s.h.i.+ki nodded, "He was working with somebody."

"Princess Lethia."

"An internal strife, huh? It seems complicated. I"d advise you not to get involved. But, it seems like you already are."

"Rest a.s.sured. My involvement towards the matter is limited to the discussions I"ve had with the King," Allen trailed off. If the King himself didn"t talk to him about it, would he actually have realized that something was wrong?

"Do you resent oksan....for everything? It was bad of us asking for her to raise you regardless of Lady Cathia"s feelings."

Resent...

Indeed, after hearing that, most people would end up thinking " ah so it was all a lie" "that person lied to me." Yet Allen wasn"t like most people. After he realized his position in life was only to be second to his brothers, along the way, he found himself riding of many things that were deemed not helpful to them, including his emotions.

But upon meeting her. Those things he locked away broke. He ought to resent, that"s the most sensible decision. Yet even now Allen could not dislike that person. After all, she never once lied. That"s right, whenever he called her " Mother," she told him with a smile.

" It"s Martha. I wish for you to call me by my name ". Allen didn"t understand it well, and even as he grew up, he realized it was odd. Especially since the other two could call her oksan. Yet he never once questioned her on that. " No...I cannot. Lady Martha raised me and treated me like her own son, and yet she never confirmed herself to be my mother. In doing so, she confirmed my mother"s last wishes, which is why I cannot resent her."

The auburn colored haired boy smiles, " I see. That"s good. Due to the damages of the fight - were being left responsible for the repairing... and in the process, the elders who a.s.sisted Sean are being questioned. We"re swamped here...but I managed to get some time to apologize to your fiance."

So that"s it. Well, it"s only natural for them too.... take responsibility.

But hold on a second, Allen realized a second too late what he said. As he reached over and grabbed his brothers head, a menacing aura surrounds him almost automatically. " What was that, brother?"

"Eeep. Wait time out, though I"m happy to hear you call me brother after such a long time. You"re crus.h.i.+ng my head."

Allen merely sighs as he let"s go, "What do you mean by apologies?"

"The reason why I couldn"t meet with you earlier was because I was speaking with her. There was quite a lot to discuss, and I ended up apologizing quite a bit. After all, the reason why she got dragged into such a mess was partly because of our family."

His thoughts broke off when he hears familiar laughter at the door, "Um, can I come in now?"

"Yes, yes, please do."

Lyn clung to his arm, "Allen, don"t fight with your brother."

"When did you speak with him?"

"Earlier, you weren"t paying attention to me, so you didn"t realize."

Is she sulking?

"I apologize."

"Good," Lyn trailed off and placed a small box down on his brother"s desk, "This is what you want, can we go now?"

Allen didn"t know what it was, but he felt a sudden change in her presence.

"Not even going to spare some words I see."

"I already said what I had to," before Allen could inquire on the details Lyn was dragging him away.

Allen simply allowed the girl to pull him along. Just now, the surrounding aura seemed different.

"What was that?" Allen asked once they were safely out of earshot.

"Nothing."

This girl, she dares to hide things from him?? No, Lyn wouldn"t do that. Allen reached over and patted her hair, "Would you like to get something to eat?"

"I"m hungry!"

He supposes it won"t do any harm staying in his brother"s mansion for a bit. He doesn"t want Lyn to travel when her stomach is empty.

....

"Slow down, if you eat so quickly you"ll choke," Allen didn"t think the servants would prepare such a feast for his arrival. Because when he asked about food, they immediately lead him to this room.

"But everything tastes so good!"

Now that he thought about it, Lyn doesn"t eat extravagant meals normally. Allen recalled the first time he ate some with her; she had a strong he allergic reaction. Later on, he learned that eating high-quality food strengthened her mark. That"s why, whenever he visited her, he brought plain food. Allen wanted to prevent that mark from getting stronger; after all, whenever it grows stronger, she ends up in pain.

She seemed fine. Sure enough, after she took a bite of the chicken, he saw nothing amiss. Nor did Lyn show signs of discomfort in any way.

Allen reached over and brushed a strand of rice from her mouth. Lyn laughed, "Thank you, Allen."

"..."

It feels strange for the two of them to be like this. Allen has always maintained a reasonable distance from her. He didn"t want anybody to think he was attached. The moment he showed he was, the moment they would harm her. These thoughts did not just emerge recently. Allen has always had them.

Allen recalled what his brother told him and stood up. He lifted Lyn of her feet too; the girl looked at him, confused.

Lyn lost her balance, and he catches her, their eyes met briefly, and that was all it took for him to engulf her into a hug. "Um, Allen?"

This is unlike him, a guy who discarded his emotions a long time ago has no right to be with her. Someone like him doesn"t deserve her. But in the end, he was only thinking about what he wanted and not what she wanted. He didn"t think to listen to her.

"You told my brother that you"d stay my fiance?"

"I spoke to Kazuya too," Lyn nodded, "I want us two to take a break from our relations.h.i.+p when I return to the Mist Kingdom."

Allen"s eyes widened in alarm at the girl"s words. Staying his fiance aside, this was the last thing he thought she would do.