Brothers of the Reincarnated Princess

Brothers of the Reincarnated Princess

“Brother, I have a favor to ask.”

As I addressed him, my brother’s ice-blue eyes widened in shock.

He stood in front of a bookcase, which was so large that it dominated the entire west-facing wall of the room. The other walls and the ceiling were adorned with intricate engravings, all done in Renaissance style.

My brother’s features mirrored mine in several ways; his silky, platinum blond hair fell to his collar, and his skin was unblemished alabaster. His eyes were slightly upturned, embellished by long eyelashes, and framed by imposing eyebrows. His facial structure was in accordance with the golden ratio, and this symmetry made his face look as if a master craftsman had sculpted it.

He was slim, as was typical of early adolescent boys, and he wore a justaucorps, a gilet, and culottes, all in blue to match his eyes. His fine clothes were finished off with a detailed pattern of intertwined flowers and ivy, done in silver thread. A topaz brooch fastened a cravat to his collar, and he held a book in his hands, which were both adorned with white gloves.

Every inch of him, down to the smallest detail, just screamed prince. And he was. This boy was my brother, the first prince Christoph von Velfalt.

He stood in shocked silence for a moment, blinking his long eyelashes so heavily that they almost made a sound. His stare was intent but contained a clear look of surprise—a rare departure from his usual disinterested expression. He finally closed the thick book in his hands and placed it on the shelf, then walked over to me, stopping just shy of two meters away.

“It’s unlike you to come and see me of your own accord.”

His phrasing might have sounded insulting, but a peek at his expression revealed that he meant no offense. Truthfully, it was rare for me to approach him. In my defense though, I wasn’t avoiding him because I disliked him.

The problem was that Christoph, or Chris for short, was only my half brother. I had a full brother also, the second prince, named Johan. He and I were half-siblings to Chris, and we only shared our father’s bloodline with him. Chris was the son of the king’s last wife, who never fully recovered from childbirth and passed away years ago. Johan and I were the children of the king’s new wife.

My mother, the current queen, despised Chris. Whenever she thought of the old queen, my mother would fall into fits of jealousy. Chris could never escape her ire because he was a living, breathing reminder of his mother. Needless to say, our mother took great pains to ensure that Johan and I, her natural children, stayed away from Chris as much as possible.

You can act however you want, mother, but forcing your feelings onto your kids is a bit much in my opinion.

Even with all of this supposed passion, our mother only had eyes and a heart for the king. She was barely aware of Johan and me, so it was frustrating that she controlled our interactions with Chris. Why was this the only thing she chose to poke her nose into?

“Won’t your mother scold you again for talking to me?” asked Chris.

“I don’t mind.”

“But...”

“I’m five years old now,” I said adamantly. “I’m old enough to take responsibility for my own actions.”

“Rose,” he started, seeming dumbstruck as he called me by my nickname.

What a wonderful person he is, I thought. He could have shown contempt for me as the daughter of the woman who mistreated him, but he never did. Far from it, he showed consideration instead.

Are you taking notes, Johan? You could learn a thing or two from your older brother.

“I see.” Chris stared at me in silence for a moment, then his face mellowed. He said little, but his eyes harbored a gentle look, like a grandfather gazing upon a grandchild who had grown up.

You carry quite the presence for an eight-year-old, brother.

“So, what’s the favor?” Chris asked, bringing the conversation back to the main point without prying any further.

“The truth is, it’s about Johan...” My words trailed off.

“Johan? What’s the matter with him?”

Oh brother, I thought. You got all day?

Out loud, I said, “I’d like you to find strict, smart teachers for Johan.”

At this request, Chris fell silent.

Our youngest brother, Johan von Velfalt, was the second prince of the Kingdom of Nevel, one of Hidden World’s main characters, and, to top it all off, a bona fide siscon.

In the game, the only person he truly loved was his older sister, Rosemary. She was also the only person he trusted with all of his heart. If she said yes, so did he; if she said no, then no it was. If she pointed to a dark-black crow and called it white, he would swear it was white in a heartbeat. His feelings of love towards his sister were obsessive, to say the least.

But it wasn’t really his fault. Why did he turn out that way? The answer lay entirely in his upbringing.

As our father busied himself with matters of state, he paid no attention to his family. Our mother was, as I explained before, only interested in the king, except for small incursions where she would stifle her children’s actions. The lack of attention from his parents left Johan feeling trapped, as if he lived in a tiny bubble.

The maids assumed from his outward similarity to our proud, high-strung mother that he would take after her in temperament as well, so they kept him at arm’s length, afraid to poke that hornet’s nest.

Additionally, every teacher assigned to him owed their status to his mother, so they let him do as he pleased, probably fearing social and political retribution from the queen if they dared to discipline him.

Amid all of that isolation, only his sister Rosemary dealt with him head-on.

So yeah, it makes perfect sense that he’d start to depend on her.

When playing Hidden World in my previous life, I was more ambivalent about Johan’s problems. Of course, that mindset was only available to me because he had been Rosemary’s problem, not mine. But now that I occupied Rosemary’s life, the realization had dawned: There’s such a thing as too much brotherly love.

At this point in my current life, my little brother was only four years old and at peak cuteness. He would follow me wherever I went. There was no question that I found him adorable, plodding along behind me like a baby chick. Recently however, his behavior had started to get a little weird. He would often burst into tears whenever I left him, and his jealous disdain towards anyone who approached me was becoming less cute.

