[Update]
6:00 AM
The fresh morning air was starting to wake most people up. Exc: ept for one particular member of the Hirigaya family. Rio. This guy was fast asleep under a mountain of four thick blankets. Dead to the world, completely ignoring the fact that the sun was already lighting up his side of the Earth.
Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Yuki walked up and turned right at a bedroom door. Written on it was: "Rio's room, do not enter. Especially YUKI!" Of course, Yuki didn't care, or just pretended she couldn't read. She burst right in, sending the door slamming against the wall with a loud bang.
She stared at the body sprawled on the bed, buried under four layers of blankets. With a mischievous grin plastered across her face, she stepped closer, carrying a jumbo glass filled with iced tea and placing it on the floor beside her.
"Phew," she muttered, putting her hands on her hips. Her dark purple eyes locked onto the living corpse.
"Rio," she said, catching her breath and wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "You better wake up. Before I do something~"
Rio remained completely motionless on his comfy bed.
Seeing absolutely no reaction, Yuki's eyes sparked even brighter. She turned back toward the glass. Bending down, she lifted the massive glass—which was practically the size of two buckets. Her expression was a mix of pure mischief and deceptive innocence.
"Rio~ it's time to—" taking a breath, "Wake—" Without giving him a chance to let her finish the sentence, Yuki dumped the entire contents of the glass right onto him. "—UP!"
The water poured down in a heavy splash, and ice cubes scattered everywhere, pelting Rio's body and his bed.
Rio's eyes snapped wide open. His throat caught as his mouth gasped for a sliver of air, but unfortunately, he swallowed way more water than oxygen. A few ice cubes even choked his mouth.
"Argh!" he shrieked, his body freezing up for a split second before scrambling to move.
He managed to bolt upright, panting heavily, staring straight ahead in utter shock and coughing up a storm. "Cough! Cough!… YUKIII!" he roared, spinning around to glare directly at Yuki, his fury plain as day.
Meanwhile, Yuki casually strolled over and perched herself on Rio's desk, striking a playful pose with a look of pure innocence. Then she snickered.
"Ki Ki Ki," she giggled. "It's your own fault, Brother~ for not wanting to wake up."
"It's sticky!" Rio snapped back, tea dripping from his hair. "Did you actually put sugar in this too?"
"Yep, because you like sweet tea," Yuki replied, blinking innocently yet teasingly.
Rio just stared at her for a few seconds, a vein throbbing on his temple as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. "Yuki…," he whispered.
Before Rio could make his move, Yuki was already at the door. "Bye-bye!" She waved her hand and bolted, vanishing from sight.
"YUKIII!"
A little while later, Rio was finally in his school uniform—the one that had been hanging around, waiting for someone to actually put it on. He walked down the hallway toward the front door, stopping a few paces short. His eyes were still heavy with sleep, their color looking dull. Gripping the doorknob, he let out a heavy sigh.
"Haaah."
"Goodbye, my bed," he muttered quietly.
Opening the door, he began his walk toward the Himikaya Academy.
Rio stared straight ahead, completely drained of energy. He walked slowly along the busy sidewalk. For a while, nothing seemed to bother him, and he just yawned every now and then. Suddenly, a guy with white hair approached out of nowhere, falling into step beside him.
"Good morning, Prince," Ellen spoke up, giving Rio a light pat on the shoulder.
"Shut up, I'm just the Sleeping Prince," Rio replied without even glancing at him.
"Don't be so humble. It makes me jeal—" Before Ellen could finish his sentence, Rio efficiently stuffed a chocolate pastry into his mouth.
Ellen's blue eyes widened in shock as he started choking. "Ugh, Ackg—" After a few seconds, Ellen chewed and swallowed the pastry. He caught up with Rio, who was still walking with a flat, bored expression.
"You jerk—"
"Yuki made it," Rio cut him off, completely missing the way Ellen's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Hmm. No wonder it's good."
"Wait, is the filling chicken?" Ellen muttered as he tasted the savory, shredded meat. "Tch! What the hell? Can't you cook at all?" Ellen grumbled, chewing aggressively.
"Yuki made it," Rio repeated with a yawn.
"Oh. Well, yeah, it's actually pretty good. I MEAN, IT'S AMAZING!" Ellen mumbled, his eyes sparkling and tearing up a little.
Arriving at the gates of Himikaya Academy, the two of them walked through the courtyard.
Every now and then, Ellen would get greeted by various people, both guys and girls.
"Hey, Ellen," a guy called out.
