Chapter 2

‘No, even if it’s true, I still don’t care. I absolutely oppose this.’

Her family was endlessly gentle and weak toward her. If she cried and begged enough, maybe they would cancel the engagement.

Serina buried herself in Nereus’s arms and secretly used magic to create fake tears.

“Brother… can’t you just not get engaged? Father, you said we didn’t need to worry about things like this. Was that a lie?”

As Serina looked at her family, a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

Seeing her like that, Nereus and Lacus became flustered.

Unlike them, Aura immediately noticed Serina’s acting and repeatedly shook her head.

“Serina, I know you’re not really crying.”

Dang it. As expected, fooling Mother was impossible. She had only tried it just in case.

Caught in the act, Serina puffed out her lips like a duck.

“…Hmph. I still oppose the engagement. We don’t even need to become engaged with the Imperial Family!”

“No. Everything has its own circumstances. Just because Serina opposes it doesn’t mean it can simply be canceled. I need you to understand.”

Aura’s golden eyes shone sharply like a predator’s.

But unlike that fierce gaze, her hand gently held Serina’s puffed cheek.

‘If Mother won’t agree, then I’ll just persuade Brother!’

She hadn’t expected much from her mother’s answer anyway.

The one actually getting engaged was her brother, so his opinion mattered the most!

And her brother was especially weak against her. He always granted her requests!

Serina shook her head strongly to escape Aura’s hand and gestured for Nereus to put her down.

As soon as Nereus lowered himself, Serina jumped down.

“No! The important thing is Brother’s opinion! I won’t accept it unless Brother says it himself!”

Serina hurried over to Lacus and grabbed his hand.

“Brother, you don’t want to get engaged to Princess Helia, right? Right? You promised we’d live together forever.”

Serina tilted her head and launched her ultimate sparkling-eyes attack.

Her golden eyes reflected the sunlight, making her look even more desperate and adorable.

‘Brother will obviously say no, right? He’s the weakest against my cuteness!’

Certain of victory, Serina smiled brightly.

Lacus gently patted her round head.

“Serina, this engagement is something I agreed to as well.”

“Right? Brother doesn’t want to get enga— huh?”

What?

Did she hear that wrong?

The words that came from Lacus’s mouth were a clear denial.

Serina blinked blankly.

“You were upset because we arranged the engagement without talking to you first, right? And you even heard about it from someone else… I’m sorry.”

Her charms didn’t work. And not on anyone else, but on her brother.

The same brother who always said she was the cutest person in the world.

Lacus tried to comfort her while apologizing, but Serina was too shocked for any of his words to enter her ears.

As Lacus fixed her messy clothes, he spoke again.

“Even if I get engaged, it doesn’t mean we can’t live together anymore. So you don’t need to worry.”

‘Which part of that is supposed to make me stop worrying?!’

The problem was the fiancée!

You clueless brother!

Serina violently pushed away Lacus’s hand.

“Idiot! That’s not it! You don’t understand my feelings at all! I hate you! I really, really hate you!”

Sometimes Serina jokingly called him an idiot with affection.

But she had never once said she hated him.

And now she had even added “really” and “so much” for emphasis.

Lacus froze on the spot like ice from the huge shock.

Nereus and Aura also stared in surprise as Serina turned and ran away.

“How can this happen?”

Walking quickly into her room, Serina threw herself onto the bed and buried her face into the pillow.

Soon, she started punching the soft mattress repeatedly.

“Am I the strange one? Why am I the only one bothered by this? Did everyone secretly work together just to fool me?”

In some ways, it was natural for Serina to hate the engagement.

Because of their large age gap, Lacus treasured Serina like a precious jewel, like delicate glass that could break at any moment.

Naturally, Serina adored her brother just as much.

Also, Serina’s family, the Eustine Ducal House, represented the South.

Even the Imperial Family and the North avoided conflict with them because of their power.

The reason they had reached such a position was because of Nereus, the master of water magic.

‘A man as deep and unreadable as the sea.’

Unlike the warm and free atmosphere of the South, Nereus was so cold that people could mistake him for someone from the North.

Of course, there was one exception.

Toward his family, he was endlessly warm and soft-hearted, even if he struggled to express it.

Serina hated the thought of Helia, whose reputation was terrible, entering the family her father treasured so much.

And not just as anyone, but as the fiancée of the brother she dearly loved.

Being illegitimate did not matter to Serina.

