Recalling the process which resulted to present situation, Christina turned her face away from Alberto who was holding her tight within his arms.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to meet me? The discussion about the ceremony is already enough for today”
“Um, no, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to meet you, you know? It’s not like that, it’s just, if we meet like this, I’m afraid I might lose my self control a little”
When she turned her face away, Christina’s hair got disheveled. Alberto carefully fixed up Christina’s hair and tucked it behind her ear. If that was all, she would think of him as being gentle, however, who knew what did he think at that moment, as he expressionlessly stroked Christina’s earlobe and held it between his fingers.
The memory from a little ago returned, making Christina’s cheeks started to flushed as she glared at Alberto.
“……Please, don’t touch me……”
“──”
Since I don’t want to remember how I raised such a strange voice before, please stop──was what she intended to say, but Alberto rigidly stiffened up. Even her loud voice just now, was because Alberto’s coquettish sigh brushed against her ear and it almost made her leaked out a strange voice.
Even though Alberto’s complexion got worse and worse, Christina thought that she must demonstrate her own determination and intensified her sharp gaze.
“Every time, every time, why did you never give any opinion? It’s always me who decide things, as if you don’t have any interest in it. Moreover, even our time together ……”
──I actually wish for it to increase, even for just a little bit.
Since around the time she was thirteen, the skinship with Alberto had kept on decreasing. And yet, after they made up, the amount of contact increased instantly, and to be honest Christina just couldn’t keep up with that. She felt that Alberto was the only one to turn into an adult, and she who was being played around seemed awfully childish.
Usually, after talking with Alberto in his room, they would go for a walk around the rose garden. Even just strolling around felt incredibly fun, and Christina would always be satisfied by that. However lately, sometimes the overdone skinship like today would begin, and once it turned like that, Christina was always at lost at what to do. Her heart throbbed so fast as if it may burst at any moment, and though she was happy for exchanging physical contact with him, but she was also afraid that it became so troublesome.
In the middle of her complain, Christina stopped and gulped down the words she almost blurted out. It was not something that could be talked about in front of Anna.
She took a peek at Anna, but before she knew it, some unfamiliar people were standing behind her, causing her to stare with a blank look.
It seemed like they were around Alberto’s age. A young man with a calm face and long golden hair which was neatly tied up, as well as a young lady, seemingly a little older than Christina, whose deep blue hair was let loose on her back. Both of them possessed azure eyes and were cladded in exceptional high class clothes.
Following Christina’s line of sight, Anna also turned around and was startled.
“Ah, Marx……and, Irene. ……Why are you in such a place?”
The young man who was called Marx gently narrowed his azure eyes and smile.
“……When we were on our way to visit Your Highness Princess, we heard that Your Highness went towards the rose garden, so we came here as soon as possible”
His voice was calm, and his way of talking was relaxing. There was an atmosphere of a pure nobility that seemed to be tempered since forever. Following his presence, Anna’s expression had also turned calm.
However, Anna seemed like she really had no idea at all regarding his reason for coming here, as she silently kept on staring at Marx’s face. Marx’s beautiful azure eyes were dyed in tenderness when he suddenly bent over. Startled, Anna shrugged her shoulders, while Marx drew his face closer to Anna’s ear, and quietly whispered something.
“──”
Anna’s eyes went round. As she made an expression as if remembering something, Marx pulled himself away. Maybe because she was embarrassed since he suddenly moved closer, Anna’s cheeks were slightly blushed. She had always been lovely since she was a child, but her bashful and blushing face, was more lovely than anything Christina had seen before.
Anna embarrassedly looked up towards Marx, and when he smiled back at her, she flusteredly averted her gaze.
── Oh dear
Christina, forgetting that she was still held within Alberto’s arms, smiled broadly from that unexpected surprise. Although Anna was still thirteen, but Christina was able to guess Anna’s feeling pretty well.
Anna, was in love with Marx.
Recalling the time when she had just fallen in love with Alberto, Christina’s heart kyunthrobbed. No matter how much time had passed, love was an amazing thing, but even so, the time when one had just fallen in love was surely the most wonderful period as the heart kept on fluttering and throbbing rapidly.
── for Anna-sama to be in love……!
Catching a glimpse of her beloved future sister-in-law’s growth, whom she had become emotionally attached to since she was a child and whom she had spent time with together as fellow girls, Christina’s heart pounded with excitement. She wanted to cheer for Anna with all she got, and being deeply moved, Christina teared up as she looked at Marx with beaming eyes.
