Alex hesitated for a moment, then asked me, as if my praise was not enough.


    So this, this is just hypothetical. If you were to choose, who do you think would be better?


    Are they evenparable? With Alex in front of me, who is subtly looking for a response[1], I decided topare the two of them openly.


    Appearance; Alex wins. Stan was pretty, too, but he couldnt beat Alex, who was overflowing with masculine beauty.


    Talent; Alex wins. Unlike Grand Duke Stan, who still couldnt get out from behind his mothers skirt, Alex has been ying a part in the battlefield since early on.


    And the most important: personality.


    Of course, Alex wins. Personality is worth ten times the extra points for Alex, simply because he never forced me to do something I dont like.


    If its scored like that, its almost obvious who would be the winner.


    Of course, its Alex.


    The skill I thought would only work on my family, worked smoothly. The corners of Alexs mouth, which were in a straight line until now, rose slightly.


    Is it possible for a cold, handsome man, who is usually as cold as frost, to be so sweet when he smiles?


    I smiled with him because of his piercing gaze.


    I didnt know you liked me that much.


    Ive liked you so much since long ago.


    QC/N: does this count as a confession scene????  ==( )


    Well, he was my favorite character. Oh, Ive been too honest. Alexs face turned a little red, perhaps because he was weak topliments.


    Seeing him embarrassed, it felt different from our Isaac[2].


    If I told Isaac this, he would make a fuss, but Alex, who was very dignified, raised my hand slightly and kissed me on the back of my hand.


    Yo- Your Highness?


    Even after his slightly rough lips fell, he still lowered his head and stared at me right in front of his nose.


    The warm sunshine shone like a halo behind Alexs back. A light kiss as a greeting was courtesy, so it wasnt weird to share a light kiss on the hand even with family.


    But now it felt different because he was my favorite character in the novel. I received this from the male lead, and I was very happy. Alex was so graceful even while doing such an insignificant action, like a kiss on the back of my hand.


    Thank you for liking me.


    Okay. So this is the end of my death g, but wait a minute? Did I hear wrong just now?


    I stopped thinking for a moment when Alex smiled brightly in front of me.


    Why is he doing this to me all of a sudden?


    Ciel, your brother is here!


    When I was about to ask what was that about, Isaac, who heard the news btedly, rushed in and opened the door without knocking. A subtle change in tension flowed through the room.


    The situation of holding hands and facing each other was embarrassing[3]. I shook off Alexs hand and stepped back.


    What, what, Your Highness, what were you doing with my Ciel?


    No! What do you mean? We did nothing!


    Ciel needs rest, Lord Isaac.


    Unlike me, who was embarrassed, Alex pretended as if nothing had happened. But Isaac didnt let it slide.


    What have you done to my sister?


    We didnt do anything!


    Isaacs hand turned towards the sword on his waist. No matter how strong Alex was, my brother was no less than him.


    In other words, in a one-on-one match, I cant be sure which of the two will win, but just as things were about to get out of hand, Theo and ra came back to my room.


    What the hell are you doing?


    Ciels still a patient. Stop it, both of you!


    Hooray formon sense. Yeah, I was still a patient. I expected it from Isaac, but Alexs outburstpletely shattered my expectations.


    So what you meant wasnt the I like you I know, but I like you in a different sense?


    No way. That couldnt be true. I was sure he just thinks of me as a little sister. I shook my head hard, thinking about it would only give me a headache.


    Brother! This, this scoundrel! To our fragile Ciel!


    Show some respect to the Crown Prince. Forgive my brother for his rudeness, Your Highness.


    Theo immediately stopped Issacs misbehavior. Fortunately, Alex didnt insist and politely arranged the situation.


    Im fine, Ciel seems startled, so put your sword away, Lord Isaac.


    Isaac, if you keep doing that, Ill hate you.


    When I used a special move that I rarely use, Isaac quietly put his sword in his hilt and came to my side, kneeling down on his knees.


    Ciel, my princess. Im sorry. Were you surprised?


    PR/N: such a sucker for his sister, Iluvim


    You dont listen to what Im saying, you point your sword at the Crown Prince, brother is bad.


    As I turned my back on him, covering myself with nkets, Isaac was at a loss with a face that seemed as if the sky had copsed.


    If there everes a day when these two people really face each other with swords, itll mean the destruction of the Valentines.


    So even if I never get angry, I couldnt just let it go. Theo eventually apologized for him, as he was enraged til the top of his head.


