256 The Sword Dance of Red and Blue Part 13

Lyn looks at him worriedly and Rhys follows her gaze and turns to her again. Rhys places a gentle kiss on her forehead, eyelids, nose and then her lips.

"Wait for me here, and be good."

She really wants to stop him. Even five years ago, Rhys couldn't defeat her brother. Brother Andrew isn't one of the strongest individuals born in the Empire for no reason. From the very age of three he was already skillfully wielding the blade, and casting high level magic. From the moment he could walk and speak he had the intelligence of

There is nobody stronger than her brother. Once when she was younger she snuck away from her palace and saw her mother and brother sparing. Surprisingly her mother lost, to her brother who was only thirteen at the time.

It's not surprising that Rhys couldn't beat him, whether it was when they were younger or five years ago. In the years where brother Andrew has lived away from the main palace, he has had more time to refine and work on his skills. She is afraid that Rhys is no match.

Lyn noticed that Rhys hadn't gone down the steps yet and was waiting for her response. She slowly nodded. "Please be careful."

"Do I get anything if I win?" Rhys suddenly asked.

She blinks surprised at his request. "I suppose, you can ask me for anything you want."

His lips curved to a smile. "Alright, I hope you do not regret that later."

It takes her a few minutes extra to realize what she had just promised. Lyn felt her cheeks turn hot. Uh, did she just dig her own grave there? It's true that she doesn't mind being intimate with him, kissing, holding hands and hugging. However doing that, doing what Rhys wants. Images of flushed and bare bodies appear in her head as she is reminded of what happened not too long ago Lyn slaps her cheeks.

No, no, do not think about it now. Moreover, Rhys has never won a match against brother. How could he ask her that? Did he only ask so he could motivate himself? But he seems plenty motivated, otherwise he wouldn't have accepted the challenge.

Her thoughts break off when someone places a hat on her head and turns to see Gabrielle. "Sir Rhys is correct, you will catch a cold." Her friend also wraps a scarf around her neck.

"These?"

"It's actually my gift for you. I wanted to pass it onto Pupilliam, to give it to you when she came over. But I left it in the other palace and it was half finished. We dropped by on the way here and I finished it off before we got here."

Her eyes brightened. "I am sure the servants were happy to see you."

"They thought they had seen a ghost at first. One of the knights even said, 'My lord, I know you miss the mistress but how could you find a replica? The mistress is irreplaceable.'" Gabrielle sighs. "Andrew almost killed him for being disrespectful. He can be very immature."

"Do you two have plans to return there after this?"

Gabrielle nodded. "Yes, but not for awhile. I told Andrew that I'd like to go travelling. I have always wanted to do so, just freely go to places with him around the Empire. But, he was always worried about leaving you alone for too long."

"I'm sorry, if only I was more capable."

Lyn immediately understood. Even though brother didn't reside in the main palace. He has been helping her out in the shadows. During mother's reign, people referred to brother Andrew as the shadow King. Since he helped mother out with her duties. That's why, it was only natural for him to become the King, since he was not only talented but already had experience.

Nobody would have expected that she would appear out of nowhere and take the throne.

Gabrielle shakes her head. "No, your plenty capable. It's just your brother is too overprotective. He dotes on you far more than you think."

Lyn laughs. "No, I think I understand. He is just clumsy at expressing himself. Those times where I thought he was glaring at me, it was in fact the opposite. That glare was actually a worried look."

Whenever he 'glared' at her it was after she did something dangerous, or saw her injured. She was young back then and didn't notice the love that was right beside her. If she noticed it sooner, perhaps she could have formed a bond with her brother much sooner.

"Not as much as Kotaro did."

At the mention of her second brother, Lyn looked at Gabrielle with a hopeful look in her eyes and she shakes her head.

"He has not contacted me either. However, mother in-law told me, 'Right now that boy is searching for himself again. He misunderstood a lot of things and made many mistakes as a result. He acknowledges that, but it's not easy for him to let go of his hatred of having 'everything snatched away from him.' He won't appear before anybody until he has truly found the real him. When that happens, I am sure the first thing he will do is return to the sister he has always loved.'"

"But brother Kotaro has always-"

Gabrielle shakes her head. "No, he loved you. There was a time that he truly did love you Lyn. But, you pushing my engagement towards Andrew and other factors changed that love into hatred."

Even without the details Lyn knew what she meant by other factors. From a very young age, she showed to everyone that she had more magic and was more skilled. Brother Kotaro must have felt awful being compared to her.

'That's why he could side with sister Lethia, because he could relate with her emotions towards me.'

"Your brother will return to you, so you have to be patient." Gabrielle trails off. "Speaking of brother, there is another one."

Lyn shifted uncomfortably at the mention of brother Zepher.

Gabrielle sighs deeply. "I am aware that you feel ashamed for using him and trampling on his feelings. But, you cannot continue like this forever. Andrew told me that he visited him not too long ago, and found him in a sorry state constantly drinking. Lyn, he misses you. I am sure he wants to see you."

Lyn looked down at the ground. "But, I- after what I did."

She truly doesn't know how to face him. That's why she did what she did, she returned his status as a Prince, as her brother and left him in charge of a different area of the Mist Kingdom. She used her authority to send him away and draw a line between them. It was far crueller than rejecting him.