Looking down at his sleeping face, she was glad that she had become a reliable enough person for him to be able to close his eyes in front of them peacefully. Clearly, their distance has become incomparably closer than before. She liked the time she spent with Carl.

But she wasnt confident that she could bring up telling him not to go. She knew as soon as she brought it up, she would feel constrained to spit out the feelings that she was holding back.

Your Royal Highness, the Second Prince, has come.

Just in time, Hain sang to Sienna.

It seems Ill have to go out anyway.

As Sienna turned around and went out, Carl grabbed her wrist.

You didnt answer my question.

I dont know. Im not sure if I want Sir Carl to leave the palace or stay.

Sienna took off Carls hand that was holding her wrist. His hand fell weakly. Carl looked over the bedroom door and asked Sienna,

Why has Valore come to find you at this late night?

Well, I dont know. I think Ill find out when I go outside.

She went out of the door to escape the gaze of Carl, who was looking at her angrily. In the drawing room, Valore stood alone waiting for her. He seemed to have come alone without any escorts.

Im pleased to see you, Your Royal Highness.

He simply greeted Sienna after receiving her greeting.

I dont know if Im bothering you by visiting you at this late time.

It was late in the evening. Although there were no lights in the sky visible due to the rain that started in the morning, it was usually time for the sun to go down around this time. As Valore said, it was not the right time to go visiting someone.

Its okay.

You were in the bedroom at this hour. Didnt you mean to go to bed early? You must have been feeling tired, but I think I came here at a bad time. Ill go back if its inconvenient for you.

He said he would go back if she didnt want him to be there, but his moist, wet eyes were hoping for her to hold him there with her. Sienna thought it would be better to step inside and talk to him even if she had to withstand Carls fierce gaze.

No, I just laid in bed for a while as I felt exhausted from the rain all day. Its too early to fall asleep.

With her permission, Valore showed her a bottle of booze. The bottle looked familiar to her.

Lady Sienna, do you like to drink?

Drinking on a rainy day, thats, of course, good.

She sat nodding her head. As if he had already told them beforehand, the maids quickly set the table to drink.

Valore poured wine into her glass.

Its called carbonic.

Indeed, it made her laugh at the fact that Carl always brought the carbonic with him.

Do the imperial brothers only like this drink?

Sienna was worried about the alcohol, which there shouldnt have been much left of. At the same time, she did not reject Valores offer. She couldnt resist a good drink.

Its my favorite drink.

His hands were at a standstill for a while when he was pouring wine into her glass.

Its a hard drink to get, but you must have had it with my brother, Carl.

Sienna didnt answer but just smiled. He nodded with a wry face.

Somehow, the number of bottles has decreased considerably. Actually, its because of the older brother, Carl. He gave it to me as a gift after my coming-of-age banquet. When I received the gift, my feelings were quite complicated. At that time, I thought there would be poison in the bottle.

At Valores words, Sienna showed a surprised face.

Poison? Theres no way.

Carl hated me that much to say. As I had become an adult then, I thought that he would bring me to my death bed himself.

Carl is a person who doesnt show much emotion on his face, so hes just misunderstood. Theres no way he would have gone to visit you for such a reason as that.

Valore burst into laughter.

Ha ha ha. Thats to say. Its silly but I really thought that way back then.

He laughed merrily and poured all the alcohol in his glass then into his mouth. Sienna filled Valores glass with the wine and waited for him to open his mouth. It seemed as if he had visited here today because he needed someone to listen to his story.

When I was young. I came into this palace when I was six years old. I dont know if you know, but I was not born in this palace. I was born and raised in the Panacio family. I was a secret and a disgrace to the family.

He said, kicking and waving his hands.

But because of that, I wasnt just unhappy. Marie and Deli played well with me. But Ive always felt a shortage. I kept thinking, Who is my father? Is he aware of my existence? If he knows about me, does he love me at all? In fact, my mother isnt a person with a lot of affections so I think thats the reason why she kept my father, whom I didnt know about at all, a well-hidden secret from me. But when I came to the palace, I suddenly got a father and a brother. I was really happy then.

Sienna nodded and listened to him. She knew that he had been raised hidden from the Panacio family through gossip, but it was the first time she heard it through his own mouth.

But when I finally got here, I found that there was no one here who cared about me. Furthermore, I couldnt see Marie and Delhi. His Majesty was not the father I dreamed of either. I have a father and an older brother, but I feel even more lonely. So, I even wrote a letter to Marie. It was me telling her about how lonely I was here and asking her to take me out of here. My older sister Marie said in her letter. Take the initiative to approach him first is what she said. If I become a good younger sibling to older brother Carl, my brother will become a good older brother to me then.

At that time, Marie would have been a child, but she had a very clear idea.

Yes, then and now, Marie has been like a mother to me. Shes always warm.

When Valores soft smile formed around his mouth, Sienna smiled at him.

Ive decided to do what Marie said. I went to see older brother, Carl, all the time. As I had suspected, he didnt really welcome me. He shouted at me to go away and even threw stones at me.

Sienna burst into a pitiful sigh when he said Carl had thrown stones at Valore.

Oh, my God!

However, do you know what was funny?

Valore said, looking Sienna in the eye.

What is it?

Even if he threw a rock at me from far away and if I fell down while following him, he would come running and lift me off the ground. He would say I was stupid for following after him when I dont even know how to walk properly, but hed carefully examine me to see if I was hurt anywhere still. When older brother, Carl, yelled at me, Id cry from being scared and he told me that a man shouldnt cry so easily. Hed give me a sweet snack into my hand while saying so.

Only

It was so cute to imagine an eight-year-old Carl shaking the dirt off the six-year-old Valores knee, and at that, Sienna smiled.

Now that I think about it, I dont think Carl just hated me, either.

Although Carl made cold remarks, but he really seemed to adore Valore very much.

Yes, I didnt know that because I was young. Maybe if I had kept following him around, he would have opened up his heart to me.

Didnt you keep following him? Well, I guess thats because Carl acted so rough.

Its not that I didnt go to find him, I couldnt. Older brother spoke harshly, but he led me around well. He was the only person who treated me like a human being in this palace. The problem was my mother.

Are you implying Her Majesty, the Empress?