Helena led me straight from Cynthia’s room back to the dining room. My parents and Mizuki were still there, but in my absence, it seemed the king and queen had also joined them. King Immanuel took notice of my arrival the second I stepped through the doorway.

“There he is!” he stated with a wide, bearded grin. “Just the man I was hoping to see.”

I bowed and replied, “may I ask what this is about?”

“No need. You and your lovely family take a seat and I will explain it all.”

We did as was asked of us—some more excitedly than others—and Cynthia entered the room wearing a nervous expression on her face. The king smiled at her and waved her inside, gesturing to a grand, empty chair beside him and the queen.

“I was just about to send for you as well, my daughter. Come, sit.”

“Yes, father,” Cynthia mumbled and set herself down by her parents.

The king clasped his large hands together and spoke with great enthusiasm. “It is my distinct pleasure to inform you all that, later this evening, we will be holding an internationally broadcasted press conference to announce the engagement of Shinsuke Watanabe to my beautiful daughter, Princess Cynthia Rose von Eisenhardt!”

“What?!” my parents and Mizuki shouted in unison. Judging by the look on Cynthia’s face, I wasn’t the only one they beat to the punch with their reaction.

“We would ordinarily wait a bit longer to do this. But given that Shinsuke’s heroic act was already televised for all the world to see, we thought we might as well make the announcement now,” said the king.

“Wait,” my mother interjected. “What engagement are you talking about?!”

“Your son didn’t tell you?”

The room fell silent, and all eyes were on me.

“Shinsuke Watanabe,” my mother said, sternly. “First, you do something completely reckless and don’t communicate with me or your father all night, then you propose to the princess without telling us anything?!”

“Mom, I didn’t propose to her. And I don’t even want—”

“Now, now. Don’t blame the boy,” the king interrupted. “He was overwhelmed and tired last night, as was my daughter. I’m sure they were so excited to have breakfast together this morning that they merely forgot to share the wonderful news with you three.”

Dad patted my shoulder and grinned at me. “That’s kind of a big thing to forget, son!”

There isn’t a single jury in the world who would find me guilty if I committed patricide at this very moment.

“So, my son is really going to marry the princess of Steylia…?” mom asked, her voice shaking with what I couldn’t decide was excitement or disbelief.

“Unexpected, yet joyous, isn’t it?” said the king.

The queen shook her head and took a drink from a goblet filled with wine. “For some of us.”

“Son, how did this come about?” asked dad. “Tell us all about it!”

“I—”

“I’ll tell you everything!” the king interrupted yet again.

Mizuki tugged on my pant leg under the table and whispered to me. Her stare was piercing. “We need to talk. Now.”

“Father,” Cynthia started. “May I be excused? I’d like to speak with Shinsuke while you and mother explain the situation to his family.”

“Of course, dear,” the king assured as he began speaking to my parents and their twinkling, bright eyes.

Cynthia rose from her seat and motioned for me to follow. I shot Mizuki a look of regret and exited with the princess. Mizuki, however, did not stay seated, and followed closely behind me out of the dining room and into the massive foyer.

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Cynthia led me to a corner far removed from the open dining room doors and spoke anxiously. “I didn’t think they would do the press conference so soon!”

“Yeah, what the hell are they thinking? It’s only been one night.”

“Hey,” Mizuki interjected. “Shinsuke, we’re talking right now.”

The blonde princess took a step back and her jade eyes widened. “Did you just…interrupt my conversation? Who are you?”

“None of your business. I need to talk to Shinsuke, so go somewhere else, princess.”

“Excuse me?” Cynthia put her hands on her hips and glared at Mizuki.

“You heard me.”

I froze for a second, my eyes darting back and forth between my best friend and my “fiancé”. The tension was more than palpable—it was choking. I knew if I didn’t do something immediately, things would get ugly fast.

“Cynthia, this is Mizuki,” I said, nearly stuttering. “Mizuki, you know Cynthia, of course.”

“Do I?” Mizuki replied, dryly. “Do you?”

Cynthia looked my wavy-haired best friend up and down. Her jade eyes scanned Mizuki’s outfit: a pair of sneakers, black jeans, and a belly-shirt hoodie patterned with small, black rabbit head silhouettes. She… wasn’t exactly dressed for a trip to the castle.

