Chapter 101 - Family

"Marquess Vandran, are you alright?"

Aries broke the stifling silence in the carriage. Right now, they were heading to the Marquess Estate. It had only been yesterday when they all agreed about the plan over breakfast. Surely, those men weren't playing and wouldn't waste time. If not for Abel's dramatic skit, she would've gone yesterday.

"Why wouldn't I?" Dexter inquired, sitting opposite her comfortably. "I should be the one asking you, Lady Aries. Are you alright?" 

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, along with an awkward laugh. "Of course I am."

He shrugged. "Being Daniella... Are you fine being my sister?" 

"I don't think I should be the one answering that, since she's your sister and I'm simply borrowing her identity." She smiled wearily, peeling her eyes away from him to the window. "Marquess, why did you agree with it?" 

"Why not?" Dexter leaned back, eyes on the window as well, arms crossed. "It sounds fun. Haimirich had been so peaceful as of late. It's boring to banter with His Majesty and Sir Conan all the time."

Aries cast him a quick look, only to see his nonchalant mien. "Marquess Vandran, what is Daniella like?" she asked, making Dexter raise a brow. 

"I mean, I heard that you are fond of your sister and protected her with everything you can. I do not want to do things that will sully her name."

Dexter stared at her slight smile for a minute before letting out a defeated laugh. "Daniella... is the most beautiful girl I've seen in this world." He smiled gently, averting his eyes from her to the window once again."

"She is a bit clumsy and silly, but she has a golden heart. It just so happened that she... isn't blessed with a healthy body. And his brother isn't rich enough to salvage her deteriorating health," he continued.

Aries furrowed her brows as she listened in silence. 'Did he mean he isn't rich enough as in isn't rich with lifespan to prolong his sister's life?'

"Despite that, she isn't well herself, she's more worried about me. She's that silly. Even when she took her last breath, she was worried I would put myself in harm. All her life, all she thinks about was my welfare." His eyes softened as a subtle smile dominated his face at the thought of his sister. "That's the kind of sister Dan is. So, I had always wanted to protect her and side with her... even when she was wrong, even when I sometimes didn't approve of her decisions, and even when she was stubborn. Did I regret it? Never."

Aries remained silent all throughout, puzzled at how Daniella seemed to be a very kind person and then not at the next second. Either way, she didn't probe too much. It could be Daniella was only kind to her brother, but was awful to others. And Aries wouldn't judge. 

In this dystopia, kindness wasn't free, especially for others. Sometimes, a person's intention, even if it was pure, could cost their life. Aries had been there; the entire kingdom of Rikhill paid for the price. It would take more guts for someone to keep choosing kindness and forgiveness than choosing to be evil. 

And most of them, Aries included, chose the easy way. She might forgive, but not those who took everything away from her. 

"Will you be angry if I addressed you, brother?" she asked, making him freeze momentarily, stunned at her sudden inquiry. 

"If I'm going to be Daniella, I want to live up to her name. Of course, that's presumptuous of me, considering you are simply letting me borrow her identity," she explained before she huffed, flashing him a bright smile. "However, I also had siblings who, sadly, left this world a little too early. It would be nice to feel what having a family feels like again." 

Her eyes softened, speaking from the heart. They both knew they would never be siblings. But still, they finally found a common denominator. That was... they were both filial. They both sought a family they could rely on without pretense. 

Of course, she could rely on Abel. But their relationship was different; she couldn't really see Abel as someone who could be her brother. He could be a friend, but he would never give that sibling love that was just so precious and special in its own way. 

"It's fine if you don't want to." She waved awkwardly, but then he let out waves of laughter. Her brows elevated, appalled by the sudden joy in his laughter. "Uhm... did it sound so ridiculous?"

"Yes..." He wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes, shaking his head as he tried to recover from that joke. 

"Sorry..."

"No, no, it's fine." He waved whilst shaking his head. "I do not mind being your brother, in papers or for show. Lady Aries, I simply want to press His Majesty's nerve with my condition. Obviously, I didn't expect him to agree, considering his personality. I mean, this entire situation won't benefit me at all, aside from entertainment. In other words, it's not my problem."

She frowned while listening to his awful confession. "I know that, but don't make it sound like you're awful."

"I never said I wasn't." He grinned playfully, enjoying her mild glare. "If I was, I wouldn't spread the rumor about His Majesty's gender crisis."

"You... what?" she gasped in disbelief, the image of the gentle, noble, and smart tutor in her head slowly shattering. 

"His Majesty knows, and we both shared a good laugh." He shrugged, but Aries scrunched her nose up.

"And here I thought there's one who got lost in a group of mad people," she mumbled, erasing the initial image of Dexter in her head. "Good riddance. No wonder Abel is so fond of you."

"Abel isn't your husband to call him with his name so casually."

"We are each other's mistress," she argued in a matter-of-fact tone, snapping her tongue at him. "Also, he likes it."

"My... your brother doesn't approve."

"My brother can just chew his handkerchief while I enjoy my life with a handsome man." She smiled shamelessly, unfolding the formal facade since Dexter was no different from Conan and Abel. 

As the two bantered, they didn't realize that this was the first time they truly bantered like children. That all their interactions from beginning up until this point were formal and informative talks, not a discussion just to trash each other. 

Little did they know blood would not indicate if they were family or not.. Their action would.