PLTSVA 30

All the attendants had left, and Drehan, suddenly promoted to eldest brother in charge of the younger siblings, slumped into the red velvet sofa under the outdoor canopy that Luca had guided him to.

The weather was nice, so it had been decided that breakfast would be held outdoors.

I nearly teared up.

Sad memories from the Troy Orphanage flashed through my mind.

“Luca, are you uncomfortable? Why are you sitting so crookedly?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. One of the chair legs is about to break…”

“What?!”

Looking again, Luca was balancing on one leg of the chair, trying to eat as the broken leg gave way.

Now, sitting in front of a table set like a paradise on top of a green lawn, it felt surreal.

The dishes placed before us looked like the chef had trembled with precision, dropping sauce one droplet at a time for the perfect presentation.

It was such a shame I didn’t have a phone to take a picture—or social media to post it on.

“It’s an honor to serve such distinguished guests.”

I jumped in surprise at the voice suddenly coming from beside me.

“I am Gaori, the imperial head chef.”

“Oh, you’re that famous…”

He was the one who’d prepared the dish Luca had previously raved about.

Chef Gaori gave a brief explanation of each dish before stepping back. From what I could tell, the meal was indeed extraordinary.

I took a bite of the meat stew.

Wow, this is amazing.

“The woman who marries Chef Gaori will be so lucky. Imagine eating something this delicious every day.”

“If you marry me instead of Chef Gaori, you can eat this every day too.”

“Don’t try to tempt me with food, Your Highness.”

We were in the middle of exchanging such casual banter when—

“Your Highness, a word.”

One of the attendants whispered something to Luca, who nodded, his expression hardening slightly.

“What is it? Something happened?”

“Ah… my sister. Not Lady Ria—my actual sister—has arrived at the palace.”

Luca’s sister meant Princess Rachel. She had traveled to a foreign land in search of him, and had now returned upon hearing he was back.

“But why that face? You haven’t seen her in a while—aren’t you happy?”

“It’s… not that, with Rachel.”

Luca trailed off and continued eating.

And then—

“AZEN—LU—CA!!”

“Your Highness, you can’t just barge in like this!”

“Princess!”

A sound like a stampede of buffalo came rushing in.

A girl stormed in from behind Luca and swung a folded fan down at his head with all her strength.

Well, she tried to. Without even turning around, Luca blocked it using only a fork.

It all happened so quickly that I froze mid-motion, spoon hovering near my lips.

“AZENLUCA!! You—you—!”

Still locked in a stand-off with the fan and fork, Luca calmly opened his mouth.

“You’re still as aggressive as ever, Rachel.”

“That’s what you say to your big sister after all this time?! After I went all the way to the Kingdom of Carben looking for you?!”

She went all the way to the Kingdom of Carben? That’s quite far. Luca was just in an orphanage near the capital.

I put my spoon down. Time to enjoy the sibling drama.

“Could you please lower that fan first?”

“No! Not until I’ve smacked that thick skull of yours!”

“Aren’t you even happy your brother came back alive?”

“Happy? Where have you been, and what have you been doing all this time?!”

Living like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in the Troy Orphanage—except… wait, would that make Loyola Snow White?

I shook off that horrifying image.

Drehan, who had been watching the royal sibling spat, finally locked eyes with Rachel.

“Oh, I didn’t realize there were guests.”

Now you notice?

She was a girl with long black hair and striking golden eyes. She and Luca were spitting images—no mistaking they were siblings.

She looked like she’d grow up to be a very cold beauty.

Rachel finally lowered her fan and gave us a sweet smile.

Just as Luca dropped his guard, she used the opportunity to thwack him on the head with the fan.

Ouch, that must’ve hurt.

“Lord Drehan of House Rayes, it’s been a while.”

Ignoring Luca’s glare, Rachel cheerfully opened her fan wide and laughed.

“May the glorious light of the Great Grepin Empire shine upon you. I greet Your Highness.”

“May the glorious light of the Great Grepin Empire shine upon you. I greet Your Highness,”

I stood and followed Drehan’s lead in greeting her properly.

“And who is this lovely young lady?”

“My younger sister, Raberia Jeanne Rayes, Your Highness.”

“Sister? Raberia…?”

Rachel widened her eyes and stared at me.

Her twinkling gaze felt a bit intense, so I gave her a sheepish smile.

Then she smiled brightly and said,

“The lost star of House Rayes has returned. Welcome home, Raberia.”

