“Back to the conversation at hand. I honestly don’t have time for such methods as bribery.”

“In that case, I’ll have to tell the guards to be more vigilant since I saw something suspicious around the palace tonight.”

“Do you dare Lieutenant Colonel?” she calmly asked.

The innocent smile from the other night completely disappeared, making way for a noble smile of daggers.

“Ahh, the Princess is more suited to be a successful politician, your fearlessness is extraordinary. Even I’m shaken. Have mercy your Highness.”

“Could you be serious?”

“Not to worry, if they find out, it won’t be from me,” said Sorin before taking another sip.

“I just feel sorry for the person who’ll marry you thinking they’re getting a sweet little lamb but actually…”

“But actually what, Officer? Please enlighten me,” she said unblinkingly, not at all embarrassed about discussing such matters with Sorin.

“No, nothing,” he insisted while turning away to hide the smirk.

He had thought about all sorts of origins for the young woman sitting opposite him, but who could possibly guess that they would run into a princess on a random street at night. There was nothing left of the gentle and mild temperament he had seen when she was in the company of her companion.

They were conversing like equal conspirators. She wasn’t being unnecessarily timid or trying to suppress herself for the sake of his ego. The way she could appropriately adjust herself and personality for every situation made him wonder how many more sides she had to her.

That defiant face specially made him want to pull her cheeks, but he stopped himself not wanting to scare her.

“I wanted to thank you for not telling anyone that you’ve seen me before. That’s all I wanted to say, I owe you a favour now. Consider it an honour that a princess owes you such,” she said while getting out of her seat and he smiled, while standing up as well.

“In light of the Princess’s debut, does this lowly soldier have permission to be the first to honour the Imperial Princess?”

Kamaria was confused for a few moments until she realised what he meant. She wondered what he was up to but slightly nodded her acceptance.

He gently took both her hands in his and bowed then kissed the beautiful patterns ever so slightly that she just felt his calloused and slightly scarred hands more than anything else. Without hesitation, he then brought her hands to his forehead for a few moments before standing up again.

None of it was unnecessarily lingering, showing his sincerity in the process. This was a show of deep respect only used when the imperial family member had granted permission, so the request had taken her by surprise.

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“Congratulations Troublemaker,” he finally said rather playfully.

Kamaria felt that the completely solemn and sincere moment was completely ruined by the rogue who could only be serious for a minute. Why did she feel as if she had just been treated like child who was always causing issues?

“Hooligan,” she mumbled but he hadn’t missed the complaint.

“Anyway, have the rest of the wine. Consider it a thank you gift,” she said while walking away.

After she left the vicinity, Sorin sat for a while and finished the cup of wine. Who owed someone a favour and said so with such haughtiness but still gave gifts? It was contradictory from beginning to end.

Altair joined him a few moments later.

“How come I knew that nothing good would come out of this if we kept meeting her?”

“The fact that we keep meeting has to mean something,” said Sorin.

Truthfully, if the commander asked one of his people if the two had ever met, he would know every detail about their night down to what they had bought for worship offerings. Even if he was a bit of a doting and overprotective parent, he also afforded his children some privacy otherwise they would never grow and learn.

In doing so he tended to overlook their little adventures unless it was serious enough for someone to step in. When asked about their meeting, Sorin had given the socially acceptable answer meaning he had a sense of propriety and he was smart, both the commander and his niece liked dealing with smart people.

“I haven’t seen this smile from the Princess,” whispered Lili as they left the courtyard.

Kamaria nudged the attendant with her shoulder which made the other young woman smile at the action. It took a while for them to think about heading back to the banquet, but they had to at least bid goodnight to the empress consort.

As Kamaria came into the hall, she was unexpectedly held by arm by her younger brother meaning she couldn’t stay away from the attention no matter how she had avoided it. Khayri was clearly sent to be a menace in her life.

“You’ve finally appeared again Big Sister!”

While Khayri was talking to Kamaria, another young man turned at hearing his voice.

“Sir Edan,” said another voice and his attention was shifted again.

He had nearly forgotten himself and made a face when he realised that the youngest prince was walking right past him.

The small crowd of young women could hardly contain their blushes when he turned back to them and smiled, regaining his composure. He truly deserved the title of one the gentlemen of the capital.

“Pardon me, I just thought I heard someone I knew,” he gently insisted.

They couldn’t helped help but be taken by his gentle demeanour that somehow never took away from his manliness at the same time. With his reputation for being quite well versed, it was only a matter of time before he was on his way to officialdom.

“Tell me, where did big sister disappear to, coming back with that expression?”

“You’re so nosy…” mumbled Kamaria.

It was rare to see her so genuinely flustered and it reminded just how she had been that night at the festival. He enjoyed this genuine side more rather than the timid person they all thought she was.

“Come, you should have your moment after officially becoming a young woman of royal society,” insisted Khayri as they walked to the floor.

Urien spotted Kamaria as she was walking with Khayri. It was a good thing to catch them together, so he made his way towards them.

The youngest prince didn’t care for decorum and wildly signalled to the musicians and in doing so captured many people’s attention. When the musicians saw the pair, they understood that they had to change the mood.