Please Let Me Live a Lazy Life!

Chapter 8: I Don't Want to Play Pretend (2)

Looking at the comfy pair somehow already attached to each other, Edward expression looked almost rather pained while Nicole just clicked his tongue.

"Your Highness, Thomas is not--" Edward debated on whether he should tell the red-haired royal the fact that his brother was actually only a couple of years younger than them and not as young as his best friend had originally presumed. In the end, he didn't have the heart to embarrass his cheerful friend, especially since his brother has yet to say anything in regards towards his real age. It also seemed that Nicole was unaware of Thomas' real age because his big mouth would definitely rise up to the opportunity to mock Edward about Thomas' baby features. "I don't think Thomas would be interested in playing 'Magic and War'."

"How so? I mean, you do know young Thomas the best--" Edward tried not to flinch at the Prince's casual statement; he thought he knew Thomas pretty well since his younger brother was not subtle with his schemes and had yet learned how to keep his ill intentions off of his face, but with Thomas' recent attitude as of late, Edward found himself at a lost. "--but shouldn't we ask the little one whether he would like to join first?"

"That... would be reasonable," Edward conceded, though he could only imagine Thomas agreeing to play if only to gain the good impression of the Crown Prince. Then again, he was talking about the old Thomas, not this seemingly indifferent and completely quiet Thomas, who seemed to be ignoring their conversation the entire time while focusing on his book...

Xander, on the other hand, looked down at the young boy in his lap and smiled warmly, a little bit charmed by the little one's devotion and concentration on the book in his small hands. Xander was an only child between his father, The Ruling King, and his mother, The Ruling Queen. Since his father also did not take in concubines, he didn't have any half-siblings to interact with either. Xander was aware of the fact that the council have been worried about having only one heir to the throne-- though they were also relieved that a succession war would not happen either, but if anything happened to Xander before he could ascend his rightful place as King and before he could have children on his own, there would be no one to inherit Astria's throne.

But realistically, his parents were trying to have children for decades before Xander was born. Xander was their lucky star-- so his mother had told him once. After his birth, his parents then continued trying to have another child but was denied by the Goddess once again. Though his father was presented with the idea of taking in a concubine multiple of times, his father was very loyal to his mother and so, their family was inevitable small.

Though the majority of his classmates had always complained about their siblings, he had always wondered what it would be like to have one since his parents had always been trying very hard to give him one in the first place.

Since the Rosetta family had been working closely with the Royal Family for generations, Xander liked to think that he was well acquainted with Rosetta's themselves. Kyron Rosetta, Edward's father, was Astria's Prime Minister and one of the most influential figures in the Royal Court. Anais Rosetta, Edward's mother, was an elegant woman often known to be full of style and fashion. Both are celebrities within the noble circle and their admirers are numerous.

Of course, since Edward was in his age group, he was closest to the oldest son of the Rosetta. They were basically childhood friends and there was barely anything that Xander didn't know about his best friend. He also knew that his friend had two other siblings as well-- one was his adorable and dainty sister that he had met a couple of times inside the academy and outside of classes as well. The other was, of course, Thomas, who was the product of a tryst and Kyron Rosetta's illegitimate child.

This was the first time Xander had ever met Thomas. Before then, he had asked his best friend about the sudden addition of his family but Edward's answers had always been cold. It confused the Prince since there was a time when Edward had hoped for a little brother because having a sister close in age was too bothersome and irritating.