The Sister, The Lover, and The Maid

Hope and I continued lying on the bed, flirting with each other like a pair of newlyweds.

Perhaps because it had been a while since the last time, I met her, but Hope was acting very spoiled. She shrank on my chest like a kitten and rubbed her face against my neck as she smiled shyly.

We stayed like that for a while, with me kissing her hair occasionally and pampering her as much as I could.

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay like that for a long time.

When I estimated the empress was about to wake up, Hope reluctantly left my embrace and put on her clothes again.

She then kissed my lips one last time before making me promise her that I would visit her soon.

Not even five minutes after Hope left, the empress groaned softly and opened her eyes with a dazed expression.

I had returned already to my Clark appearance and was seated on the side of the bed, looking at her sleepy expression with a smile.

Lilia smiled back. But in the next instant, she jumped up and looked at me with an anxious look.

"H-How long did I sleep for?"

"Almost one hour," I replied with a shrug.

"One hour! Why did you not wake me!? Spending all that time alone with a man in my room is awfully suspicious! What if Lotus suspects something?"

Well, I was playing with your personal servant. Obviously, I was not going to wake you up.

"You were so beautiful when sleeping. I did not want to wake you up."

The empress was stunned. A red hue appeared on her face as she stared at me with an angry look.

But then, she sighed.

"… We can do nothing about it now. Hurry up and put on your clothes. I just hope Lotus and Hope don't find it too strange."

Shrugging, I put my clothes back.

As expected, Lotus was looking at me with a dark look when I left the room. However, I ignored her.

I'm sure the empress will think of a good explanation.

Now that Dina's situation is resolved, I think it's time to return with the troops marching towards the frontlines.

But before that, I should visit Dina first.

Stepping across space, I appeared in Dina's room.

Almost instantly, I felt three gazes on me, looking towards me with a shocked expression.

I smiled at them and waved my hand, returning once more to my true face.

"Sister, Daisy, Louise, long time no see you."

"Your highness, you are here." Daisy was the first one to react. She trotted towards me with a radiant smile on her face.

I smiled and patted her head, making my brown-haired servant close her eyes with a joyful expression.

By this point, Dina finally realized it was me.

"… Little brother, you should not enter the room of a lady like that."

But then-

"Why a moment… Does it mean that Clark is Claus!?"

Dina, Daisy, and I were stunned.

… Thinking about it, I never told Louise about this identity of mine.

Yeah, I forgot about it.

"Y-You didn't know?" Dina asked awkwardly.

Louise looked at us and her expression turned dark.

"You… You know how worried I was about the matter with Dina's marriage!? All this time, I was worried about what you were going to do!"

"Well, we told you we had a plan, didn't we?"

"You did." Louise looked at me angrily. "However, you never explained the plan! Goddess, I was so worried that I was already trying to investigate this Clark person only to suddenly learn he is you!"

I could only put on an awkward smile.

Yeah, Louise was working as Dina's aide, so we should have told her about my alter identity.

The truth was that it slipped from my mind. In fact, I was pretty sure she already suspected something.

I mean, I did not put much effort to hide it from her. And she even knows Raven.

Seeing my awkward expression, Louise sighed.

"Let's just forget about it, okay? Is there any other secret I should know?"

"Mmm… Did I told you I'm actually hundreds of thousands of years old and I am currently trying to stop a powerful being from destroying the world?"

A stunned expression appeared on Louise's face. But one second later, she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Yeah, right. As if I'm going to believe that."

Well, that is the truth.

If you don't want to believe me, that is your problem.

"Anyway, what are we going to do now?" Louise said with a heavy sigh. "Do you know that this Dina's 'fiancée' thing ended throwing to the drain all the effort I made recently, right?"

"Sorry about that, Louise." Dina apologized. "Actually, you should stop worrying about convincing more noble families to take our side. Instead, you should worry about the aftermath after I take the throne."

"… What do you mean?" Louise narrowed her eyes.

Dina and I looked at each other and smiled. I then started to explain to Louise about our entire plan.

When Louise heard my explanation, her eyes became round.

"You two… You are crazy… And terrifying."

"Then, do you think you can handle it?"

Louise nodded firmly. "Leave it to me. By the way, what will be my position after Dina becomes the empress? How about the Prime Minister?"

"If you want." I shrugged indifferently. Dina did not seem to care either. After all, she knows Louise is one of my people.

Although Dina was a bit uncomfortable with someone of the Riea family at the start, she already became used to Louise's presence. They can even be considered friends now.

Louise nodded with a smile. "Very well, I'll start to work on it immediately." She then turned around to leave the room.

But just when she opened the door, she stopped abruptly.

"… Claus, that day... what will happen to my father?"

I smiled softly with a reassuring expression.

"Don't worry, I'll keep my promise."

Louise nodded silently and left the room.

But at that moment, I realized Dina was squinting at me.

"Claus, what did you promise to Louise?"

"… I'll tell you about it later," I said with a wry smile and went to hug my sister. "Congratulations, big sis. Since today, you are my fiancée."

"… Claus, stop it. Daisy is still here." Dina said with an embarrassed expression. But when she looked at Daisy, she saw Daisy giggling amusedly.

"Don't worry, your highness Dina. I'll say nothing about this. You can be as intimate with His highness as you want."

I sent a thumb up to my beloved maid.

"Daisy, you are the best."

"Yes, yes, your highness. Remember to love me a lot later as well, okay?"

"Of course."

Dina blushed even more and looked at us with an angry glance.

"… You two are so shameless!"