Leisure --- Part 2

"Oh? I didn't expect to see you here, Princess Arabella! I thought you're still recovering?" Lady Liah of the Stockley family said.

'And of course, many people would try to ruin a heroine's mood every once in a while.' Ara thought, starting to get annoyed.

Aria turns around and saw a cute little boy beside her.

"Aw, are you her little brother?" She asked him.

'YAH! DON'T IGNORE ME, YOU BITCH!' Liah thought.

"I am indeed her little brother. It's nice to meet you, your highness. I didn't expect to meet a beautiful lady today." Van, her little brother, said while grabbing her hand and kisses it after speaking.

"What a cute boy you are! But avoid flirting with random girls in the future if you don't want to become like your older sister." Ara said with a smile and while pinching his soft cheek.

"WHY YOU-"

"Understood, your highness," Van said with a flustered and blushing look when she started patting his head.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT! I SHOULDN'T HAVE BROUGHT YOU WITH ME-"

"Excuse me, my lady. But please be mindful of your image. You're a noble lady, yet you're yelling and being scandalous? What would others think of you and your family?" Ara asked.

"What are you saying, your highness? That my family is scandalous?!" Liah yelled.

"Always remember that every time you go out, you represent your family, my lady. So if you're acting like this, people would think that your family is the same. The Count might get mad if rumors started to spread after this."

"Ho~," Felix said, getting amazed once again.

"Now, let's not ruin each other's mood anymore, and please enjoy the rest of the day like nothing happened, okay, my lady?" Ara said with a smile on her face.

"Liah?" They heard a familiar voice coming into the scene.

"Alden!" Liah said and started to act innocent in front of Alden, the heir of the Fulton family, also known as Princess Arabella's ex-boyfriend.

'Oh, s***... THAT ALDEN FULTON?! WHO IS THE EX-LOVER OF THE REAL PRINCESS ARA AND WAS STOLEN AWAY BY THIS WITCH?!' Ara thought.

"What happened?" Alden asked her, worried.

'I fricking want to laugh, but mind your image, self. You're not Y/n anymore. You're Princess Arabella!' Ara thought.

"The princess still hates me... she..."

"She did what?"

"She insulted my family and me in front of everyone!" Liah said.

Alden was about to speak for his lover when Ara started to shake.

"Ara, are you okay?" Aeneas and Felix asked, worried.

Then she burst out laughing.

'OH S***, I LOST IT!' Ara thought.

"I'm sorry- Pfft- HWAHAHAHAHA!"

"Pfft-" Felix tries his best not to laugh with her.

"Why are you laughing?" Alden asked.

"I'm sorry, she just looks so funny!" Ara said and started laughing again.

"What? Ara-"

"That is Princess Arabella or Your highness for you, Sir Alden. You're not my sister's lover anymore, nor her friend. Please be careful of how you call her, or I'll misunderstand it and take it as an insult." Aeneas said in a cold tone.

Ara finally calms down and clears her throat.

"I didn't mean to laugh out loud. It's just your acting is trash." Ara said.

Liah and Alden's eyes widened.

"Lady Liah, if you want to act like an innocent bunny who got bullied, please try to ask some advice to the famous actors and actresses on how to "properly" act like one. It is because you look ridiculous earlier, but I didn't mean to insult you! I just want to help. So please think of it." Ara said and stood up.

"Please enjoy your date or something. We will take our leave. Bye, little one! (referring to Van)," Ara said and left with Aeneas and Felix, leaving everyone speechless.

"I don't really understand why you hate, her highness, so much," Van said.

"You brat! Why did you do that earlier?! I'm your sister! Why did you choose her side?!"

"Well, that is because I always choose which side has a higher possibility of winning. Knowing you, I already know that you'll lose to the Princess. She's not born between the Spencer's and Royal Family for no reason. It's common knowledge that she will be outstanding in everything."

"WHY YOU-"

"Liah!" Alden stops her from hitting Van.

"See? You couldn't even control yourself in front of everybody. I'm going back home. It's much peaceful there without you. I don't even understand why you brought me with you today." Van said and left before his older sister could even react.

