The Author's Will

64 | White Aster

　　 Anticipation pervaded the room as the eyes of every guest remained plastered firmly to the two princes of Laydel. Ever since the late emperor and his queens had passed, the throne was left empty - destined to remain barren until one of the two brothers came of age.

Albeit young, the princes were already backed by factions supporting their inheritance of the throne. Several years were still left till one could take up that position, but the air was tense in the ballroom in that moment.

As Prince Daniel approached his brother, the only sound which rang through Irene's ears were of his soles against the pristine palace floors. It reverberated through her and had her heart stuck in her throat, unsure of what to think.

This was a moment she had been anticipating for a very long time.

"Mikael," Daniel's eyes were gentle as he gazed at his brother. No one really knew what to expect of their relationship, but one thing was for certain — they were rivals for the throne.

But the eldest prince's stoic face was graced with a smile so charming, everyone who had it in their line of sight practically gasped.

"I really missed you." Daniel said sincerely.

And then he did something no one would have expected.

Daniel lifted a hand up to Mikael's soft blonde tufts, and ruffled them. As though he were petting a pup.

And everyone gasped again. Including Irene. She could have sworn she noticed even Rudien flinch a little in her line of sight.

Mikael absolutely hated being touched like that, she couldn't even count the amount of times he grew cross at her for doing any sort of similarly affectionate actions. But this time, the second prince stood with complete composure — like it didn't bother him at all.

Instead, the blonde simply sighed, and promptly brushed his elder brother's hand aside. "You need to let go of your old habits."

Daniel chuckled a little. "How can I, when you're so cute?"

Okay, what the hell is going on... Irene couldn't tell whether the boys were acting or not, but this display of affection seemed overwhelmingly unnatural. She did not expect to witness such brotherly love today, but in all honesty, she didn't mind. Nor did the countless women in the ball who seemed to gaze at them both in adoration.

To be fair, these two never seemed like the type to give a damn about the social norms of society. So it was no surprise in some ways.

The brothers continued back and forth like they had forgotten they were the centre of attention. Irene only felt relieved they weren't at each other's throats. Everyone else also seemed a little at ease that they were getting along, but that didn't mean the jaws of scheming nobles weren't tightly clenched at the sight.

"Maybe that's why Mikael didn't want to see him," Rayvis whispered, and Irene hadn't even noticed her own brother being right beside her. "Compared to how he is with us, he's way more docile around Daniel, don't you think?"

Irene glanced from Mikael, to Daniel, and back to Mikael. She smiled, satisfied. "Hopefully they don't try to kill each other in a few years."

Her brother gave her a concerned look, but soon found himself nodding and agreeing when he thought over it again. "Well, if Mikael wanted to be emperor, one of their heads will definitely be rolling before they turn twenty."

We shouldn't be saying this so casually-

Soon enough, the ball continued as everyone began to mingle. And by that- it was surrounding Daniel and taking turns to barrage him with questions and introductions. As the Princess of Cherliann, one of the most prominent families in Laydel, Irene knew she would need to greet the young prince. Especially when Rudien and Sarah were cleared a path toward Daniel, and all the nobles watched on anticipation as they began to introduce themselves.