Hi, sorry for taking so long to update this story but I was busy with other things.

Please enjoy the chapter!

It did not take long for the others to rescue Katarina and Gerald once they were found. Keith used his Earth Magic to form stairs on one of the pit's walls, his powerful magic strengthening the brittle stone and allowing the rescue group to descend.

"Lady Katarina!" cried Mary as she tackled Katarina in a hug, Sophia right behind her. "You are alright!"

"Sister, are you hurt?" Keith asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Katarina reassured him though his concern touched her. "Prince Gerald protected me, so I didn't get too hurt."

Meanwhile, Maria checked Gerald's injuries as Alan and Nicol watched worriedly. Although she desperately wanted to check on Lady Katarina, Maria instead focused on ensuring the prince was alright and healed his broken leg.

Everyone was relieved that the two of them were alright. Even better, Katarina had found the stone filled with magic power they had been looking for, meaning that her team could pass the practical exam.

There was nothing more to worry about… except how she should respond to Gerald's confession.

Back in her room, Katarina dismissed Anne, reassuring her worried maid that she was just tired from the test and would rest until dinner.

Once Anne had left and she was alone, Katarina ungracefully flopped face-down on her bed with a groan.

BANG!

"We will now commence this Emergency Doom Avoidance Meeting. Is everyone present?"

"Everyone's present, Chairwoman."

"Good, then we can address the reason for this emergency meeting: Prince Gerald has confessed to Katarina!"

"How can that be possible? Prince Gerald is supposed to fall in love with Maria, not Katarina!"

"M-Maybe it's a mistake? Maybe we misunderstood him, and he meant something else?"

"No, he was very clear that he has feelings for us."

"But Prince Gerald is supposed to despise Katarina, not fall in love with her. That's not how the game goes!"

"This isn't a game, though. And Prince Gerald isn't a game character, but a real person."

"That is true."

"You do have a point. Real people are not constrained by the options of a video game."

"B-But that still doesn't explain why he says he is in love with us! Even if he doesn't have feelings for Maria, so many others are better than us!"

"You're right."

"It doesn't make much sense for Prince Gerald to have such bad taste."

"Chairwoman, what do we do?"

"I-I'm not sure."

Katarina sighed as she rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling, her confused mind trying to make sense of things. She just couldn't understand why Gerald – the handsome, perfect, talented, genius third prince – would say he had feelings for her.

She thought back to what he had told her while they were trapped and blushed as she recalled his words.

"You bring joy into my life."

"You care about me as a person and see me for who I am."

"You are kind to everyone you met, regardless of their status."

Despite her embarrassment, Katarina had also felt immensely delighted by Gerald's words. They almost sounded like something out of one of her romance novels!

'But are those reasons enough for him to fall in love with me instead of Maria? She is just as sweet and kind as Gerald says I am, maybe even more so. And she is the heroine while I am the villainess.'

'So why?'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Come in," she said, and Anne opened the door a moment later.

"Milady, Master Keith is here and wishes to see you," her maid informed her. "Do you wish to see him, or should I tell him to come later after you rested?"

Katarina perked up at the mention of her brother. If anyone could help her make sense of things, it was him. Keith was a lot smarter than her and was good friends with Gerald as well.

"Yes, tell him to come in."

Keith immediately knew something was bothering Katarina the moment he saw her face.

"Are you alright, Sister?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," she tried to smile reassuringly, but he knew she was lying.

Keith sat next to Katarina and gently took her hand. "Sister, what is wrong?" he asked again. Then a thought came to him that caused him to panic. "Did Prince Gerald do something while you were trapped with him?!"

"What?" Katarina stared at her brother, baffled. "No, he didn't do anything!" Then she averted her eyes and blushed. "Well, he did, but it was nothing bad." She muttered shyly.

That did nothing to calm Keith's panic. "Sister, what did he do?" 'I don't care if he is a prince, if he did something indecent to Sister, I'm gonna-'

"He said he was in love with me."

Keith's mind screeched to a halt.

"Keith?" Katarina called for him, concerned by his suddenly blank face.

Fortunately, Keith recovered a few moments later. "I-I'm sorry, Sister," he apologized. "I think I must have misheard you." 'She could not have said that-'

"Oh, I said Gerald told me he's in love with me."

'That dammed prince!' Keith mentally cursed. 'Of course, he would take advantage of that situation!'

