Season 1; What It Feels Like To Be A Brother. Am I Now?

Time passed quickly, and it was already departing time for some. Others gave their last greetings to Lawrence and left. Many stayed for a while to chat, maybe even wait for his majesty to come down.

Evangeline-from the distance-called, "Spence," her voice indicated anger. "Let's go." and Spence followed.

"Bye, Spence!" Grace waved to Spence. Spence waved back and continued towards his mother.

Edith smiles and spoke to Grace, "I will now depart, Grace. With Eleonora, that is. Say your goodbyes, sweetie."

"Bye, Evelynne," Eleonora said, her voice cute and gentle. "Happy Birthday, Brother Lawrence." she faced Lawrence.

"Thank you, Eleonora," Lawrence replied.

Edith turned to Lawrence and gave her last greetings, then left with Eleonora. Then another man came, tall and masculine, handsome if you may, "Your highnesses," he called.

"I'm Duke Asquith. A fond friend of your father." he introduced.

"Elijah Lawrence Xavier Kingsley Royale Sage. Glory upon the Empire, Duke Asquith." he bowed down. Grace smiled and copied her brother.

She lifted her dress and spoke, "Grace Evelynne Da Ville Sage. Glory upon the Empire, Duke Asquith." she said, quite softly.

Duke Asquith smiled in amusement, "Such mannerism you two seem to have. It seems my son lacks things." Duke said jokingly, messing Clarence's hair.

Clarence's eyes saddened and teary, "Dad...," he called. "I-I'm sowwy..," he cried.

Duke Asquith bent down abruptly, "H-huh! Oh, lord. Son, wait..., please ignore what daddy said. Please don't cry...,"

"Well, what do we have here?" a woman appeared. She was elegant and beautiful. "Making my son cry?" she grumbled.

"Honey...! It isn't what you think!" Duke Asquith feared. Both Grace and Lawrence laughed.

Clarence jumped towards Duchess Asquith. "Mommy, I'm sowwy."

"Oh sweetie, what did your stinking father said again?" she said, glaring at Duke Asquith. "Oh my, Grace and Lawrence, sorry for my manner. I'm Duchess Patience Fitzgerald Asquith, wife of Duke Asquith. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for taking care of my son."

Lawrence held his laugh, "Elijah Lawrence Xavier Kingsley, Mrs. Patience. Glory upon the Empire, Duchess Asquith."

Grace giggled a teeny bit and spoke, "Grace Evelynne Da Ville Sage, Mrs. Patience. Glory upon the Empire, Duchess Asquith."

Patience smiled, "How cute of you. You have been taught proper etiquette at a very young age. It's very nice."

"Mommy. Tomorrow, Grace and Lawrence will go to my birthday, right?" Clarence rubbed his crying eyes.

Duke Asquith answered for the Duchess, "Y-yes! Of course, anything for my son," he said.

"Tenchu, papa!" Clarence said to his father, leaping right onto him. Then shifted his gleaming gaze to his mother.

"Yes, sweety. If young Lawrence and Grace could, they can. And always can." Duchess pinched Clarence's cheeks and smiled.

He hugged his mother and waved goodbye to Lawrence and Grace.

"Lady Grace and Sir Lawrence, we will now take our leave. May the Glory of the Empire guide you." both Patience and Duke said-bowing-then left.

Both Grace and Lawrence were left alone, and they chatted for a bit, "Grace, where is your mother?" Lawrence did not fight his curiosity. Almost all the nobles were leaving and giving their greetings to Lawrence. The rest continued to chat with the other nobles while some of the children played.

"Mommy is going to come soon. How about your mommy, Lawrence?" she asked innocently.

"Mommy is far away. Momma is taking care of me." Lawrence, his a smiling face, said to the innocent little girl. 'This girl should not hear ruthless and terrible words.' he thought to himself.

"Wow! You have two mommies!" her sparkling eyes glimmered, filled with curiosity.

"Momma Estella St. Claire and Mommy Viola Persephone Kingsley."

"Hm~ Hm~" she nodded at each name I've mentioned. "I only have Mommy Eleanora Da Ville Sage, and I love mommy," she said happily.

"Kingsley."

A woman, tall, elegant, beautiful, fierce, and an ideal said. Her face was surprised to see Lawrence that she blurted the other surname of Lawrence. She had amber eyes and silky ruby hair. Her thin pinkish lips and her wear were modest but grand. They were imperial clothes, Lawrence noticed.

"Mommy? Mommy!" Grace jumped in excitement and rushed towards the woman.

"Grace." the woman smiled and gave a kiss on Grace's forehead. "You have a friend?" she asked, facing Lawrence.

"Yes!" Grace said excitingly.

"Hello. I'm Marchioness Eleanora Da Ville Sage. It's a pleasure to meet my daughter's friend." she said and bowed down.

"Your Majesty, Empress-Marchioness Sage. I introduce myself as Elijah Lawrence Xavier Kingsley Royale. Forgive my insolence. I'm, but, your daughter's humble friend." he bowed.

'Such etiquette. A son of Sage, indeed. Brilliant and so-alike.' moved, she thought.

"Please, lift your gaze, Prince Lawrence. Thank you for accompanying my daughter, Lawrence." Eleanora smiled at Lawrence.

"It is my greatest pleasure to accompany your majesty's daughter, but bid this humble one forgiveness for his over-friendliness."

"Oh, please don't say it that way, child. My blood may not flow in your veins, but I am still to be your mother. Rise now. You've done no wrong. I thank you on behalf of my daughter."

"Mommy! My friends will go on my birthday! Lawrence will also come!" Grace said joyously, interrupting the two's conversation.