"That brat!"

*Inside the carriage*

"What did you do for that lady to hate you?" Felix asked.

"I don't know. Lady Liah just started picking fights with me since I was younger."

"She probably got jealous because you became everyone's favorite after being revealed to the public. Did you know how adorable you were before?" Aeneas said.

"Well, I've seen some of my baby pictures. But I'm not that special-"

"What did you say?! You always attract people wherever you go! Because you look like an angel who fell from the sky!" Aeneas said.

'A fallen angel? If that is true, then I must've rebelled against God.' Ara thought.

"You would think like that because I was your younger sister. What if it was Lady Liah? I bet you'll think the same."

"No, I'm not! I probably would feel shameful of having her as my younger sister..."

Aeneas continued talking while Ara looks outside. Then she saw a little girl and a little boy being bullied by a bunch of kids in the street.

"If I met you, I would definitely prefer you as my sister-"

"STOP THE CARRIAGE!" Ara yelled all of a sudden, making the coachmen stop the carriage.

"What the- Ara, why did you-"

Ara opened the door by herself and went out. They were freaking out and followed her.

"ARA!" Aeneas yelled.

Ara quickly went to the kids.

"And what do you kids think you are doing to these two??" She asked, giving them a cold stare.

Her stare scared the kids, and they ran away.

"Those kids..." she mumbled and scoffed.

She noticed that they were both shaking in fear.

"Hey, it's okay now. Those kids are gone." She said.

But they flinched when she tried to touch them. Ara also noticed how different they looked.

'The girl and her clothes looked like it just got dirty recently, while the boy looks like someone who usually lived in the streets,' she thought.

"I'm not a bad guy. You can trust me. I just want to know what happened." Ara said.

"ARA! WHAT ARE YOU-"

Ara told them to shut up and went back to the kids. The two of them calm down a little bit and looks at her with teary eyes.

'I knew it. They both have albinism.' Ara thought.

"Now, can you please tell me what happened? I can help you both. What do you guys want? Um, food? A drink? Tell it to this older sister, and she'll get it for you." Ara said in a soft tone.

"Um, could you please help Akio? He's injured." The little girl said and let go of the boy.

"Akio?" Ara mumbled and saw his injured leg and his body full of bruises.

"Oh my god- Did those kids do this to you, Akio?!" Ara asked, worried.

"N-no, it's not them," Akio said.

Ara starts using healing magic to heal him.

"Then could you tell me who it is?"

"It's... it's..." Akio bit his lip.

'It looks like he's getting abused by someone,' Ara thought.

"It's okay, Akio. Don't force yourself if you're not ready to say it. I understand." Ara said with a sweet, comforting smile.

Both of them were captivated by her.

"And you little girl? What's your name?"

"M-my name is Iris," she said in a low tone.

'Hmm... Iris...' Ara thought.

"You both have beautiful names. Akio means bright. And Iris means rainbow." Ara said.

"How did you know that?" Akio asked.

"Oh, um, I'm learning different languages while reading different kinds of books and novels. One of the novels I've read mentioned a powerful hero who was named Akio. He was once a weak and poor boy like you and became his country's hero after saving them from a bunch of monsters! You can also become like him someday, Akio."

"There's no way I could become that fictional character."

"You can," Ara said, and Akio looks at her.

"What?"

"You can become a hero, Akio. You just have to believe yourself that you can become a hero." Ara said.

Both Iris and Akio can't stop and keep on staring at her.

"All healed!"

Akio quickly stood up and did the Saikeirei bow, which surprises Ara and made the rest of them feel confused.

"Thank you very much for healing me, miss!" Akio said.

"Oh no, Akio. You don't have to!"

"Please, miss. This is the best thing I could do to repay you." Akio said.

"Well, if you really want to repay me, you can come to the Spencer Manor and give them this." Ara grabbed his hand and gave him a purple stone.

"The purple stone?!" Iris said in a surprised manner.

"Um, it looks something valuable and expensive. But why are you giving me this?" Akio asked.

"This stone is like your ticket to make the servants believe you. I will notify them about it, and pay me a visit. That is when you're ready to tell me your story."