"So, what do you think about the new Grand Duke, Ary?" Nysander asked.

Aryssa smirked at him over her cup of tea. "I should be asking you that, Nys," she said. "You're the one who came here with an ulterior motive."

"We came here under Father's orders."

"Which you happily followed because you had something to discuss with the current Grand Duke Valtoria," Aryssa said as she placed her cup down. "You could have just sent a letter! The crazy and stupid stuff you do just for love."

Nysander only rolled his eyes.

Piping hot tea and various snacks lay on the table as they had their tea time inside Valtoria Castle's greenhouse. The icy mountains that could be seen through the glass, created quite the contrast with the various greenery and flowers that grew around them. The late Duchess had been the one to create the greenhouse if he remembered correctly.

"For the last time, I did not come here for matters regarding Kassie and me," he said. "I just want to take a look at his character, you know? Before I'm crowned, which is years away from now, I want to at least know the people who will be working closely with me. Valtorias are the defenders of the North after all."

Aryssa paused from biting into a cookie and gave a deadpan look in her eye. "You want to get to know him so you'll know how to ask him to break his engagement with Kassie."

Gods and Fairies above! When will she let it go?

He was about to retort when a rustle came from the bushes to their right. Their guards went alert and moved closer to their side. The rustle grew louder and was followed by a tiny and cute "oomph" as a figure came tumbling into the little clearing.

"Stand down," he ordered when he saw who it was.

A small child no older than five sat on the grass. In his hands, he held a net and a glass jar containing a gold-red butterfly. He was covered in leaves, dirt, and small scrapes but he had a huge smile that caused Nysander and his sister to smile as well.

"Hello, little one," Aryssa called over. "What has you so happy over there?"

The child finally noticed their presence, and his cerulean slit-eyes widened at the sight of them.

He clumsily fell on one knee, bowed, and raised his forearm parallel to his forehead. "Aleron Valto...Aleron Valtoria greets Your Highness Yimper—Imperial Crown Prince, and Your Highness, Second Princess."

His kneel was clumsy, he stuttered, almost mispronounced a word, and still had the net and jar in his hands. In the first place, a bow would have sufficed as kneels were reserved for first meetings and official occasions. But...he was already so much better at greetings than their younger siblings back home. In addition, he was just adorable to look at, mistakes and all.

Aryssa clapped her hands and a maid went to help the child up. "Wow, you already know those greetings? Who taught you?"

"No one," the kid said. "I saw people do it yesterday when you arrived."

Observant and smart. Did he know who they were and what their positions entailed?

"That's amazing!" Nysander said to him. "Would you like to join us? I'm quite interested in the pretty butterfly you have there."

"But...I'm too dirty."

Aryssa clapped her hand and their maid came over with a handkerchief. With a murmured "Excuse me" she reached for the child and wiped his face and then hands. As she did so, Nysander's eyes narrowed at how thin the child was.

As far as he knew, the late Duke Roano had brought the child in five months ago. Why did he look so thin?

Aryssa noticed this too and their eyes met. They nodded at each other.

When the child was cleaned, he was sat on another chair the other maids prepared for him. Pillows had been piled up on the seat so he would be able to reach his cutlery. He was then served a small cup of tea and a small plate of cookies. The child looked at them, bright blue eyes growing observant.

Have they not taught him basic etiquette yet?

He's an illegitimate child, but the Valtoria Family always valued their children. As long as you were a child of Valtoria, you would be well taken care of. Well, in some cases in history, not neglected...at minimum.

With a quiet sigh, Nysander reached for his cup and demonstrated how to properly hold it. His movements were slow and he purposely turned so that the little kid could see his movements. A smile made its way to his face when the young Valtoria clumsily copied his movements. Nysander was a little concerned that the hot tea would burn him, but the child was slow and careful throughout. A few moments later, it was Aryssa's turn to show him what fork to use.

The large smile and little giggle he let out warmed the already cozy atmosphere. It was nice to see that the kid was not feeling too sad about his father's death.

But there was a nagging sense that something wrong was going on. He couldn't resist and asked a question.

"How do you like this place, little Aleron?"

The child paused eating his third cookie. "I like it lots," he said. "It's warm. My hands and feet aren't cold anymore. My tummy stopped rumbling and hurting. I'm also not itchy anymore..."

Aleron kept going on, enthusiastically talking about the books in the library, the pretty greenhouse flowers, and the light snowfall that he could see through the windows. It was nice to hear, but Nysander noticed something lacking in his words.

There were no mentions of people in his stories. No names of servants. No name of his nanny. He did not even mention the previous Grand Duke and the current one.

Aryssa noticed the same thing. "What about your nanny and servants? Your father and brother?"

