Celty and her stepmother arrived home at three in the afternoon. When they arrived, the two of them were ushered by Culti to the garden. A table was prepared and various cakes and pastries were spread out evenly. Murakami was busy preparing a special blend of tea for his mother and little sister, while Culti was fanning the two of them.Murakami served the tea and the family sat together. Celty was still unsure if she"s having a dream or someone secretly replaced her family members. Ellie patted her head and softly spoke from the side.
"We"ve always wanted to spend time with you like this, but you"re always busy doing the household ch.o.r.es." Murakami smiled at her.
"You"re already a young lady and you should be more lady-like. You can leave the ch.o.r.es to us or we can just hire a few maids." Culti elegantly drank his tea.
Celty was touched by her brother"s concern for her welfare. It never crossed her mind that doing ch.o.r.es was a burden because she got used to it from a young age. Ellie knew that Celty needs more time to think about everything so she decided to change the subject.
"Did a messenger arrive with invitations while we were away?" Ellie asked her sons.
"Yes. Here you go mother." Murakami gave the letter of invitation to her mother.
"I see…so that"s it. The birthday celebration will be held two weeks from now." Ellie looked at his sons and raised an eyebrow.
"Mother, I don"t have any interest in going to that birthday celebration or whatever it is." Culti softly chewed a macaron.
"I"m not interested as well." Murakami ate a slice of apple pie.
"Are the two of you not interested in the princess?" Celty"s curiosity got the better of her.
"No." Murakami and Culti answered at the same time.
"Why?" Celty became more curious.
"I bet she"s not as cute as you sis." Culti casually replied.
"Yes. Our sister is the best." Murakami nodded from the side.
"T-Thank you?" Celty felt flattered due to the compliment of her brothers.
Ellie just watched from the side with a smile.
---------------------------------------------
It was the day before the Princess Birthday when a messenger from the king knocked on the door of Celtyrella"s house.
Ellie opened the door and saw the insignia of the Royal Family embedded in the uniform of what seems to be a royal messenger. The messenger looked like he is in his early twenties. His looks are above average and there is an air of arrogance in his mannerism. He is being accompanied by four royal guards of the kingdom.
"Yes? Is there anything I can do for you today Gentlemen?" Ellie smiled at them.
"Is this the residence of the NaranNarman?" The messenger spoke casually.
"Yes, it is. Is there a problem?" Ellie frowned at the att.i.tude of the messenger.
"We were told that his two sons were good looking men. I"m here to see them personally." The messenger didn"t beat around the bush and asked to see Murakami and Culti right away.
"Why do you want to see my sons?" Ellie didn"t back away and stood firmly in place. She"s overprotective of her family and even if it"s the king standing in front of her, she would not give him any face if he intends to harm her family.
The messenger felt the sudden change in her expression and decided to step back.
"I"m sorry Madam if I offended you. I"ve been going around the kingdom for the past week and I"m very exhausted. I just want to see your two sons, because the king personally sent a decree that all good-looking men must go to the birthday celebration whether they like it or not." The messenger took out a royal decree and showed it to Ellie.
Ellie read the decree and saw that all those who refuse to partic.i.p.ate will be punished severely. She felt her anger rising, but she kept it at bay. She returned the royal decree and nodded her head.
"Give me a minute, I"ll fetch my sons." Ellie went back inside the house.
Murakami and Culti were still wearing their maid uniforms and cleaning the house. Celty, on the other hand, was busy preparing their lunch.
"Mura, Culti come with me for a while." Ellie had a complicated look on her face as she called her two sons.
"What is it Mother?" Murakami noticed her mother"s anxiousness.
"Did something happen?" Culti frowned as well.
"Just come with me for a bit, someone wants to see the two of you." Ellie gestured to the two of them to follow her.
The two brothers shared a look at each other and follow their mother.
"I brought my sons with me." Ellie opened the door and she presented his two sons to the messenger.
The messenger was blown away by the sheer beauty in front of him. A tall man with long, dark-blonde hair and emerald green eyes gave him a look of indifference. His handsome features, highlighted by her frilly, pink maid uniform gave him a surreal beauty that is enough to cause the downfall of a nation.
The messenger forcefully tore his gaze away from Murakami and looked at his younger brother Culti. His angelic face has an annoyed expression, but his adorable pink lips gave him a seductive look that brought shivers down his spine.
His beauty will not lose out to his brother and the two of them standing side by side made the messenger feel weak on his knees.
The royal guards didn"t fare any better. These hardened men who were always training every day were ogling the two of them. Their pupils turned into hearts and if someone doesn"t stop them…something rated PG might happen.
The messenger kneeled at the two of them and held both Murakami and Culti"s hands.
"Will the two of you marry me?" The messenger looked at the two of them with longing.
