When the twin brothers finally reunited after six months, they looked the same as they did before they parted. One raised his hand at the entrance of the Saber family’s main residence, acting as if they had last seen each other the other day.

“I was faster, Andy.”

“You just arrived. I saw you when you entered the villa.”

“Then why didn’t you call out to me.”

“I had some shopping to do. I wanted to give Sister Jill a can of sweets as a souvenir. Catherine is still training, right?”

“No excuses. I arrived first. Even though we left on the same day.”

Rick grinned proudly. After he turned eight years old, he went around Kratos while making a living as a mercenary. Despite having completed his journey, growth seemed to have escaped him.

“I don’t care if you came first or what. I dislike the fact that we returned on the same day. Didn’t we go in opposite directions? As expected, people are going to call us twins again.”

“I don’t think you should worry about us being the same.”

“So, how was it? Has anything changed?”

“I heard a rumor claiming the Dragon Princess appeared in Rave.”

Andy pressed back against the of his glasses rim and sighed.

“Then, I guess the Southern King did depart for Rave. Everyone seems a bit more on edge than usual, and I don’t think it’s because we’re back.”

“There’ll probably be a meeting. It would be nice if I can rest today.”

Stretching, Rick entered their home for the first time in six months.

‘He’s as simple as ever,’ Andy thought before following suit.

If a war broke out with Rave, the Saber family, which was geographically on the front lines, wouldn’t be able to remain on the sidelines.

While he had never experienced war before, he knew his parents had resolved themselves ever since they received information of the apparent birth of the Dragon Emperor.

Before Andy was born, during the time when the current king was still the crown prince, Kratos was betrayed, resulting in the capital being moved.

That much damage was caused even without the Dragon Emperor.

If there were to be a war led by the Dragon Emperor himself, how far would the damage extend?

Prince Geraldo was rallying the internal divisions to prevent just that.

Without doubt, things would become even more troublesome if a Dragon Princess appeared.

Andy asked as he walked through the front door of their house for the first time in a while.

“Now that I think about it, I wonder what happened to the engagement between Sister Jill and Prince Geraldo? I haven’t heard about it. Did Sister Jill turn it down?”

“When she was super excited to meet that prince? Very unlikely. Maybe they’re thinking about when to make it public.”

That’s probably it.

Jill was looking forward to attend Prince Geraldo’s birthday party. He was handsome, smart, and way stronger than their older sister in terms of magical power. Coupled with the staged marriage proposal at his birthday party—which his sister seemed to be eagerly anticipating—how could she possibly refuse?

Or so he thought.

“Jill has become the current Dragon Princess.”

When asked by Andy and Rick of Jill’s whereabouts, their father, who came to greet them, said that with a troubled look on his face.

■

“Vote that she was lured in by food.”

After safely escorting the crown prince to the villa, Rick threw a rock at the riverbank they chose rest near. The stone skipped over the water three times. Andy also picked up a stone and threw it at the river.

“Vote she wasn’t thinking at all.”

“No, even if it’s Sister Jill, I don’t think she’d do such a thing. After all, the other party is the emperor of an enemy country!”

“I wonder about that? When it comes to fighting, Sister Jill is a force to be reckoned with. However, distinguishing between friend and foe is her weakness. I don’t think she fully understands the situation.”

“Did she not think of our position at all? For her to fall in love with the Dragon Emperor at first sight…”

“Judging from the situation, it seems that she doesn’t like Prince Geraldo.”

“Has Sister Jill met Prince Geraldo before?”

“That shouldn’t be the case.”

Rick groaned as he squatted down to choose the next stone to throw.

“She even broke the Holy Spear of the Goddess. And yet, Prince Geraldo still treats us well… It’s all thanks to the achievements of our ancestors.”

“As expected, Sister Jill didn’t think it through. I don’t think she’s prepared to fight us.”

“Hmm, in that sense, I guess it’s true that she didn’t really think about it.”

Their sister probably thought all she had to do as the Dragon Princess was protect the Dragon Emperor.

However, reality wasn’t as simple as that. Their sister was a lady of the Saber family, and Kratos and Rave were enemies.

“…If she did it without thinking, then maybe we can talk sense into her.”

Andy murmured while staring at a stone at laying at his feet. Rick turned around.

“I heard that she even obtained the Sacred Relic of the Dragon Princess. Talking won’t solve anything. If anything, Prince Geraldo’s plan is kinder and almost too lenient. Since there’s no way the Dragon Emperor will let go of the Dragon Princess, we have no choice but to make Sister Jill rejects the Dragon Emperor.”

“But what if she rejects us?”

“You know, Mother told me that we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility that Sister Jill is truly in love with the Dragon Emperor.”

“Someone as childish as Sister Jill falling in love?”

Their sister, who was slightly older than them, loved delicious food and had relentlessly trained herself. In the past, she once beat them up and told them to solve their issues on their own. Nevertheless, if they were really in trouble, she’d be the first to fly to their aid.

“I’m sure she just has a strange fascination for him. If we talk to her, she should understand.”

The surface of the stone he held was sharp and rough, yet he didn’t realize it. As a result, it bounced off the surface of the river without flying very far.

Rick walked towards him. The same line of sight, the same expression, yet Rick was determined. He was akin to a mirror for Andy, who couldn’t make up his mind.

“There’s that. But don’t they say that ‘love is blind’? Sister Jill won’t be convinced if we outright tell her that the Dragon Emperor is scum. Not to mention, if we aren’t careful about it, she’ll only retaliate. Isn’t Sister Jill just weirdly stubborn like that?”

Indeed, such was the kind of sister she was. When Andy pointed out her flaws, she’d become strangely adamant and deny (in this case, sneaking food) ever doing such a thing, even though it was obvious to everyone else.

He’d admit that she was strong. She might even be the perfect shield for the Dragon Emperor. Regardless, above all, she was their older sister. She didn’t have the wisdom or power to compete with a Goddess and survive in the enemy country.

When Andy fell silent, Rick let out a sigh.

“You know we can’t oppose her head on. The Dragon Emperor will find out. But if we can get through Sister Jill, we can tell father and the others to lay low and let her speak through us.”

“…If you do it poorly, she’ll get angry.”

“As long as it ends well. When we get to the main residence, I’ll keep an eye on the Dragon Emperor. You stay with Sister Jill. If it’s you, I’m sure she’ll understand.”

—You can’t be a Dragon Princess. You won’t be able to do it. Being one means that we’ll have to fight each other one day.

I wish you’d understand that.

Rick patted Andy on the shoulder as he nodded, picked up a stone from Andy’s feet, and hurled it towards the river.

He didn’t know what shape it had, but it sank to the bottom of the river without bouncing once.

---

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***T/N: Better than the entire world burning as Goddess danced with Hades

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