LENS TURNED RED

"Lena! I knew it was you when I saw the carriage!" A beautiful young girl skipped towards our carriage when she saw Lena.

"Claire?" Lena put on a surprised face before smiling happily. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to the Hidden Cave with mother! Father and big sis are waiting for us there." Claire pointed to another carriage where a beautiful silver-haired woman waved towards us with a strained smile.

"The Hidden Cave? What are you going to do there?" Lena asked

"You don't know? There is a new attraction and I heard it's amazing! Do you want to go with us?" Claire asked in an expectant tone.

Lena hesitated for a moment before looking at me "... Brother?"

"We can go if you want." I smiled softly and greeted Claire with a nod.

Allow me to do the introductions.

Claire's full name is Claire Riea. Yeah, you probably already noticed, but she is also a Riea, in other words, a relative of the empress.

Claire is Earl Carson Riea's youngest daughter. She is Louise's little sister and also Lena's cousin.

But different than Louise, Claire did not inherit her father's blonde hair or her mother's bombshell body. Instead, she had a long and beautiful silver hair that fell until her waist, just like her mother. Her body was very petite, even more than Lena, despite both of them having the same age; and her big blue eyes seemed like lamps that lit up one's soul.

If I have to describe Claire's with one word, it would be 'fairy'.

Yeah, she was like a small fairy lost in the human world. Untainted by her family schemes or the capital's struggles for power.

Under Claire's insistence, we boarded Claire's carriage. Mrs. Mia made a hesitating expression when she saw it, but in the end, she sighed and greeted us.

"Prince Claus, princess Lena." She bowed slightly.

"Hello, aunt Mia." Lena waved her hand happily. I returned the greeting with a short nod.

Once we were inside the carriage, Claire looked at me and then and Lena and grinned.

"So Lena, did I interrupt your date with your brother?"

Lena turned red and lowered her head shyly.

Seeing that, I patted Lena's head and looked at Claire with a helpless expression. "Please, don't tease Lena too much."

"Heehhh. Lena sure is fortunate. I also want a brother like you.

Neh, do you want to be my brother? Of course, I don't mind if you want to be my boyfriend."

*Cough!* Both Lena and Mia coughed at the same time. Lena shot Claire a fierce look while Mia's expression turned worried.

Hmm... It looks like Claire doesn't know her father's plans. Mia, on the other hand, seems to know. But seeing her behavior towards me, she probably doesn't agree with it completely.

"I'm sorry, I have a fiancée." I replied to Claire with a smile.

"... Such a shame. Although thinking about it, I don't mind being the second wife."

"Claire!" Mia shot Claire a stern look. Claire smiled sheepishly to her mother and stuck out her tongue. "It's a joke, a joke. I'll definitively be the main wife!"

"Impossible!" Suddenly, Lena hugged me and looked at Claire as though facing a terrible enemy. "Brother, you can't have another one!"

Claire and her mother tilted their heads in confusion. I smiled wryly and pinched Lena's cheeks. "Silly girl, what are you saying."

"Anyway, you can't marry her." Lena put on a stubborn look.

"Fufufu... Hahahaha... Lena, your brocon-ness has become stronger than before. I would not be surprised if you end up marrying your brother."

"... What are you saying..." Lena blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.

I shook my head helplessly. "... And you are so mischievous as always, Claire."

"Why, don't you want a mischievous little sister? You only need to say the word and I'll jump in your arms."

"Stop it. Lena is pinching my waist."

"Hahahaha..."

At that moment, a hand hit Claire's head.

"Ouch!" Claire grabbed her head in pain and looked at her mother with tears on her eyes.

"Stop teasing your friends, Claire. Sorry about it, Prince Claus. Claire is a bit mischievous."

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to her antics." I then patted Claire's head gently.

Lena please, stop pinching my waist.

Mia frowned seeing how intimate we seemed and spoke. ". Thank you. But even so, you two are royalties. It's not appropriate for her to behave like that in front of you."

I gave Mia a smiling look. This woman is wiser than I thought.

I can see that she disagrees with her husband's methods, but despite it, as his wife, she supports him.

Thus, she can't allow her daughter to get too close to me. If for some reason Claire grows attached to me, then she may end revealing me something that I must not know.

Of course, the current Claire knows nothing about the enmity between her family and us, but it will not be the same in the future.

"How is the Earl? I have not met him for a long time." I asked suddenly. Mia looked at me for a moment before answering.

"He is alright, but he has been busy lately dealing with some family matters. Fortunately, he freed a little bit of his time to spend today with his family."

"Oh? I'm glad. I'm not sure if I can talk to him later, so I'll ask Mrs. Mia to thank him on my behalf."

"Thank him? Why?"

"Of course, it's for the gift he sent me."

Mrs. Mia tilted her head confused. Of course, I'll not tell her that the gift was her daughter.

And I enjoyed it very much.

Lena and Claire gave us curious glances. Although they did not understand the subtleties of our conversation, they felt that something was wrong with it.

I put on a reassuring smile and nodded to them.

A few minutes later, we reached our destination.

But when I left the carriage, I was greeted by four cold gazes.

"What are you doing here?"

Seeing someone unexpected, I shrugged my shoulders.

"Long time no see you, elder brother."