Meeting Christina’s gaze, he looked slightly amazed.
As her silvery white hair reflected the light of the sun, Christina’s surrounding seemed as if it sparkled. Light shone upon her amethyst eyes, making them glittered like a jewel. Her charming red lips that had no need for any rouge softly drew an arc, and against her bewitching lips, her spotless skin just looked like a sheet of soft snow.
There’s no longer any objection that she was truly a descending goddess, and Marx who received such dazzling smile, made a perplexed face. And then seemingly realizing something, he suddenly shifted his line of sight towards Alberto who was standing next to Christina.
“Kya!”
Suddenly being embraced tightly by Alberto, Christina raised a small yelp. What happened?and as she looked up to him, Alberto was pointing a refreshing smile towards Marx while brightly telling him straight out.
“Yaa, Marx. Did you also come today? Die quietly now, or immediately leave from here, you can choose, okay?”
Christina dumbfoundedly stared at Alberto, and Marx’s forehead started to sweat out. Holding his forehead with his palm, Marx shook his head while sighing.
“No…… Alberto……That’s a little…….”
Christina stared blankly. Within Noin Kingdom, there were only a handful of people who addressed Alberto without any honorific. Currently, they were the several of his childhood friends, including Emil.
By the way, regarding Emil, although he started to hold suspicion towards Christina’s conduct after Clara showed up, right now he seemed to have returned to his previous self. Uninterested in romance, just a hardworking young man with a promising future. Christina had thought that he held affection towards Clara, but sometime before, when she indirectly brought up talk about love story, he palely laughed and said.
[Romance……right now, it’s already enough for me[1]…… ……I regard my own life precious]
That face, looked like Alberto’s face after talking with Christina’s father.
Somehow Christina felt that Alberto gave off an prickly air around him, but at that time Alberto was in the middle of busily controlling the rumor and as it seemed like she would not be able to have a decent talk with him, she had refrained herself from asking him for any detail. Alberto at that time was certainly, to the point of him killing a single person not being strange, held such stagnant eyes, and he did actually muttered [I’ll kill you……] to himself sometimes, which was very worrying. Perhaps, as he had no space to breathe, he unintentionally let something slipped from his mouth and then told his friend Emil something.
Christina looked up towards Alberto and tilted her head.
“Umm…… Alberto-sama. This person is……?”
Alberto who flashed such a sparkling smile at Marx, gazed down with a puzzled face at Christina as she asked who is this person?
“Eh, do you not remember? When we were just engaged, I think he was still here……”
Christina blinked with a snap, and once more looked at Marx. Golden hair reaching down to his back, and firm eyebrows. His azure eyes reflected gentleness, however just now, when he whispered something on Anna’s ear, his expression as he lowered his eyelashes lightly was certainly coquettish. Since he held a calm atmosphere around him, she held no wariness, but if it were during an evening party, with his outward appearance, he would surely be surrounded by a swarm of ladies who were searching for a family to be married into.
And Christina, held no recollection of having seen this young man during the evening parties so far.
Marx smiled wryly.
“It can’t be help, Alberto. When you were engaged, if I remember correctly, wasn’t Miss Christina only seven years old? Since you pretty much didn’t let us meet, the time we saw each other can even be counted by hands. It’s not strange for her not to remember”
“Was that so?”
Alberto frowned while pondering, then he made a look of understanding and nodded.
“……Aa, that’s right. That’s because you over-familiarly followed Christina around, so I kept such an eyesore away”
Marx opened his eyes wide in surprise, he glanced at Anna then flashed a bright smile.
“Don’t say such a foolish thing, Alberto. At that time, if I had to say, it was Miss Christina who was emotionally attached to me”
“I don’t have such recollection”
Despite being pierced by Alberto’s sharp gaze, Marx replied indifferently.
“You, are still the same as ever. If your desire to monopolize is too strong, you’ll be hated, won’t you? Rather, aren’t you in the middle of a fight? Maybe you are being hated now?”
“……It seems you do not wish for a long stay in Noin Kingdom, aren’t you, Marx? If it’s now, I can send you to the edge of the world with my authority, you know”
Even when Alberto uttered such harsh statement, a beautiful smile still floated on his face.
Seeing the exchange between these two, Christina suddenly felt a déjà vu, and recalled a memory from a distant past.
.
