After Carla fled from his confession, Cian returned to the governmental affairs office to deal with paperwork. He felt utterly deflated, but the work on his desk wasn’t going to finish itself.
His pen scratched mechanically against the paper as he sighed.
“Hahh...”
“Not very cheery in here, is it?” came a teasing voice beside him.
Cian glanced up to see a young man with glasses smiling wryly at him.
“Well, yeah,” he muttered. “I’m being forced to work right after the woman I proposed to ran off on me. Of course I’m feeling down, Big Brother Ichiha.”
The man was Ichiha Chima, the kingdom’s prime minister. Once known for his boyish looks, Ichiha was now in his late twenties, his features sharpened into a calm, confident maturity that gave him an effortless charm. Despite being married, he still drew attention from the court ladies and castle maids—though once word spread that anyone who flirted too boldly might end up bitten by a certain white wolf, the advances stopped rather abruptly.
Cian calling him “Big Brother” wasn’t mere courtesy. He had long referred to Ichiha’s wife, Tomoe, as “Big Sister,” a title she had insisted on despite technically being his aunt. The habit had simply stuck.
“She’s your first love, right?” Ichiha said as he neatly stacked the documents he had just signed. “You’ll have to be patient with her.”
Cian groaned. “Those sound like the words of a man who married his first love.”
“Well, maybe I got lucky,” Ichiha admitted with a modest smile. “But look at His Majesty and Lady Liscia. They fell in love after getting betrothed. Everyone’s paths are different. You’ll find your pace too.”
“Yeah, I know that... I really do, but still...!” Cian slumped forward, pressing his cheek to the desk. “I just want to be able to flirt with Carla!”
Ichiha chuckled. “So that’s how you really feel.”
“Like you do with Big Sister Tomoe!” Cian shot back.
“D-Do we really flirt that much?” Ichiha asked, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
He might have tried to deny it, but their affection for each other was an open secret in the castle. Both were extraordinarily competent in their duties—he as prime minister, she as chamberlain—so no one could complain. Yet they exchanged lingering glances when their eyes met, brushed hands when working together, and when lunchtime came, one would inevitably appear in the other’s office to fetch them. They would then eat together, wrapped in such a thick aura of mutual adoration that no one else dared to join them.
Cian could only sigh again, imagining his role models with envy.
“Because we’ve been together so long, Carla already sees me as family,” he said, rubbing his temples. “So before anything else, I need her to see me as a man.”
“I see. Hence why you started with a proposal.”
“Exactly. If she kept seeing me as her little brother, any date I asked her on would just feel like a walk in the park, and anything romantic I said would only make me look like a boy trying too hard to act grown up. Even if it was a drastic move, I needed to shatter that image.”
“I think it’s good that you’re being so proactive,” came a calm, teasing voice as someone new joined the conversation.
It was Ichiha’s wife, Tomoe, the chamberlain. She’d appeared quietly at some point, holding a stack of documents.
“Big Brother wasn’t from the House of Elfrieden,” she said matter-of-factly. “So when he ascended to the throne, marrying Big Sister was the only way to secure legitimacy for his rule. Only his children with her carry the blood of the Elfrieden royal line. But you, Your Majesty, already bear Elfrieden blood. That means you can have as many children as you like, with whomever you choose. I’m very glad to see you so enthusiastically pursuing romance... It will help replenish our dwindling stock of royals.”
She placed a document from the finance department on Cian’s desk, smiling as he frowned at the sight of new paperwork.
“And Big Brother’s blood is just as vital,” she added with a mischievous grin. “We need the lineage of old mankind to handle overscience artifacts and beings like Miss Mao. So we really do need you producing heirs. I’ll look forward to scheduling your nighttime activities.”
“Big Sister... Even if it doesn’t involve you, that’s no way to put it,” Cian muttered, face reddening.
“It may not be time yet for Miss Carla, but I do wish you’d move things along with Miss Sharan.”
“Sharan’s trying to be considerate of my feelings. Which is all the more reason I want to settle things with Carla first...so I can move forward with Sharan properly.”
Because Sharan knew about his lingering feelings for Carla, she’d chosen to wait until he could resolve them. If Carla saw the two of them growing closer, she would probably step back—though that would leave Cian burdened with regret.
Sharan had learned much from her mother, Shabon, about the duty of being the mother of the nation, and from her mother-in-law-to-be, Queen Liscia, about the pride and dignity required of a first primary queen. Even if more women entered Cian’s life, Sharan would accept them openly and fairly, confident in her position.
That was why she had given Cian the push he’d needed...and encouraged Carla to face her own heart.
Ichiha and Tomoe exchanged knowing smiles, both remembering just how steady and strong-willed Sharan could be.
“You know, I don’t think Cian or Lady Carla will ever be a match for Miss Sharan,” Ichiha said thoughtfully.
“And that’s for the good of the country,” Tomoe replied. “Big Sister proved that having a strong, admirable first primary queen brings stability to both the nation and the royal family. I’d like to follow her example.”
“I-I think you’re fine the way you are,” Ichiha said quickly when he noticed Tomoe clench her fist with renewed determination.