Aleron's face furrowed for a moment like he was thinking hard about something. He soon looked at them. His dragon eyes looked like they were assessing their trustworthiness. Whatever he saw, it caused him to nod to himself.

Nysander was reminded of a story his grandmother told him about the Valtoria Family. Aside from the Dragon Flame, the bright blue iris and slit-pupils were features passed down by the Valtorias from their dragon ancestor. It was said that the stronger the concentration of the dragon bloodline, the descendants of the Valtoria Family would awaken some of its powers. There were records of Valtoria family members being able to subdue beasts with their gaze alone while some had the ability to discern truth from lies.

Aleron's eyes reminded him of the new Grand Duke's display of power yesterday. The glaring sky-blue dragon eyes had ordered people to look away from them. It was enough to send shivers down his spine. If he had been on the receiving end, he would have obeyed too.

Seeing the two brothers, maybe it wasn't the end of the Valtoria bloodline just yet like everyone else was saying.

The child began to speak, pulling him out of his musings. "It's a secret, okay?"

"Oh, I love secrets," Aryssa said. With another clap of her hands, the servants and personal guards backed all the way to the edge of the clearing. He approved her decision. Whatever the child saw from them using his special eyes, made him feel safe enough to reveal a secret to them.

"I...I am always only with my nanny. There are no other servants," he said. "Father was always in bed. He was so sick and in pain that Nanny would carry me away quickly. Brother...well...."

He and Aryssa leaned forward in anticipation at the part about the Grand Duke. It could not be helped because so little was known about him. He had no personal servants and it was very difficult to even catch news of him outside of the castle. His health had always been poor, but the Grand Duke yesterday did not look like he had been sick for a long time. The Valtorias were becoming too interesting for him.

"I only met brother yesterday," Aleron said. "He said he was sorry that we met late."

"Did His Grace tell you why?" he asked.

The child shook his head. "No. But I think he was busy. Nanny always said he's always busy."

"What do you think of His Grace?" Aryssa asked.

A smile tugged at the little kid's lips. It caught them off guard for a moment as he had shown no indication of liking anyone in this castle at all. "I like him lots. Big brother is the only one here who was happy to meet me—and now handsome brother and pretty sister too. Everybody else was just lying."

His nickname aside, Nysander wanted to ask more but a heel dug into his shin. Hiding his wince of pain, he glared at his sister who shook her head at him. She was clearly telling him to stop there.

"Is that so?" Aryssa said. She reached out, ruffled his hair, and placed another cookie on his plate.

"Yeah!" Aleron's smile brightened. He reached for the jar containing the butterfly and raised it towards them. "I'm going to give this to him as a present."

Gods and Fairies! Why couldn't my own younger siblings be this sweet to me? All I got were demon spawns! All four of them.

They were about to continue their conversation when a commotion came from the entrance of the greenhouse. Servants wearing the signature gray uniform the Valtoria Family rushed in, all frantically looking for something. They were all shouting the same thing.

"Young master Aleron!"

"Young master, where are you?"

The child they were looking for turned in their direction. His little brows furrowed in confusion. It was probably the first time someone had gone looking for him.

Before they could stop him, he jumped from his seat and ran towards them with his butterfly jar clutched to his chest. "I am here."

When the servants caught sight of him, they all slumped in relief. Some leaned against a tree and others fell to their knees.

Nysander shared another look with Aryssa. They did not look relieved that the child was safe. Instead, they looked relieved that they were saved from something. He wondered why, but his question was answered soon after.

Grand Duke Valtoria strode through the entrance. Even with his casual and rumpled shirt and vest, he still cut an intimidating figure as his sky-blue dragon eyes glared at every single person near the entrance. The intensity in his gaze softened when they fell on Aleron, and the rest of the people were forgotten.

Nysander let out an amused smile at being one of those forgotten people. It was kind of nice for a change.

His Grace Valtoria fell onto one knee before little Aleron and cupped his face. "Aleron, what did you eat this morning?"

The child hesitated before reluctantly answering. "Nothing."

The Grand Duke's neutral face crumpled at his answer. "What? You did not eat...at all?"

Aleron nodded.

What did he just hear? The little kid was not fed breakfast at all?

He had a moment to witness the fury that raged in the Grand Duke's eyes before his neutral expression returned to his face. The intensity of his eyes increased though, putting more pressure on the people at the receiving end.

"Who is the one in charge of delivering his meals?"

"His...nanny was the one to deliver his meals, Your Grace," one of them answered.

A dry laugh escaped the Grand Duke's mouth. "So he has no dedicated kitchen maids?" he asked. "And the only reason he isn't frothing at the mouth right now is because I had that incompetent nanny fired? You're telling me that I should be happy about that?"

