CHAPTER 285: CHAPTER 285: SIBLING JEALOUSY. [WIN-WIN BONUS]

Mia blinked at the remark, her throat tightening. "I..."

Lucas cut in smoothly, his tone even but threaded with quiet authority. "Let’s not scare her in the first ten seconds."

That earned the faintest twitch of Serathine’s mouth, a flash of approval in her amber eyes, while Cressida’s gaze narrowed as if weighing the correction. But Lucas stood steady, unbothered, the crystal clarity of his intent unmistakable.

Mia was there intentionally, because once Christopher was crowned queen of Saha, Mia would no longer be just "Mia from the group chat." She would be the queen’s sister, easy prey for whispers, pressure, or worse. Lucas knew it, and so he had made the choice himself: to walk her straight into the jaws of power now, at his side, where his presence was a shield she could not be denied.

He angled his head toward her, just enough for Mia to catch the flicker of reassurance in his eyes. "You’ll do fine," he murmured, soft enough that only she heard.

Mia’s pulse still thundered, but the words anchored her, steadied her feet against the crushing weight of two matriarchs’ stares.

Serathine recovered first, her voice smooth. "Bold of you, Lucas. Most would never think to bring someone so... fresh into these halls. But then, you’ve always had an eye for potential."

Cressida’s silver eyes lingered longer on Mia, sharp enough to make her fidget, before returning to Lucas. "I see that Trevor’s recklessness rubbed off on you. Let’s hope it serves you as well as it serves him."

Before either woman could prod further, the echo of footsteps cut through the tension.

"Now this," Sirius Alaric’s voice carried ahead of him, smooth and commanding, "is a sight I wasn’t expecting."

The Crown Prince appeared, tall and broad, blue eyes lit with controlled amusement. Beside him came Lucius, darker, sharper, his gaze immediately locking onto Lucas with quiet intensity.

The hall shifted at once, servants stilled, courtiers bowed, and even Serathine and Cressida straightened, their rivalry muted under imperial gravity.

Sirius’s mouth curved faintly as he looked between them all. "So, our brother finally makes his debut at the palace. I see the Capital will have plenty to talk about."

Lucius’s voice followed, cool and precise. "And plenty to judge." His gaze flicked toward Mia, then back to Lucas, less cutting this time, more deliberate. "Though I see you’ve chosen not to stand alone."

Lucas sighed and guided Mia through the doors of the saloon in front of them, the rest following without a word.

After the servers set the table with soft pastries and expensive tea, they left them alone.

Lucas sighed. "If any of you touch Mia, I’m not going to talk with you anymore."

Mia turned crimson, horrified at being singled out, but Serathine only chuckled, her amber eyes warm. "Don’t worry, Lucas. We wouldn’t dream of harming the poor girl. Not after all the things she’s said in the chat."

Lucas stiffened. "Serathine..."

Cressida, Marchioness of Fitzgeralt, interrupted smoothly, her tone cool as she spread marmalade on her scone. "Oh please, Lucas, stop glaring at her. Everyone in the chat knows Mia is harmless."

The silence that followed was absolute.

Sirius, halfway through reaching for a pastry, froze. His blue eyes cut toward Lucas, narrowing with deliberate, theatrical outrage. "Chat?"

Lucius’s dark gaze snapped to him next, sharp as a blade. "What chat?"

Lucas tried, too late, to backpedal. "It’s not... it’s just..."

Cressida sipped her tea, unbothered. "The one with me, Serathine, Mia, Christopher, and Lucas. Honestly, Sirius, do try to keep up."

Mia nearly inhaled her tea, forgetting everything she knew about manners. "Cressida!"

Serathine’s lips twitched, her amber eyes dancing with mischief.

Sirius dropped the pastry back onto the plate, folding his arms like a sulking schoolboy. "Unbelievable. My own brother, keeping a secret chat without me?"

Lucius’s tone was cooler, but the bite was unmistakable. "So we are good enough for palace strategy but not for... whatever this is?"

Lucas dragged a hand over his face. "You’re making it sound worse than it is."

"Worse than it is?" Sirius shot back, leaning forward, mock outrage radiating off him. "You’ve been gossiping with our aunt and grandmother this whole time while we get nothing?"

Lucius’s expression sharpened further, voice crisp. "We are not outsiders, Lucas. Not anymore."

Mia muttered, horrified but barely suppressing laughter, "Oh my god, you’re really mad about the group chat."

Sirius jabbed a finger at Lucas. "Yes. And he’s the culprit."

Lucas sighed, exasperated by the royal fussiness. "It’s a group chat to help Christopher Malek, not to include every royal in Palatine."

That earned him a sharp look from Lucius, his voice cutting and precise. "And yet you included Mia."

Mia flinched, ready to defend herself, but Lucas’s hand came down lightly over hers on the table. "She is Chris’s sister. If you are so butthurt about the chat, just make another."

Sirius nearly choked on his tea, half laughing, half scandalized. "Butthurt? Did you just..."

Lucius’s expression didn’t shift, but his silence was louder than any outburst. His eyes narrowed, the faintest tick at the corner of his jaw betraying the hit.

Lucas only leaned back in his chair, utterly unbothered, sipping his tea like he hadn’t just insulted two heirs of Palatine. "What? It’s true. You don’t like being left out? Solve it. You’re princes, not children crying about a locked door."

Serathine’s amber eyes gleamed with open amusement, her lips curving into a smile she didn’t bother hiding. "Caelan would adore you," she murmured, not nearly quietly enough.

Cressida, by contrast, sat straighter, her silver eyes glinting like steel. "And Trevor will praise you for speaking like that to your brothers in public."

Sirius finally set his cup down with a thud, grinning in spite of himself. "I can’t decide if I want to hug you or throttle you."

"Both," Lucius said dryly, though his gaze flicked to Mia, softer now, less hostile. "For now, I’ll refrain."

Mia stared between them all, caught somewhere between horror and laughter, whispering to herself, "This family is insane."

"Insane?" Sirius leaned back in his chair, clearly delighted. "Darling, this is us behaving. You should see us when we’re actually at war."

Mia’s eyes widened, torn between laughing and hiding under the table. "That’s supposed to make me feel better?"

Lucius’s mouth curved, barely, but it was there, a sharp, knowing smile that looked far too rare on his face. "She’s braver than she thinks. Most outsiders would have fled by now."

"Outsiders?" Lucas cut in smoothly, his tone clipped. "She’s Chris’s sister. She doesn’t get that label anymore."

The words landed with quiet finality, heavier than any of the teasing. For a moment, the room stilled, the two matriarchs exchanging glances, Sirius’s grin softening, even Lucius’s sharp eyes flicking back to Mia as if reassessing her entirely.

Cressida was the first to break the silence, her voice cool but deliberate. "Then it seems the circle is larger than I expected."

Serathine’s amber eyes glinted with amusement, her tone lighter. "And infinitely more entertaining."

Mia felt her face heat under all their gazes, her voice barely a whisper. "I start to understand better why Chris wants to run."

Serathine’s amber eyes glinted with amusement, her tone lighter. "And infinitely more entertaining."

Mia felt her face heat under all their gazes, her voice barely a whisper. "I start to understand better why Chris wants to run."

Sirius nearly choked on his tea, laughing. "Finally, someone says it out loud. I knew I liked you."

Lucius arched a brow, dry as ever. "Careful, or he’ll recruit you to his side."

"At least my fiancée didn’t flee." Sirius dropped the bomb in the room, far too casually.