"Nee-cha~ Here! Aaaahhh..."

"Aaaaum! Mmmh~ It's so delicious~! Thank you, Kiara~ Here, you should eat too! Aaaahh..."

"Aaaum~! Delishious!!! Thank you, Nee-cha!!"

Ah~ This is heaven~! How can my little sister be this cute?

How? Is she an angel? She's an angel, right? Thank you very much for giving me an angel as my sister!!!!

"....Risa, you're grinning too much, and these sweets are prepared by me. Why is she the one feeding it to you..."

I heard Alex mutter something under his breath, but I couldn't catch it. After all, my sweet little angel Kiara is snuggling me and rubbing her cheeks with mine! How can I pay attention to anything else!

"You, get away from my Risa. This is our precious time together as engaged partners. You can play with her once you return home."

"No! Nee-cha is mine! You go away!!"

"Hah..."

Ah! W-What just happened? I was in a daze when I suddenly heard Kiara shouting.

I looked at her and saw her pouting, her arms wrapped around my neck tightly.

"What's wrong, Kiara?"

"Nee-cha, he's bullying me!"

"Eh? Alex is?"

"Yesh!"

I turned towards him confusedly.

Alexus has a dark belly that he hides deep within, but I know he'll never bully my little sister or anyone he thought of as friends. That's why I'm confused why Kiara said that.

"What did you do to her, Alex? Kiara is a very sweet girl, and she won't be like this unless you do something that upsets her badly."

"...Nothing. I... I just wanted to talk to you, but she has been monopolizing your attention. That is why I was a bit upset. I'm sorry."

Ahhh... I see. Well as his fiancee, I should be paying attention to him more than I am right now.

"I see... I'm sorry, Alex. I was just too preoccupied by my cute sister, but I would love to talk to you as well. Will you forgive me...?"

Although he'd visit my home every chance he could, the time we could spend talking with each other is getting less and less because of our respective schedules.

That is why, I should treasure our time together more... much more preciously. If I don't... our distance could be farther and farther apart. And in the future, the heroine could...

No, I can't get scared now. I'm doing my best to become the best I could be! In academics, in etiquette, in magic, and in physical strength, I'm not going to be the Alterisa in the game and let that heroine take Alex away from me.

I don't know if it is love... But I know that Alexus has already become someone more than a friend to me. That's why, I won't let anyone take him away.

I look at him, trying my best to form a smile. Though, I'm sure he could see through it. In my past life and even now, I was never good at concealing my emotions aside from when I "acted".

Sure enough, I saw shock in his widened eyes. He immediately held my hand gently, ever so softly, and brought it close to his lips and kissed it.

"There is no need to apologize, my dear Risa. I am not mad. I simply wish to spend this very precious time with you."

"Mm, I understand."

I smiled and turned towards Kiara.

"Kiara, can you play with Lu-nii and Lily-chan for now? I want to talk with Alex. He could possibly be your future brother-in-law, you know?"

"Nee-cha..."

She looked hesitant. But I continued to push on and kissed her cheeks.

"Just for a while, okay? Then, we can play again and eat sweets together. Also, Lily-chan is a best friend of mine, so I would be happy if you could be friends with her too."

"...Okay."

"Good girl."

I smiled and patted her head after she nodded.

Lu-nii picked her up from my lap and sat her down between him and Lily-chan and began to comfort her.

"Thank you, Risa."

I turned towards him as his hand tightened around mine. He looked a bit apologetic, but also happy at the same time.

Ah... He's so handsome. Even this melancholic expression of his is super handsome.

I held his hand tighter and smiled.

"Don't be. I like talking to you, and I know that you will become busier and busier in the future. That's why, I want to treasure this time with you as well."

A bright smile bloomed on his face, and he suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.

"I love you, Risa."

A shiver went down my spine as he whispered into my ears. I could feel my heart thumping erratically, out of control, and my face becoming very hot.

"I-I like you too, Alex..."

Aaaahhh!! W-Why did my voice suddenly sound so high and weak!!!!???? How embarrassing!!!

A-As expected of a true prince. Just one whisper and a hug could make this "Prince of the Drama Club" tremble and shaken!

After a while, he finally let go of me. He looked at me so lovingly. His face blushing red, but his eyes were looking straight at me, unwavering, and he held my hand tightly.

I felt like I lost something when he let me go, but that feeling immediately disappeared when his gaze met mine.

My heart is beating really hard now. I felt so nervous and embarrassed, but I can't take my eyes away from him.

His face slowly got closer to mine, and like a magnet, I also feel attracted towards it.

But just then, a voice snapped me out of my daze.

