Okay.

Breathe.

I need to breathe.

My hand was still clasped in Princess Munith’s delicate gloved hands. She was staring at me with that same cheerful, almost empty-headed smile.

“What brings you here, Lady Carine?” she said in a bubbly tone as sweet as sugar. “You must be new here, right? I didn’t see you at the party last year.”

It took a moment for my brains to fully process what I needed to do.

Just respond naturally, me.

“I was invited,” I answered, keeping my tone as neutral as possible.

“Oh, is that so?” She tilted her head ever so slightly, her smile somehow growing brighter. “You must be really special, then!”

“How so?”

“Not anyone can get invited to my honey’s party, you know!” Her cheeks blushed for a moment when she mentioned her ‘honey’. “Tell me, tell me! What did you do to get invited~?” she added, bouncing lightly on her heels while tightening her grip on my hand.

I didn’t even know the answer to that myself. As I said before, the Third Prince really did just arrive at my birthday party, drop me an invite, refuse to elaborate, and leave. That was seriously it. And with a party this exclusive, who would believe that story?!

I turned my head to Prince Key, the reason I was here in the first place. He was being swarmed more and more by the guests. Like moths to a lighthouse. Even those who were engaged in conversations with each other moments before were now flocking to him by the window.

Welp. There goes my chance to talk to him.

Princess Munith, still holding my hand, stopped bouncing like a child. Her gaze flicked between me and her fiancé before her eyes lit up. “Lady Carine? Do you want to talk to Key?”

I blinked at her, not sure if I should answer truthfully or not. Then, I saw it as a chance to have her let go of my hand. “Yes, I am.”

Expecting her to let me go so I could get up, I was caught completely off guard when her smile returned. “Then let’s go!” She tugged me out of my chair like a kid with a doll.

“Wha— Wait!” My heels wobbled dangerously as I scrambled to keep up with her pace. I stared back, seeing Leila following behind me at her own pace. I didn’t expect her to come to me running, mind you, but that snail’s pace felt like she was messing with me for some reason.

I managed to keep up with her until she stopped steps away from the crowd surrounding Prince Key. She raised her hand up high and waved enthusiastically, her fiancé noticed it almost immediately through the crowds.

“Munith!” He excused himself from the people he was talking with and approached us, the crowd clearing a way for him. “What is it?”

“Hmm~ Hmm~ I want you to meet, Lady Carine!” She presented me like I was a showcase. “She’s the new invitee you and Julient talked about, right?”

Prince Key tore his eyes off of his fiancee for a moment. He looked me up and down in silence before widening his eyes slightly. “Oh, you’re right! Carine Sareid, was it?”

While I didn’t expect to be dragged to the Prince, I should still be thankful to Munith. This was it, the perfect time to execute the greeting drill that was practically smashed into my head.

I plastered a gentle smile, lifting the hems of my gown just a little bit before dipping into a graceful bow as smooth as a freshly oiled door hinge. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.”

Would you believe me the hardest part about that part was the smile? How dead was my face?!

He flashed a bright smile and placed a hand on his chest before bowing as well. “It is a pleasure to meet you too, Lady Sareid.”

For a brief, fleeting moment, everything felt… perfect.

Finally, all those days of boring etiquette training were starting to see some use.

I was ready to move on to step two of the grand “Friending the Future King” plan. Compliment his suit. Say something witty about his hair. Establish a friendly rapport. But before I could even open my mouth, he clapped his hands together and bowed politely to both me and Munith.

“Forgive me, you two. I need to discuss some matters with the gentlemen back there. If you’ll excuse me,” he said, his tone apologetic yet firm. With that, he turned and disappeared back into the crowd.

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Welp.

Tried my best…

Just then, Munith waddled over in front of me. “Sorry~! I know he’s busy, but he really should greet you more properly, huh?”

“N-No, that is quite alright. I shall wait for him until he is free.” I turned around, heading back to my seat in silent defeat.

But then, someone tapped my shoulder lightly. It was Munith, smiling all sweet and cutesy. “How about talking with me instead?”

I stopped in my tracks as I pieced things together.

If I couldn’t fully befriend the prince, I mean, who could in such a short time span? Why not be friends with his fiancée? AKA, the future Queen?

She was a lot more approachable than Prince Key, in fact, she was the one who approached me. A part of me finds her warmth a bit off-putting, but I couldn’t quite put it into words.

I might just be overthinking things. All those boredom-filled lessons and painful training were really starting to get into my head.

With not a lot of time passing by in the real world, I turned to Munith and offered a bow. “It would be a pleasure, Your Highness.”