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In the West Garden of the Royal Palace, where white flowers were blooming exquisitely, the seven years old Christina who was spending her time together with Alberto, noticed an acquainted young boy at a slightly separated place.
The boy with a neatly cut short golden hair, was sitting on the bench installed in the corner of the garden, as he placed a wreath on Anna who sat down on the flower field beside the bench. Wearing a flower wreath, Anna turned around to look at the boy, and laugh very happily. The young boy who looked at her laugh, returned her a slightly matured and calm smile.
Perhaps feeling Christina’s gaze, Anna turned this way. The moment she saw Christina, her eyes shone as she stood up and rushed up to Christina while spreading both her hands out. While Alberto who was walking beside Christina, slightly sighed.
“……Even though I’ve said to take her out”
“Chris onee-sama~!”
Alberto’s monologue and Anna’s bell-like voice overlapped. Although she worried about Alberto who seemed to be in a slightly bad mood, since Anna came flying into her arms, Christina couldn’t help but turned her focus towards Anna.
“Waai, onii-sama and onee-sama. You came to the Royal Palace! Nee, let’s play with flowers together with Anna? Anna was taught how make a flower crown!”
“Oh dear, it’s so wonderful”
As the Princess showed her innocent affection was so lovely, Christina’s cheeks loosened. However, right now she was in the middle of strolling with Alberto. Will he allow it? when she turned around, Alberto was the same as always, showing a gentle smile on his face.
“It’s great, isn’t it? Will you also go to Anna’s favorite greenhouse?”
Christina blinked repeatedly. The flowers in the green house were nothing but expensive flowers only, there were no flower that could be used by Anna for playing with flowers. Even if it was just an excuse so they could leisurely stroll to the green house, we won’t be able to play with flowers, but before she could say it, Anna had already answered energetically.
“Will go!”
Alberto’s smile deepened.
“You’re such a good child. Then, after you go around the green house once, go back to your room, okay, Anna?”
“Ah, that’s right, Chris onee-sama. Recently, you see, the green house got a very rare flower. It’s white and big and seems about to bloom…… Err, what’s it’s name again……?”
Ignoring Alberto, Anna looked up at the sky. Alberto’s eyebrow twitched.
“Anna? Did you hear what onii-sama[2] said?”
“Queen of the Night[3] still hasn’t bloomed yet, Hime-sama”
The one who nonchalantly told them the name of the flower, was the young boy who had sat down at the bench and accompanied Anna until a little while ago. Chasing after Anna who started running off, he slowly walked here, then he looked towards Christina and smiled.
“Good afternoon, Miss Christina. Are you having a date (stroll)[4] with Alberto?”
He was a boy she had been talking with several times at the garden party in the Royal Palace. His father was an important officer in the Ministry of Justice, and it was during the time when his father had a conversation with Christina’s father that they both started to talk with each other.
Perhaps it’s because his work was related to judicial affairs, his father’s way of talking was very calm and composed, and his son’s way of talking too, was very calm to the point of being unsuited for a child his age. The children participating in the garden party were all very innocent, and they all talked in a way suitable for their age. Among them, he had a noticeable presence, and Christina liked to talk with him.
To him whom Christina had gotten acquainted with earlier than Alberto, she affectionately called him with a nickname.
“Mark has also come to the Royal Palace ne”
Before their engagement, Christina had never met Alberto even once. As if having a bad timing, the royal family she met at the garden party every time was Anna only. Anna who had always been attached to her since before, and Marx whom she got acquainted with. Since she had no memory of having meeting both of them when she was together with Alberto, she was wondering what kind of relation he had with Marx, and just when she tried to ask, Alberto then started clasping her hand tightly.
“About Marx, did you call him Mark?”
“……”
He brought his face closer as he asked, making Christina’s face went bright red. The jet black eyes were drawing near enough that her heart fell into disorder and about to burst at any moment. The other day, the two had just exchanged a kiss at the library. Recalling the memory of the secret, Christina could not look at him in the eyes as her red lips trembled.
“Umm, that’s……”
Becoming unsure of how she should answer it, Christina’s eyes started to be blurred with tears, and she cast her eyes down as her heart fluttered around. Christina whose head was filled with Alberto, ended up unable to take notice of the conversation unfolded above her head, everything went in one ear and out the other.
After seeing Christina’s reaction of blushing and hanging her head down, Alberto slightly smiled, then sent a piercing gaze towards Marx.
“I don’t think I’ve heard this before, Marx?”
