I was looking for Camellia when I stumbled upon my half-brother.

Asa and I still hadn't reached a consensus about our plan, and I didn't intend on revealing my identity to Camellia just yet. So why I was looking for her…I don't know. The last time I had seen her she had been shaking and sobbing in my arms. I hoped she wasn't crying alone somewhere.

Sometimes Camellia came out to the academy gardens. According to Asa, story "events" often occurred there in the original game, so I shouldn't have been surprised to see Luce examining a patch of flowers with his back to me.

He was wearing a long dark plum-colored overcoat, and his posture was unusually stooped. It appeared the unaffected and flashy image he upheld most of the time was slipping off.

Asa had said you could befriend Luce in Garden of Dreams and even romance him in the second playthrough. I desperately wanted to avoid any romantic encounters as the heroine (because he is my brother, after all), but the thought of getting along with him for once wasn't entirely unpleasant.

I disliked my younger brother's hedonistic lifestyle, lack of filial loyalty to the crown, and general irresponsibility, but…perhaps had I really been born the heroine, not "Prince Vel," I might have had a different impression.

I minced forward until I came to stand by Luce, who didn't move or utter a sound even when I was right next to him.

After a minute or two of silence, he grinned at me and nodded his head towards the flowerbed he had been viewing.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" The flowers were white camellias, their delicate petals fluttering in the wind like bridal veils. "See how their petals are curved in on themselves in the center, like they're protecting something? They call that the anemone form."

I looked sidelong at him. Something told me there was more to this conversation than a lesson about the forms of flowers.

"Most people are like anemones. They protect what's in their hearts, shielding it from the eyes of others." He reached out and touched the tip of a petal with his finger. "Luckily for us, these flowers don't sting like actual anemones do."

I stayed silent and waited for him to get to the point.

"I seemed to upset you, the other day at lunch. I'm sorry."

I suddenly felt very awkward, like a child whose hand was caught in a cookie jar. I hadn't expected him to apologize. "No, I…I also might have taken it too far."

Part of the reason I avoided Luce was because he threw me off balance. We are half-brothers, but we had only seen each other once or twice as children and grew up completely separated. I thought I knew him, but almost everything I knew was what my family members had told me.

"I've always admired people who have something to protect." He shrugged, and although he was still smiling, his eyes were strangely blank. "If others are like anemones, maybe I am like a broken shell on the beach. Sometimes I feel like my insides are completely exposed and open to the world, but there's nothing there."

Asa had told me once that Garden of Dreams was named so because one by one, the heroine helped the characters to realize their dreams. Was that what the heroine had done for Luce, when she befriended him?

Would Lady Raine have known what to say in this situation?

I halted that train of thought. It was whimsical, very unlike me. Unfortunately for Luce, I am not Lady Raine. I am only myself. I can only use my own experience as reference.

"You might find there are more broken shells on the beach beside you than you realize." He glanced at me in surprise, and it was a relief to see an expression return to his face. I let my hands fall behind my back and clasped them there, like a soldier at ease. "There are times I have felt the same as you. But lately…"

I thought about Camellia. About Asa. About the memories I wanted to be more than part of a mechanical simulation. I even thought about the men that chased me around desperately, as if they were trying to find something to hold on to. "I feel like I have found a few things I want to protect." I gave him a slight smile. "You may be surprised. After all, your pearl is probably still awaiting you, at the bottom of the ocean."

His own smile turned devilish in answer. "But you'll never suggest that pearl is Lady Camellia, right?"

I felt my lips firm into a thin line. "No. I won't suggest that."

Perhaps Luce, like Asa, had also picked up on my own overzealous infatuation.

Almost on cue with the change in mood, the sky began to drizzle wet drops on our elegant clothes, and Luce shrieked. 

"TAKE COVER!" He ran off down the garden path with his books over his head, still squealing.

As I watched his figure disappear into the building, I realized I hadn't asked him any questions that might give me clues about his possible involvement in the rebellion. He looked pretty aimless…I would need to investigate further.

I had the feeling that when Luce did find his “pearl”, all the passion and intelligence that slumbered within him would come to the forefront. 

I sincerely hoped he was not the leader of the rebellion. Or worse, seriously intending to pursue Camellia.

I put out a hand to catch a few clear drops. It had started raining a little harder. I decided to head inside as well, thinking to myself.

Perhaps another reason I disliked Luce was that he had massive potential, but he let it lie fallow. If we could gain him as an ally, maybe I could make him see that he already had plenty of treasure of his own.