.

They said Clarisse has served me since my childhood years, serving as my eyes and hands. She was sent to serve a cousin who resides within our territory against her wishes when I got into an accident that left me bedridden for months, and was only quickly summoned back because everyone knew how fond I was of her.

It was the first time I saw her, or even learned of her existence.

Then again, I had only fleshed out the female lead's family and the prince, while treating the minor characters as nothing more but props to move the story along.

Once there, I was surprised to see a number of knights surrounding the large, raised area where a roughly cut white crystal hovers in mid-air.

It also gives off a cold and ethereal air.

My heart throbbed in fear for a moment when I saw a glimpse of formless shadow within that crystal, and I tried to convince myself that it was nothing but a shadow casted upon it by the people moving about.

A person that I assume is the mage in charge came up to us.

"They will come through in a few minutes, Your Grace."

I nodded in acknowledgement. The mage smiled brightly at that, bowed deeply and turned away to properly monitor the flow of mana around the crystal.

"For His Grace to use this teleportation portal even though the Duke forbade it…the crown prince is really something." Clarisse mumbled quietly, probably assuming I wouldn't be able to hear her.

By the Gods, Konrad, what did you do?

What did I make you do for you to be hated this much?

Robbe only cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes at Clarisse who then closed her mouth and lowered her head as if properly chastised.

A few moments later, the crystal gave off an iridescent glow, with thick threads of that light seeping through the grooves on the floor and lighting up the magic formation on it.

A flash of white light made me close my eyes and raise my other hand up to protect my vision.

Silhouettes started appearing on the platform and once the light faded, a total of fifteen people stood there.

One of them is a tall man with long, straight red hair tied in a low ponytail, deep purple eyes behind large chic round glasses and wearing the Carran family's colours of green and black. Half of the people behind them also bore the colours of our family, marking them as his retainers.

Next to him is a man whose typical description would fall into the category of 'the author's preferred prince charming'.

Tall, fair skinned, with properly cut blond hair and gentle green eyes, wearing the white, blue and gold regalia of the kingdom’s crown prince.

Behind him were his retainers garbed in white as well, with a few handfuls carrying what seems to be gifts.

The red-head man stared at me as I walked up to them, still assisted by Clarisse.

"My baby Fiore—!" He choked up, his expression rapidly changing from the stoic and respectable heir to a sobbing mess of an older brother.

He quickly broke away from the group before the prince could take a step and enveloped me into a tight hug, lifting me off the ground and making Clarisse move away and glancing over at the prince who was staring at us.

Of course, I didn't miss out on the yearning fondness in her look. I would have scrutinised her way of looking at the prince if not for Allen putting me down again then grabbing my face to make me look at him.

"Did you eat your breakfast properly? Is it true that you can see again? Wait, if that's true, why would this woman be back here then…?"

Clarisse turned her eyes downwards upon hearing Allen's words, biting down on her lip.

"I can see you very well, big brother." I told him, confident that's how the usual Aine would interact with him. "As for Clarisse, how could you send her to cousin Alva of all people? That old maid has quite the temper and Clarisse is too soft spoken…"

Allen only pouted, rubbing my face between his hands thoughtfully. The cold, side eye glare he gave to Clarisse was obvious but I let it pass.

It was obvious they'd put suspicion on her after the original Aine got into an accident, as she was always the one with her.

Yet, I wouldn't suspect anyone just yet, since I don't have all of the details of each accident I was in.

I do have a few gut feelings I don't want to act on for the time being, until I get my thoughts properly organised.

"Aine…"

I heard my name being called by the prince gently. I snapped my attention to him while Allen was still rolling my cheeks.

The relieved smile on Konrad's lips made me remember my personal vendetta against the fairy tale-like prince charmings who was always perfect in every aspect; the very reason why I made Konrad the exact opposite in personality out of spite.

"I'm glad that you've finally recovered. I had already apologised to House Carran about the incident before, but allow me to apologise personally to you this time."

Konrad had placed a hand over his heart when he said those words, making my skin crawl at how he effortlessly pulled off such a cheesy line.

He may have the face of a just and fair prince, yet his twisted side is already known to House Carran in the original drafts.

He's the kind of man who'd use anyone to further his goal, and would even sacrifice his own fianceé for it.

The only reason why our family hasn't risen to oppose him is because of my supposed fondness for him.

The relationship between the prince and my family here should be the same.

Prying off Allen's hands off my face and holding onto them while I locked eyes with the prince.

These two important people in front of me were going to be the reason why I die in two years. While I cannot turn a cold shoulder towards a family member, at least I could take care of the other one early.

If I want to live past my twenty-eighth birthday, I have to distance myself from the trigger of my death, which happens to be the very existence of the Prince.

"Thank you for your thoughts, Your Highness. However, are you sure it's fine to drop your duties like that to visit me? Your duty to the kingdom comes first."

Everyone stared at me in stunned silence, and Konrad's mouth slightly opened in shock as he stared at me wide-eyed.

Was I too harsh from the get go?

Not really curious about the answer to that question, I turned back to Allen with a bright smile.

"I'm sure you're hungry. Why don't we go to the dining hall so you can finally rest your feet? I asked the kitchen staff to work double time to make your favourites."

I glanced back at Konrad with obvious hesitation. "If His Highness wants, he could also join us. Or if he wants to rest first, I'll send Robbe to assist you into your quarters."

Konrad blinked a few times before he smiled gently at us siblings.

"I wouldn't want to dare get in the way of your sibling talks, Aine. I'll rest up for a bit since I also have a budding headache, but I hope you'd grace me with your companionship at least for an afternoon tea and stroll?"

I nodded at that before looking over at Robbe to deal with it, unaware how Allen is staring at me as if he's never seen me before.

Walking out of the room, I held onto Allen's arm like a clingy sister who has not outgrown the habit. Once in the hallway, Allen turned to Konrad, still all business-like.

"I hope you don't take this too personal, Your Highness. Fiore must have noticed your exhaustion from the numerous sorties at the border and meetings you attended in the King's place."

Konrad clenched his jaw at that, knowing that is not the case but once he locked eyes with me, he slowly eased his tense shoulders.

"I know. I deeply apologise for worrying you, Aine…you've finally recovered and yet I…"

"Please rest well, Your Highness. I'll make sure they send refreshments to your quarters." I politely told him. "I'll see you later in the afternoon."

Once we went our separate ways, I couldn't help but look over my shoulder to get a glimpse of the prince's profile view to check on his expression.

The gentle smile he had worn in front of me is gone, now replaced by a stoic expression as he followed Robbe.

"Aine." Allen's voice reached my ears. I turned my attention back to him.

"Hm?"

"I don't know if you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but I'm happy that you finally did. Being nice to the person who placed such nonsense into your mind about being the Holy Maiden for our kingdom at such a young age and forcing us to agree to it…"

I stared at Allen hard.

Huh?

"I should have asked Father to pull out his support for the prince when I heard about it…"

Huh?

Allen gave me a bitter smile, rubbing my head gently.

"Don't worry, I'm not blaming you. Having you as the first Holy Maiden of our rather battle-hardened family is still a great pride to us all. I only wished that it didn't start off like that…"

Huh???