Lucien could hardly believe what he had just heard his sister say.

“Who did you say you were going to invite?” he asked to make sure.

“Princess Giselle,” Cecile said in a matter of fact manner. She was brushing her hair, the same icy blue hair as Lucien, while still facing the mirror instead of turning to her brother.

“Why?” Lucien asked again.

Cecile finally turned around, one of her eyebrows raised at her one and only brother.

“What do you mean why? Do you have a problem with it?” Cecile said. She was looking at him like he was acting out of it.

To be honest, even Lucien admitted that he was being strange. Had he developed such an aversion towards the princess just because of one second of seeing her glare at his direction? It wasn’t even confirmed that she was doing it to him. What if he saw wrong?

“It’s nothing,” Lucien said in defeat, to which Cecile then smiled and turned back around to face the mirror again.

His older sister Cecile had always been the queen of the household. Even though she treated Clara really well and showered her with affection, she would always boss Lucien around, anytime she could.

He was her sibling, for goodness sake! Not Clara!

Lucien often complained about it, yet he would still do whatever Cecile asked him to do anyway. It might be why he was said to be a mature big brother figure among his peers—because he was whipped into shape by Cecile.

“By the way, I’m going to ask Lord Nomal to be my partner for the ball,” Cecile said as she smiled to herself with a tinge of pink on her cheeks.

It felt odd for Lucien to see her sister looking like a lovestruck teenager. In his eyes, she was always the strong and reliable sister he could count on.

Lord Cheshire Nomal was the first son of Duke Nomal, one of the founding members of the empire. He was popular with the ladies and had a few rumors surrounding him, but nothing was ever confirmed. Lucien did think that was a bit suspicious, but he couldn’t do anything about it since he knew how long her sister had had a crush on Lord Nomal. She’d probably never believe him anyway, with how head over heels she was for him.

“Good luck, then,” Lucien said in response. Cecile gave him a thumbs up, as if she was saying to leave it to her to make it work.

***

For some reason, Lucien was standing in front of the Renand mansion along with Cecile and Clara on the day of her tea party. Cecile demanded that he should be there to greet the Princess as well, since she was a royalty and thus very important.

I’m pretty sure she’s just nervous to welcome the Princess by herself. Why else would Clara be here as well? Mother and Father aren’t even around, Lucien thought. Although Giselle was a princess, she was still younger than Cecile by two years. It was silly of Cecile to even be scared of her.

All three of them straightened their backs when they saw the Imperial carriage coming closer. Cecile nudged Lucien’s side with her elbow, urging him to escort Giselle down once the door opened later.

Lucien was reluctant, but he stepped forward anyway.

The carriage stopped in front of them and a servant from the Imperial palace came down to open the door.

"We have arrived, Your Highness," the servant announced as he opened the carriage's door.

Giselle was wearing a purple dress with light blue jewelry—likely as a sign of respect towards the House of Renand, whose signature color was light blue. Her black wavy hair was tied in a twintail again and adorned with sparkling pearls, making her look like a goddess of the sea.

How can such a small body exude so much charisma? Lucien wondered.

As if on cue, Lucien immediately extended his hand towards Giselle as she exited the carriage.

It didn't pass by him that she somehow froze for a millisecond, her eyes locked on his hand, before she decided to accept his escort by placing her hand on his. She gave his hand a light squeeze as she descended from the carriage, he noticed.

"Welcome to our humble abode, Your Highness the Princess Giselle," Cecile said with a curtsy. “We are honored to have you here.”

“Likewise, Lady Renand. It is quite delightful to be invited by a fair lady such as yourself,” Giselle said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

As always, this princess is so hard to read, Lucien thought.

Giselle let go of her hold on Lucien’s hand as the three ladies started heading towards where the tea party was going to be held. Seeing their backs going further away, so occupied with their conversation that they didn’t even seem to notice him anymore, Lucien just felt like he was an abandoned puppy.

Well, he wouldn’t be of any use in a gathering for ladies even if he followed them, anyway. He did his job, so he was sure Cecile wouldn’t mind if he went his own way now.

Lucien decided to just go to the study, where all of his father’s and mother’s books were, to spend the rest of his day reading until Cecile called for him again.

Lucien had many hobbies, but they were all mostly physical activities that required meticulous preparation. On a day like this when he just wanted to laze around, he would choose to read the books available in the mansion. The Marquess and Marchioness of Renand would add more books to their collection every few months, so Lucien had never run out of things to read.

While he was choosing what book to read for the day, his hand stopped when he saw a book on politics. As the heir of House Renand, it was only right that Lucien should be more well-versed in politics.

He decided to grab that book and took a seat near the window. That way, he could have a view of the garden—where Cecile's tea party was being held.

The book was pretty thick, so it was just the right book to read for one whole day. Lucien opened it and began reading it right away.

Although he still found politics to be a bore, Lucien still wanted to do his best for his family. He didn't want his father's legacy to turn into nothing in the future.

Lucien was so immersed in his book that he didn't realize the sun was starting to set. He closed the book—not forgetting to place a bookmark, of course—and looked outside the window to check the sky.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the silhouettes of a man and woman who seemed to be arguing with each other.

Strange. There shouldn't have been any man coming to the residence today. Moreover, the woman looked weirdly familiar to Lucien.

Lucien squinted his eyes to see clearer. It was pretty far and the setting sun didn't help illuminate the two silhouettes at all.

When he finally recognized who they were, Lucien immediately dropped his book and rushed out of the study.

What is Clara doing with Duke Karron? Why are they arguing? All manner of thoughts rushed through Lucien's mind.

Siegfried was a military man. Lucien was sure there was no way he would intentionally hurt a lady, but what if something unthinkable happened? They looked like they were in a very intense argument.

It felt like ages before Lucien finally arrived at the garden, where Clara and Siegfried were. However, instead of two people, there were now three people right there.

Lucien could recognize the third person even from afar. Her slender body was standing upright with dignity and her wavy hair seemed to dance under the wind.

But then the person grabbed onto Clara's hand and yanked it up in a forceful manner.

Blood rushed into Lucien's head and before he knew it, he was already right next to them, his hand grabbing onto the person's wrist.

"What are you doing, Your Highness?" Lucien asked, glaring at the person in front of him—Giselle.