To Corrin's vast relief, Elise finally—finally—managed to drift off to sleep. She had been waiting the whole afternoon for an opportunity to talk to Camilla alone, but Elise seemed to have chosen this day of all days to showcase her entire doll collection—right down to the smallest accessory. Who knew that dolls required so many shoes and hats?

Shaking her head bemusedly, Corrin gave Elise one final glance to make sure she was truly asleep on Camilla's queen-sized bed.
When she saw Elise's small, unmoving form beneath the white silk blanket—save for her shallow breathing—and the thin line of drool coming out of the girl's gaping mouth, Corrin knew it was safe.

She turned to where Camilla was drinking tea near the fireplace at the far end of the room, and was surprised to find her elder sister's eyes fastened on her, an expectant expression on her beautiful face.

"She took a while to take her afternoon nap, didn't she?" Camilla smiled, and then raised the teacup she was holding daintily with her right hand. "Would you care for some tea, dear?"

"S-sure." Does she know…? Corrin bit her lip nervously as she padded her way to the chair across Camilla. "Er, I was, um…"

"You were waiting for her to fall asleep to talk to me, right?" Camilla calmly handed her a teacup.

Oh, yes. She knew.

"Was… was I that obvious?" Corrin groaned.

This elicited a small laugh from her elder sister. "Oh, dear Corrin. You must know by now that I notice everything about you. You bite your lips and your voice gets a pitch higher when agitated. You're afraid of wyverns, mine especially, because you think they might bite off your fingers. You love to draw and keep a secret stash of sketches, mostly of Leo, beneath your bed—"

"Wait, how did you—?"

"—though I must say you have a tendency to overestimate his physical appearance, my dear. Ah, but I guess that's the effect of being in love. Now, where was I?" Camilla made a thoughtful hmm before continuing. "Right. You hate tea," she motioned at the small amount she had poured for Corrin, "But drink it anyways, because you think it's impolite to refuse. You and Leo have been in love with each other for years now, but only became a couple a month ago when he became insanely jealous of the nobleman who wanted to pay court to you. What was his name again, dear?"

If an insect flew inside Corrin's open mouth right now, she wouldn't even notice. Indeed, she was so stunned at Camilla's revelations that it took a few seconds for her brain to process her abrupt question.

"I-Izana." She replied dumbly.

Camilla clapped her hands, as if she just discovered the answer to the greatest mystery of life. "Right! Izana! That was his name, the one with the ridiculous personality. Leo need not have worried his pretty little head, you know. As if I would let such a strange man take you away from us."

Thankfully the gods, who must have witnessed the way Corrin had been making a fool of herself, finally took pity and granted her the ability to think clearly again.

"Please just wait a moment, Camilla. Are you saying that you knew about us? Before we announced it to the family a week ago?" Corrin croaked.

Again, Camilla laughed. "My darling, we all knew about it. I was just the one who noticed it first."

All of them? Meaning— "Even Father?!"

"Yes. He thought it was prudent to give you two time to find the courage to tell us. He was right, of course." Seeing the horrified look on Corrin's face, Camilla patted her arm in a reassuring gesture. "Dear, you may not share our blood, but we all love you very much. When the castle guards found you in the ramparts years ago, Father decided to take you in and love you as his own. But of course, he considered this happening between you and one of his sons. A healthy young man and woman, unrelated to each other, and living in close quarters? Something was bound to blossom eventually."

Corrin felt her cheeks warm at Camilla's words—not just from embarrassment, but also from happiness. She had always felt scared—ashamed, even—to ponder about what the family thought of her relationship with Leo. She was an orphan, devoid of royal blood, without any kin to call her own. Yet they accepted her with open arms. The King himself treated her as though she was no different from Xander, Camilla, Leo and Elise.

That was why she had been so scared, so ashamed of her feelings. She didn't want them to feel as though she had betrayed their trust. And thankfully, that was not the case.

"Oh, darling. Don't cry." Camilla murmured softly, as she wiped the tears that—to Corrin's shock—formed around the corners of her eyes. "Come now, you wanted to talk to me about something, right? What was it? You seemed so anxious."

"O-oh, well, um…" Just as things were getting less embarrassing, Corrin thought bitterly as she rubbed her eyes. "It's—well, it's about Leo and I."

"Yes, I've already deduced that, dear. What about you and Leo?"

"Well, you know that we've only been a couple for a short time now—"

"—a month, yes."

"Right. Um, you see…" Gods. How the hell was she supposed to say this? This situation played out easier in her head: wait until Elise was asleep, talk to Camilla, get her advice and—poof!—problem solved. "Um, I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

A dangerous glint flashed in Camilla's eyes. "Why? What do you mean? What did my brother do? Did he force himself on you? I didn't raise him to be such a cretin! I swear, the next time I see him I'd—"

Her elder sister's hands were gripping the porcelain teapot so hard, Corrin was certain it would break if she didn't solve this immediately. "No! Not yet! I—I mean, that's the problem!"

"What?"

Here it goes. "He won't force himself on me. He—he would only kiss me goodnight—on the cheek, even. And that's it." Corrin closed her eyes, mortified at how this was making her sound. "I—I know this is so strange and embarrassing, but I didn't know what to do or whom talk to. All I know is that things shouldn't be this—this tepid between two people in love. At least, that's not how it goes in poems and stories."

Camilla was silent for a while, and Corrin ventured a peek. Instead of the censorious expression she was expecting, her sister seemed to be suppressing a laughter.

Corrin added awkwardly, "I think what I'm trying to say is that… I don't think Leo finds me attractive at all."

"You—you gave me such a fright, darling!" Camilla chortled. "I assure you, he finds you attractive, so much so that it's a testament to his strong will that he's managed to hold off for this long."

"Really? You really think so?"

"Yes. You shouldn't worry about anything, dear. Before anything else, however, I need to ask you this… Are you sure you're ready to take the next step with Leo? You do know what you're asking for, right?"

Blushing furiously, Corrin nodded. In her heart, she knew she was ready.

"Hmm. Now that's settled, let your Big Sister Camilla handle this, okay? I promise you I won't tell Leo anything about what you said. Just be yourself and I'll do the rest." Camilla winked. "I already have a plan in mind."

She knew she should feel relieved. She trusted Camilla with her life, and her sister was undeniably one of the craftiest in the battlefield. She would be discreet and careful.

Corrin knew this… but why was she suddenly filled with a vague sense of foreboding?

xxx

Author's Note:

Yes, I'm not following the plot of Fates here. And yes, King Garon isn't the douchebag ruler that he was in the game. His character is the only one I've changed in this story, and I'm going to stick to the original characterisation for everyone else.

Up next: Camilla carries out her plan. Poor Leo, you never stood a chance. *cackles wickedly*