Mia currently sat alone inside a big party hall near the Royal Castle. She was near an open window so the various smells of the people didn’t linger too much near her. Nobles and rich people had very peculiar tastes with their perfumes, at least they were just strange, not bad. Mia was using a nice and simple light blue dress that she got on her birthday that was held in place somewhat by a belt the same color of the dress around the top of her waist area.

2 days ago Mathias came to the academy and proposed to Narissa in front of almost every student. Mia saw more than one reaction from girls wanting something like that.

Mia also had a slight bout of rage when the boys explained how they earned a bunch of money in an arena the city had and she almost went on a rampage. Even she had to admit that she shouldn’t do something in that situation and thankfully her friends calmed her down. She would protect her friends and family to the best of her ability but this time there was no malice or outright want to cause permanent harm, they were just bad people trying to get money and they failed.

A waiter passed near Mia and she got a small sandwich that she promptly began to eat. A few people passed near her and she smiled and nodded to acknowledge their presence but for the most part people were now leaving her alone. She is going to sit tight and do what she needs to do until the stupid party is over.

—--

“Congratulations on your engagement. I hope you two have a bright future together.” A noble from another country said to Mathias and Narissa who sat in the most prominent position in the party hall and were receiving everyone’s good words for their future wedding.”

“Thank you for your kind words. Please enjoy your stay in your kingdom.” Narissa said.

“Thank you. There is a lot of good food and drinks around, I am sure you will find something you have never tasted before.” Mathias very nervously. said to the noble. Soon after the man left, leaving the new official couple alone for at least a few minutes until someone arrived to meet them.

“How did things come to this?” Mathias asked Narissa, clearly overwhelmed by the situation.

“The second princess is not one known to let opportunities like this pass. With this party everyone knows that the Royal Family approves of our union, the academy too, the principal is here along with his wife, Mia too…” Narissa began to explain.

“Even I am not that dumb to some things, Narissa. Mia is here to intimidate a few people right? Women stopped flirting with me after a while and men with you.”

“That too. It's all about showing what you have. Basically we are being used to project the strength of our kingdom and maybe secure a little more.” Narissa said, pointing to the first princess guiding a few girls around in the direction of Mathias’ friends.

“Please tell me she isn’t trying to play matchmaker with Luminus and Kaki.”

“That is probably what she is doing.”

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“I can see that maybe working with Luminus but Kaki will be a challenge.”

“I don’t think I will ever understand how Kaki put up with Luminus and you telling so many bad things about him.”

“Look, he isn’t dumb but he is stupid. You need help in a fight, with horses and maybe studying? You can count on him. Dealing with people informally? Probably your guy. Put him in front of a girl he thinks he has a chance with and he might forget that he needs to breathe. His family’s culture put a lot of emphasis on getting married and with him being the only boy put a lot of expectations on him.”

“And he can’t handle it?”

“Yeah. His brain stops working when it comes to that and he becomes stupid. Me and Luminus joke sometimes that he will only get a wife when a woman suddenly shows up pregnant.”

“You put a lot of faith in your friend.” Narissa said sarcastically.

“I trust him with my life in a fight but that is another thing completely.” Mathias said, finishing their talk as another person arrived. It was Duke Furukawa and his family. They soon came to greet Mathias and Narissa.

“Congratulations on your engagement. Me and my family hope you two have a long and happy journey together.” The duke said. Only Narissa noted that the man was angry with something.

“Congratulations again. It was very beautiful how you proposed to her in the academy. Everyone is jealous of you two.” Hinata said with a somewhat cheerful tone. Narissa didn’t know why but the girl stopped trying to forcefully integrate with the special class group and strangely enough she was now closer than ever to that. She knew that she went to the book club and occasionally chatted with Mia.

“Thank you. It was a surprise to me too.” Narissa said.

“I needed to do it in a very public place.” Mathias explained. He had to propose Narissa somewhere a lot of people would see them and the academy was the only place available for the foreseeable future.

“Well, also, congratulations on your achievement. Even if it was a group effort, beating someone that is stronger than you is something you don’t see everyday.” Duke Furukawa said, alluding to the arena fight. A lot of people knew about that and the boys got a little famous because of that.

“Thank you. I strive to always get stronger so I can protect what is important to me.” Mathias said, gripping Narissa’s hand a little harder. Soon after the family left.

Mathias and Narissa greeted a few more people but after a while they were allowed to walk around the party. Both of their families were going to throw an engagement party but not this one. Only Narissa’s father had some idea of what was going on but after the end of the conference, quite a few people stayed in Azuria. The second princess came back from her trip and saw the opportunity of using the party for political gain.

There were some other things happening in the party, backroom deals and whatnot but for the most part it was just a very stravagant party to congratulate two of the brightest futures in the kingdom in their union.

—---

“Mister Frank, was it?” Roana, the second princess of Azuria, asked Frank, the alchemist.

“Just call me Frank. I don’t have kids as far as they are aware.”

“As you wish, Frank. I heard a little about your situation. Are you sure you want to do this? If one thing goes wrong it will be your fault.”

“It will be a little prank. Nothing bad will happen. I gave Mia a jar full of those things and nothing happened with her. It is as safe as it can be if it didn’t trigger anything with her.

“Let’s hope this ‘candies’ makes lips a little more loose today.”

“Well good luck finding the snakes you want in that pit of snakes. I am going to find something to drink.”

“Do enjoy the party. I did my best with the limited time I had but I think it came out really good.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

With that both people went their own ways. Something was about to happen and nobody was ready.