Marx put both of his hands together behind his head, and then answered indifferently.
“About what? About the nickname? Did I forget to say it?”
“Oi, you won’t say that you call Christina with a nickname too, right?”
“Eh, can’t I? Since Hime-sama calls her with a nickname, sometimes I ended up using it too though. Chris is easier to say after all.”
“Aah, the Chris one? ……As long as it’s not the same with mine, well it’s fine……”
“You, are you alright? To be so upset just by a nickname, won’t you be hated? Even now, doesn’t she somehow look afraid?”
“Haa? Such thing is impossible. Rather than that, even though I asked you to go and stroll around with Anna, why are you here?”
“Well, I thought maybe we should go to my house, but then Hime-sama said she wants a flower crown. See, in my house, other than the flower bed, everything else is a just a lawn, isn’t it?”
Christina kept looking down while her heart throbbed fast, and only came back to her sense when she was called by Anna who was clinging to her belly.
“Nee, Chris onee-sama. Let’s just leave the jealous onii-sama alone, won’t you come to Anna’s room? We’ll have Ronald prepare delicious tea and cookies!”
Christina who was still in confusion, nodded on the spur of the moment.
“Ee, yes. It’s such a wonderful invitation”
“──Anna, wait”
Hearing the two’s conversation, Alberto immediately interjected.
” ‘Kuu’ is here because of her promise with me. She didn’t come here to play with Anna. Besides, didn’t you just say you want to play with flowers?”
Anna looked at her brother who smiled with his mouth despite his eyes not laughing at all, and then a lovely smile floated on her face.
” Changed my mind. Now Anna want to spend time together with onee-sama in my room. Since onii-sama has Mark, isn’t it okay? How about you ride a horse together with your friend? Anna believes onee-sama surely wants to see onii-sama’s figure when riding a horse. I don’t think we can see the riding ground from my room though.” (T/N : Anna~!!! She’s still just a 5 years old kid here!!! XD)
Implicitly, she wanted to monopolize Christina and she had no intention of showing Christina his figure when riding a horse, and thus the brother who was replied like that by his sister twitched his eyes.
However, with an impregnable smile, he asked his little sister while tilting his head.
“Anna. Rather than horse, onii-sama prefers talking with Kuu, you see. Can you please not take Kuu from onii-sama? Today’s promise, the one who made it first is onii-sama”
“Because, onii-sama, you treat Anna as a nuisance, right? So awful. Since you are being mean to Anna, Anna want to be comforted by Chris onee-sama”
“Then I will comfort you later”
“Anna doesn’t need to be comforted by onii-sama”
“I understand. Then I will buy you the bisque doll you wanted the other day”
“The bisque doll, Mark has already given it to Anna”
“Oi……”
Alberto pointed a dangerous gaze towards Marx. Marx laughed bitterly.
“Well, sorry. Since I found it when I went to the town, so while I’m at it I ended up buying it”
“Don’t patronize my sister as you please……”
With both side refusing to concede, the seemingly never ending conversation, reached its closure with a shout from teary eyed Anna.
“──What! If Anna can’t play with Chris onee-sama, Anna will tell father that onii-sama is being mean to Anna!”
Alberto’s cheek twitched and stiffened. Then, Marx mediated between the siblings who seems to be on good terms yet also on bad terms.
“Then today, Alberto will just ride a horse with me”
“Kh……”
Marx softly tapped Alberto’s shoulder, as Alberto grinded his teeth in vexation. The he quietly said this close to his ear, in order to not be heard by Anna.
“Endure it. If His Majesty turns up, it’ll be bad for you, but it’ll also be bad for me who is involved in this”
And then, he softly smile to Anna.
“That’s why Hime-sama, won’t you please not say anything about Alberto to her Majesty?”
Anna who insisted on her own way, showed a very lovely and angelic smile.
“Un. Thank you Mark!”
Receiving such pure smile, Marx grinned widely.
“Yes. Today’s Hime-sama is also like a little devil too, very lovely.”
“……The one you should say thanks to, shouldn’t it be me……?”
While spitting out unsatisfied mutter, Alberto headed towards the barn, Christina was taken away by the fully satisfied Anna and headed towards her room.
Actually after that, Christina had met several times with Marx, whose age was the same with Alberto’s and was his friend, and together with Anna and Alberto, they became chat buddies.
However, several months after the four of them became close, Anna showed such a sad expression as she heard that due to his father’s job, Marx was to move to the neighboring country.
