The Extra of The Lunerra

There were things I had to put off because of the Laute Family thing.

And one of them was quite important, actually.

Very important.

Not just for me, but for the whole kingdom... maybe even the planet.

I turned my eyes slightly to the side, to the back seat of the quietly moving car... to the person sitting next to me with an extremely nervous expression.

She wore light makeup. Her light brown hair was beautifully braided in a way she had never done before. Her choice of dress was also quite special. It might have been the most beautiful, finely embroidered dress in her closet. It was a near-white dress that matched her eyes. It looked elegant with a skirt that went slightly below her knees.

The sweet girl, who looked much younger than her age, was now transformed into someone quite beautiful.

Yet all this did not hide her nervousness.

Even though her gray eyes were looking out, her expression, slightly reflected in the door window, seemed a little shaky.

"Calm down, Clara."

She paused after my words, her gray eyes focused on my reflection in the window rather than outside.

When she realized I was looking at her, she slowly turned her head to me.

"I'm trying."

She tried to look serious but couldn't hide the slightly pale color of her face.

It was so obvious...

"You're not so successful."

"It's not like I go to the palace every day..."

"You'd better get used to it."

She couldn't help frowning at what she had just heard.

"Didn't you say something about... hiding my identity? It doesn't seem to make much sense if I come to the palace often..."

"I'm not talking about coming to the palace, I'm talking about keeping your cool in situations like this."

For a brief moment, her face showed traces of confusion, as if she didn't quite understand what I was saying.

"You are a noble, Clara. The existence of the name 'Tenebra' among the counts may not have changed your life much, but that was only because you continued to lead a normal life"

I tore my eyes away from her, looking out of the door window on my side as I leaned back in the seat of the car.

"Things will start to change because you are my sister. Showing any sign of weakness will devalue you in the eyes of others and make you look like an easy target. And that will hurt you and the name of Tenebra."

"Oh..."

When she finally understood what I was talking about, her eyebrows and eyes returned to normal. I thought she would quiet down, thinking she should be a little more careful about herself and her appearance, but... she simply focused on my reflection.

"You sound just like one of those fathers in fairy tales who doesn't even care about his children for his status."

I rolled my eyes and tried hard not to let out a really deep sigh, but Clara continued, surprising me in a good way this time.

"But I understand what you're talking about, I'll do my best."

She seemed really serious this time, at least she was trying.

And, well, that was enough.

At least she didn't see all this as a game or something simple.

*******

When the car entered the capital... I don't know why, but I expected to be mesmerized, to not believe my eyes.

I had lived in Wiathen almost all my life, and the capital was often referred to as... the most beautiful city in the kingdom.

I had never been to different parts of the kingdom or fought in a war like my brother, and I had never had the chance to travel with my family... So I, at least technically, didn't see anything beside the city I live in. That's why my expectations were high.

But seeing it, the capital, normally and seeing it on social media were two different things.

On social media, with effects and editing, the city was transformed into something almost spectacular, almost glamorous.

But in reality... it was not much different from Wiathen.

So much so that the only thing that managed to catch my attention was the palace built on a hill in the middle of the city.

The capital was a place where skyscrapers were not allowed. There was a height limit for buildings because they wanted the palace, which was already built on top of a hill, to be visible from everywhere, and they wanted the skyscrapers not to spoil the view.

So from the moment we entered the city, it was like a work of art presented in front of our eyes.

And... it was beautiful.

But that's it.

Yes, it was quite pleasing to the eye. I would even say it was eye-catching up to a point.

But it was nothing more.

It was... a palace.

A beautiful palace.

But that was the only difference to the other buildings around it.

Even though I was a little disappointed because I was expecting a different experience, after a short time, I stopped studying the city.

Focus, don't overthink things... you're not here to sightsee.

These words and many more swirled in my mind.

But, at the same time, I couldn't help glancing at the person sitting next to me, my brother.

He had a rather calm, straight expression.

As usual.

There was not a trace of excitement or tension on his face.

He was like a statue.

He never smiled, never showed any emotion. Even his reactions often felt... empty.

I wanted to do something, actually.

I always tried to think of something that could bring him back to his old self, if not completely, then at least a little.

