Could It Be That You Can’t Bear to Part With Me

“What’s wrong, imperial brother.
Did you have a nightmare?”

Ellie sat beside Solor, her expression looking quite relaxed.

Although she said she did not really care, she still carefully observed Solor’s sleeping face.

At first, his breathing had been steady, but then it seemed as though he had fallen into a nightmare, his brows knitting together as cold sweat broke out.

Oh my, how nice.
Imperial brother really did have a nightmare.

Although she did not know whether it had anything to do with her murmuring “imperial brother” by his ear, seeing him break out in a cold sweat filled Ellie with a secret delight at the success of her prank.

After all, she still harbored a bit of lingering resentment toward the past.

Every now and then, when she saw some harmless little discomfort befall Solor, she could not help but grin mischievously.

“……”

“No… it’s nothing.”

Solor stared at Ellie for a long while, as if wanting to speak but stopping himself.

He really did instinctively want to tell Ellie about what he had seen in the dream.

That inexplicable conversation from childhood, and then the sudden appearance of her standing on the high platform, a sword pierced through her chest…

But after thinking it over, it felt rather inauspicious.

So he merely muttered a quiet “ptui, ptui” twice, as if spitting away bad luck, then sat up and made more room for Ellie on the sofa they shared.

“Maybe I’ve just been a bit tired lately, so even my dreams have gotten tense.”

Solor shook his head and subconsciously reached out toward the teacup on the table.

But because the cup was at a slightly awkward distance, his still-drowsy post-dream movements failed to touch it.

Seeing this, Ellie stood up, took a new teacup, pushed the already cooled one farther away, and instead poured a cup of warm tea, personally placing it into Solor’s hands.

“You just woke up.
Drinking something warm will be better.
I also prepared some tea snacks.
Want to try them?”

After handing him the teacup, Ellie picked up the snacks she had prepared earlier and nudged them in Solor’s direction.

Then she sat down facing him.

Solor felt pleasantly surprised that Ellie had brought snacks to see him, and had even personally poured him a cup of tea.

He had already made space for her beside him, but seeing her sit down across from him instead, the joy on his face dimmed a little.

That small thought, however, was not something he could voice.

“Did you make these snacks?”

Solor wanted to chat with his younger sister a bit longer.

It was not exactly forcing conversation, but since there was a topic, he naturally followed along.

“No.
My hands aren’t that skillful yet.
But if you like them, imperial brother, I can learn how to make them.”

Whether it was making snacks or pouring tea, Ellie had never done such things when she had been the second prince.

These were tasks for those of lower standing, or for young girls, things that should have been far removed from him.

But there was no helping it.

Since she now had to fit into this role, she would have to lower her position a little.

Still, exchanging this lowered status for a life free from imperial power struggles felt well worth it to Ellie.

“Ah—no, there’s no need to deliberately learn something like that.”

“No, it’s fine, imperial brother.
I really do need to learn some skills.
I’m already of age.
If, in the future, there is a need for a political marriage with another country, I’ll have to find a way to capture my future husband’s heart.
That would help maintain good relations between our two nations.”

Ellie had thought about political marriage more than once.

She always believed that, as a royal princess, her future duty would be to marry into another country.

In her previous life, she had never experienced romance or a political marriage.

But Solor had.

His wife had been a princess from another country, married through alliance, and the two nations had remained allies because of that bond.

As for herself, back when she had been the second prince, her authority had certainly not matched that of the first prince.

In the struggle for imperial power, people from other countries were more inclined to side with the first prince.

Thus, as the second prince, she had been left in an awkward position.

No one sought a marriage alliance with her, and she did not need to seek one either.

If she were to live on and start a family, at most she would have married a noblewoman from within the country.

This time, however, things were different.

As a royal princess, as a princess, she would be the finest gift offered to another country in the name of goodwill.

If the future truly required her to do such a thing, then she indeed needed to prepare herself to become an outstanding woman.

That, too, would count as supporting the brother who would surely become emperor.

“…Isn’t it too early to be thinking about things like that?”

But as Ellie spoke, Solor, who had been eating the snacks, suddenly felt the melt-in-the-mouth sugar glaze lose its flavor.

It tasted like wax, leaving him with no desire to savor the delicacies prepared by the palace chefs.

“It’s not early, imperial brother.”

Any matter required a very long time to prepare.

Just like how she had helped her imperial brother become an unquestioned emperor in her previous life.

That preparation had taken more than ten years.

“This isn’t something you should be worrying about, Ellie.
Our country hasn’t reached the point where it needs you to enter a political marriage.”

“……”

Ellie had originally intended to say something that might make Solor happier.

Something like how she had already steeled herself to become his bargaining chip at any time.

But unexpectedly, after hearing her words, Solor put down both the snacks and the teacup.

His brows knit tightly, like a tangled mess.

“I see.”

Some topics were like explosives with a fuse already laid.

If she continued, the fuse would be lit.

To avoid trouble, and to avoid angering Solor—though she did not quite understand why her becoming a useful, capable bargaining chip would make him wear that expression—since he did not want to hear it, she decided not to say more.

Ellie knew how to read people’s expressions.

But when it came to her elder brother, to Solor, there were times when she simply could not understand him at all.

Because she had fought against the Solor of her previous life for far too long.

Everything about him was etched into her mind.

So much so that now, when facing this Solor, she could not help but subconsciously overlay him with the familiar imperial brother she had known so well.

And the man before her now was, at times, truly unfathomable.

“…Ah.”

At that thought, Ellie suddenly seemed to realize something.

An outrageous idea abruptly surfaced in her mind.

An idea that her previous self could never have possessed.

“—Could it be that, imperial brother… you can’t bear to part with me?”

To her, this was nothing short of delusion.

In her impression, Solor was still the cold-blooded future emperor who could not wait for her to disappear.

“……”

After hearing those words, Solor’s brows furrowed even deeper, and his lips pressed into a wavy line.

“Ah… honestly…”

Then, as if resigned, he let out a sigh and opened his mouth to answer.

“Isn’t that obvious.
Of course I can’t bear to part with you.”