Arien and Arjen's POV-
The pair sat on a tree, staring down at the houses and castle. Arjen turned to look at Arien.
"...Someday, do you think we'll be able to escape from here?"
Arien did not answer, for she did not have any hope left. At that time, they could not fathom the thought of a totally different life awaiting them.
Arien sat in thought, recalling the story of their origin.
Six years ago, Rurahel approached the emperor in hopes of gaining status, but ended up giving birth to the princess and princes. Even so, the emperor did not pay any attention to her after the one night they had spent together.
Fortunately, the triplets were all born with blonde hair, else he would have killed them.
'Why does it matter if the emperor named us? Ever since that day, he's left us in a run-down castle and neglected us. He's the reason we have to live like this.'
The emperor was completely uninterested in us, and Rurahel soon spent all of the money sent by the royal palace on luxuries.
As time went on, the maids realized they had been abandoned and began to neglect and abuse the children.
Despite being at an age where they needed a lot of care, Arien and Arjen were fed little and lived in fear of being beaten by Rurahel or the maids. Of the triplets, it was only Arden who received care.
Although Arien and Arjen were also royals, they were treated in a completely different way from the princes living in the castle.
Suddenly, Arjen stood up and grabbed Arien's hand.
'Someone's here', he spoke telepathically.
A tall man with brown hair and violet eyes stepped out from behind the leaves.
"Who are you?"
"If you don't answer, you'll have to pay the price."
Arien and Arjen flinched.
'He's so intimidating...his voice gives me chills.'
The man's voice was much more intimidating than Rurahel's. At a glance, one could tell that the man was a man with authority.
'His clothes are high-quality. He's definitely not a commoner'
The twins decided to act like scared five-year-old kids to avoid suspicion. Upon seeing this, the man covered his face with a shocked expression.
"Ah...Oh my...This is unexpected".
He smiled gently.
"It's dangerous to stand over there, so come here."
He attempted to touch Arjen. At this action, both Arjen and Arien tensed up and jumped away from him. This was instinctive for the two children who had been mistreated by Rurahel.
'...Was it too obvious?'
The man frowned.
"There's no need to be so wary of me. I promise I won't do anything bad to you."
He paused. His words seemed to have little effect.
"...Why did you climb such a high tree?"
'What can we do to escape from this situation?,'Arien pondered.
She ultimately decided to act like an ordinary five-year-old kid.
"We...We...were just looking at the royal palace because it was really pretty."
The man looked at her.
"You want to go there?"
The dumbstruck siblings looked at each other and stammered, "N..No...We wouldn't dare..."
The man frowned, initiating a flinch from the children.
"May I...ask your names?"
"I'm...Arjen".
"And I'm Arien".
Hearing this, the man smiled and took off his coat, tossing it onto the shoulders of the dazed children.
"It's cold out here, so wrap yourselves in that".
Arien pulled the coat around her shoulder.
"W,We don't deserve this. These clothes are too nice."
The man frowned.
"Children don't need to say those things. Wear that so you don't catch a cold."
"To think, you've...been dressed in such thin clothing, even in this weather."
The man began to tremble in anger as Arien and Arjen stared curiously at him, wondering if their way of speaking was strange.
"Arjen, Arien. I must take my leave now", the man said. Then, he promptly jumped off the tree branch and walked away.
After this, Arien and Arjen quickly scurried back into the castle with the coat and examined it on their bed.
"This coat is covered with decorations...I wonder how high his status is."
"Well, since he doesn't have blonde hair, he definitely isn't royalty."
Arien jumped.
"BLONDE HAIR! THAT MAN, HE SAW OUR BLONDE HAIR!"
"If he's a high-ranking noble, there's no way he wouldn't know that blonde hair is a unique trait of the royal family. What should we do? If we're discovered-"
They were interrupted by a scream.
Arien and Arjen quickly left behind the coat and ran down outside of the castle to the location where their mother was making a scene.
Rurahel pointed at Arien and Arjen with a broken glass.
"YOU TWO! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU TWO, I...!"
Without warning, she slipped and fell onto a tree, which penetrated through her abdomen, thus killing her.
Arien covered her brother's eyes, thus forgetting to cover her own. With her eyes wide in terror, she wondered,
'What will...happen to us now?'
[758 words]
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The Invisible Prince
FanfictionArien and Arjen were reborn as the princess and prince of the Yuriana Empire. Born as royalty, they expected to live luxurious lives. However, they were abandoned by the emperor and forced to live with their abusive mother and negligent maids in a r...