    My brother cares about his sister deeply, so I hope you understand.


    I know that. I will continue to make efforts to be recognized by Lord Isaac.


    PR/N: Our ML is such a grown up guy now, hes even flirting smoothly ??


    What a strange thing to say. Getting recognized. I was about to ask what he meant, but I suddenly remembered.


    Oh, thats right. I was quite clear with Theo thest time.


    Alex proposed to me, so dont doubt ras friendship with him.


    I didnt even think that the two of you would ever meet and talk like this.


    Theo seemed to think that I was already in that kind of rtionship with the Crown Prince.


    Ciel, are you okay?


    While my brothers were talking, ra came up to me and touched my forehead.


    Sister.


    I heard from Theo. Its a ridiculous misunderstanding that I like Mr. Heinz.


    You dont like him?


    Thats a relief. I didnt like that squid-looking[4]guy. If she really liked him, I would have seriously doubted ras taste.


    ra broke outughing when she saw me hiding under the nkets, looking pleased.


    Did you worry because you thought I liked Mr. Heinz?


    You said you liked Ciel the most. I dont like him. I dont know about others, but hes not the one.


    Id rather take ra with me than just hand her over to that bastard.


    I threw off the nket and jumped into my sisters arms. Although I had grown and was heavier, my sister didnt feel bothered at all and patted me on my back, hugging me tightly.


    Theo and Alex just stared at us.


    PR/N: I cant say what they were thinking cuz its inappropriate for little babies lol


    Hey, you idiot! Where the hell did you get this!


    Louis, who was nowhere to be seen earlier, ran into my room, angry. Isaac, who left earlier, sulking, also came back to the room as if he had run into his younger brother along the way.


    No, thats.


    Your Highness, do you know what that is?


    Thats why Im here, Lady ra. I need your advice.


    Oh, thats why youre here. Alex showed Theo the document, albeit btedly.


    Except for ra and me, who were sitting on the bed, everyone got serious as they looked at the documents.


    You idiot, youre on death row now. Even young people are already doing things like this and theyre good at it.


    Whats wrong with that!


    Ah, seriously.


    Louis was chased away by Isaac, leaving only the flowers behind[5].


    I got up from my seat, supported by ra, and took the document Theo was looking at.


    This cant be.


    ras face turned white.


    ras skills were the only ones that allowed the flower, which had been cut off due to its rarity, to grow to its current scale.


    She was given amission after only reading documents stating the roots were used for medicinal purposes, but it turned out that their value was in the flower petals, not the roots.


    ra is also a victim. This request was obviously arranged by the association.


    I suppose so.


    Knowing the situation, Theo and Alex immediately left the room.


    ra, who had found out that she had been involved in drug cultivation, sank palely next to me in bed.


    What am I supposed to do about this?


    Drug cultivation was punished using the death penalty. Louis may have been joking about this, but now we couldnt think of this as a mere joke.


    With my pale, white elder sister alongside me, I sank in anguish.


    No one knows about this yet, except for my siblings.


    Okay. Sister, lets do it this way. You went to retrieve evidence by working next to the criminals after beingmanded to do so by the Crown Prince.


    Ciel, but I


    Its okay. Dont worry about anything.


    If the association was involved, or if they took advantage of the situation, it would have to be investigated further, but I began to understand why Heinz was so unhappy with me.


    He could have med my sister for everything, but how annoying it must have been to know about my existence[6].


    Ciel.


    You have me.


    As long as the best viiness of this novel is on your side, theres nothing to worry about, baby.


    PR/N: Ciel is such a mood lmao


    Now that things havee to this, I have no choice but to show him a lesson. I grinned, exposing my teeth, with a frightened ra at my side.


    Well see, Heinz.


    Ill teach you what the bitter taste of life is like.


    [1] The line here subtly looking for a response doesnt have a direct trantion. It basically is used when someone asks a question and is, very obviously, looking for a specific response. You can read more about ithere.


    [2] In Korean, if you look at direct trantions, when people are really close (usually family) theyll use our like shown.


    [3] The word here, , means feeling shy or bashful but embarrassing sounded better


    [4] Koreans use squids to describe ugly people, its quitemon in manhwa for characters to have squid heads.


    [5] Louis had brought in documents and the flowers that ra grew


    [6] She means that Heinz could have taken advantage of ra because of her adopted daughter status, but Ciels presence as a legitimate daughter ruined all those ns