The Princess went to the bed and sat on the edge. She touched the frills of her dress, and Nozomu approached. He kneeled on the floor in front of her and held her hands while asking. “What did she do to you? I never thought that Miss Koyaga was a bad person, and it puzzles me why she disappointed you so much that you get mad just by the mere mention of her name.”
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The Princess hesitated, but she then sighed and explained. “We… When I entered the academy, she was the only one that never treated me as the next heir. She would scold me, slap me, and fight me with the intention of hurting me, unlike everyone else who was extra careful with me, or avoid talking to me. Koyaga was my only friend while she had a lot of friends. With time, things kind of happened. We… got involved. She was my first love. And you know what people say, we never forget our first love.”
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“I wasn’t counting on that… But then something happened, right?”
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“Yes… I tried to convince her to come with me and join my Royal Guards, or apply for a higher position. They would easily accept her as a Captain, but she refused and tried to convince me to join her in a Party of Adventurers. She used to say it was her responsibility, as a fighter and a Mage, to help people in need. I agreed with her, but I could never be an Adventurer. Instead, I could help people by becoming the ruling Princess. We… went our separate ways. She broke my heart at that time. I almost died of sadness… I think I did, a little. Then, after two years, I heard she got hurt and almost died. I went to her and tried to convince her to stop being an Adventurer, and that she could come with me. I… thought she still loved me, as I did… but she refused again. She even said that the moment she recovered, she would continue working as an Adventurer because it was her duty. Then I heard she started working as a Guild receptionist... Instead of coming to me... I thought she loved me…”
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Nozomu waited in silence for the Princess to stop crying while he hugged her. When she calmed down, he cleaned her tears from her face and tried to comfort her. “The last time I talked with her about being an Adventurer, she told me that to her, being an Adventurer is a calling, like being a Priest, or a Teacher. She thinks Adventurers are needed so that others who can’t fight or use Magic can have a peaceful life, and she seems to consider it a great honour to die to save others. You two are not so different. You accepted your role as the ruling Princess because your people needed you. She still works as an Adventurer occasionally, to help people. She never actually said she didn’t love you, did she?”
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“No… she never did, but after we graduated from the Academy, she never said she loved me. So… And she is with you...”
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“I thought she looked sad when we first came here and today as well. I noticed she avoided looking at me. Maybe she still loves you, but you are the ruling Princess, and she is still working as an Adventurer when a Party needs an extra fighter. Maybe she is with me as an escape because she can’t be with you? You should probably talk to her and find out. Even if you can’t be together because of your responsibilities, you can still be friends. And I didn’t lie when I said I had feelings for you. The fact that I am having some time with Koyaga is mostly because I couldn’t believe such a beautiful woman would ever be interested in the plain me.”
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The Princess slowly nodded. “Yeah, I may need to talk with her one day, and it’s even more urgent now. I guess I know what she saw in you. It’s most likely the same as what I saw. You are not as plain as you believe. You have seriousness in your eyes, and the way you talk, it’s like… if you were older than me and wiser, and you are also very polite, which is very rare in a commoner because it’s difficult to get a proper education. I am changing that, but there are no schools in most Cities because my father and my grandfather didn’t believe in educating common people.”
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“Older, wiser, and polite… could be because I remember my other life… I never thought about that, I thought being polite was what was expected. I never thought it could be a quality. I know I also need to talk with Miss Koyaga, not only to see if something changed between us, but mostly because of you. I can’t be with her if I keep on thinking about you, and I can’t be with you if I am with her. I don’t collect women like you accused me of, I am a man of only one woman.”
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“What about that woman from your memories, from your old life? Aren’t you with me and thinking that you are with her? Because that wouldn’t be fair to me. I already told you we could make new memories so that you stopped comparing us, but it would be far easier if you didn’t remember her.”
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“Yes… Maybe this is really a bad idea after all. We have too many things in our way, and you have more important things to worry about, and I am no one near you.”
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The Princess caressed Nozomu’s face and gave a gentle smile. “The fact that you are willing to let me go so that I am not troubled says a lot about your character, Nozomu. What about if you sorted things out with Koyaga and then tell me? We can start from there and see where this goes. Well, three years from now, we will see where this goes, I mean.”
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“I can do that. And you need to talk to Miss Koyaga as well because it wouldn’t be fair to me either if you were with me and still thinking about her.”