"Get your filthy hands off me you swine!" Murakami shook his hand away and slapped the messenger.
"Ah! It hurts! But, it also feels good." The messenger caressed his cheek with a smile.
"F*ck off you filthy mudblood!" Culti slapped his other cheek.
"Ah! Slap me more!" The messenger"s pupils turned into hearts.
The two brothers looked at the m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t in disgust. They knew that even if they spit at him, it will only make him happier so they just backed away from him.
"You have seen my two sons. Is your business over?" Ellie stood in front of his sons and blocked the messengers view away from them.
"S-Sons? These two are your sons!?" The messenger finally snapped out of his daze.
"What!? they"re boys!?" Guard #1 was flabbergasted.
"So what if they"re boys? If there"s a hole…there"s a way!" Guard #2 was unaffected.
"Love knows no bounds. Gender is but a number." Guard#3 pressed his hands together.
[A/N: Oi! Shouldn"t it be age is but a number?]
"I call dibs on the one wearing the frilly pink maid outfit!" Guard#4 has called dibs on Murakami.
The messenger tried to calm himself but to no avail.
"T-This, we need to take them into custody to ensure that they really are boys. Isn"t that right men?" The messenger looked at the royal guards for support.
"This is a very important celebration for the kingdom. We don"t want to hurt the two of you so you better cooperate." Guard#1 stepped forward.
"Please cooperate or the two of you will be charged for rebellion." Guard#2 looked at the two of them seriously.
"W-Wait! You can"t do this! We"re loyal citizens of the kingdom!" Ellie stepped forward like a mother hen protecting her chicks from danger.
"Madam. We don"t want to make this a big issue so I advise you to calm down. You can visit them at the barracks. The examination won"t take long." Guard#3 spoke in a stern voice.
Murakami and Culti shared a knowing glance at each other.
"Mother, don"t worry this won"t take long." Murakami tried to calm her mother down.
"We"ll be safe. Don"t worry about us. Make sure to take care of Celty while we"re gone."
"B-But!" Ellie held to both of their hands.
"Mother. Trust us." Murakami winked at his mother.
Culti hugged her mother and whispered something in her ear. Ellie"s face went stiff for a few seconds then she started to giggle.
"Fine. I"ll pick the two of you later." Ellie"s att.i.tude made a complete 90-degree change and kissed both of her son"s cheeks.
The corner of her lips lifted into a smirk and she looked at the men in front of him.
"Take these two ladie-, gentlemen and make sure to treat them properly! Any of you do something funny and I"ll make sure you suffer!" The messenger glared at the four guards.
"Sure! Whatever you say, Sir." Guard#1 licked his lips in antic.i.p.ation.
"Yes, we"ll make sure that the two of them will be treated like VIP guests." Guard#2 rubbed his hands together.
"Madam. Rest a.s.sured, no harm will come to the two of them! You have my word!" The messenger patted his chest.
"I"ll have to trust your words then. Please take good care of my sons." Ellie smiled at him.
Murakami and Culti were escorted to the barracks by the messenger and the royal guards. Ellie went back inside the house and informed Celty about the recent event.
"What!? We need to save them mother!" Celty almost bolted towards the door when she heard the news.
"Don"t worry about your brothers. They"ll be just fine." Ellie grabbed her hand and tried to calm her down.
"Mother! What if they do something to the two of them!? I heard that the guards also like to…do this and that with handsome young men!" Celty anxiously explained.
"Relax. Don"t you trust your brothers? They can easily escape any predicament if they wish to do so. You don"t need to worry about them." Ellie gave her a rea.s.suring smile.
"But! Even so, we need to make sure!" Celty tried to convince Ellie.
"We will fetch them after an hour. First, let"s have lunch." Ellie held her hand and headed to the kitchen.
------------------------------------
Meanwhile in the Barracks
"Two beauties graced us with their presence! Nice catch!" A guard in the barracks whistled when he saw Murakami and Culti.
"You can have a taste after I"m done with them, for now, you better keep those hands off them. Do you understand?" The messenger glared at the guard.
"Yes sir! You eat the meat, we have the soup! Perfectly justified." The guard saluted.
"At least you know your place." The messenger nodded in appreciation.
"Bring the two of them into the VIP room. We"re going to have some fun." Guard#1 gave out an order.
The men in the barracks were leering at Murakami and Culti like hungry wolves. What kind of fate will befall them?
[A/N: Don"t ask me! I still haven"t written that part yet! Wait for the next chapter!]
------------------------------------
Meanwhile, somewhere in the kingdom…
Is it our turn yet? My sparklers are ready!
Hush nyah~ Don"t get too impatient. The author is working overtime. Can"t you see the word count? It"s 2k FFS for a single chapter.
Much love! Many Happy~