Recalling the process which resulted to present situation, Christina turned her face away from Alberto who was holding her tight within his arms.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to meet me? The discussion about the ceremony is already enough for today”
“Um, no, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to meet you, you know? It’s not like that, it’s just, if we meet like this, I’m afraid I might lose my self control a little”
When she turned her face away, Christina’s hair got disheveled. Alberto carefully fixed up Christina’s hair and tucked it behind her ear. If that was all, she would think of him as being gentle, however, who knew what did he think at that moment, as he expressionlessly stroked Christina’s earlobe and held it between his fingers.
The memory from a little ago returned, making Christina’s cheeks started to flushed as she glared at Alberto.
“……Please, don’t touch me……”
“──”
Since I don’t want to remember how I raised such a strange voice before, please stop──was what she intended to say, but Alberto rigidly stiffened up. Even her loud voice just now, was because Alberto’s coquettish sigh brushed against her ear and it almost made her leaked out a strange voice.
Even though Alberto’s complexion got worse and worse, Christina thought that she must demonstrate her own determination and intensified her sharp gaze.
“Every time, every time, why did you never give any opinion? It’s always me who decide things, as if you don’t have any interest in it. Moreover, even our time together ……”
──I actually wish for it to increase, even for just a little bit.
Since around the time she was thirteen, the skinship with Alberto had kept on decreasing. And yet, after they made up, the amount of contact increased instantly, and to be honest Christina just couldn’t keep up with that. She felt that Alberto was the only one to turn into an adult, and she who was being played around seemed awfully childish.
Usually, after talking with Alberto in his room, they would go for a walk around the rose garden. Even just strolling around felt incredibly fun, and Christina would always be satisfied by that. However lately, sometimes the overdone skinship like today would begin, and once it turned like that, Christina was always at lost at what to do. Her heart throbbed so fast as if it may burst at any moment, and though she was happy for exchanging physical contact with him, but she was also afraid that it became so troublesome.
In the middle of her complain, Christina stopped and gulped down the words she almost blurted out. It was not something that could be talked about in front of Anna.
She took a peek at Anna, but before she knew it, some unfamiliar people were standing behind her, causing her to stare with a blank look.
It seemed like they were around Alberto’s age. A young man with a calm face and long golden hair which was neatly tied up, as well as a young lady, seemingly a little older than Christina, whose deep blue hair was let loose on her back. Both of them possessed azure eyes and were cladded in exceptional high class clothes.
Following Christina’s line of sight, Anna also turned around and was startled.
“Ah, Marx……and, Irene. ……Why are you in such a place?”
The young man who was called Marx gently narrowed his azure eyes and smile.
“……When we were on our way to visit Your Highness Princess, we heard that Your Highness went towards the rose garden, so we came here as soon as possible”
His voice was calm, and his way of talking was relaxing. There was an atmosphere of a pure nobility that seemed to be tempered since forever. Following his presence, Anna’s expression had also turned calm.
However, Anna seemed like she really had no idea at all regarding his reason for coming here, as she silently kept on staring at Marx’s face. Marx’s beautiful azure eyes were dyed in tenderness when he suddenly bent over. Startled, Anna shrugged her shoulders, while Marx drew his face closer to Anna’s ear, and quietly whispered something.
“──”
Anna’s eyes went round. As she made an expression as if remembering something, Marx pulled himself away. Maybe because she was embarrassed since he suddenly moved closer, Anna’s cheeks were slightly blushed. She had always been lovely since she was a child, but her bashful and blushing face, was more lovely than anything Christina had seen before.
Anna embarrassedly looked up towards Marx, and when he smiled back at her, she flusteredly averted her gaze.
── Oh dear
Christina, forgetting that she was still held within Alberto’s arms, smiled broadly from that unexpected surprise. Although Anna was still thirteen, but Christina was able to guess Anna’s feeling pretty well.
Anna, was in love with Marx.
Recalling the time when she had just fallen in love with Alberto, Christina’s heart kyunthrobbed. No matter how much time had passed, love was an amazing thing, but even so, the time when one had just fallen in love was surely the most wonderful period as the heart kept on fluttering and throbbing rapidly.
── for Anna-sama to be in love……!
Catching a glimpse of her beloved future sister-in-law’s growth, whom she had become emotionally attached to since she was a child and whom she had spent time with together as fellow girls, Christina’s heart pounded with excitement. She wanted to cheer for Anna with all she got, and being deeply moved, Christina teared up as she looked at Marx with beaming eyes.