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“Yes, you have a point. I am not sure if she will want to talk to me after your talk with her, but we shall see. It is probably better if we go now, or Taisetsuna might think that we are doing something here.”
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Nozomu gently pulled her up from the edge of the bed and spoke, mere inches from her face, while holding her waist. “You have the most expressive eyes… It’s like looking into your soul…”
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The Princess licked her lips and gulped, struggling to hold back. She put her right index finger on his lips and prevented him from approaching any further. “We… we can’t, Nozomu… Not yet. Please…”
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Nozomu kissed the tip of her nose and leaned his forehead on hers. “I won’t go any further, don’t worry. I don’t want to make you angry again. So we will do as you said. Talk with Miss Koyaga, the both of us. We will spend more time together, and we will see what happens next.”
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“Yes… That… is the plan… Oh, in God Raluth’s name, why are you so darn tempting? Let me go or I am going to do something really stupid!”
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He slowly backed away and offered his right arm, which she held with a flustered face. They left the room, and Taisetsuna almost jumped with the surprise of seeing the redness on the Princess’ cheeks, and she forced herself to ask in a normal tone. “So… You are still alive, Nozo. Maybe we should go for a walk so that you both return to your normal colour. It will be too difficult to explain to the court why we arrived late, and with you both all red.”
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The Princess looked away while taking slow deep breaths and pointed with her open palm to a side corridor while Nozomu scratched his head. “We can go this way. We will cross the ballroom and reach another corridor that will lead to this one again. I suppose it will give us enough time to… calm down... Yes, calm down, that’s it. Let’s go, then.”
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Robert Keskula raised one eyebrow at Taisetsuna, that slowly shook her head, warning him to not say a word. He nodded and offered his arm to her, and she walked away as if he was not even there, making him smile and rush to follow her while thinking, “|… This woman is hard to crack. I will not quit, Taisetsuna, you will see. ...|“
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…
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When they finally reached the big dining room, all eyes were on the Princess, who was still holding Nozomu’s arm. He escorted her to her seat in the middle of the long table and pulled the chair for her. He then went to where a servant was signalling for him and Taisetsuna to take a seat on the far right of the table. Diana Olesk smiled at Robert Keskula and pointed with her open hand to an empty chair near her, receiving a slight smile while he went to the seat next to Taisetsuna.
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He quickly pulled a chair for her, receiving a puzzled look and a question in a low tone. “You are strangely polite today. Why is that?”
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“I am always polite. You are the one that never noticed.”
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As Robert sat, he approached Taisetsuna and whispered. “If you have any doubts about the forks or the food, just do what I do. I bet you don’t mind what everyone could think about your table manners, but I don’t want to kill anyone that might be foolish enough to mock you and ruin this dinner.”
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Taisetsuna winked and whispered back. “Nozo is the one that might need your help, considering he lost his memory. I was properly trained for these events, just in case I was ever in such a situation.”
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“I see… Well, it seems your friend also knows what to do.”
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Taisetsuna turned to Nozomu and saw him already with the napkin on his lap, both hands over the napkin, and talking with a young woman who was smiling at him and looking very interested in what he was saying. She then leaned towards Robert and whispered. “Yeah, he seems to remember something, or maybe he learned from a book. He is always reading, lately. I never saw him reading so much as we grew up, but ever since he lost his memory, he won’t stop reading.”
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“What about him and the Princess? Because that was strange. They were chatting, then she was about to kill him. They went to that room, and then they exited, all flustered. Do you think they… You know…”
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Taisetsuna gulped and hesitated. “They… Oh! No… They didn’t have time, right? But… She keeps glancing at him, and he keeps looking at her even while talking with that girl. I don’t know, but… They seem… that can’t be, right?”
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Robert Keskula took a piece of bread from the plate in front of him and offered it to Taisetsuna, then grabbed another for himself before whispering again. “He and you are on very different steps in the ladder of our society. The fact that you are both seated at the Princess’ table for dinner with all the Nobles of her court is already unheard of. I noticed some of the older Nobles whispering and frowning at you and him. It is better if we don’t even mention it between us two what happened before we arrived, because the scandal could very well shake our country to the core. She knows her position and her responsibilities far better than any of us. If she intends to go any further, she will need to make a few changes to your friend's status, and she might already have a plan for that, judging by the way they are exchanging smiles.”
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and then Add to home screen.