A mischievous boy

After being tossed and thrown from one person to another like a doll, I am slowly getting back to normal and my vision is not that blurry anymore, but what are these two supposed to be doing now?

"Your highness, with all due respect…I want to check on my little sister without being interrupted, so can you move a little away from her?"

"Wait for your turn lady. You have the honor to live under the same roof as Raeliana, I don't, so zip it!"

I haven't seen Mireya act on her own before. And so easily triggered, why though? I don't have any idea why she would react like this in front of someone, and this is the first time she meets the first prince.

"Ohoho…of course, I shall call myself lucky then. I have to see Raeliana every day. From early in the morning when we eat breakfast, after training, she spends so much time with me, drinking tea or just casually reading a book together, and then to top it off, I am the only one she adores and likes to be near with. We are inseparable!"

"Hmm. Are you confident enough to bet on your last statement?"

All right, now they are going off-topic again. It looks like they are about to throw hands or perhaps it looks like they try to. I would be surprised if they could continue like this without eventually making a scene.

Ridiculous, what's their reason for getting on each other nerves like this? Then again, I don't have any information about how they started to get along in the original, so maybe this is going to turn out fine.

"Mireya, how long have I been sleeping?"

"…what? Oh, today's the twelve days, but I guess it doesn't count since you actually woke up. So, it makes around eleven days that you have been unconscious."

Twelve days, huh? It takes me at least three days to wake up normally, so with me alone one day inside the vision is equal to three days outside of it. With two people it will double to six days, therefore if my guess is right I have been in there for more or less two days.

"Raaaai~! Can I come to visit you again?"

"No!"

I certainly don't want to end up with marks all over my body.

"Does that mean that you will visit me?"

"Also, no!"

Now, don't get me wrong. I am here only for the rumors and the scandal this relationship is going to cause. I want to hear them talking about the affair the first prince committed while still being engaged with a princess from the other kingdom. Nothing more than a mere reason for declaring war.

"Hmm. So, what about a neutral place? Is that fine with you, Raeliana?"

Grrr…It is annoying to interact with someone when you don't know which side of them am I going to get. I think of myself as a neutral person, which gives people the same amount of interest through words and expressions, therefore from their point of view, I would be in the position of the quiet listener. Yet, it irritates me to be put on the spot by another person who wants to drag me out of my comfort zone.

"I suppose it will be fine, as long as there will be other people around."

"?! Why? Did you think I was going to choose a place for only the two of us? I can do that if you want!"

Did he not get my point there or does he want to see my reaction or something? Because I don't know why he looks so excited after saying that. Still, I don't get it.

"Yes, why not. I just didn't want to make it uncomfortable for you."

"It doesn't! But do you mean it, like a date? Just the two of us?"

"Well…umm…", are his eyes sparkling right now, or am I still feeling dizzy? "I didn't mean it like that and I don't want to sound like that either!"

"Too bad! I didn't want to talk about some kind of dark creature and past vision in front of other people. But if you want to meet in a crowded place, then so it be."

With 'dark creature', is he referring to Raphael? Hmm. Not only did he stick his nose into my business, but also saw what I couldn't and went there for in the first place. If he knows something, that's going to be a problem, but no one is going to believe him even if he tries to tell someone about it. Even those two, his brother and Mireya, are confused and wondering what is he talking about! The real problem is that I couldn't see anything in there. Nothing, even Raphael was out of my reach.

'Raphael! I know you can hear me. Come out wherever you are hiding and answer my question!'

I could have sworn I saw some kind of a white girl while I was going back and forth inside the darkness. And right before I opened my eyes, a water dripping sound filled the silence of my surroundings and kept ringing in my ear like a church bell.

"Are you sure about that, your highness? Before the day you came here, you were on bed rest because of an injury, right? From how I see it, your mind and body might have felt so exhausted that you lost consciousness. Still, our brain keeps working even when we are asleep so, don't you think that everything you saw, was all part of a dream? Hallucinations, nightmares, call it what you want, however it doesn't change the fact that it was your own mind causing all of the images floating through your mind."