Eleanora dazed at the still-bowing Lawrence and smiled, "Of course. If that is what my daughter wants and if it does not take some important time for Prince Lawrence, then it shall be." she happily said.

Estella noticed from afar and walked towards the three. "Your Majesty," she bowed.

"Estella," Eleanora smiled. "It's nice to see you healthy and well. You gleam of elegance and simplicity. You outstand like you always do." she complimented.

"It is my greatest honor of receiving her majesty's compliments." still bowing.

Lawrence's thought trailed off, 'Do they both have histories?' he asked himself. 'By the looks of it, they may.'

"It seems that the siblings have met each other, have they, your majesty?" Estella smiled.

Eleanora smiled, "Yes, they have. Grace has invited Prince Lawrence to her birthday. It would be nice to have you too." she said.

"Oh, your majesty. It is thou's greatest honor to receive such an invitation. But I will wait for his prince, Lawrence, to decide. Will you go, dear?" she asked Lawrence.

"Yes. Yes, I will. Estella." Lawrence smiled brightly at Estella.

"Then we feast! We would gladly join the celebration for Princess Grace's first birthday. Although I'll be looking much forward for her debut to society."

"Ah, yes! That would indeed attract many. Yes, I, too, am excited for her debut day." Eleanora giggled. Just then, the four of them chatted for a while before it was time to depart.

"Farewell now, Prince Lawrence and Estella."

"Bye, Brother!"

As the two departed, Lawrence realized how it felt to be a brother. He smiled and felt astonished and relieved. He then turned to Estella and gave her the sweetest smile.

"Are you happy, Lawrence?"

"Beyond, Estella," he said. "I feel like I've become an older brother," he added.

"Yes, your highness. You have. The act you did back there was also remarkable. I give you my sincere compliments for that. It was such a gentleman thing to do." she giggled.

Lawrence laughed. "I only did what befits my sister's image and mine. I can not worsen what people already think of me. I'm sure among everyone, I should know. It is sometimes hard to please everyone."

"Let me carry some of your burden, your highness. You are young, too young, to think of such thing would make me look bad as your nanny."

"Mommy, not Nanny, Estella. You are more than a nanny." Lawrence smiled.

"Sweetie. I love you so much!" Estella fought the urge to hug Lawrence. They chatted for a while, and then a man approached the two of them. He was wearing the house's butler outfit with a golden badge on his collar.

"You must be Kanon?" Lawrence asked.

"It is my greatest honor to greet you, your highness. The Emperor had ordered me to attend to your duties. Please, would you care for a walk on the hallways?" he asked.

"Yes, indeed. I would. Estella, would you mind excusing me for a second?" Lawrence asked Estella politely as he could.

"No, not at all, your highness," Estella replied, smiling with a blush. She was admiring Lawrence as her son. Seeing him grow too fast was terrifying but pleasing to her eyes.

"This way, your highness." the butler ushered Lawrence. Then they departed away from Estella. Lawrence didn't want to make Estella even more suspicious after choosing what type of books he wanted to have. That's the reason why he wanted to be alone with Kanon to ask for books that are valuable and might be hard to get your hands on.

As the Emperor allowed him, feelings aside, he felt the need to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime happening. As they were walking, the butler spoke to Lawrence. "I'm sorry for not yet fully introducing myself, your highness. I'm Kanon Jules. The butler of this house and the Emperor's right-hand man. Please speak freely of what type of books you are interested in."

"I'm Elijah Lawrence Xavier Kingsley Royale Sage, Sir Kanon Jules. It's a pleasure to meet you. As for the books I want, I'm sure they won't be easy to get."

It piqued Kanon's interest in Lawrence's choice of books. Then Lawrence spoke.

"If you could, Sir Kanon. Please provide a teacher who'll teach me the Trivium and Quadrivium, the basics. Then I would like to have copies of verified studies in Agriculture, Medicines, Mathematics, Literature, Geometry, Culinary, Accountancy, Management, Business, Humanities, et cetera. Furthermore, please provide some useful information about this Empire's history and other empires. But maybe limit it to only this continent. If you could, please provide some books that have the lineage of royals and imperials. Also, the nobility families that I must know." Lawrence smiled.

"Knowledgeable! You're highness. You're even more brilliant than I expected you to be! It is what some rumors say! You are as brilliant as the Emperor himself." Kanon remarked in excitement. 'Who am I kidding? This kid at this impossible age would ask these things is too unbelievable and would guarantee his brilliancy surpassing that of the marquess!'

"I honestly want to study those things. They pique my interest. I haven't had even the slightest grasp of any introduction from them, so please don't think too highly of me."

'Who couldn't? Anyone at that age would want to be breastfed or allowed to play outside. He has an intelligent mind that seems not to want to waste his life without learning enough. At the age of seven, his majesty was just like him. But their age differences are way too much. And this mindset seems to affect his physical appearance. He seems like a four-year-old kid rather than a one-year-old. He is tall, and that amplifies his outstanding presence. If he is one of those "Prodigies," I fear I may collapse in admiration. Let's hope he isn't one of the Geniuses.'

"Would there be any problem acquiring those books, sir?" Lawrence asked Kanon, pulling him back from his thoughts.

"No. Not at all, your highness. Being a son of the Emperor of Books, you can have anything you have without worry. I'll prepare as such books as I can supply and send them as soon as I finish gathering them, your highness."

"Call me Lawrence," Lawrence said.

"Oh, how could I, your highness." Kanon smiled genuinely. "I, even those who have the slightest blood of Sage flowing in their body, I will always live to serve those who possess the Sage. So I must decline, your highness."

Lawrence sighed, "Then I guess it's no use pushing it."

"Well then, your highness. Let me escort you around the mansion back to Estella. It seems you've used too much energy."