Meeting Christina’s gaze, he looked slightly amazed.
As her silvery white hair reflected the light of the sun, Christina’s surrounding seemed as if it sparkled. Light shone upon her amethyst eyes, making them glittered like a jewel. Her charming red lips that had no need for any rouge softly drew an arc, and against her bewitching lips, her spotless skin just looked like a sheet of soft snow.
There’s no longer any objection that she was truly a descending goddess, and Marx who received such dazzling smile, made a perplexed face. And then seemingly realizing something, he suddenly shifted his line of sight towards Alberto who was standing next to Christina.
“Kya!”
Suddenly being embraced tightly by Alberto, Christina raised a small yelp. What happened?and as she looked up to him, Alberto was pointing a refreshing smile towards Marx while brightly telling him straight out.
“Yaa, Marx. Did you also come today? Die quietly now, or immediately leave from here, you can choose, okay?”
Christina dumbfoundedly stared at Alberto, and Marx’s forehead started to sweat out. Holding his forehead with his palm, Marx shook his head while sighing.
“No…… Alberto……That’s a little…….”
Christina stared blankly. Within Noin Kingdom, there were only a handful of people who addressed Alberto without any honorific. Currently, they were the several of his childhood friends, including Emil.
By the way, regarding Emil, although he started to hold suspicion towards Christina’s conduct after Clara showed up, right now he seemed to have returned to his previous self. Uninterested in romance, just a hardworking young man with a promising future. Christina had thought that he held affection towards Clara, but sometime before, when she indirectly brought up talk about love story, he palely laughed and said.
[Romance……right now, it’s already enough for me[1]…… ……I regard my own life precious]
That face, looked like Alberto’s face after talking with Christina’s father.
Somehow Christina felt that Alberto gave off an prickly air around him, but at that time Alberto was in the middle of busily controlling the rumor and as it seemed like she would not be able to have a decent talk with him, she had refrained herself from asking him for any detail. Alberto at that time was certainly, to the point of him killing a single person not being strange, held such stagnant eyes, and he did actually muttered [I’ll kill you……] to himself sometimes, which was very worrying. Perhaps, as he had no space to breathe, he unintentionally let something slipped from his mouth and then told his friend Emil something.
Christina looked up towards Alberto and tilted her head.
“Umm…… Alberto-sama. This person is……?”
Alberto who flashed such a sparkling smile at Marx, gazed down with a puzzled face at Christina as she asked who is this person?
“Eh, do you not remember? When we were just engaged, I think he was still here……”
Christina blinked with a snap, and once more looked at Marx. Golden hair reaching down to his back, and firm eyebrows. His azure eyes reflected gentleness, however just now, when he whispered something on Anna’s ear, his expression as he lowered his eyelashes lightly was certainly coquettish. Since he held a calm atmosphere around him, she held no wariness, but if it were during an evening party, with his outward appearance, he would surely be surrounded by a swarm of ladies who were searching for a family to be married into.
And Christina, held no recollection of having seen this young man during the evening parties so far.
Marx smiled wryly.
“It can’t be help, Alberto. When you were engaged, if I remember correctly, wasn’t Miss Christina only seven years old? Since you pretty much didn’t let us meet, the time we saw each other can even be counted by hands. It’s not strange for her not to remember”
“Was that so?”
Alberto frowned while pondering, then he made a look of understanding and nodded.
“……Aa, that’s right. That’s because you over-familiarly followed Christina around, so I kept such an eyesore away”
Marx opened his eyes wide in surprise, he glanced at Anna then flashed a bright smile.
“Don’t say such a foolish thing, Alberto. At that time, if I had to say, it was Miss Christina who was emotionally attached to me”
“I don’t have such recollection”
Despite being pierced by Alberto’s sharp gaze, Marx replied indifferently.
“You, are still the same as ever. If your desire to monopolize is too strong, you’ll be hated, won’t you? Rather, aren’t you in the middle of a fight? Maybe you are being hated now?”
“……It seems you do not wish for a long stay in Noin Kingdom, aren’t you, Marx? If it’s now, I can send you to the edge of the world with my authority, you know”
Even when Alberto uttered such harsh statement, a beautiful smile still floated on his face.
Seeing the exchange between these two, Christina suddenly felt a déjà vu, and recalled a memory from a distant past.
