He hadn't expected his words to be overheard by the girl, who had just arrived. His face suddenly flushed crimson. Before the girl could react, he jumped out the window and ran again. Honestly, why was it always this move every time?
As soon as her brother left, Lady Nice collapsed on the floor and started wailing. Even though she had been a full five metres away from them just moments earlier, she somehow managed to shuffle herself to their father's feet.
"Your Majesty. Even though His Highness shouted at me, I'm all right."
Seeing Lady Nice's fake pitiful act, the girl clicked her tongue involuntarily. All that over being lightly shoved by a seven-year-old. How bad could it be?
Hearing her click her tongue, the maids suddenly grew excited. "Oh my. Even the way Her Highness the princess clicks her tongue is adorable."
The girl was so embarrassed by their praise that she just wished she could grow up faster. But when dealing with scum like Lady Nice, scolding her was pointless compared to ignoring her. So she simply started chatting with her father instead.
"Daddy, you were way too shy just now."
Her father could only respond helplessly to that. "More than that, I think your brother ran off because he hates me. I'll just look for another chance to open my heart to him slowly."
The girl panicked at once when she heard that. "But I want you and brother to get along."
Seeing the hopeful look on her face, her father immediately picked her up and leapt from the windowsill. This scared the servants half to death. They rushed out after them in a panic. The remaining knights dealt with Lady Nice swiftly and efficiently, leaving Lady Nice utterly baffled. She had no idea where her plan had gone wrong.
Meanwhile, after jumping out the window, the girl and her father successfully caught up with her brother. Even though her brother kept struggling all the way, trying to escape, they still forced him into a room. The moment he was set down, he tried to run, but he was blocked by a magic barrier. The girl and her father had already prepared.
The girl said they had some things they wanted to talk over with him, but her brother had no interest in listening. So the girl had no choice but to reuse her old trick.
"Brother, are you trying so hard to run away because you don't love me anymore?"
Her brother frantically waved his hands at that. "How could I ever not love you?"
Hearing this, the girl happily grabbed his hand. "Then will you still run?"
Only after he promised again and again that he wouldn't run anymore did the girl show a sly smile. Now the plan could proceed smoothly.
Next, they brought out an assortment of pastries and began the first afternoon tea shared by father and son. But father and son both sat there with dark expressions, completely silent. This thoroughly depressed the girl, so she simply opened the system to check their affection levels.
And what she saw shocked her. She hadn't expected both of their affection levels toward her to already be at the maximum. Seeing how deeply they both cared about her made the girl's face burn bright red.
But right now, their feelings for her didn't matter. What mattered was their feelings for each other. So she secretly probed a bit further. She discovered that her father's affection for her brother was also at the highest level. But her brother's affection for their father was only one tiny bar. It seemed their father would have to put in a lot of effort.
"Daddy, what do you want to say to brother? Hurry up and say it."
To her surprise, her father tried to chicken out again. "As much as I want to have a good talk with your brother, I still feel I don't really have the right."
The girl cupped his face in both hands. "You don't have to overthink it. Just say what's in your heart."
Those were the very words her father had told her in their previous life. Whenever she had had a falling out with friends, he had always patiently comforted her. Senna, if you don't say it, your feelings won't get through. Even if you truly feel sorry towards someone, you still have to say it properly. Otherwise the rift will never heal.
Thinking of this, the girl patted her father's shoulder. "You can do it, Daddy. I believe in you."
Encouraged by her, her father finally mustered the courage to sit down in front of her brother, then gently patted his hand. "I'm sorry, Lienne. Whether it's about your mother, or leaving you and your sister to fend for yourselves when you were so young, I'm truly sorry."
By this point, tears were already welling up at the corners of her brother's eyes. Her father reached up and gently brushed them away.
"In truth, the reason I've stayed away from you all this time is because I felt I wasn't worthy of loving you. But your sister told me that was wrong."
Choking up, her brother forced the words out. "So you want me to forgive you?"
But her father only shook his head. "I don't dare hope for your forgiveness. I only wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."
Hearing that, her brother wrapped his arms around their father and burst into tears. "You idiot. Do you have any idea how much I've suffered all these years?"
Seeing father and son clutching each other and sobbing, the girl's eyes filled with tears as well, and she rushed to join them. In this life, she was absolutely determined to protect the family she held so dear.
Ever since she'd successfully reconciled her father and brother, the girl had been grinning foolishly every day. That joyful mood quietly spread to the maids as well, until one day the girl received a mission completed notification from the system.
Congratulations to the host on completing the mission. I hope you'll keep your promise.
The girl was puzzled by this strangely humanlike tone. In fact, this wasn't the first time the system had spoken like that. Back in her previous life, when she was on the verge of death, the system had popped up lines like, "Does she not like me?" Strangely, she had no memory of ever saying anything like that to the system.
In theory, a system shouldn't have a personality at all. Had something changed in it after her reincarnation? Thinking about it carefully, in this life it had constantly given her beneficial missions, or helped her grow stronger.
Just as the girl was trying to get to the bottom of it, the system began glitching again. So the girl simply gave up, deciding to let it be. Whether it was friend or enemy, she would never again allow it to hurt her family.
At that moment, her father and brother happened to come visit her. Ever since the mission had been completed, the two of them had grown closer by the day. Thinking of the mission, the girl suddenly realized she'd forgotten something. She still hadn't received the reward for that mission.
Her father and brother knew nothing of this. Her brother was still fantasizing about pinching her marshmallow soft cheeks. If her father hadn't firmly stopped him, he probably would have gone for it. In the end, it became a world where the only one who suffered was the girl. She had never imagined, even in her dreams, that the system would actually ghost her on the reward.
Meanwhile, in the Principality of Nazca, a black-haired boy dressed in lavish clothes lay on a magic altar. An old man beside him, eyes brimming with tears, called out, "Your Highness the prince."
The boy only slowly opened his golden eyes, murmuring, "This time I will definitely."
Then he closed his eyes once more.