"Seems that En has no appetite today," teased a low voice. "Guess I'll eat the rest of the beef."
En threatened Marius by sinking his fork in the lean grilled meat before his cousin's hand could touch En's plate.
"If you dare to touch my plate," threatened En with a smirk, "don't cry if your hand ends up having marks of a fork."
Marius laughed as he sat properly on the opposite side of the table.
"So you were still here," said Marius, calming down. "I was hoping to succeed in stealing it. My sister cooked so well today that I wanted to have a second round."
"What do you mean I cooked well, today?" asked a displeased voice by En's side. "Don't I cook well every day?"
En saw Miria narrowing her eyes at her brother.
"Not always," said Marius, relaxing his back against the chair. "But sometimes you outdo yourself. I wonder what potions you added during your cooking to make today's lunch delicious."
"Humph." Miria crossed her arms. "Mimi is right, big brothers are annoying."
En raised a brow as he gazed at Miria, wondering how was she able to befriend one of Kazuya's little sisters so fast. But then, Miria had this friendly aura, so it wasn't surprising she made a few friends in the short time they stayed at Arisa's residence.
"By the way," continued Miria, "if you had stayed in the kitchen until I finished cooking, you'd have learned how to prepare this dish and add it to your menu since you live alone."
En had another fork of golden rice with curry. As he enjoyed the salty and seasoned taste of his meal, En tried to remember when Miria started to connect with Kazuya's sisters.
Though he couldn't picture exactly when he saw his cousin talking to the twins, En remembered Miria telling him she liked how the younger twin would mock Kazuya whenever she had a chance. Since Miria had bad first impressions of Kazuya, she saw she had something in common with Kazuya's sister.
As Miria and Marius fell into a sibling banter, En enjoyed his meal and examined his surroundings. Compared to the living room of his uncle's and aunt's residence, this place looked really small. It only had a small dining table and a few dark, leather-covered sofas.
Nothing garnished the beige-colored walls. En guessed that since Marius lived alone, he must have thought there was no need or he simply wasn't a decorative person like his sister.
"Anyway, I'm worried about En." Marius' voice brought En back to reality. "He's been spacing out a lot since you came back. Maybe it was a bad idea to let you go wherever you went."
En gazed at his cousin with a frown. Did he really lower his guard so much that he trapped himself in his thoughts a lot in front of others?
"Of course, he's spacing out," said Miria. "He's in love and is thinking about his lover."
Marius shook his head. "Teenagers."
"What?" Miria's forehead wrinkled. "Why are you acting like an old man? You're only twenty-two."
As the two siblings fell into another debate, En set in his mind to be careful with his habit lately. Even though he set that in his mind, he couldn't help but fall into his thoughts upon remembering that Arisa accepted his feelings.
He still couldn't believe that she had forgiven him and now they were dating. After the way he treated her in the last few months, he really thought she wouldn't accept his feelings or have him back as her friend.
He thought that since Arisa was a kindhearted woman, maybe she would forgive him but not have him back as her friend. He never expected that there would be a positive outcome after risking to see her and he was glad to have followed Mei's advice.
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The Fallen Prince
الخيال (فانتازيا)♌-- Book III of the Astral Guardians Series --♈ To fulfill his late mother's dream has always been En's aim in life. Even though he's not sure he will succeed bringing peace between Eteria and Celestia, he promised himself to at least become the nex...
