With a long breath, Maren was standing in front of a certain door as he internally thought of different things that he could say once he would actually knock. Even though Amaragi had reassured him multiple times, it still didn't shake off the guilt that he was feeling within himself. And thus, he didn't ponder about it any further before he carefully knocked twice. 

 

The response was near instant. 

 

"You can come in!" slowly opening the door, Maren entered the chamber before gently closing it behind him again. The room was just as beautifully decorated as his own, however, there were actually quite a few plush toys on the ground. And just at the end of the room, the small red haired prince was sitting near a window, having been staring outside until Maren had torn Kiel out of his thoughts. 

 

Now, the young prince was looking at him with a small amount of surprise once he realized who it was, but it quickly turned into excitement when he smiled. 

 

"Maren! I didn't expect a surprise visit…" Kiel was innocently regarding him, with his smile still apparent, as he sat cross-legged in front of Maren. And yet, the latter had trouble returning it, albeit he still tried his best. 

 

"I thought I might see you as well, at least to see that you are doing well." Maren hesitated for a moment, and slowly but surely, Kiel's smile began to fade slightly when he witnessed the troubled expression he was holding. 

 

"... I heard that you had been following me the night prior…" after another small hesitation, Maren heaved an exhausted and defeated sigh before he shook his head slightly. 

 

"I'm so sorry… I never wanted you to get into any danger." Kiel's eyes were slightly wide as Maren looked back at him with nothing but barely suppressed guilt, and it was only a fracture from what he was actually feeling inside. And still, Kiel closed his eyes with the same cheerful smile that he was wearing before, tilting his head slightly. 

 

"I don't blame you for anything that happened, after all, it was me who snuck out of the palace like this…" as oddly as it sounded, the longer Maren saw the infinite amount of innocence and cheerfulness in Kiel's expression, the more conflicted he felt. 

 

Albeit… internally, he couldn't deny that he also felt as though a giant weight had been lifted off of him. 

 

"... but I'm still glad when my big sister appeared… you know, seeing her fight like this, I… I wish I could do that, too…" it was the first time that Maren witnessed how Kiel's expression turned both thoughtful and sullen, his eyes glancing back outside the window. 

 

"Do you admire Amaragi…?" Kiel's eyes seemingly lit up for a moment, and he nodded vehemently. 

 

"Of course! She can be as humble as she wants, but her abilities are amazing, not just in combat." Kiel continued to stare outside, albeit it looked like he was staring at something entirely else in front of his mental eye. 

 

"... you know, father can be very strict and cold… most of the time, it has always just been the three of us who spent time together. Both of my sisters are the most important people in my life, they have always been there for me. However, the emotional distance between us and our father sometimes even became too much for Namagi to bear, especially when he was furious…" Maren listened intently to each and every word, the urge within him to say something growing stronger, but as always, a large part of him insisted that it was not his place to do so. 

 

"... in those times, it was always Amaragi who protected us both, always being the strong figure the both of us could look up to. She may think that I'm too young to notice, but I'm sure that the amount of pressure was making her suffer just as much… and still she always protected us…" slowly but surely, Kiel's right hand turned into a fist, and a sheer boundless amount of determination flared within his eyes. 

 

"I want to be just like her one day."

 

After all that, Maren could only stare at the young prince. 

 

"... you know that you are already very strong, don't you…?" with a small gasp, Kiel turned his head to look back at him with widened eyes. 

 

"After hearing all this… I can only say that you are far stronger than you might give yourself credit for. That you feel like this, and that, despite everything you have experienced this early in your life, I… I admire that myself, truly. I wish I could have been like this as a child." after only a small moment of silence, in which all these words seeped into Kiel's mind and he registered each and every single one of them, his cheeks suddenly flared up in embarrassment and he curled together slightly with a shy and flattered smile. 

 

"Y-you… think so? Really…?" before long, he hugged his knees and hid half of his face, effectively covering most of his lips while muffling his voice. 

 

"Thanks… I… didn't see myself like this…" an uncertain chuckle escaped him, and he hid his face deeper behind his arms and knees. Thus, Maren couldn't do otherwise but to smile back ever so slightly, and this time, it didn't even feel that hard to do anymore… 

 

… albeit suddenly, Kiel slightly lifted his face again, and his expression grew both curious and thoughtful as he regarded Maren. 

 

"Now that you mention it, I'd still like to learn so much more about you." this time, Maren actually glanced back at Kiel with slightly widened eyes. 

 

"My sister has been very happy ever since she introduced you to me… even in the face of father's usually hard and cold demeanor, or all the tasks she has to face every day, she still doesn't seem to lose her cheerfulness." Kiel's eyes regarded Maren almost as if he had suddenly found the right words to describe him. 

 

"I haven't seen her like this for… such a long time. You probably don't know how happy it makes both me and Namagi as well to see her like this, considering all that she is doing for us. But then again, it only makes me want to learn more about you as soon as possible! Oh, we could actually play games together, all four of us! How long haven't we played-" 

 

The entire time, Maren stood almost frozen in place as Kiel continued to reminisce with so much excitement and cheerfulness, just so that, in the end, an almost barely audible whisper escaped him. 

 

"... with… me…?" his tone was barely hiding both the disbelief and shock, but completely opposed to that, Kiel merely flashed him a giant smile that reached from ear to ear. 

 

"Of course, after all, you're now a part of us, right?" 

 

And within that moment, he felt utterly speechless, the air having been stolen from his lungs. 

 

The atmosphere was suddenly disrupted once a gentle knock sounded on the door, prompting Maren to actually shake himself free of his state of mind before he opened it. Just as he did, he witnessed that it was Amaragi, the latter having just been about to knock a second time, at least until she laid eyes upon him and a gentle smile formed upon her lips. 

 

"There you are, I have been looking all over for you."

 

---

 

AN:

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