"Keith?"

"I'm fine," he took a deep breath to calm himself. "S-So, what did you say to him?" he nervously asked. Part of him didn't want to know, but another part insisted that he must.

"Uhm, I didn't actually get a chance to because you guys found us, but he did ask me to think about it," she explained. She suddenly looked nervous. "I was hoping that you could help me figure things out," She then began rambling, "Of course, you don't have to! This is probably too awkward for you! I just thought that you might be able to help since you are smarter than me, but if you don't want to-"

"Alright," he interrupted her. Keith could never refuse to help his sister, even if it was to help her figure out how to respond to a love confession from his greatest rival.

Katarina hugged him. "Thank you, Keith!"

Once Katarina let him go, Keith got down to business. "So what's the issue? Did his confession bother you?"

She shaked her head. "No, it didn't bother me. I just that I never thought anyone could ever fall in love with me, much less someone like Gerald," she explained.

"So when he said that he has feelings for me, it surprised me… but I also felt very happy."

Keith felt as if his heart had been stabbed, but he did not let any of his pain show on his face. Though his voice did shake a bit when he asked, "D-does that mean you feel the same way?"

If she did, then he would accept it and be happy for her, even if his heart felt like it would shatter to pieces.

"I-I don't know," she stuttered, her face red. "I mean, he is my friend, so I do love him, but I don't know if I love him that way."

"And-and, I think I'm a bit scared."

Her quiet admission startled Keith.

"Of what?" he asked, bewildered. Katarina was the most fearless person that he knew. She climbed the tallest tree without feeling dizzy and had confronted a Dark Magic-crazed Raphael without so much as flinching. He could not think of anything that would scare her – except for their mother.

Katarina was hesitant to answer him. She had never voiced this fear of hers, never put into words the worries buried within her subconscious that only now she was aware of.

Why she always said to Gerald that she would let him go. Why she always told herself that her dream was to grow old with a cat on her lap.

Why she never tried to think of her fiancé in a romantic light – besides worrying about Doom Flags, that is.

Still, she steeled herself and told her beloved baby brother her fears.

"Gerald says he is in love with me now, but what if he changes his mind? What if he falls in love with someone else?"

Because why wouldn't he? Even if Gerald doesn't develop feelings for Maria – which sounded strange for her because who wouldn't fall in love with Maria – there were many other girls who were much prettier, smarter, more elegant, and better than her.

Why would he settle for a dumb, unlady-like girl like her?

"And what if I do fall in love with him?" she looked close to tears. "I told him I'll break the engagement if he finds someone he loves. But if I have feelings for him, then I'll become jealous and possessive."

And that was her biggest fear.

Katarina Claes did the things she did because she was in love with Prince Gerald.

And she is Katarina Claes.

Keith was shocked. He had never imagined that Katarina could be having these worries. Becoming possessive and jealous? It sounded ridiculous.

Yet he could see where she was coming from because that's precisely what he and everyone in their friend group felt towards Katarina. None of them had ever let those feelings influence them into doing bad things to each other – interfering with each other's romantic attempts does not count - but he understood her fears.

Still…

"Sister, I don't believe you could ever become that kind of person."

"Huh?" she stared at him in confusion. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know my big sister. She is a kind person who thinks of others before herself. So even if you ever feel jealous of someone else, you won't allow it to change who you are."

He said with such faith and conviction that Katarina couldn't help but believe him.

"But if it really bothers you, then I think you should talk with Prince Gerald about it."

"Eh?"

"This concerns your relationship with him," he explained. "So you need to let him know about your worries and fears,"

"But, what if he gets upset?" Katarina asked nervously.

'Then I'll punch his smug face in,' Keith thought. Outloud he said, "He won't because Prince Gerald is your friend, and he cares about you."

"You are right!" she exclaimed. "I need to be clear with Gerald about my feelings!"

She jumped out of her bed and rushed towards the door. Before exiting, she turned back towards Keith.

"Keith, thank you," she said with a smile. "I'm glad that you are my brother." With that said, she left.

Keith sat there a moment longer, thinking about her words. 'She is glad that I'm her brother.'

He could accept and be happy even if it's not what he wanted.

Because, even if she does fall in love with that prince, he will still be Katarina's brother.

This story will be taking an indefinite hiatus while I focus on finishing my other story, Kidnapped, and plan out how the rest of the story will go.