"WHY WOULD I? I bragged about you a lot. About how cute, handsome and nice our Ciel is."
Is she an angel or just a fool? Common sense should make her jealous, but my sister just stroked my head with a big smile.
"I'm not nice, I'm not cute. Well the handsome part which is true."
"No way. In my eyes, our Ciel is the nicest and cutest in the world, so it's okay."
What should I do with this happy sister, even though she wants me to marry her husband?!
Ah!
I have a headache. I hate myself. I wanted nothing but to avoid the death flag.
When the word marriage suddenly came out of Alex's mouth, I almost forgot I was still only ten years old.
"It's a good thing Father put everything in order. It would've been a disaster otherwise."
It was the Duke of Valentine, my father, who saved me from all sorts of thoughts.
With me by his side, and unable to reply, he cut off the Prince's proposal.
'Thank you for your kind words, but my son is now ten years old. I understand your feelings, but please reconsider it.'
He didn't mean to be funny, but the conversation left plenty of room for laughter.
It was true; if Dad agrees to support him, Alex will become the future Emperor right away. And if I marry him, I will inevitably become his another Emperor...well not really but if that happens I will be his Empress.
I put my two hands on my face. AH! I'm not gay! Or What okay!? But ahh I can't just stop thinking of him and me getting married. That's absolutely nonsense!
To be honest, it's not strange just from the family's point of view[1].
"That's ridiculous. This can't happen."
"Why do you think so?"
"That's it, of course!"
Because he's the male lead. That's just a hypothetical story, but if things continue like this, the evil boy flag I've been trying to avoid will be resurrected.
I will become a cunning evil man who stole the Crown Prince who was supposed to marry my sister, and my sister, who barely realized the situation, despises me, and blah blah blah. Whatever happens, happens. Then after...
Please don't let me slide into the prison's drizzle.
"Uh."
I can't say it's because he's the male lead, and I couldn't come up with a good excuse.
In fact, it's difficult to reject this proposal since some aspects of it, such as the status and age difference, are understandable for this world.
Based purely on aesthetics, if they are beautiful men and women with politically compatible principles, it is perfect.
Apart from that, my mom has a tense relationship with the Empress. Because of Mother's character, this time, she'll never let this go.
My mother did not attend the Palace events, claiming different reasons except for the fact that Princess Lotte had hurt her son.
Since it's like this, there is no reason for my father to hesitate in allying with Alex while keeping an eye on Princess Lotte.
"Ciel, here you are."
"Mom."
My family was seriously affected by the incident. The apple of their eyes showed up, with a red mark on her cheek.
I've never seen my mother, who is always smiling, look so scary.
After a few days, my mother was still enraged to the tip of her head. Perhaps she'd accumulated a lot of anger since childhood, but she expressed her anger by remembering everything the Princess had done.
"You've had a terrible temper since you were a child, and you dare touch my son's face!"
"Mom, it was just an accident."
"What kind of accident is that? I know her temper. She's just mean."
You can see the rough atmosphere just by looking at my mother's reaction. Officially, Alex and I were hurt when the Princess fell by accident; that was the end of the story.
"The Princess."
Isaac was surprisingly calm, despite the fact that he'd only learned the truth recently. I expected my brother to flee to kill the person who slapped his beloved brother, but he's really quiet.
But it's just an illusion. Although he doesn't speak openly, my fool brother seemed to be seriously considering assassinating the Princess as he fiddled with his sword with a fierce expression.
Please don't kill anyone. But I'm glad to hear that bad rumors about the Princess are spreading everywhere.
The major issue right now is another. Dad has been fully enthralled since that day.
"Are you sure you're not going to work today?"
"Ciel. Our Ciel. Come to dad."
The Duke of Valentine was out of his mind. He interrupted his official duties and locked himself in the mansion, perhaps taken aback by the fact that his favorite son had been proposed to.
Then he mumbles around the mansion alone for no reason and watches my sleeping face all night in the bedroom without my mother knowing.
"Dad, I'm really fine."
"Daddy is not fine. You're going to live with your mom and dad forever, right?"
He mumbled in a low voice; his hair loose like a nest. Even though his usual style is good, he looks pretty cool with his hair in this style.