The servants fell silent at his calm but sharp words.

Nysander's brows furrowed once he understood what happened. Someone had tried to poison the youngest Valtoria.

"Herard," the Grand Duke called for his steward. The old man quickly stepped past the doorway and stood among the slumped and scared forms of the servants. He did not say a word and waited for his orders. "I want information on all the people who were supposed to be involved in caring for Aleron, delivered to me by sundown. And I mean all. From his nanny, his assigned maids, and the kitchen staff that was supposed to cook his meals. Even the guards that were supposed to keep him safe."

"Your Grace, that would be—"

"Find temporary replacements for them until I finish deciding their fates. Have people prepare the room next to mine as well. Aleron will not be staying in that dump you all call his room."

"If I may—"

"I want the bastard who dared to poison a child of Valtoria to be sent to me. I want him alive and I'll deal with him myself."

Nobody could utter a word at the Grand Duke's continuous orders. They all withered under his calm but intense anger. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Dismissed."

In the next second, all the servants at the greenhouse entrance picked themselves up, bowed, and left.

A big sigh escaped the Grand Duke's mouth when they finally left.

Aleron, who had been observing the events in silence, approached him and tugged at his pants. The big brother looked down at his younger brother, the anger controlled and hidden once more behind a calmer facade.

It did not fool Aleron though. "Brother, don't be angry?" he said. He then raised the jar with the gold-red butterfly towards his big brother. "I got you a present. It's the prettiest butterfly in the greenhouse."

His Grace Valtoria blinked in confusion at the jar before a small smile tugged at his lips. He crouched before Aleron again. "Thank you, Aleron. It is the prettiest butterfly that I've ever seen," he said. "But I'm afraid I can't keep it. Butterflies are meant to fly and help plants, you see. It will be very sad if I only keep it in this jar."

Aleron let out a shocked gasp before shame appeared on his little face. He quickly opened the glass jar, which allowed the butterfly to flutter free. "Sorry, I did not know."

"It's okay, little one. It is natural to not know some things at your age," the Grand Duke said. "There is no need to look so sad."

"I don't have a present for you anymore."

The Grand Duke paused for a moment, confusion showing through his neutral expression. "You do not need to give me presents."

"It's a thank you for welcoming me to your house."

A bittersweet smile appeared on the Grand Duke's face as he opened his arms. "Come here," he said. Aleron ran into his arms, where he was enveloped and a tight embrace. The older Valtoria buried his face in the younger one's hair. "This is your 'house' too, Aleron. You don't have to thank me for something like that, alright?"

Aleron nodded and nuzzled his face against his brother's chest. A minute passed before Aleron broke away from the hug first. He received a hair ruffle a second later, which enticed a giggle out of him. He was then picked up and the Grand Duke carried him at the hip.

Nysander and Aryssa leaned back into their chairs when two pairs of sky-blue dragon eyes fell on them. One pair was small and filled with joy at the sight of them. While the other pair managed to hide all emotion behind a cool gaze.

It would appear that the older Valtoria had noticed them after all, but chose not to greet them. Instead of being offended, Nysander liked the fact that Grand Duke Valtoria would prioritize his family before anyone else.

It was one of the important values that their father instilled in them ever since they were young.

The brothers arrived before them, and the Grand Duke bowed at the waist with his right hand over his chest. "Greeting, Your Royal Highness the Imperial Crown Prince, Your Highness the Second Princess. I apologize for the unsightly display of my home's current...situation."

"It was not a bother," Aryssa. "Would you like to join us?."

He contemplated for a moment before those inhuman eyes settled on Nysander. With the same look as Aleron earlier, the Grand Duke nodded to himself as if he saw something he wanted to see from Nysander.

It looked adorable on Aleron but was quite scary with the Grand Duke.

"It would be my honor," was his reply. "I also have something I wish to discuss with Your Highnesses."

The Grand Duke looked down at his brother first. "Aleron, can you pick some flowers from over there for me? Take your time and choose the best."

The little boy exclaimed a joyful yes, before running off towards the flowers. Nysander nodded at one of their maids, silently asking her to follow the child.

With the child gone, all the softness and slight warmth from Grand Duke Valtoria left him. The eyes that had looked at his little brother so fondly, were now cold with a bit of fire flickering in its depths.

Nysander now knew why his grandmother and father always had heavy shoulders when they had to meet with the Valtorias.

"Their gaze can see right through you. You can never lie in front of a Valtoria. They make the greatest advisers and friends, but also the worst enemies."

"Candor is what keeps them loyal to us and the Empire. It is a small price to pay, and yet difficult to give."

Now that he was in the North, he might as well start getting used to meetings with a Valtoria in advance.