The final straw was a moment when Johan had lunged at the maid who’d caught me after I’d almost fallen in my room. When he’d grabbed a letter opener from the desk and pointed it at the maid, I’d almost started screaming. Of course, I’d stood in front of her with arms outstretched to block his path, so nothing had come of it. This was the point where his obsessive behavior had crossed a line.

I mean, she’s a maid. She’s a woman. And she was just trying to help! What kind of psychopath would attack her for that?

No more violence, no more yandere!

As I witnessed my brother showing early signs of abnormality, I thought to myself, We’ve got to do something about this boy, quick.

Returning to the present circumstances, I addressed Chris: “This isn’t really something I should trouble you with. But I doubt that our father would replace his teachers, even if I asked him.”

Chris hummed thoughtfully.

The king had few hopes for the second prince. I understood why he wouldn’t want to fuss over Johan when he already had a capable heir, but my younger brother deserved at least a little thought. Johan’s teachers, who only taught lesson plans that would personally please him, were negligent at best.

Mother’s just as bad, I thought. She ought to have selected his teachers a little more carefully.

“What he needs is someone that he can respect. Someone he will listen to,” I stated clearly. “As long as I’m the only person willing to tell him off, he’ll continue to retreat further from the rest of the world.”

And to be honest, I’d like to put the brakes on the whole siscon thing.

There was a beat of silence where Chris stood, arms folded, before speaking. “Truth be told, that has been worrying me too.”

I saw myself reflected in his eyes, which he had cast downward in deep thought.

“I don’t see him very often, but even in those brief moments I can see that he is overly dependent on you.” Chris let out a slight laugh, practically just a breath. “After all, every time you and I meet, Johan glares daggers at me from behind your back.” Judging from the sympathetic look in his eyes, I was certain Johan’s evil stare was replaying in his mind.

I felt guilty for being the cause of this friction between my brothers, and wanted to kneel down and beg for Chris’s forgiveness.

“Is he hostile with others too?” asked Chris.

“Yes,” I said, winding up to relay the full story. I gave Chris a rundown of the time he’d tried to attack the maid, and Chris furrowed his eyebrows in response.

“I can understand that he’s desperate and doesn’t want anyone to take away his precious sister, but attacking a maid goes beyond a child’s tantrum.”

Yep, I thought wryly, adopting a blank-eyed, long-distance stare. He’s come down with a case of yandere-itis. I had my hands full when he was diagnosed as just a siscon—there is no way I can handle him progressing into a yandere.

So much for my mental health I guess.

What more could I have done? I tried to stop him, but whenever I left him, he would just get worse! He keeps hounding me, asking if I am abandoning him. Any more and I’ll faint!

The moment when the color seemed to drain from Johan’s eyes and they turned glassy, I knew.

This game’s broken. I can’t handle this on my own.

“There’s nobody around to keep him in check,” I said to Chris, “so he’ll never get better, only worse. If only I were tolerant enough to lead him down the right path. I’m ashamed to say I’m a failure of a sister.” I’d fully expected Chris to chastise me, but I was stunned when he widened his eyes once again.

Holding a hand to his chin, he let out a short sigh. His expression was one of great surprise or shock. “I knew you were mature for your age, but maybe you’re a bit too brilliant.”

“Huh? Did you say something?” I asked, confused. I couldn’t quite make out what Chris had muttered under his breath, but he ignored my request for him to repeat himself. He put an end to my query and then continued speaking at a normal volume.

“Nothing. You’re doing a fine job,” he said earnestly. “You are most certainly not a failure, Rose. However much power and tolerance you possess, there are things that can’t be done alone. That’s exactly why you came to me, right?”

I gave Chris a strong nod in agreement, then straightened my posture.

Right, time to make it or break it. Let’s do this!

“If you’ll allow it, I’d like you to take a firm hand in raising our brother,” I said. “Please, make Johan into someone who will one day stand by your side.”

This was the whole reason I’d asked Chris and not my mother. The king would listen to Chris because he was the heir, and with Chris on my side, the prospect of changing teachers wouldn’t seem so bleak. Plus, I trusted my wise and self-disciplined older brother to find teachers that were perfect. With one request, Chris would solve multiple issues, like hitting two birds with one stone. In the best-case scenario, we might even nail bird number three—more frequent exposure to Chris might enable Johan to develop into an honest man.

“And you’re really all right with that?” Chris asked in a hushed voice after listening to my request. His implication was clear: Are you all right with not only replacing his teachers, but also sending him to work for me?

Once his education started in earnest, Johan and I would no longer have much time to spend together. His path in life would split from mine.

In Chris’s eyes, I probably seemed just as dependent on Johan, and he was worried that sending the youngest prince off on a journey would leave me alone and unable to cope. The concern was appreciated, but honestly, not needed. If Chris could get Johan standing on his own two feet, that would give me more space to work towards my own goals. I couldn’t ask for more than that.

I might find my little brother cute, but that’s irrelevant. I’m ready for him to become his own person.

“Of course—I’m fine with it,” I answered Chris at once. “However far apart we are, I will always be his sister.”

Johan, I’ll be watching over you from heav—well, from somewhere, anyway. Grow up to be a respectable man.

“I see,” Chris whispered, treating me to a rare, gentle smile.

I closed my eyes the instant I saw it. It was beautiful, radiant.

That angelic expression is too much for my impure eyes to bear.

Chris must have taken the suggestion to our father after our talk, because Johan’s layabout teachers were soon shown the door, and stricter, more professional teachers took their place.

Chris himself took a part in Johan’s education, and he didn’t cut the boy any slack. Not one bit.

I’m counting on you, little brother. Stick to the right path and grow up to be normal.