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In the West Garden of the Royal Palace, where white flowers were blooming exquisitely, the seven years old Christina who was spending her time together with Alberto, noticed an acquainted young boy at a slightly separated place.
The boy with a neatly cut short golden hair, was sitting on the bench installed in the corner of the garden, as he placed a wreath on Anna who sat down on the flower field beside the bench. Wearing a flower wreath, Anna turned around to look at the boy, and laugh very happily. The young boy who looked at her laugh, returned her a slightly matured and calm smile.
Perhaps feeling Christina’s gaze, Anna turned this way. The moment she saw Christina, her eyes shone as she stood up and rushed up to Christina while spreading both her hands out. While Alberto who was walking beside Christina, slightly sighed.
“……Even though I’ve said to take her out”
“Chris onee-sama~!”
Alberto’s monologue and Anna’s bell-like voice overlapped. Although she worried about Alberto who seemed to be in a slightly bad mood, since Anna came flying into her arms, Christina couldn’t help but turned her focus towards Anna.
“Waai, onii-sama and onee-sama. You came to the Royal Palace! Nee, let’s play with flowers together with Anna? Anna was taught how make a flower crown!”
“Oh dear, it’s so wonderful”
As the Princess showed her innocent affection was so lovely, Christina’s cheeks loosened. However, right now she was in the middle of strolling with Alberto. Will he allow it? when she turned around, Alberto was the same as always, showing a gentle smile on his face.
“It’s great, isn’t it? Will you also go to Anna’s favorite greenhouse?”
Christina blinked repeatedly. The flowers in the green house were nothing but expensive flowers only, there were no flower that could be used by Anna for playing with flowers. Even if it was just an excuse so they could leisurely stroll to the green house, we won’t be able to play with flowers, but before she could say it, Anna had already answered energetically.
“Will go!”
Alberto’s smile deepened.
“You’re such a good child. Then, after you go around the green house once, go back to your room, okay, Anna?”
“Ah, that’s right, Chris onee-sama. Recently, you see, the green house got a very rare flower. It’s white and big and seems about to bloom…… Err, what’s it’s name again……?”
Ignoring Alberto, Anna looked up at the sky. Alberto’s eyebrow twitched.
“Anna? Did you hear what onii-sama[2] said?”
“Queen of the Night[3] still hasn’t bloomed yet, Hime-sama”
The one who nonchalantly told them the name of the flower, was the young boy who had sat down at the bench and accompanied Anna until a little while ago. Chasing after Anna who started running off, he slowly walked here, then he looked towards Christina and smiled.
“Good afternoon, Miss Christina. Are you having a date (stroll)[4] with Alberto?”
He was a boy she had been talking with several times at the garden party in the Royal Palace. His father was an important officer in the Ministry of Justice, and it was during the time when his father had a conversation with Christina’s father that they both started to talk with each other.
Perhaps it’s because his work was related to judicial affairs, his father’s way of talking was very calm and composed, and his son’s way of talking too, was very calm to the point of being unsuited for a child his age. The children participating in the garden party were all very innocent, and they all talked in a way suitable for their age. Among them, he had a noticeable presence, and Christina liked to talk with him.
To him whom Christina had gotten acquainted with earlier than Alberto, she affectionately called him with a nickname.
“Mark has also come to the Royal Palace ne”
Before their engagement, Christina had never met Alberto even once. As if having a bad timing, the royal family she met at the garden party every time was Anna only. Anna who had always been attached to her since before, and Marx whom she got acquainted with. Since she had no memory of having meeting both of them when she was together with Alberto, she was wondering what kind of relation he had with Marx, and just when she tried to ask, Alberto then started clasping her hand tightly.
“About Marx, did you call him Mark?”
“……”
He brought his face closer as he asked, making Christina’s face went bright red. The jet black eyes were drawing near enough that her heart fell into disorder and about to burst at any moment. The other day, the two had just exchanged a kiss at the library. Recalling the memory of the secret, Christina could not look at him in the eyes as her red lips trembled.
“Umm, that’s……”
Becoming unsure of how she should answer it, Christina’s eyes started to be blurred with tears, and she cast her eyes down as her heart fluttered around. Christina whose head was filled with Alberto, ended up unable to take notice of the conversation unfolded above her head, everything went in one ear and out the other.
After seeing Christina’s reaction of blushing and hanging her head down, Alberto slightly smiled, then sent a piercing gaze towards Marx.
“I don’t think I’ve heard this before, Marx?”