—

At the same time, I was still touring the capital as Feyt with Eliza. The clatter of utensils and basic gossip and rumors filled the small diner. Across from me, Eliza nibbled on her food, careful to not let the cabbage on her fork stain her maid apron.

Her expression was carefully neutral, and I heard a small sigh whenever she took a bite. Sighs she definitely tried her best to hide.

I let my gaze wander around the diner while absently poking at my own meal. The place was modest and unassuming, the kind of spot where people gathered for a quick bite rather than a leisurely meal.

Sure, it was a waste not to eat some good grub with the budget Father gave me. But I couldn’t stomach anything down if I had to hear another man beg for mercy from loan sharks.

Still can’t believe those exist in this world too…

The sounds I hear in this diner are mostly talks about taxes, relationship advice, business talks, dry jokes, et cetera. Nothing particularly stuck out.

It was the best place for me to eat. I’d take this along with the slightly bland food over the conscience-challenging sounds from the square.

As I took another bite of my food, I heard another sigh from Eliza.

Yeah, she wasn’t happy with this diner I had chosen randomly. I could tell she was actually looking forward to the square.

I felt a little bad now.

…

After finishing our meal, Eliza handled the bill with the money Father had given us. I followed her outside and we stepped back onto the bustling streets of the capital.

“Where shall we head next, Sir Feyt?”

“Hmm, not sure…”

I was in the middle of a conversation with Munith as Carine, so I couldn’t really focus on the tour, unfortunately. The conversation with Munith herself was…

Well…

“How do you take care of your skin?”

“Your hair is so shiny! What did you use?”

“Do you have a lover?”

She was asking things like that.

By the way, the answers I gave were: “I take a bath daily”, “It’s all-natural”, and “No.”

Simple questions, all in all. But maintaining politeness in front of the kingdom’s most prestigious nobles was nerve-wracking on its own.

Turning back to Eliza, I cleared my throat before responding, “Let’s see what’s up ahead.”

Yep, I was totally directionless.

Then, Eliza gazed forward and tilted her head. “If I’m not wrong… this way is…”

“What is it, Miss Eliza?”

Eliza shook her head gently. “It’s nothing, Sir Feyt. Let’s go.”

We moved along the streets, the chatter and clamor of the city a constant hum in the background. At first, I thought we were just passing another busy corner, but as we walked further, the noises thickened.

It started like a normal crowd of chatter. Then it grew gradually louder and louder with every step I took on the uphill streets.

The streets were starting to look more familiar by the second.

I didn’t need to spell it out. It was hard to miss the decorations, the excited murmurs, and the sheer number of people converging as we went further uphill.

“As expected,” Eliza said to herself.

“What’s all this for?” I asked, more out of habit than any real curiosity.

“It’s the First Prince’s birthday celebration. Many nobles, merchants, and even commoners gather around the castle to celebrate it all day long until midnight.”

Is the First Prince that popular?!

Still, I couldn’t help but notice how many people were here compared to earlier when I arrived as Carine. It was quite packed back then, sure. But that was more of a paparazzi gathering and this was more of a full-on festival, which it was.

It was really noisy. I could hear everything from price haggling on food stands to people praising or criticizing the First Prince. There were so many of them, that they began to overlap in my head. It was a little bit of a headache to ignore.

Not long after that, the castle came into view. I could see the large windows on the upper floors from here, the same windows that I, Carine, was staring at from the inside.

Once again, it felt really surreal to be so close yet so far with myselves.

As we made our way closer, amidst the constant loud chatter around me, I picked up one sound that was… different. It was a small, almost rusted-like sound, it was as if the speaker hadn’t drunk a single drop of water in years.

But his parched sound wasn’t the only thing that caught my attention. It was what he was saying.

“...for the flames shall be our savior… for the flames shall be our guide…”

At first, I thought it was just crazy weirdo on the streets. But when I turned to the source of the sound, I froze.

To my left, partially hidden among the crowd, was someone I’d never seen before. A robed figure, hood pulled low to conceal their face. He had his hand raised towards the castle. It was aimed seemingly straight at the party location.

image [https://i.imgur.com/wg0mf01.png]

“...may we bask in its flames… may we bask in its glory…”

He just kept on mumbling to himself. I was really starting to be creeped out, only to suddenly hear crackling in the air. It wasn’t the sound of firecrackers or rocks crunching. No, it was something more… unnatural.

Then, the robed man’s hood was shifted by the wind, revealing his bearded sunken face, smirking. Then, I watched as he worded his mouth slowly, turning into a wicked smirk each syllable.

“[Fireball]”

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image [https://i.imgur.com/RdC5Gde.png]