"Hey, Luke."
"Look, look, it's Ellen!" a few girls waved. "H-Hi!"
Rio kept walking, his eyes still half-lidded.
"Hey there, ladies," Ellen called back.
"Oh, hey Len! You did awesome in sports yesterday!" a group of guys shouted.
"Thanks!" Ellen replied, flashing a quick wink.
A moment later, Lya and Luna walked into view. As they approached, most of the students stopped walking and talking, turning their attention to the two girls. Whispers broke out across the crowd.
"Look at that. Lylya is wearing a purple dress."
"And it's a modest one."
"It really suits her, right?"
"Matches her calm personality perfectly."
"Look at Luna too, she's as gorgeous as always."
"No doubt about it, the royal princess's assistants are all top-tier."
Meanwhile, Ellen leaned in close to Rio's ear. "Look at that." Rio just paused his pacing and stared at Lya, completely lacking the enthusiasm of everyone else around them.
Lya and Luna walked up to Rio, stopping a few paces away. Lya scanned Rio from head to toe. "You're late again," she said, locking eyes with him.
"The road was looong."
"That's not an excuse."
Rio sighed. "For me? Just about nothing qualifies as an excuse." He yawned.
"You're not discipli—"
"My sleep is highly disciplined. Night, afternoon, evening."
Lya let out a tiny, barely noticeable sigh, but Luna caught it—she always did. "Just don't be late next time," Lya murmured before turning around and heading into the Himikaya building, with Luna following right behind her.
Rio split up from Ellen and headed inside.
A bit later, Rio was sitting in his classroom. The professor had already arrived, and the lecture was halfway through.
"The Ephinostia race split into three major nations," Professor Willa explained. "The first is the Ephonis race—the ones blessed with the special lands, our people. The second is the Aphonis race, the cloud people known for their immense intelligence. And the third is the Darphoni race, who are highly adaptable and live in various places, though primarily in the mountains and deserts."
Rio propped his elbow on the desk and rested his cheek in his hand, staring blankly at the Professor.
Suddenly, Ellen appeared out of nowhere right next to Rio. "Honestly, I'm jealous of you," he murmured. "You've got an ancient family lineage, and a gorgeous fiancée," Ellen teased.
Rio glanced sideways. "Tiring," he answered. "Anyway, why are you even here? We're in different classes."
"Ehe~"
"Don't be so serious," Ellen joked.
Professor Willa cleared her throat, scanning the room.
"Oops, see ya later," Ellen whispered, vanishing right before the professor's eyes landed on his spot.
Professor Willa continued, "The Ephonis race consists of two major houses or families: Hirigaya and Minakaya. They are the foundation of our people, our nation."
She paused for a moment, letting the explanation sink in for the students. "Minakaya leads this nation, while Hirigaya stabilizes and protects us. However," she paused again, "both houses hold equal status."
One of the students raised a hand. Professor Willa looked over. "Yes, go ahead."
"If both families are equal, why doesn't Hirigaya wear a second crown?" the student asked. "Like... having two kings?"
"Because two crowns would only breed division," the Professor answered. "The Hirigaya turned down the crown to prevent the nation from fracturing, and to leave no opening for provocateurs to tear our people apart." She looked at the student, who nodded and lowered his hand. "Thank you."
Right after that, Rio raised his hand. Professor Willa glanced at him.
"I need to use the restroom," Rio cut in before the professor could say a word. She could only let out a sigh.
"Don't be too long."
"Got it."
Rio stood up slowly and walked past the rows of desks toward the front door.
"Don't use the front door, it's disobli—" Rio was already gone. Professor Willa just shook her head. "That kid."
Out in the hallways, Rio yawned again. Suddenly, he slowed to a stop. He glanced out the window, spotting two people chatting in the courtyard—a professor and someone he didn't recognize. Rio narrowed his eyes, then turned back around toward the restroom. "Whatever, I'll deal with that later."
Inside a locked toilet cubicle, Rio stood there yawning, his eyes looking even heavier than before. "Last night sucked."
"Maybe a quick nap won't hurt." Just as he was about to doze off, he heard the restroom door open, followed by voices.
"Lylya looked amazing today."
"Right? She really rocks that purple dress."
"Even though she wears purple literally every day."
"Haha! Man, my girl looks beautiful in anything."
"Keep dreaming, bro." With that, they walked out.
Inside the cubicle, Rio opened his eyes.
"In your dreams," he muttered softly. "She is beautiful. But she's not yours to have."