The real problem was that Helia was someone feared by others to the point of being nicknamed “Little Villainess.”

“At this rate, the engagement will happen smoothly. I need to protest somehow to stop it!”

Serina jumped up from her seat, opened the desk drawer, and took out her diary and a sky-blue feather pen.

Then she lay on the floor and began writing.

<Operation to Stop Brother’s Engagement>

1. Act cute (Already failed)
2. Whine endlessly (Maybe they’ll give in after getting tired of it?)
3. Interrupt their work (They’ll have no choice but to pay attention!)
4. Hunger strike (They always say children need to eat while growing, so maybe they’ll give up?)
5. Throw things around the house (Absolute final method! Prepare to get scolded!)

“Done! Perfect! If I do this much, they’ll listen to me, right?”

Holding up her diary, Serina smiled proudly.

“Alright! Then the operation starts tomorrow!”

The next day.

As soon as birds announced the start of the morning, Serina’s eyes flew open.

Normally, she would sleep until the bright afternoon sun was high in the sky.

But today, she forced herself awake half-asleep to carry out her plan.

Before sleeping last night, she had repeatedly engraved the words “I have to wake up early tomorrow” into her mind like hypnosis.

“Ugh… I need to wake up properly. Today is important!”

Serina washed her face with the water she had prepared beforehand and chased away her sleepiness.

After changing clothes, she quietly opened her bedroom door and checked outside.

Once she confirmed nobody was there, she tiptoed out.

Soon, Serina safely arrived in front of Nereus’s office and pressed herself against the door to listen.

Inside, she could hear Nereus and Aura talking.

“Good. They’re both in the office today. I can carry out the plan.”

The first operation was following them around and whining until they canceled the engagement.

She wasn’t a baby anymore—she was practically an adult now.

But this time, she had no choice but to throw a tantrum!

‘I can do this!’

Serina clenched her fists to encourage herself before suddenly throwing open the office door.

“Oh my, Serina, you’re already awake?”

Aura looked surprised, while Nereus looked at her proudly.

Ignoring both of them, Serina placed her hands on her waist and cleared her throat proudly.

“Cancel Brother’s engagement!”

She looked exactly like a proud little hamster.

Aura barely held back her laughter and answered firmly.

“Serina. Mother clearly told you yesterday, didn’t she? No. If you came here just to say that, then go back to your room.”

“No! I’ll stay here until you promise to cancel the engagement!”

“Goodness. Fine then. Do whatever you want. Your father and I will simply ignore it.”

Since Serina had always been stubborn since childhood, Aura gave up trying to argue.

“Hmph! If I stay here, you’ll definitely get bothered!”

Serina shouted proudly before beginning to whine cutely.

“Mother, Father. Please cancel Brother’s engagement. Pleaaase? Won’t you really do it? Really?”

Time passed.

And passed again.

After constantly asking for an answer, Serina slowly stopped talking.

‘Huh? This isn’t right. I’m the only one getting tired.’

Her throat was becoming dry from talking nonstop.

Meanwhile, her parents continued working calmly without paying attention to her at all.

Realizing her first plan had completely failed, Serina sank into thought.

‘If the first plan doesn’t work… then I’ll just start the second one!’

And Mother and Father were busy working right now too!

Perfect!

Agent Serina will now begin the next operation!

With determined eyes, Serina dragged a chair beside the desk and sat down.

Then she began repeating the same words rapidly like a machine.

“I absolutely oppose Brother’s engagement. Cancel the engagement! Cancel it!”

“Serina. Mother and Father are working. Stop now.”

“I’ll stop if you promise to cancel Brother’s engagement!”

Aura ignored her again and continued her work.

‘Hmph! I didn’t want to go this far!’

Serina stepped onto the chair and used her whole body to block the documents.

“Haah… I guess this can’t continue any longer. Nereus, please take Serina back to her room.”

As Aura requested, Nereus stood up from his seat.

‘Ah! No!’

Sensing danger, Serina quickly jumped off the chair and threw herself onto the floor.

“I’m not going! I’m staying here! I won’t leave until you listen to my request!”

She wildly flailed her arms and rolled around to stop anyone from grabbing her.

But it was useless.

Nereus easily picked Serina up.

“No! Father, put me down! I said I’m not going back to my room! I have to stay here until you listen to me!”

Held in Nereus’s arms, Serina struggled with all her strength.

But Nereus remained completely steady as he calmly carried her out of the office.