“You come to my castle dressed like that and you have the nerve to speak to me in such a disrespectful fashion?

“Am I supposed to care what you think about my clothes?”

Unlike my parents who showed up in formal attire, Mizuki clearly didn’t care about impressing the royals. I wasn’t dressed to impress either, but I had the excuse of being dragged unexpectedly to the castle. It shouldn’t have mattered either way, but things had deteriorated to the point where I was sure that just about everything about these two annoyed each other.

“Cynthia,” I said. “I haven’t had a chance to speak to Mizuki since everything happened yesterday. I just need a few minutes to explain it all to her.”

Cynthia scoffed at both of us, but made sure her harsh gaze hung over Mizuki a little longer than necessary. “Fine, do what you must.”

Despite an aggression in her tone, Cynthia spun with an undeniable grace and returned to the dining room, leaving me and Mizuki on our own.

“Start talking, Shinsuke.”

“Mizuki, do you honestly think I would propose to the princess?”

“No, I don’t. So, why are you engaged to her?” she asked, narrowing her sleepy eyes and crossing her arms.

I sighed and began to recount the ridiculous circumstances of the prior twenty-four hours. She knew I had saved the princess, but I made sure to inform her of my less than thrilling time in the throne room, as well as the details of the White Knight Contract and its insane opt-out clause.

“So, in short, me and Cynthia don’t want this, her crazy parents are forcing us to do it.”

“I notice you two are on a first name basis.”

“N-not really…”

Mizuki’s stare softened slightly, but her eyes remained sharp. “Anyway, you’re doing this gauntlet, right?”

“I don’t really have much of a choice,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “But I’ve been thinking—”

“There’s nothing to think about,” Mizuki declared, firmly. “You have to do this. Otherwise, you’re stuck marrying her. I don’t want to see you get beat up, but as long as you can convince those stupid royals that you tried, then you’re free from this and things can go back to normal again.”

I ruffled my hair a bit and groaned. “It’s not that simple.”

“It is.”

“The person who beats me ends up instantly engaged to Cynthia.”

“And?”

“She could end up trapped in a marriage with some power-hungry lunatic. And that lunatic could come back to haunt us all when they rise to power.”

Mizuki grabbed my hand and held it between both of her own. “Listen to me very closely, Shinsuke. None of that matters, only you do.”

“Some tyrant claiming partial power over Steylia doesn’t bother you?”

“If that happens, would anything really change for us?” she asked, irritably. “As it is, we already live by the whims of these trashy royals in our cramped little apartments, enjoying whatever little we have while they live like this. The pampered princess herself could also turn out to be a monstrous leader all on her own. You realize that, right?”

She had a point. For people like us, none of these situations ever impacted our quality of life. We were forgotten just as much by our own leaders as we would be by any other kingdom’s crown. But, still, Cynthia’s words kept repeating in my mind. What would life be like if one of the other large kingdoms merged with Steylia? The thought put a bad feeling in my gut that I couldn’t shake.

“You’re right,” I conceded. “But do you think it’s right to trap Cynthia in something like that? Wouldn’t that be like passing this curse to someone else?”

“She already had that curse before you and she’ll have the curse after you. Don’t forget that she’s the one who owes you something here. If not for you, she’d be dead right now. How can she ask anything of you, let alone for you to suffer this whole gauntlet when you get absolutely nothing for doing so?”

Now she had more than a point, she had an undeniable truth.

“Yeah, you’re right, Mizuki.”

“Of course I am,” she smiled at me. “Now, focus on what’s best for you, Shinsuke. As long as you get what you want, who cares about what happens to her?”

“Excuse me, Mr. Watanabe.” The ever present Helena said, emerging from the dining room. “I was instructed by His Majesty to take you to the tailor so he can have your suit made for tonight’s press conference.”

Mizuki scowled and released my hands from her grasp. “Remember what I said, Shinsuke.”

I nodded and watched her waves bounce as she walked away.

“Right this way,” Helena directed me.

My legs began moving but I remained in my thoughts, recalling the words of both Mizuki and Cynthia. Like Mizuki had said, Cynthia’s situation wasn’t my fault or my responsibility. She really did have some nerve asking me to run a damn gauntlet, be it for her sake or the sake of the kingdom. She owed me, and I was beginning to figure out exactly how I could leverage that.