But we can't let it go like this. Alex brought up the story first, and my father had to hurry before the Princess's faction moved, but he was doing so when he was busy.
Let's just solve it first. I took a deep breath and approached my father.
"Father, Ciel doesn't want you to do this."
"Why are you using honorifics, my baby."
What a baby. How old am I?
"I'm a Young Master now, too. There are people who need Dad's help, so you have to get up now."
My father immediately understood that I was alluding to the past. Of course, Alex is the one who needs help.
My mom or sister would understand that he should go to work, but only he knew what I meant.
"Ciel, do you want Dad to help?"
I nodded. I may not know anything, but the most obvious thing is that the Princess cursed my mom. I glanced at her standing next to Clara and clenched my teeth.
I'm not sure of anything, but knowing someone cursed my mother means we're going all the way. The Princess has now become an enemy of all Valentine's.
Yeah, I'm the villainess anyway, so I'm going to end it. I got close to my dad and whispered softly in his ear.
"She asked. She asked me what Mother was teaching me [3]."
Now, what is my dad gonna do now? As soon as I mentioned that she cursed my mother, my father's eyes changed.
"That's what she said."
Let's put firewood in. Let's have a blood festival. Let's go all the way to the end.
"Yes, I can tolerate being insulted, but I cannot tolerate her being insulted."
"Yes, I can't stand it either, Dad."
She can't possibly imagine how much her thoughtless scolding might bring her.
With that last blow, Dad got up from his seat.
My dad exudes the charisma of a cold autumn day. He looked like a handsome homeless man just a moment ago. Even with his eyes closed, the atmosphere that he would produce around him was serious.
Well done. Well done. Our dad is so good.
The Duke of Valentine is so powerful that he can even drop the stars if he wants to.
There were many people who usually laughed and looked down on him for his kindness, but his true value was revealed when he married my mother.
Mother, a simple Count's daughter, even drew the Prince's attention. She met my father for the first time while being unaware of his status as a Duke.
She found out the truth later and tried to run away, claiming she didn't like annoying things and that my father would be troublesome. It is said that he dealt with all the people around him.
I don't remember this part, so I'll ask them myself later.
The reason why my dad was so out of control was because he loved her so much in the first place. Even my mother was insulted because I supposedly was acting out of place. Since the things he loves the most were hurt, it's natural for him to be angry.
After trimming his fluffy chocolate-colored hair neatly, Dad approached Mom straight away.
"Honey."
"Now go out... Oops!"
A kiss scene that was not allowed for minors to see, unfolded. Surprised, Clara hurriedly covered my eyes. I didn't like it.
"What are you doing all of a sudden!"
Only after the moment ended could I see. With my embarrassed mother in front of him, my father smiled confidently.
"I love you. You and our kids."
Mom's face was reddened by the unexpected attack from her husband. It's been a long time since they got married, but my mom and dad's love has not changed at all.
People all over the world know that my father fell in love with my mother's beauty unilaterally, but what I have seen from the side couldn't have been one-sided.
Because Mom and Dad have similar personalities and values, they don't fight. Of course, neither of them is perfect.
Dad is rational and cool-headed at work, but he has the disadvantage of becoming overly excited by his family's problems.
On the contrary, Mom doesn't get over-excited but she implements her own parenting philosophy to treat our siblings as equally as possible.
Both of them are good parents, too good by my standards, although they can't help but love their son too much.
It's my first time receiving this kind of love in my life.
I approached them holding Clara's hand tightly.
"You're not fighting, are you?"
"If I fight with Mom, your dad will never win. You know."
"Ciel and Clara, you still have a lot to learn. If you have any concerns, make sure to talk to Mom and Dad, okay?"
Clara, who stood next to me, at the words of her affectionate parents, smiled like a blue sky without a single dark cloud.
I'm glad my efforts are not in vain.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───
NOTES:
[1] Based off their family's backgrounds, it would make sense,
[2] She's talking about not going to prison in this life.
[3] This is about Chapter 16 when Princess Lotte asks Ciel what his mother teaches her for him to be acting disrespectful in front of her.