"So, you mean I was… hallucinating?"

Is that so hard to believe? Still, I don't know what he saw there, so I can't be sure if he will buy it, however, I would also be skeptical if someone told me the same thing.

"Yes, but I was-…"

"Brother, why don't you leave this for another time? You both agreed to meet again, so let's do as the lady said and take some rest at the palace. You can talk about the details later."

He doesn't look happy about it, but if we don't leave now, I feel like they will keep talking like this for another twelve days. And time is not on my mother's side, she still kept the case, so she needs to be the first to report his whereabouts before father tries to do it himself.

I am speechless. Did he just interrupt me to say that? Don't tell him to rest for a second time or he will catch me red-handed!

"And what will happen if I don't do that?"

"Brother?! Come on now, do you think that eleven days passed in a blink of an eye? It must have been easy for you, but don't forget who you are and what you represent. There are people who are worried sick and looking everywhere for you. So, stop playing around and let the poor people breathe for a moment."

Oh, this is bad. This is definitely going to irritate him. Jonathan is right, but the way he chose to present the problem makes the other person interpret it the other way. What I understood was that he wants to show him how important he is and question himself if his position means anything to him. I suppose if the prince went missing without a word, the palace will be a total mess and they will freak out. However, it sounds like he is making him responsible for whatever problem this has caused, in or outside the royal family, which I wouldn't let this slide if I were him.

'Why did you make him responsible out of nowhere? You had only one job, to convince him the easy way. But I guess, I also messed it up.'

"Raeliana, you told him that I had to rest for one or two days, am I right? Don't you think you are exaggerating it a little bit?"

"…Y-yes?! Oh! Sorry, I misspoke. I merely mean...umm...ri-right."

Damn it, I think he caught on. Ignoring his brother and cutting it straight to the chest, is giving me a weird tension. Did he find out that I just said that to make him leave? I only wanted to tell him to get the hell out of here politely. And where the hell is Raphael?

"How about we make a deal together, shall we?"

"A deal?"

Why should I make a deal with you out of the blue? It doesn't benefit me in any way.

"Well, since my little brother here said that I have to take responsibility and work for the lost days. And you, on the other hand, told me that I have to rest and take it easy, it makes it difficult to choose who to listen to."

"What does this has to do with the deal?"

I have a bad feeling about this!

"Actually, the deal is connected to what I just said. I will do as you suggested, Basically, I will leave you alone for now. And in return, you have to visit me."

"Pardon? I told your highness that I won't go to the palace, so there is no deal."

"Then, I will be staying here with you! We will have all the time in the world to decide if I was really hallucinating or not. Is that even better?"

Childish, annoying, troublesome. I want to choke him with my bare hands. Spreading the word in the academy went well since Mireya talking with a lot of people that day, and if someone sees me in the palace to meet the prince will be more promising. But still, why is it then when I am with him, something bad happens?

'Sigh! Give me a break.'

…

"So that is all that happened?"

"Yes, your grace. I told him that I will think about it and they left without complaining. If I agree, I have to notice him first and then his escort will send me there. In a meantime, I can't take any action regardless of the plan."

"I agree, you said that he almost caught you lacking before losing your consciousness, but you acted fast and fixed it. Still, I didn't expect that it was going so smoothly for you. I'm impressed! And I guess you were right about the prince, but be careful and keep it simple if you don't want to be put on a spot."

Keep it simple, huh? So stupid. There is no such thing when it comes to deceiving someone into doing what I want. If I do that I have to be honest, which goes again the whole point.

"Understood, your grace."

It is easy for you to talk, you only want the money and power, and I don't use any of that, which is profitable for you. You don't have any idea what I have to go through, only for me to not be tied up to your title. And you know that, don't you? After all, you are enjoying this.