The prince peered across the balcony, staring at the two clashing soldiers in the courtyard below. At the moment, the winning side was the yelling Aderia, whose expression was disturbing as she hacked away at her sparring partner.

Brandon, who never lost his composure, calmly swatted away every attack as he was pushed back. It didn't take long for him to turn the way around, and soon Aderia fell flat against the ground, kicking her feet in protest.

"If only I can be as free..."  The prince mumbled to himself as he finished his breakfast half-heartedly. 

"Prince Troy." His butler bowed deeply, gesturing at his clean plate. "May I?"

"Yeah, here you go." He pushed the plate towards him, with his eyes still glued onto his personal guards. 

Brandon was trying to console his friend to no avail, even giving her his sword as a gesture that he forfeited. Aderia smacked it to the side and ran off into the palace, screaming.

"What a bustling scene. Are they usually like this?"

... Oh. He was wondering when 'she' would come. Troy greeted the princess with a polite nod of his head as she slid into the seat in front of him. His butler quickly whipped up a full plate for her and set it on the table.

"Yes." The prince answered in a cautious tone. Princess Irene wasn't a bad candidate as his wife, but she gave off a mysterious aura that made it seem like she was hiding something in the background. 

It didn't put him at ease, knowing that she had the ability to betray him in the future.

"You don't have to be so defensive." The princess cut through the grilled salmon, popping it into her mouth. "I thought the point of us meeting before the marriage contract is forged was so that we could get to know each other." 

Troy chuckled, resting his chin above his hands as he stared at Irene. "Let me get this straight. The persistent side who want this marriage to happen is your parents. Did you think I was a fool to think a truce was to be made between us? Your country has always been eager to take mine, ever since the time of our forefathers."

"Maybe not a truce, but your country will definitely see some improvements if you would only cooperate with us." Irene reasoned calmly, taking a sip from her tea. "Your obstinate attitude in closing the gates to your country is taking a toll on your merchants. Where are they going to procure the resources needed to face this harsh summer, now that you've cut off the trade?"

"Thank you for your deep insight, but my ministers are working on that very matter. Keep your opinion to yourself." The prince coldly remarked, pushing himself off the chair and stepping away from the balcony and the arrogant woman.

He could hear the bite in her words as she called out after him. "I will, but keep it as an option when you run out of ideas!"

He stormed through the hallway, fuming. When he got to the stairway, his bodyguards were already waiting for him. "... Hey."

" 'Morning, Your Highness." Aderia waved at him casually, her anger from before magically vanished. 

"Good morning." Brandon bowed deeply, exhaustion carved into his face. He must had gotten through a lot trying to deal with Aderia. 

His butler took his leave, excusing himself to go attend to his own meeting. Troy joined his 

guards, listing off the things that he was going to do today when Aderia stopped him. "Did something happen?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Aderia glanced at Brandon, who spoke up for her. "... You've been frowning this whole time."

"Was I?" Troy touched his forehead, noticing that he had left behind a crease from how long his eyebrows were furrowed for. "I... didn't realize."

"Must be that princess, huh?" Aderia guessed in one try, and she grinned at the sour expression that crossed the prince's face. "I knew it. You always look like you've gone through some sort of existential crisis once you talked to her."

"Is it that obvious?" Troy rubbed his face, sighing deeply. He was sure he was able to contain his emotions, but that princess had a way of bringing them to surface.

"Is she interfering with your work?" Brandon asked with concern.

"No, it's just... She told me what to do and what not to do so often that it's driving me crazy. It's true that she's definitely more experienced, but still..." His reason slowly turned into a jumble mess of words as he grew progressively angrier. "At any point, I don't want to heed her advice. It's frustrating that she always thinks she's right!"

They reached the garden where Troy would be meeting with a visiting foreign minister, and he was still mumbling a bunch of words to himself. Brandon had to scoff quietly to snap him out of it.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

When he finally calmed down and went to the gazebo, where the minister was already waiting, Aderia broke into a fit of laughter. "Haha! Did you see how frustrated he was? I think this is the first time he's actually so bothered by someone else!" 

Brandon let out a rare chuckle. "Yes. Perhaps it's out of bound for us to laugh at his predicament, but I have to agree."

Aderia continued to snicker as she was reminded of the prince's behaviour. "His whole life, he's used to the ministers babying him and agreeing to whatever he has to say. And as familiar we are with him, we can't ever treat him as an equal. So seeing him get challenged by that princess is quite something."

Brandon nodded, but then did a double take as he took it into consideration. "It is true that it will cause suspicions to rise if the princess is too... demanding with her wishes, however."

"Pfft, demanding? I wouldn't dare. I bet she was just spouting out the truth and the prince wasn't able to accept the fact that he might have done something wrong."

Brandon glared at her sharply. "Mind your words, Aderia. It's alright if it's just between us, but others may hear in and cause you trouble later."

"Yeah, yeah..."

