Reinhardt was smitten. He knew it as soon as he saw her and even his mind partition technique, something that all royals of Isger must learn, didn’t help. He also knew that his attraction to her wasn’t natural, not completely anyway. It was something he, and his bonded weapon’s animating spirit, Miren, agreed with.

He was the Third Prince of the Isger Republic. The third. He wasn’t even the spare heir, but an extra prince for use in making political alliances. The Coalition was filled with nations and states, and the shifting patchwork of alliances and grudges meant that any member state must live and breathe politics in order to survive.

Reinhardt grew up knowing that he was a political pawn. Even his Queen Mother knew it and didn’t shower him with as much love and affection as she did his elder brothers. His life was a road that he merely needed to follow and there was no way off it. The sidewalks had high walls, topped with barbed wire and manned with archer’s towers. Any attempt to climb, to escape, would be futile.

At least, until one of his cousins, Selvira Nostra, decided that the current monarch, King Frederich Nostra, didn’t need his head. The coup had been backed by the army, half of the parliament, and most of the citizens of Vellexa plane. And their strike took out the king, the queen, and the first and second princes. Reinhardt had been lucky.

He and his guard were travelling between Isger Republic and the Chelda Principality, their trading partner and occasional ally. His presence wasn’t even on the schedule, as he’d wormed his way into the expedition to escape the rigorous confines of home.

But of course, the new leaders of Isger wouldn't leave any loose ends hanging about. A fleet of privateers attacked them en route, and only the desperate action of the Kildale Swan saved their lives. Alas, even such a fleet Chaos ship couldn’t outrun the privateers, not when they were outnumbered five to one.

He’d been dragged to the safest part of the ship. Clearly, it had not been enough. Not when the Swan was shattered and its remnants flung to the furthest reaches of the Chaos Sea.

The only thing he remembered of the ordeal was the crippling fear, then there was a lot of heat and colours that covered everything. And then he and his childhood attendant, Shara, along with merely three of his guards, found themselves here. Wherever “here” was.

He didn’t know how long they lay stunned after they crashed on the ground, but he came to his senses just as the earth rippled and the creatures emerged from it. Miren, the white gloves he wore, gathered his Animus and formed them into three transparent darts with only a tinge of pink. A quick sweep of his hand sent the constructs at the creature’s vital points. Unfortunately, not only did the darts fail to penetrate the impossibly tough skin, but they also drew its attention to him.

Only Devion’s quick action saved him from a brutal mauling. Then, more and more of the creatures emerged from the ground. He and the others had been too stunned by the sudden assault to think straight, too drained from using their Animus to protect themselves from the incredibly dense ambient Chaos.

It had been too much for him.

Reinhardt learned of the events in Llioth while he was in Chelda, and those bastards would have presented his head to Selvira on a silver platter. Even when he was on the Kildale Swan, he had fretted. But what could he have done? By the time he learned of it, everything had been decided. Selvira and her ilk had occupied the royal palace and with it, the artefacts that kept the plane secure.

When the privateers attacked, he had almost rushed to the deck to fight, but of course, his bodyguards pushed him to the safety cabin. Well, fat lot of good that did him. The ship shattered and they were stuck somewhere, and were about to be mashed into pulp by those freaks!

He was ashamed to say that he had succumbed to despair. It was only when a vision of a goddess swooped in and destroyed the creatures, and gave the five of them a path to survival that he had managed to get ahold of himself.

Yuriko Davar. An Imperial citizen. The Eternal Empire of the so-called Righteous Order was the principal reason why the Coalition existed. Otherwise, those warmongers would have annexed them piecemeal. A dozen or more planes and nations had succumbed in the past millennia and were now part of the Empire.

Rumiga. It was a familiar name, now that his mind wasn’t awhirl. Ah, of course. A microcosm of the Coalition existed there, the so-called Federation of Free City-States. Fools who haven’t even banded together properly to resist. That wasn’t really relevant now.

Yuriko Davar. She wore grey robes the same colour as the stone earth, along with her companion. The other boy had his hood over his face, and from what Reinhardt could sense, he was pitifully weak. The dense ambient Chaos here could be fended off by allowing Miren to project a protective layer around him. It meant that she wouldn’t be able to sense other threats as easily, but oh well.

The girl, on the other hand, flaunted her face. Her gorgeous golden hair flowed gently with the breeze. Her blue eyes mesmerized him. And it also felt as if it pierced through his protections. Her skin glowed with golden radiance, though upon closer inspection, her complexion was that of alabaster. Pale, milky, and perfect. He longed to touch her skin. Hold her hand. He dared to kiss her hand in greeting, and the feel of her silky skin against his lips was intoxicating.

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He couldn’t help it. He blurted out his intentions, despite knowing that it was doomed to fail. She was younger than he but that wasn’t really a problem. He was already engaged, truth to tell, to a duchess from Chelda, a girl five years his senior. But it was a political affair, of course. He hasn’t seen Hasti Ahsani in person, just her portraits. And of course, she paled in comparison to this beauty in front of him now. And with the coup, and the subsequent hostilities, he was pretty sure that the engagement had already been torn apart.

Sure enough, Yuriko blushed at his question. Her cheeks turned a charming pink and she nearly stumbled on an imaginary rock. But her grace was such that even that stumble looked on purpose and was as pleasing to see as a dance.

