Lovely Twins

4

Actually, how old was Athy when she met father? Nine? Was it the age difference? Or was it because he was present this time around?

"Well, this is boring, not much of a talker?"

'Oh if only you knew how noisy this girl can be,' he snipped in his mind, but refrained from making outward reactions. Based from how much his sister's grip was tightening, he could guess that she was panicking over this strange development.

Which was weird, because in the last timeline, all this stupid girl wanted was their father's love and attention. Was she finally not idiotic?

"Athy can talk for her and Ardy!"

His eye twitched at the cutesy talk and smile his sister displayed. 'Never mind'.

"Finally I get to hear your voice, why did you stay silent until now?"

He wanted to sigh when his sister fell back on mute.

"Pardon me, your majesty, but little girls around the princess' age are known to be very shy" hearing the auburn-hair man suddenly explain made Adrastos look up. Seeing the man's silver eyes immediately made him aware of who the knight was. 

Felix Robane. The Crimson Knight, if he remembered correctly in regards to the man's title in his last life. Emperor Claude's very own right hand man.

And amongst the many individuals within the palace besides Lilian York, Felix was the only one that Adrastos can rely on in protecting his sister. After all, the man had deeply cared and respected his sister in the previous timeline.

Calmly, the young prince watched as the knight leave the room by his father's command. 

"Athy and Ardy, is it? Must be pet names," cold jewel eyes watched his sister, "Athanasia... Adrastos... what a name"

He's right, if Adrastos were to be honest. He never had the honor of meeting or knowing anything about his mother. But one thing was for sure, you don't simply name your child the "Undying" Athanasia.

Although, his own name wasn't as lavish as his sister's, his name, Adrastos, still had a deeper meaning.

Inescapable. 

Just the meaning of his name wants to make him scowl.

The Undying and the Inescapable. Did their mother wished for her sister to live eternally and for him to escape death? He wanted to laugh at the irony.

What a load of bullshit. Especially with how his last life went.

The feeling of his hand being squeezed by his sister once more brought him out of his musings. Glancing towards said sister who had dropped her head, her expression was hidden from eveyone but him.

Eyes wide with absolute fear.

But it only lasted for a brief second, as she suddenly lifted her head, innocent smile playing on her lips, eyes wide with faux childishness. A smirk threatened to grace his face, but he held himself back with practiced ease.

His sister, despite being a terrible liar, could be a wonderful actress.

"Why are you just sitting there?" Blue jeweled eyes glanced over to him, "Go ahead and eat."

Adrastos arched a brow, 'well, that was a relatively normal command'

The room suddenly grew chilly as the Emperor leaned forward, eyes glowing brightly, "I told them to bring out something kids would like. If you don't eat I will have no choice but to punish the cook"

'Or not.'

"Thank you for the food!"

Unable to stop himself, a snort escaped his lips as his sister trembled, small shaking hands reaching out for the fork, face white as a sheet, she gulped down a slice of strawberry cake, pale face looking up, with a wobbly smile she commented a short "yummy!"

Right, never mind his sister being a masterful actress.

Blinking. Adrastos realized belatedly that the Emperor was staring at him.

Scowling, Adrastos huffed, "they're sweet"

He felt Athy panicking beside him. Oh right, behave, oops.

Twin blue jeweled eyes clashed together.

"Don't you know it's rude to not eat what your host is offering you?"

The prince arched a brow, "don't you know it's rude to force your guests to eat what you have?"

The sound of clothes shifting filled the quiet room as the Emperor leaned backward, face impassive, and it irked Adrastos that he couldn't read the man in front of him, "who taught you manners?"

Adrastos remained silent while his sister continued to shift beside him, most probably scolding him inside her head. Ah, he could already feel the headache when she scolds him later on.

Fun.

Why couldn't they have just napped? Instead he has to meet this man that had (unfortunately) birthed him and his sister.

"Lily taught us!"

The Emperor's attention shifted once more to his sister. Mind wandering away from the current moment, Adrastos frowned. He remembers now. His sister was supposed to meet their father a year after that incident— which was three years from the current time, hence his sister was supposed to be nine. 

Meeting the man this early, will that make things different? Does that mean those people wouldn't recklessly enter the palace and threaten his sister once more?

That thought made him pause as hope blossomed within his chest.

Does that mean he'll physically remain beside his sister this time? 

His heart throbbed. 'It would be nice, to actually be beside her until she grows gray and old.' His eyes fluttered shut without him knowing, 'maybe it would be nice to have this man beside us if that were the case... Besides, when he carried me awhile ago, despite in a way one would carry a sack of potatoes—'

He had felt oddly safe. The familiar presence that was similar to his Noona had calmed him down.

The sound of a fork clattering on the ground shook him out of his wandering mind once more. Ah, right, they were with their father. He should seriously stop day dreaming.

Feeling the tense air, Adrastos wondered what the two were talking about to lead this situation. The sound of fingers tapping impatiently rang in a constant rhythm, reminding the young prince of a ticking clock. 

'Although, instead of a clock, it's a ticking timebomb,' he sourly thought

Before he could even attempt to think back on what made this cold atmosphere, his sister uttered a word that completely froze him and the man that sat before them.

"F-father?"

At first, the word she uttered was so soft and shaky, he nearly thought he heard wrong. But then his lovely wonderful, and sometimes completely idiotic sister opened her mouth once more.

"...Papa?"

'...What the fuck?'

-

A/N: had to edit a little grammatical mistakes in the previous chapter. :)