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–––Luvias’ viewpoint

“Luvias, you seem to be in quite the foul mood today.”
“Brother…”

My eldest brother, Stied, spoke to me from farther ahead in the hallway, his voice making no effort to hide his usual haughtiness. He had his usual minions stuck like leeches behind him, something he did in an attempt to flaunt his power, but now just looked ridiculous to me. No matter how much power he had in society, one simple monster attack could render it useless.

I never had the best relationship with my siblings, and ideally I would have preferred to not see him at all, but I could not ignore him now that he had spoken to me. I forced my heart to calm down with all my strength, so any signs of my discomfort would not be visible.

“Do you need something?”
“Need isn’t quite the word, I just thought I’d give you some friendly advice.”
“Advice..?”

Considering political power was all he held interest in, I surmised whatever he wanted to say held no meaning for me. And as I had expected, the words that came from his twisted and crooked mouth, so unsightly it was hard to believe he was royalty, were just what I had expected.

“Don’t get too carried away now, you hear me? It doesn’t matter how much you try being a hero to get your name out there, I’m the one inheriting the throne. Never forget that.”

Out of everything he could have said, that was the least worthwhile. I hold no interest in politics, and I never even considered becoming a ruler. It seems many thought I was a threat to the throne with how much my name was spreading, but it was all stupid. Either way, my brother had never made any efforts to get other nobles or the populace to know him, so it was his own fault he was feeling this way. The few nobles that stuck to him did it purely because of his rank, they found no value in him as a person. But my brother was so shallow he could not even realize that.

“No need to worry about that. Unlike you, I have zero interest in the throne. You can rest easy here, walled off from the outside world and enjoying all your parties.”
“Wh-what did you say?!”

Hearing his little sister talk up to him, something that never happened before, he looked obviously disturbed. In the past I wanted to avoid the hassle and never confronted him, but it was different now. I had tasted death so many times already that even if he and all his leeches piled up against me, they would be no threat to me. Even if he tried sending assassins against me, I would be able to stand my ground against multiple of them.

“A-are you implying I’m just wasting time playing around?!”
“Not at all…though if that’s how you took it, maybe you’re a tiny bit more self-aware than I thought. Keep dilly-dallying and brother Magna might pull the rug from under your feet.”
“Ugh…!”

It was basically common knowledge that my two eldest brothers, Stied and Magna, did not get along well. The two had dedicated their lives to constantly trying to get in the good graces of nobles, amassing enough power to snatch the throne from the other one. Every day they would have a feast in some house or another, without realizing that taxing all that from the common folk, the true framework behind the kingdom, was only decreasing their popularity. It was a truly pitiful sight.

It seemed I had struck a nerve, my brother was lost for words as he merely flapped his mouth open and closed like a fish stuck on a hook. I turned a cold gaze to him and calmly walked past.

“Don’t forget this Luvias! I’m going to be the next king! You just keep quiet and do as told!”

I ignored his shouts, quickly heading back to my room.

§　§　§

“I’m beat…”
“Welcome back, princess.”

I threw myself on my bed as soon as I entered, Sepia promptly preparing to pour some tea. I watched her without thinking much, until I heard Karin’s bright voice from the couch.

“Being a princess sounds tiring too. I never thought you’d need to come all the way here every time something happens.”
“That’s part of it. It’s mainly my brother…”
“Ahh…you mean the oldest one? I heard a lot of rumors that he’s just desperate to be a king.”

Ciel lifted her gaze from a magic tome to add to the conversation, seemingly having remembered something as she clapped the book shut. The rumors had spread from the palace all the way to a faraway city like Surfour, I felt ashamed of being his relative.

They were all my party members, so my father had given them permission to move around the palace freely. The same applied to Diaria, the hero from another country, and as she entered the palace she looked very excited to see a foreign palace. Though now she was relaxed just like Karin and Ciel.

“Was it okay to piss him off like that though? I doubt he’ll do anything as long as you’re here, but people like him like to use shady methods for anything.”
“I’m being careful, don’t worry. Either way I doubt a third-rate assassination attempt would have any effect on us, or at most would be a slight nuisance.”
“Hmmm, I guess we don’t have to worry then.”

I agreed with Diaria’s carefree comment as I reached out for the freshly poured tea. It was only a few days later that I would learn just how spiteful my brother could be.