My older sister is a villainous rich girl.

"How was it? What was Richard's expression when he left?"

When Chris returned that evening, she asked the prince about his reaction with a delighted expression.

"No expression at all," Wayne said irritably.

Wayne felt increasingly resentful that his friend had gone out for a walk without taking him along.

Of course, he didn't want to go out with the girl! He just wanted to experience the local customs and culture of the capital.

It's pitiful that I've been here for so long, and all I do is study at school or at home. It's truly despairing.

Chris recounted her experience of exploring the area outside the city that day.

"The country road leading from the market to the outskirts was covered with fallen leaves. Many families went out for picnics together, and the shores of Cheonggye Lake outside the capital were full of people having picnics. It was really interesting."

"Really? I can't imagine it," Wayne said sourly.

"Why do I get the feeling some people are starting to feel secretly envious and jealous?" Chris blinked, a mischievous grin on her face. "Want to go out with me next time?"

It feels like I'm digging a hole for myself.

Wayne thought for a moment and said, "What would happen if I said I didn't want to?"

"I'm not taking you with me."

"I'll think about it then," Wayne immediately changed his mind.

"Oh, is that so..." she said with feigned seriousness. "Let me tell you a principle—'He who does not work, does not eat.'"

"Since you're asking for my help, you'd better show your appreciation with actions and do what you're asked. You'd better behave from now on~"

Good grief, you think you can get away with this?

You, a member of the aristocracy, are quite presumptuous to talk about distribution according to work.

After joking, Chris's gaze softened as she looked at Wayne. She sighed softly, "Actually, I specifically wanted to help Father and Mother reconcile today. If His Highness hadn't suddenly interfered, I would have definitely brought you along."

"Wayne, Mom wasn't very close to you before. I don't know if you're resentful, but it's definitely not because she dislikes you..." She looked troubled as she pondered how to explain the complicated relationship to the clueless elementary school student.

"I know, Mother has misunderstood Father, hasn't she?" Wayne continued her sentence.

Seeing that Wayne understood her meaning, Chris breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, my mother even cried in the middle of the night before, saying that she wanted to get a divorce and take me back to my grandfather's house."

The marriage between Eliot and Ashville was also a political alliance.

Although they deeply loved each other, ironically, they hadn't understood each other's feelings for over a decade.

Both of them believed that the other had chosen them only because they had no choice but to comply with their family's arrangements.

Thinking of Ashville's heartbroken state back then, Chris felt that the original author's arrangement of a couple who had been married for over ten years but still couldn't open up to each other was really melodramatic.

"But I've already explained it to them, so there's no need to take it too seriously." Chris patted Wayne's head.

"I'm all grown up now, Chris. Don't touch my head," Wayne said listlessly.

A head pat is indeed a very effective way to express affection, but when Wayne looked at her smiling expression, he always felt a sense of déjà vu, like "patting a dog's head with a smile".

"Call me 'older sister'!" Chris said coquettishly.

In short, the matter was resolved smoothly, Ashville's inner conflict was completely resolved, and her attitude towards Wayne became a hundred times more friendly.

After learning about Wayne's tragic past, perhaps out of a sense of compensation, Ashville suddenly became extremely caring towards him.

"Wien, try to get along well with your classmates at school today. If there's anything you're not used to, don't hesitate to tell your mother when you get back." She then gave a sharp look, "I'll make sure the school board improves things."

"Yes, I understand."

He and Chris boarded the carriage together and set off at the signal of his mother waving a handkerchief.

"Phew—" Wayne felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders.

"How was it?" Chris sat opposite her, arms crossed, legs crossed. "Did you feel your mother's love?"

"...I felt it."

And it was a lethal dose.

Seeing Wayne still looking shaken, Chris smiled slightly: "You'll get used to it."

Upon arriving at school, to avoid accidentally bumping into the prince, Chris and the prince separated as soon as they entered the school gate.

It is said that she recently joined the craft club, one of the many school clubs, so she would visit the activity room before class.

With nothing else to do, Wayne went back to the classroom to study, but to his surprise, someone was already sitting in the last row by the window.

Kareem, who transferred to the class through "shady means," was staring blankly at the sky outside the window.

"The sunrise is beautiful." Wayne's seat was not far from hers.

Goethe turned around, saw it was Wayne, and then turned his head back.

"However... this beauty can only last for a moment, and it will soon disappear." Her tone couldn't hide her melancholy.

For some reason, the girl seemed somewhat melancholy.

Wayne nodded: "But it will always reappear before long."

"Will the same clouds appear again when the sunrise comes?" she asked rhetorically.

"No." After giving a seemingly heartless answer, Wayne said calmly, "The sunrise is an inanimate object without feelings. Only people can appreciate it and give it all sorts of meaning. So from this perspective, as long as the person who sees the sunrise next time is still the same person, and still has the same feelings, then everything will remain the same, and nothing will have changed."

Ge Li remained silent for a long time, seemingly unable to find a suitable angle to refute his remarks.

After a long pause, she said softly, "Hmph, sophistry."

Wayne suddenly remembered that this person also seemed to be an admirer of Prince Richard.

To be honest, he was still somewhat curious about this.

He never thought that much about it when watching anime before. The description of the prince being "admired by many women" was just a background element, just like the female protagonists in the novels he usually read were all incredibly beautiful. He understood that this was to satisfy girls' imaginations of the perfect other half.

But when he actually made this idea a reality, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

Why do all pretty girls have to like that other guy?

"By the way, did Kareem transfer classes because of His Highness the Prince?"

That's the question.

Ge Li glanced at him in surprise, then seemed to realize something and became wary: "Did Chris send you to investigate?"

"Huh?" Wayne looked completely bewildered.

The girl sneered and said, "Let her give up. Prince Richard won't like her."

"Hey, she doesn't even like Richard, okay?"

I'm inexplicably a little angry.

"Impossible." Ge Li completely disbelieved it. "That girl has been talking about becoming a princess since first grade. What's the point of her suddenly putting on an act now? His Highness saw through her true colors long ago!"