"Ahem... I believe you should leave it there Alexus, Risa."

I turned and saw Lu-nii smiling helplessly at us. Kiara was pouting beside him while Lily-chan was smirking teasingly.

Suddenly, a huge wave of embarrassment just filled me and I couldn't help but cover my face.

W-What just happened?!?!?! H-He hugged me, and then I saw his eyes, and then he started getting closer, and then... and then... AAAAAHHHH!! Just what happened?!?!!?!

"I-I'm sorry... I-I went a little bit too far there..."

I looked to my side and I saw Alex in the same state I am. He covered the lower half of his face with his arm, but I could still see how red he was.

"I'm happy to see how well your relationship is. But don't forget the time, place, and occasion. We're still here, you know?"

"You're right. I'm sorry, Lucas, Lily, and Kiara..."

"Hehehe~ Don't mind, onii-sama~ I understand why you couldn't hold back. You received the full brunt of Risa-chan's bewitching expression at point blank, after all. It's no wonder you'll lose control~"

"..."

W-What are they talking about? I-I still can't properly hear what they're talking about! My heartbeat is still too loud!!!

"Risa, you should drink some tea and calm yourself first."

T-Thar's right! Good idea, Lu-nii!

I quickly grabbed my tea cup and drank it all in one go.

Hah... that helped quite a bit. Phew! That was very surprising... I never felt that way before...

A true prince is really on a different level. To think that you could even make this heart of mine beat this hard. I applaud your skills.

A while later, we finally calmed down and started chatting like usual.

"... I'm happy for- wait, are you listening to me, Risa?"

"Mm? Yesh I am."

That was a lie. I did not hear what he just said. I was busy stuffing my cheeks with fruit tarts.

"Hah... Like I said, I'm happy for your success with your hair care product. Just by seeing the effect it had on my mother's hair, I know it will be extremely popular amongst both nobles and commoners."

"Thank you~ I'm glad it worked out well. I hope the conditioner will be received well too."

"If it delivers the effects you stated before, then I'm sure it will. You are planning on opening your own brand of company for these products, am I correct?"

"Uhn! Dad seemed to have already secured the patent for the shampoo and had reserved another patent for the conditioner, so I don't think there will be any problem. Though I will just be the owner in name. Dad's subordinates will be managing most of it."

"I see. If it is the prime minister-sama's chosen subordinates, then I'm sure it will be fine."

"But, I still want to see the market for myself before completing it!"

"...Wait a moment. See the market for yourself... Do you mean...?"

"Yes! I want to travel at least around the commoners circle in the capital city!"

"..."

Ufufufu~ Well, that's just an excuse. In truth, I just want to walk around and sight see the capital city!

Hehehe~ I haven't tasted any street food in this world. I wonder if it'll be delicious~

I also wonder what the trend is in the capital, especially amongst the commoners. I can easily know the current trend in the noble society even when I don't look for it through Evelyn and Illya's letters, but I don't know what the trend is amongst the commoners.

I know that beauty products are popular amongst the commoners, which is why I'm confident that my shampoo and conditioner will be popular, but I don't know what kind of beauty products are popular.

That is why I shall conduct a market research! And also walk around and eat a bunch of stuff. That is also very important.

Alexus turned towards Lu-nii and saw him nod with a heavy sigh before turning towards me again.

"Hah... I see. Then perhaps I should assign some guards to you secretly..."

"Hm? What was that?"

"No, it's nothing, Risa."

Hm... Sounds suspicious...

Oh well~ It's Alexus after all. He's always like this so it's nothing strange~

"Lucas, I assume you will be joining her as well?"

"Of course. How can I just let her roam around town alone."

"What?! Why are you treating me like a problem child, Lu-nii?! You know that I will be on my best behavior during that trip, right? You can count on me!"

Hmph! What does he think I'll do?! I'm not going to cause any trouble you know? I know that it'll be dangerous for a duke's daughter to roam around in the commoner's district, and I already have a plan for that!

He just stared at me with a deadpan expression and turned towards Alexus again.

"Yeah, I'll definitely have a tight leash on her, so don't worry."

"That's good."

What?! Alexus too?!

I look towards Lily in hopes to find an ally that understands me. But she's just giggling at me while petting Kiara's hair.

A-Am I alone in this?! Am I really that much of a handful?!?!?!!





Afterword

Yes you are.

"W-Wha?! I'm not asking you! You have no say here, author!"

W-What kind of unreasonable thing are you saying?! I-I'm the author, you know?!

"Hmph~! You still don't have the right to comment willy-nilly like that! Reflect!"

..........







AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please vote and comment your thoughts~!