Siblings First Meeting

"Isn't it obvious? The Crown Prince is Master Minos's son, though how or when such a thing happened, I don't know, what I do know is that I'm not allowed to talk about it, but given that you are the Master's daughter, it should be fine."

"Son?! Impossible, my father has only ever been with my mother!" Rinka adamantly denied.

"Huh? Well maybe it's a coincidence then…" Refa said, though it was obvious she thought differently.

"How old is the Crown Prince?" Rinka kept asking.

"Around 10 or 11, though he looks much older given his stature."

'10 or 11…' Rinka thought to herself in silence, realizing that this brother of hers was born around the same time.

Thinking back on it, she remembered the story of her fathers adventure before she was born, and with a slight calculation, she realized that that was the only time period in which such an event was possible.

The only question left was what had happened on that trip, and why would her father, who was always honest and upright, cheat on her mother?

'Does mom know, and if not, should I tell her… Even if I don't, once she sees the Crown Prince, she'll know immediately…'

Deciding what to do in her heart, Rinka suddenly ran off, surprising Refa who was caught off guard by her sudden movement.

"Where are you going Miss!" Refa shouted from behind her.

"To find my parents, where's my dads room?"

"Well you're running in the opposite direction!" Refa said, causing Rinka to stop awkwardly for a moment.

"Take me there." She said after a slight pause.

"Very well, Miss Rinka."

…

"Minos, you dog! We haven't seen each other for five years and this is the first thing you do?" Tinka said, though the big smile on her face made it clear she didn't mind.

"Hey, I missed you, in more ways than one." Minos laughed, giving Tinka's bottom a squeeze as he did so.

Giggling, Tinka lightly slapped Minos's chest, the two looking into each other's eyes for a moment before Minos couldn't hold back anymore, once again attacking Tinka at full force.

It was fortunate his walls were sound proof, otherwise Tinka's moans would have spread throughout the entire estate.

As Minos was enjoying his time thrusting away, a sudden knock at the door broke his rhythm, causing him to get slightly annoyed.

"Who?"

"It's me, Refa, Master Minos. Your daughter would like to speak to you."

"Rinka? Give us a second." Minos said, quickly throwing on his cloth while tossing Tinka's towards her.

After a minute or so, the two were dressed, both curious as to why Rinka had suddenly run up to them.

"Come in." Minos said, not forgetting to clear the sweat-drenched sheets from their bed.

"Dad, how could you!" Rinka said with tears in her eyes as she ran into the room, punching her dads chest repeatedly under his confused eyes.

"What happened, dear?" Tinka asked, trying to calm her daughter down.

"It's dad, h-h-h-he wasn't loyal to you!" Rinka said, breaking out into a bawl.

"What do you mean?" Tinka said, still confused at Rinka's sudden hysteria.

"The Crown Prince, he's dad's son!" Rinka said between sobs.

"Is that so?" Tinka replied, though she seemed neither shocked nor surprised, a reaction which caught Rinka off-guard.

"Why aren't you angry?" Rinka asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Refa, give us a moment, will you?" Minos suddenly said with a sigh, realizing he would have to explain a secret he had been dreading.

"Of course, Master." Refa said, leaving the room and sealing the door shut tightly.

"Sit down Tinka, it's about time I told you the truth…" Minos said, patting the spot next to him.

"The truth? What are you on about? And does mom know?" Rinka shouted, staring at her mom as if to ask if she was aware of all this.

"Your mom was the first one I told, she's known from the start, and since you're old enough now, I suppose you should know too."

"The truth was, not long after your mother got pregnant, I was, how do I say this… Assaulted by the princess of the Aleph Empire, Lilia."

"It's not exactly a memory I'm fond of, and to this day I hate thinking about it, but as my daughter, you should know."

"Assaulted, what does that mean?" Rinka asked naively.

"Dear, all you need to know is that what happened was far beyond your fathers control, and it still hurts him to this very day." Tinka said, knowing full well that it pained Minos every time he talked about this.

"So Dad didn't cheat on you?"

"No, of course not, you know your father, has he ever betrayed either of our trust?" Tinka asked with a smile as she hugged her husband, as if to remind him that it was okay.

"No, he hasn't… I guess I overreacted then, but what about the Crown Prince, how should I treat him?" Rinka asked with a sniffle.

"It's not his fault, so I hope once I introduce you two, you can treat him as a brother, not an enemy." Minos replied.

"I'll try…" Rinka said, though it was clear this sudden half-brother wasn't yet something she could accept so easily.

Just as Rinka said that, another knock came to the door, Minos already guessing what it was this time.

"Come in." Minos shouted, causing a finely groomed old-butler to enter the room with a bow.

"Master Minos, the Crown Prince has come to visit. He's currently waiting in the reception room."

"Very well, have the maids prepare some snacks for us, I'll be there in a moment."

"As you demand, Master." The butler said with another bow before leaving.

"The timing is quite perfect. This is your chance to meet your brother, so I hope you behave." Minos said.

"I'll try my best, Dad…" Rinka said, though her fingers were fidgeting slightly, clearly anxious about meeting him.

"As for you Tinka, well I hope you can try to treat him no differently than Rinka, though he may not accept at first, so I hope you can be patient."

"I'll have him calling me mom in no time." Tinka joked with a laugh, causing Minos to smile, glad to see his wife wasn't worried at all.

"Great, then let's set off." Minos exclaimed with a clap of his hands.

…

"Here you go, Young Master Minos, please enjoy." The maid smiled, placing the tray of hand-made deserts on the large table.

"Thank you. By the way, how long until my Father arrives?" Little Minos said openly, the truth behind his and Minos's relationship already being an open-secret to most servants.

"He should just be a moment." The maid answered.

Nodding, little Minos waited patiently as he enjoyed the top-grade deserts, his eyes glued to the door of the room as he did so.

With the sound of the door opening, little Minos quickly put the desert down and wiped his mouth clean, his hands suddenly freezing as he saw three people enter the room.

"Hey son, how are you doing?" Minos said somewhat awkwardly, wanting to give his son a moment before he introduced anyone.

"Uhh, fine… These two are?" Little Minos asked, though in his heart he already had an answer.

"Remember how I told you I already had a family before I met your mother, well this is them. This is your step-mother, Tinka, who I hope you will treat with the same respect that you give to me, and this is your half-sister, Rinka, who I know you've wanted to meet for a long time."

Not quite sure what to say for a moment, little Minos just looked at the two of them, his mind finally clearing up after a second.

"It's uhh, nice to meet you two…" Little Minos said, not certain as to how to go about treating them.

"You as well." Tinka said with a smile, taking a seat at the spot across from little Minos.

"So you're my new brother? As your big sister, it's only natural that you follow my lead, as long as you do that, we should have no problems." Rinka said somewhat arrogantly, which naturally didn't sit well with the head-strong little Minos.

"I may have been born after you, but in my empire, talent and capability is rewarded, not seniority, so on the basis of being smarter and stronger, you should instead follow me." Little Minos rebutted.

"Stronger and smarter? Hmph, who said!?" Rinka shouted as she glared at her brother.