They changed the topic into a military one, discussing about how to train the soldiers under their command while waiting for the prince to finish. As Aderia was beginning her argument, Brandon caught sight of the source of brewing emotions for their prince.

The princess herself. 

He touched her elbow to silence her and gestured at the princess, who was, without a doubt, heading towards them. Aderia blinked between the princess and Brandon, wondering whether they should bail out or see what's in store.

"Don't say anything inappropriate." Brandon warned his friend sternly, well aware of Aderia's habit of saying whatever was on her mind. "Don't try to argue with me. She's the princess of a nation bigger than ours, so have some respect, alright?"

"I wasn't planning on being disrespectful! Do you really think so lowly of me?!" Aderia half-screamed, angered by the accusation. 

Brandon grabbed the finger she was jabbing at his chest. "It's not like that. While your outspokenness is appreciated by our prince, the princess may not think that way. Do you understand?"

Aderia opened her mouth to backtalk, when a voice came from beside them.

"Oh my, I apologize. Am I interrupting something?"

Aderia jumped back, almost wanting to yell at her sudden presence, but Brandon quickly took over. "Absolutely not, Your Highness. How can we be of service?"

"Oh, it's nothing of importance, really." She smiled, but Brandon immediately noticed that it didn't reach her eyes; it was the same look the prince had when he had to deal with some of the more troublesome ministers.

Judging from how obediently silent Aderia was behind him, he could tell she knew too.

The princess might not mean any harm, but she could easily be plotting against their country. She came across as polite and graceful, a perfect example of how a proper princess should be. But her brilliant intelligence that outshone her brothers was a force to be reckoned with.

Tread carefully. Brandon squeezed Aderia's finger, which he was still holding, trying to get the message across.

"I was watching the two of you sparring this morning, in the courtyard. It was a sight to behold, especially with how skilled you are." Irene commented, her voice filled with admiration. "I say, even my squadron is lacklustre compared to you!"

"We're nothing special, Your Highness." Brandon bowed his head, hoping that Aderia followed suit. "After all, we're only His Highness' guards. The soldiers employed under the other jurisdictions are much more experienced."

"Skilled, and humble to boot!" Irene exclaimed, putting her hands together. "I wish I have guards of your capabilities for myself."

Brandon almost stumbled on his response when Aderia peeked out from behind him. "You look like you know your way around a weapon, Your Highness."

"Aderia...!" Brandon chided, immediately pushing her behind him. "I... My apologies. My partner is very forward with her... advances."

"I take no harm in her remark." Irene smiled affably, notably more genuine than her last one. She cocked her head to the side to have a better view of the hidden soldier. "What made you think of that?"

Aderia pushed the blockade in front of her to the side, answering to the question with a deep bow. "You walk with your footsteps silenced. With the heels you're wearing, that's an impossible feat unless you've done it a lot of times, uh... Your Highness."

She glanced quickly at Brandon, who managed to hide the shock at this revelation.

He hadn't noticed about the footsteps since he was busy trying to keep Aderia in line, but she must had kicked up a fuss in the first place to test the princess. 

They shared a similar thought: Someone who could walk lightly without any sound, especially women wearing high heels—

An assassin.

"Are you harassing my guards now?" Troy's bitter voice broke between them. He stepped up to the princess, unaware of the lingering tension. "Back up a bit, princess."

Irene bowed her head, a smile still plastered on her face. "I'll be seeing you soon, Prince Troy."

After she left their sight, Aderia grabbed onto Brandon's arm, whispering, "Should we, uh, tell him?"

He lowered his face so that he could whisper back to her. "I have a feeling we shouldn't. At least, not straight away."

"I think so too..."

No matter from what angle they were looking at this from, it was too risky to reveal what they just learnt to Troy, especially since talk about the princess was a landmine for him. He would definitely explode and have her exterminated, which would only lead to a war.

"What did she say to you?" Troy groaned, blissfully unaware of their tensed expressions. "Was she badmouthing me?"

Aderia snapped out of it first, shaking her head with a wolfish grin. "She wasn't, actually. Were you actually worried that she had a bad impression of you, Your Highness?"

She skipped away happily, and the prince followed after her in blatant ignorance, denying her words. "I wasn't! I just want to know what she said!"

"Hmm... Really, now? Whatever should I do?"

Brandon stared after their disappearing figures, his mind getting to work. Aderia was a better actor than he was; she would definitely be able to keep the secret to herself, but he was sure he wouldn't keep calm as long as he would be seeing the princess around.

His hand rested on top of his sword, sheathed to his side. The princess wasn't shocked at the fact that Aderia called her out. If she was, she did a good job concealing it, which hardly seemed the case.

She was warning them not to tell.

Brandon held the sword tightly. It didn't matter how provocative the princess was being. If she ever laid a finger on the prince, he would jump in without no hesitation. Aderia must had felt the same way.

For now, the safest route was to keep an eye on Irene.