“My prince!” Shara gasped with a scandalised voice.

Yuriko’s companion, Tiernan Hersal, did stumble, and fell flat on his face. He got back up to his feet with a red face and looked at Reinhardt as though looking at a fool. His fingers twitched, but he mastered the impulse to teach the boy a lesson.

Reinhardt waved Shara to silence, and the attendant devolved to sour mutters. He stared at Yuriko’s face, waiting for her reply with bated breath.

“Why?” she finally managed. “I just told you that I’m not even fifteen.”

“Does that matter?” Reinhardt shrugged, letting genuine confusion appear in his expression. “Marriages were arranged even if the potential couple were still in their swaddling clothes.”

The logical part of his mind told him that he was being foolish. He barely knew her, she was from the Empire, and frankly, she was strong enough to kill all five of them without breaking a sweat. Which was also why the logical part of his mind wanted to bind her to him.

The emotional side of his mind had fallen in love with her as soon as he saw her. The way she shattered the creatures, the way her face looked so imperious and impassive even as she killed. Those cold eyes. They gave him the shivers, but at the same time, he wanted to see the ice melt in glorious warmth.

Mind partition. A technique that allowed him to separate the rational part of his mind from the emotional one, leaving only the seat of consciousness in the middle, capable of looking at things in a detached manner, and allowed him to make the correct decision without being too caught up in emotions or too rational thoughts.

Both sides wanted to create a relationship with her. Both sides wanted her, not only for her beauty but also for the power she represented.

Unless he was gravely mistaken, the weapon she used to protect them, a weapon that was no longer in sight, was a powerful artefact.

Join with her, and take back the Republic. Join with her and destroy your enemies.

Thoughts ran through his mind, and he barely stopped himself from grimacing. All of those were extraneous excuses. The fact of the matter was, he fell in love at first sight, as irrational as that was. But maybe something else influenced his thoughts.

Shara was quite protective of his emotions but other than that brief outburst, she had kept silent. She would have protested more vociferously under normal circumstances. Many girls and older women had tried to capture his heart in the past, and Shara had always aided him in rejecting them gently. And more forcefully, too, when they wouldn’t stop.

Now, his gatekeeper looked at Yuriko and there wasn’t hostility in her eyes. Instead, she looked like she was considering if it was time to relinquish her domain.

Devion, Kallas, and Michi didn’t protest. And more importantly, from how they held themselves, they didn’t consider Yuriko a danger. As if they already trusted her to have their backs.

Now that was completely irrational and also proved to his mind that Yuriko somehow influenced their minds. But he couldn't help it. He was in love and he would do anything to obtain her favour. Oh. This was bad.

“We’ve only just met, Reinhardt,” Yuriko said slowly, “Aren’t you being too impulsive?”

“On the contrary, love is quite impulsive.” He replied with a smile while giving in to his emotions. At the very least, it didn’t look like she had anything nefarious in mind. After all, if she wanted them dead, all she had to do was leave them alone in the midst of the monster field.

But maybe she was part of Selvira’s privateers? Was this a twisted effort to destroy him? His cousin was a hard woman who denounced the royal family’s decadence and neglect. They had frittered away their power over the years, keeping only a nominal veto power in the parliament. They had been more content to sit in luxury, basking in the wealth gathered over millennia than making sure the country progressed. How she managed to twist the parliament to her whims, he’d never know.

Maybe she had the backing of her husband’s state? Her husband was an archduke of the Kingdom of Frigona, cementing an alliance between the two nations. Several countries had been pressing around Isger’s colonies, wanting a bigger slice of the pie.

“Yes, we’ve only just met,” Reinhardt continued, smiling slightly. “Which is why I’d like to get to know you better. I would also rather make it clear that I am attracted to you and wish for a relationship, rather than hide it and misrepresent myself.”

Yuriko stared at him with an unreadable look. She looked away from him without answering, even as his heartbeat sped up in anticipation. Whether she said yes or no, at least he’d know where to stand. If she said yes, that would mean he would be free to actively court her, though if she said no, he didn’t know what to do.

Ah, perhaps it was too soon to make his intentions known. It would be quite awkward if she said no. He and his guards would have to separate from her, or it would be the height of rudeness to press his suit in the face of her rejection.

After several minutes, Reinhardt’s flushed skin cooled down, but butterflies still beat in his stomach. She hasn’t said anything yet, keeping a watch on their surroundings instead. Not that anything changed much. All were grey stone and plains. Where were they anyway?

“Alright,” Yuriko said.

“Eh?” Reinhardt gasped.

“I said alright.” Yuriko smiled faintly, but it had been more than enough to set his heart racing again. “I don’t mind getting to know you better, but I’m not giving any promises. I honestly don’t think we’ll be anything more than passing acquaintances.”

“Oh.” Reinhardt’s throat was suddenly dry. Was it a yes or a no? Well, he only asked permission to court, which meant that he was at the starting line only. “I’m happy you agreed. But honestly, I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

“We’re not anything at all.” Yuriko shook her head. “I hardly know you.”

“Then why agree?”

“Because you asked,” she shrugged, which honestly left him dumbfounded.

Well, a blank slate was fine. The only thing he has to do now is make her interested in him, and leave great impressions. Still, he couldn’t help but grin widely, as both sides of his mind roared in triumph.

Only…why did Tiernan Hersal look at him with pity in his eyes?