I was on my way to my room after a long day of helping Nene. She had many papers to fill out and approve and I had to look through some of them, as well as attend my last lesson for etiquette.

My back hurt from the consistent posture. Being so, my hands were rubbing my side in hopes to ease the pain. I was grateful that the family was willing to give me lessons regarding things simple, like etiquette. My father believed in male supremacy and thought women such as myself didn't deserve nice things.

My walking pace came to a stop as I stared out to the garden from the window. The moon was shining so brightly. As it should in the Star kingdom. Unfortunately, my room was on the other side of the palace and I wanted to hurry to get to bed, but when I saw Tsukasa's tuft of black hair, all thoughts vanished in my mind.

He was sitting alone at one of the tea tables. His head rested on his arm and I saw his butler over near the exit. His back was facing the window but his shoulders were high. He was tense.

I recalled what the crowned prince had told me earlier that week and my cheeks flared up. How could they not? If the crowned prince noticed my feelings for his brother, who else had? I was embarrassed to no end after that conversation. I had almost cried in front of Amane after all.

Regardless, it was a weakness of mine to not lie about my own feelings. When it came to someone else, I had no qualms. But lying to someone about my feelings is lying to myself.

I sighed and shook my head. My eyes never left the black haired man who looked tired to no end. I had forgotten him and his brother were due for a birthday in mid May. They were to turn eighteen.

The last time I had a proper conversation with Tsukasa was two weeks ago at my debutante ball. With each passing day, it bugged me to the point where I couldn't focus. I had at least tripped over my own two feet five times this week. In reality, I saw Tsukasa every day because of breakfast. My breakfast came after, when the family was done eating.

With each morning I would take it all in. The state of my friends. This morning, Amane and Nene were as happy as could be. Tsukasa on the other hand...He was so tense. Bags were under his eyes but he acted as if nothing were bothering him. Every inch in my body wanted to go to him and talk. But I never had the chance.

My lips pressed together and my heart thumped in nervousness. There was no time like the present.

I wanted to know what he was thinking. I lifted the skirt of my dress up a bit so that I could quicken my pace towards the garden. I was on the third floor so I had to travel down two flights of stairs.

I was already out of breath as I rushed down the first flight. As I continued to walk towards the garden, a clang was heard.

Tabitha was standing over a pan that was rolling on the floor. She had dropped in on purpose to grab my attention. "You."

I was no longer scared of her. She had prodded me too much but the moment I debuted at the ball, she left me alone. Knowing that I now had a publicly known higher status than her.

"What is it you need Tabitha? I have no time for you." I scoffed at her. I looked at the direction I was going and back to her. Clearly in a hurry. What if I missed him?

I could see her clench her teeth and sneer. She picked up the pan and pointed it at me threateningly. "You ruined my life! You wanna know what happened today? I got fired for my supposed violent behavior."

"Why is that my problem, Tabitha? They were your own actions that caused you to be in this mess." I crossed my arms together over my chest and raised an eyebrow. The pan that was pointed at me didn't even make me flinch.

She lowered it and looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. "I can't even fathom why the family would bother you. With how much you bug them, I bet they wish you were never even born."

Her words rung like a bell in my head. Over and Over again. I had heard this sentence many times from the maids and my father in the Azon estate. But coming from a mere stranger that even brought the family into her words made my heart drop to my stomach.

What if she was right.

If I put it together like a puzzle, it could be. The family didn't want me. They only need me for Nene. And if her other attendant didn't die then I would still be counting my days at the Azon estate. Was Nene forced to like me because the kingdom of the star provided me as an attendant and not someone else? It seemed likely. She was excellent at faking and keeping face.

Tabitha started to laugh and point at me. "Ooooooh looks like that one worked. Well I'm glad to know I atleast put you in your place before leaving. Bitch." She giggled to herself before grabbing a leather bag and walking towards the exit of the palace. She turned around one final time and blew me a sarcastic kiss.

I was too scared to go anywhere now. So in place of walking, I slumped down at the corner of the hallway and hid in my arms. Drowning in my own thoughts and feelings that seemed to get worse by the second. It hadn't registered in my mind that It was all unnecessary and that I was having a panic attack over something so trivial. Time wasn't a playing factor either. What seemed to be only a minute to me, turned into fifteen.

"Who's that?" A familiar voice called out. It was the younger prince's butler.

Not only were they one pair of shoes I heard, But two. Within a couple of seconds they stepped near me. "(Y/n)?"

Tsukasa's eyes furrowed with concern. It was cold. Only at the end of january. So why was I out alone in the second floor hallway?

I didn't bother to answer him. I couldn't. I would choke on my words and I knew it. Without warning or personal space, Tsukasa grabbed ahold of my face with both of his hands and forced me to look at him. What he saw confirmed his suspicion. I was actually crying. I never cried.

"Fuck." He said planely. I had never heard Tsukasa use that word, though I knew it was floating around in his colorful vocabulary somewhere. With the flick of his hand, his butler was dismissed for the night and he ran his fingers through his hair in distress. Tsukasa sat next to me and held me while I cried. He didn't care if my tears would get his suite wet or that I held onto the fabric of his clothes so hard that I thought he would disappear.

He didn't care. Because he wanted it. He wanted me to confide in him. He wanted to be my breath of fresh air at the start of my day. He never knew why his eyes searched for me, every time he entered a room. Or that fact that he would get excited whenever just hearing my name. He didn't really care to find out either because it was natural to him now. He wanted me. 

Finally, when I stopped crying, He lifted me up from my leaning on his shoulder and wiped the  tears off my cheeks with the gentlest swipe of his thumb. He didn't ask for an explanation, though he was dying to know.

I looked away from Tsukasa's captivating eyes so that they didn't distract me from talking.  "Tsukasa....Does the family like me?"

He blinked his eyes before smiling softly. "Yes."

"They all do? Even Nene?"

"What? Of course we do! Well, I can't say much for my mother. But I know that Nene does!' He nodded along with his words. He was relieved that his simple answers brought light to my wrong assumptions. Leaving me with a happy feeling. "Especially me."

"You?"

"Without even knowing it, I think about you all the time! It bugs me a little. But at least it's you and not someone else. I don't mind if it's you." He said confidently. With the biggest grin on his face. "Now...."

He lifted me up with ease and started tredding towards the stairs to the third floor where my room was at.

"Let's get you to bed, Shall we?"
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I know it's Monday but I'm just gonna say it's Friday so I can keep my sanity with scheduling XD
Original release date: April 2, 2021