Marx put both of his hands together behind his head, and then answered indifferently.
“About what? About the nickname? Did I forget to say it?”
“Oi, you won’t say that you call Christina with a nickname too, right?”
“Eh, can’t I? Since Hime-sama calls her with a nickname, sometimes I ended up using it too though. Chris is easier to say after all.”
“Aah, the Chris one? ……As long as it’s not the same with mine, well it’s fine……”
“You, are you alright? To be so upset just by a nickname, won’t you be hated? Even now, doesn’t she somehow look afraid?”
“Haa? Such thing is impossible. Rather than that, even though I asked you to go and stroll around with Anna, why are you here?”
“Well, I thought maybe we should go to my house, but then Hime-sama said she wants a flower crown. See, in my house, other than the flower bed, everything else is a just a lawn, isn’t it?”
Christina kept looking down while her heart throbbed fast, and only came back to her sense when she was called by Anna who was clinging to her belly.
“Nee, Chris onee-sama. Let’s just leave the jealous onii-sama alone, won’t you come to Anna’s room? We’ll have Ronald prepare delicious tea and cookies!”
Christina who was still in confusion, nodded on the spur of the moment.
“Ee, yes. It’s such a wonderful invitation”
“──Anna, wait”
Hearing the two’s conversation, Alberto immediately interjected.
” ‘Kuu’ is here because of her promise with me. She didn’t come here to play with Anna. Besides, didn’t you just say you want to play with flowers?”
Anna looked at her brother who smiled with his mouth despite his eyes not laughing at all, and then a lovely smile floated on her face.
” Changed my mind. Now Anna want to spend time together with onee-sama in my room. Since onii-sama has Mark, isn’t it okay? How about you ride a horse together with your friend? Anna believes onee-sama surely wants to see onii-sama’s figure when riding a horse. I don’t think we can see the riding ground from my room though.” (T/N : Anna~!!! She’s still just a 5 years old kid here!!! XD)
Implicitly, she wanted to monopolize Christina and she had no intention of showing Christina his figure when riding a horse, and thus the brother who was replied like that by his sister twitched his eyes.
However, with an impregnable smile, he asked his little sister while tilting his head.
“Anna. Rather than horse, onii-sama prefers talking with Kuu, you see. Can you please not take Kuu from onii-sama? Today’s promise, the one who made it first is onii-sama”
“Because, onii-sama, you treat Anna as a nuisance, right? So awful. Since you are being mean to Anna, Anna want to be comforted by Chris onee-sama”
“Then I will comfort you later”
“Anna doesn’t need to be comforted by onii-sama”
“I understand. Then I will buy you the bisque doll you wanted the other day”
“The bisque doll, Mark has already given it to Anna”
“Oi……”
Alberto pointed a dangerous gaze towards Marx. Marx laughed bitterly.
“Well, sorry. Since I found it when I went to the town, so while I’m at it I ended up buying it”
“Don’t patronize my sister as you please……”
With both side refusing to concede, the seemingly never ending conversation, reached its closure with a shout from teary eyed Anna.
“──What! If Anna can’t play with Chris onee-sama, Anna will tell father that onii-sama is being mean to Anna!”
Alberto’s cheek twitched and stiffened. Then, Marx mediated between the siblings who seems to be on good terms yet also on bad terms.
“Then today, Alberto will just ride a horse with me”
“Kh……”
Marx softly tapped Alberto’s shoulder, as Alberto grinded his teeth in vexation. The he quietly said this close to his ear, in order to not be heard by Anna.
“Endure it. If His Majesty turns up, it’ll be bad for you, but it’ll also be bad for me who is involved in this”
And then, he softly smile to Anna.
“That’s why Hime-sama, won’t you please not say anything about Alberto to her Majesty?”
Anna who insisted on her own way, showed a very lovely and angelic smile.
“Un. Thank you Mark!”
Receiving such pure smile, Marx grinned widely.
“Yes. Today’s Hime-sama is also like a little devil too, very lovely.”
“……The one you should say thanks to, shouldn’t it be me……?”
While spitting out unsatisfied mutter, Alberto headed towards the barn, Christina was taken away by the fully satisfied Anna and headed towards her room.
Actually after that, Christina had met several times with Marx, whose age was the same with Alberto’s and was his friend, and together with Anna and Alberto, they became chat buddies.
However, several months after the four of them became close, Anna showed such a sad expression as she heard that due to his father’s job, Marx was to move to the neighboring country.