“Sister, I’m currently entertaining a guest. I’ll visit Serazenne Palace later.”

“Do you think I trust you to do that?”

As this little clash played out, Drehan spoke up.

“Your Highness, I must leave for a prior engagement with Sir Claire.”

Luca nodded.

“I’ll come back for you.”

He said to me, then walked away.

He trusted Luca. He knew I would not be humiliated as long as Luca was by my side. That left just me… and the squabbling royal siblings.

Take me with you! Please!

After the meal, we took a walk in the garden. Rachel walked between Luca and me.

“So I can call you Ria, right?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Oh come on, just use my name! We’re the same age.”

“Rachel… nim?”

“No honorifics! No formalities!”

“Then… Rachel?”

“Yes!”

“Sister… what is this? This is supposed to be my walk with Ria.”

“Well, it’s my walk with Ria too. It’s perfectly normal for friends to walk through a garden, isn’t it?”

“You’ve only known Ria for thirty minutes, but I—”

“Two years—so what? My little brother sure is clingy, isn’t he, Ria?”

Even among royalty, siblings were still siblings.

Watching these two beautiful people argue in such a human way was oddly fascinating.

“So, you still don’t remember who kidnapped you?”

Luca nodded.

He had, as I advised, looked into Duke Cablos’s movements upon returning to the palace, but found no evidence.

That’s how cunning Duke Cablos was—dark lord and crime kingpin.

I knew he was behind it, but I didn’t give Luca any further hints. He’d learn the truth during the war anyway.

Besides, Cablos’s forces wouldn’t be able to attack Luca before he went to war. Having already disappeared once, the returned crown prince was under intense public scrutiny.

Rachel let out a deep sigh and asked,

“Have you seen Mother?”

Luca shook his head.

Rachel seemed to have a lot she wanted to say to Luca but held back because I was there.

If this seemingly perfect pair of siblings had one wound, it would be their mother.

The bards outside the palace called the Empress “the pitiful Gretoruah.”

“Gretoruah” was a flower that grew only in the harshest mountains, blooming for just one hour before wilting forever.

It was said that a field of these flowers, during that one brief bloom, was so heartbreakingly beautiful it left onlookers speechless.

The Empress, once the envy of all, came from a lowly baron family. She lost the Emperor’s favor within a year.

Calling her “Gretoruah” was cruel—but tragically accurate.

“How about visiting her?”

Rachel turned to me.

I looked at the two siblings and smiled.

“You should go see her. It’ll be okay.”

The Empress now lay bedridden. She had once been proud and stunning.

After the Emperor took in a beautiful concubine, Jeria, from a powerful family, everyone began comparing the two women.

If the Empress made even a small mistake, she was mocked in Jeria’s shadow. The next day, the papers would be full of it.

Eventually, everyone believed that Jeria’s son—not Luca, the legitimate heir—would become the next crown prince.

The Empress was devastated. Her own weakness and her powerless family had cost her children their rightful place.

Luca, showing outstanding promise as crown prince, had become her last hope.

At the time, the Empress was unknowingly taking mind-numbing medication—switched by Jeria. Her mental health deteriorated badly.

She began pressuring Luca excessively, pushing him to be the best—to survive. For herself, for Rachel, for Luca.

When Luca was kidnapped, she fell into despair and never recovered, becoming bedridden.

She stopped taking the drugs, so her mind should now be clear.

And if my memory is correct…

The Empress doesn’t have much time left.

In the original story, she died the evening Luca returned to the palace.

But now that he came back a year early, she was still alive.

Luca remembered the time when his mother, despite public scorn, had raised him with love and devotion. She had been his protector in a hostile palace.

He never got to say goodbye—and that regret haunted him for years.

A woman both feared and pitied. The Empress, who had clung to Luca obsessively, had once been a young baron’s daughter who protected her children alone amidst the silent arrows of the imperial court.

Even if he didn’t understand her with his head, his heart knew the truth.

Regret is always more painful when it comes too late.

These siblings had no idea their mother was lying in bed, waiting for them with a clear mind.

Rachel hadn’t been in the palace the past two years either.

I truly didn’t want these sweet siblings to shed tears of regret later. I couldn’t let that happen.

Because I knew what it felt like.

Not being able to say goodbye left regrets that followed you even after death.

I reached between Rachel and Luca, grabbed an arm of each, and said,

“Let’s go!”

“Wha—where?”

“To see Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Ehhh?!”