CHAPTER 19

Geradine spends a whole hour stopping his twin sister from crying. Ramira's whole face is now red and her eyes are both swollen. Ramira always whines every time Geradine dabs the wet towel on her eyes saying her eyes feel hurt and stinging. With a sigh, Geradine continues prolonging his patience and accommodating all of his sister's wishes just to stop her from crying.

"Be gentle, Geradine." Ramira whines as her twin brother resume wiping her face.

"Stay still." Geradine scolded her while squeezing her cheeks using his hand.

"But it stings!"

"Who told you to cry anyway, huh?"

"Psh. You're mean."

Geradine ignores her again to continue the task on his hand. Their father temporarily leaves his office to check their 'guests' in the underground prison. Considering the number of nobles Geradine captured earlier, King Teriza will probably take another hour until he finishes checking them one by one. If people are already scared of him, then their fear will be doubled once the king faces them personally.

While waiting for the towel to absorb the cold water on the silver basin, Geradine takes a secret glance at his twin sister that is sitting beside him. Ramira is wrapped in a thick blanket while hugging a stuffed bear their father gave to her on their eleventh birthday.

Her face is also a mess. Her lips are still trembling and she sometimes let out a hiccup. Even if he wants to ignore her and treat her coldly, Geradine still cannot help but treat her softly seeing her like this. With a sigh, the prince wrings the towel to remove the excess water and continue wiping his sister's face.

"Geradine..." Ramira called his name while tugging on his sleeve.

"Stop moving." Geradine replied instead.

"Geradine, stop ignoring me. Let's talk about it. Please?" Ramira pleads.

The prince stares at his twin sister for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Alright. Then what do you want to say now?"

"...Am I the only one who is going to talk?"

"Okay, then."

Geradine is about to stand up when Ramira suddenly grabs his arm and stops him from leaving.

"No! You're not allowed to leave this place while you're still mad at me!" Ramira exclaimed while hugging his arm. "You're not allowed to leave me until you forgive me."

"What are you doing, Ramira? Let go of my arm!"

No matter how much Geradine pushes Ramira, the princess is still holding his arm. Geradine doesn't dare to use more force in fear of hurting his twin sister. With a sigh, he just accepted his fate and sink his body on the sofa next to her.

"Ramira, let go of my arm." Geradine tries again but in a soft voice.

"No! Not until you forgive me." Ramira insists

"...Fine. I forgive you. Now let go."

"Liar! You are still mad at me! I can still feel it."

Geradine clicked his tongue before pursing his lips. The Crown Prince temporarily forgot that he is not the only one who can feel his twin's emotions. This is the reason why both of them learn how to be honest with each other. It is useless to lie when the other one can see right through them and has access to their emotions.

"Geradine." Ramira calls his name again.

"What now?"

"I'm sorry."

Geradine turns his head around only to see his sister biting her lower lip next to him. She may not know it, but Ramira has a habit of biting her lips every time she wants to apologize especially to him. And every time Ramira does that, it means she is being sincere and honest with him.

"I was wrong. Please forgive me, Geradine."

"What are the things that you did wrong today?" Geradine asked instead of accepting her apology.

"Do you really want me to say it?"

"You don't want to? Then I'll just leave—"

"I said you cannot leave!"

Ramira tightens her hug on his arms to the point that he can feel her fingers slightly digging on his skin. But instead of scolding her about it, Geradine is more interested in listening to her next words. The prince gives her a look that says he's waiting for her response.

"I..." Ramira clears her throat first before speaking again. "I forced Theo to come with me and left the Amber Palace. Then we walked around the plaza for an hour until we bumped with a delivery boy who accidentally left a black invitation for the auction. But instead of going back to my palace, I once again forced Theo to bring us to the auction. And you know what happened next."

"You suddenly disappeared right before I start burning the auction venue. Did someone try to kidnap you?"

"I don't know. To be honest, I think it was just a mistake and the caster brought the wrong person."

So far, Ramira is just telling him the truth. Geradine can still feel her nervousness but it is probably because he's still interrogating her. When Ramira tries to bite her lower lip again, Geradine let out a sigh and tap Ramira's chin using his finger to remind her not to do it.

"Theo said that he found you in a dark alley while talking to a stranger."

"Oh. It was Alistair."

"Alistair?"

"Remember the slave with silver hair? That's him."

"Right. Now that you mentioned it, why are you bidding on that slave earlier?" Geradine asked with a raised brow.

"...I just find him handsome."

"Ramira." The prince calls her name as a warning.

"Stop it! I will cry again if you pressure me." Ramira threatens him. "At least give me a leeway."

Geradine feels like he will be having a headache from all the things that happened today.

"Fine." Geradine surrenders. "Is that all you want to say?"

"I'm sorry." Ramira apologized again. "I'm sorry for making you worried. I'm apologizing for not listening to what you had said to me. I'm sorry."

"Ramira, do you have any idea how dreadful I felt when I confirmed that you were also in the auction venue? Everything is possible to happen in that place. People can easily kidnap or hurt you. They can also use you as a shield from us if they discover your identity? They can even kill you!"

"...I'm sorry."

"Try putting yourself in my position. What if our situation is reversed? What if I'm the one who cannot use magic and you saw me defenseless in that kind of place? What will you feel?"

Ramira doesn't need to answer him. They already know what is the answer playing inside her head. Geradine takes a deep breathe first before pulling Ramira close to him. He gently guides Ramira's head on his shoulder and gives her a pat.

"I don't need to enumerate all the reasons why I got mad since you already know it."

"Hmm."

"Ramira, you and I are platonic soulmates. As your brother, it's natural that I don't want to see you in any dangerous situation. Your safety is always my priority."

"I know." Ramira softly replied. "I also feel the same. I always want you to be healthy and safe all the time. You are my only brother in this world."

When they were still young, their father used to say that it is rare for two soulmates to be born at the same time. They are two puzzles that always complete each other. Both Geradine and Ramira can completely understand the meaning of those words. Whatever they lack, the other twin will cover it for them.

"Geradine, don't ignore me. Okay? Please forgive me. I'm sorry." Ramira apologized again.

"I already lost count of how many times you apologized to us this day."

"Because you don't want to forgive me."

"Is forgiveness something that you can force now?"

"It only applies to you. You're not allowed to ignore me, Geradine!"

For the first time that night, Geradine let out a chuckle. They both have the same age, but Ramira is always acting like she is way younger than him. Or maybe he just matured early while Ramira is still enjoying herself acting like a kid?

"Alright. I forgive you."

Ramira lifts her head and stares at Geradine with squinted eyes. When she's confident that her twin is telling the truth this time, her lips curve into a huge smile. Then she wraps her arms around Geradine's neck and happily laughs.

"No takebacks, okay? You already forgive me! You should not ignore me again!" Ramira said.

"Alright, alright. You are such a big baby."

But Ramira ignores his teasing words. She continues hugging her twin while laughing. The gloom and anxiousness on her chest are finally gone.

"You are really the best, Geradine! I love you so much!" Ramira said with a huge smile on her face.

"Hmm. I love you too, you big baby." Geradine replied with a helpless smile. "Now let's continue cleaning your face. We should also do something to reduce the swelling of your eyes."

"Yeah. My eyes are still hurting a little."

Unbeknownst to them, their father is listening to them behind the door. He just hides his presence using concealing magic. While shaking his head, King Teriza turn around and just let his children in his office a bit longer.