But at the end of all this thinking, I was left empty-handed.

So, knowing that there was nothing I could do for now... I preferred to leave him alone until I could think of something appropriate.

There was also the thought in my mind that maybe it would be good for him to be alone.

And yet...

"Clara."

I paused in an instant, all my thoughts gone. When I realized his eyes were on me, I focused on him.

"When you're at the palace... don't trust anyone except me, the crown prince, and the seer you'll meet. Okay?"

I couldn't quite fathom why he would say such a thing when the palace was supposed to be one of the safest places in the entire kingdom, but... he wasn't one to joke about such things.

"Okay."

He nodded his head slightly at my answer, then turned his eyes back in front of him.

And at the same time, so did I.

Finally, what I saw... was that we were right in front of the walls that surrounded the hill on which the palace was built.

Right in front of the car was a passage that looked quite huge and majestic. It was also long... understandably so. After all, all the cars that went behind the walls were controlled.

And this control was done as they slowly moved through this passage.
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Identity checks, car checks, the purpose of the arrivals...

Everything.

And there was nothing that was shown to us in the dark corridor that we were walking down while all this was going on.

But there was no problem.

The car moved relatively quickly out of the dark passage and into the palace grounds.

As we slowly made our way up the hill, circling on the paved paths through the lush green garden, full of royal soldiers and guards, I felt my nervousness multiply.

But I kept holding myself back.

Calm down, calm down, calm down...

I repeated my brother's words in my mind, over and over.

Finally, when the car finished climbing up the hill and drove for a short distance before coming to a complete stop... all these mixed emotions went crazy.

And an emotion appeared in my mind that I had never felt before.

Fear.

What if I make a mistake?

What if something goes wrong?

What if I do what my brother asks me not to do, even if I don't mean to?

But, then, I felt a warmth in my hands, a familiar warmth that didn't belong to me... another hand.

My brother looked at me with his calm, gray eyes. He didn't smile, he didn't even try to comfort me. Not a word came out of his mouth.

Yet... after he took my hand, I felt myself relax a little, and he opened his mouth one last time, aware of this.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded, trying to look as confident as I could.

"Yes."

And only after that answer did he let go of my hands.

"Good."

And then, the doors on either side of us suddenly began to open slowly.

My brother never checked on me again, never looked in my direction. He walked out of the car, trusting me, believing that he didn't need to worry about me.

And... I did the same.

Under the sun, with the breezes of autumn preparing for winter, I inhaled the air of the capital, the palace, into my lungs and stood up straight.

Since my brother was on the opposite side, I waited until he came to me and didn't look at anything else.

When he came to me, he didn't stop, he didn't even turn to me. He walked slowly, in no hurry, toward the huge palace. And I followed right beside him, squinting my eyes and trying to remain as calm as possible.

Eventually, I could make out a few figures as we got closer and closer.

Some of the royal guards who were everywhere in the palace, and right in front of them... a tall man with a smiling face who looked as if he had been waiting for us until now.

Black hair, bright green eyes, an upright posture, and a fancy suit...

Crown Prince Lucas Cevilian.

It was the first time I had seen him up close, perhaps the most important man in the kingdom.

And his eyes... were on me.

He never once looked at my brother.

His green eyes were completely focused on me.

Uncomfortably so, almost.

But he was one of the two people in the palace my brother told me to trust.

So I tried to ignore the feeling.

Finally, when we were right in front of him... he finally took his eyes off me and turned them to my side, my brother.

He spoke in a quite formal tone.

"Welcome to the Cevilian Palace, Count Tenebra."

And then he turned his eyes back to me, as if he hadn't been doing this all along.

"And, of course, likewise, Miss Tenebra. It is a great honor for me as prince to see and personally welcome the newest noble family of our kingdom here."

But this one was short-lived, because my brother quickly interjected.

"The honor is ours as visitors to the palace, Crown Prince. We thank you for your welcome."

At the same time, he made sure to give the royal salute. And I did the same with him.

After this brief greeting, the Crown Prince turned around quickly, keeping his smile.

"Please follow me inside."

As I slowly made my way to the palace's enormous door, I thought that this was going somehow much more uneventful and simple than I had imagined.