Tonight I was having a 'girls' night with Delmare, Odeta and Lisa while Katsuki 'attended' us.

And by that I really just meant that I'm having a sweets eating session out in the garden with a clear view of the night sky with them while just talking about anything that came to mind.

Of course the topic of my visit to the palace came up and I ended up telling them what happened during the ball.

I'd thought they would be interested in the prince but aside from them being unusually quiet when I told them about my dance with him, they showed no reaction to it.

On the other hand, Lisa seemed to be interested in the princess.

"Ehhhh~ So you met princess Tiara at the ball?" Lisa gasped.

I nodded, "It was quite funny really. I didn't think that I would actually find a princess underneath that table."

"Wow~ As expected of Aster to meet a princess!" Delmare clapped her hands happily.

I'm not sure why she was so impressed by that since I was only able to meet her because of Mother bringing me to the ball.

Lisa moved closer to me, "Did you talk to her, Aster?!"

Eh? She seems really interested in the princess? Don't tell me Lisa has a crush on her?

Yeah, definitely not possible.

I'd think it's more likely that Lisa might try to make her the next cuck target or something… But please don't…

"Umm… I did. Is that a problem?"

Lisa blinked at me, "Eh? That reaction… Ah… Aster is not aware of her reputation, are you?"

"She has a reputation? Does it have something to do with cookies?"

"Cookies? Eh? Umm… I don't think so? Why cookies?"

Katsuki explained in my stead while pouring tea for me, "That's because the princess seems to really like cookies. She snuck into the prince's ball specifically to eat the cookies prepared for the event."

Lisa nodded at her explanation, "I see… That explains some questions I have… But no, her reputation has nothing to do with cookies. Did Katsuki not tell you, Aster?"

I turned to my Inugami maid and she shook her head, "I saw no need to tell you about her, Mistress. And it's not my place to tell you that since Mistress was with the Madam."

"So what's that little princess known for? Even I've never heard of her?" Odeta asked, clearly curious about it.

Katsuki nodded at Lisa, showing that she would let her explain instead.

My Infrid lover took a deep breath, "She's supposedly cursed."

…

"Eh?" Delmare, Odeta and I all said at the same time.

Lisa nodded, "A few years ago, the Royal Sage foresaw a future where a demon would be summoned because of the princess. She was then regarded as a cursed child and would always be under watch by a group of servants."

Ok… First of all, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's even such a thing as a Royal Sage. I'm guessing that person must be quite a powerful mage.

Second of all… I'm surprised she's not under lock and key or even dead.

"That's… Surprising…" I thought aloud.

"Indeed, no one could have thought that she would be involved in a plot like this."

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"No, no, that's not it. I thought that it would be normal for the Royal family to try and execute the princess or even exile her after knowing a prophecy like that."

Lisa looked at me with wide eyes, "There's no way they would just abandon the princess like that, they aren't barbarians. How could any proper parent bear to just throw away their own flesh and blood like that?"

Umm… Well… I guess I should keep quiet about all the types of stories I've both read and written where the child of a noble gets thrown away by their parents because of some stupid prophecy…

Delmare swirled the tea in her cup with her spoon idly, "But it's all just a mistake right? Since they have the princess being watched at all times, that future would not come to pass?"

Lisa sipped her own tea, "I wouldn't be too sure about that. There are some futures that would come to pass one way or another… Especially those that have been arranged by the Gods themselves…"

I perked up, "Like the two of us being together?"

My comment made the Infrid blush, "Ehehehe~ I'm sure Hiandoca blessed us to be a couple~"

The Siren also quickly spoke up, "Umm! I'm sure we are also fated to be together too, Aster!!"

Not to be outdone, Odeta also added, "Wahahaha! Then it's also fate that you became my sister too, sister Aster!"

"Mmm… I also believe it is my fate to belong to Mistress as well," Katsuki nodded.

Uwaa~ Is it alright for me to be so loved?

I hid my face in embarrassment, "I… I love all of you so much…"

All of a sudden, I felt my wrist being grabbed as I was pulled towards Lisa, my Infrid closing the distance between us so that she could give me a kiss on the lips.

Mmmm~ I definitely not going to say no to a kiss from her~

I kissed her back before separating, a small trail of saliva bridging between our lips for a moment before it dissipated.

"Ahhh~ Aster tastes so sweet~" Lisa moaned before giggling to herself. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself when Aster looked like that~ Umm… I think we were still talking about the princess?"

I giggled, "Ehehe~ Mhmm~ We were talking about her curse."

"Ah, that's right, it was prophesied that she would be used as a sacrifice to summon a demon so she basically had limited freedom ever since she was young."

Oh, that would explain why she isn't attending Aerialla Academy too since she has to be always under watch.

If she were to attend the school, the Royal Family would need to station people here to watch her as well and I can't imagine that helping the school be a conducive environment for us to study in if there were guards all around the place.

Delmare tapped her chin with a finger, "But why would she be used as a sacrifice? Does she have something special about her?"

Lisa shrugged, "Even I don't know about that. If she does, then it's a closely guarded secret by the Royal Family."

I turned to Katsuki and she tilted her head at me, "Does Mistress wish to know?"

Ah… So we do know the real reason huh…

I shook my head, "I'd think that they kept it a secret so that the less people who know about it, the less likely there would be someone who would try to kidnap her. I think it'll be better if I don't know in that case."

Odeta scoffed, "Bah! If they're so worried about that, then they just have to train her to be stronger! Then she can fight off her kidnappers herself! Easy!"

Truth be told… I actually agree with Odeta here.

Sure, it sucks that she has such a fate and something that could help summon a demon, but just by protecting her isn't going to change anything. The best thing to do would be to help train her to the point where she could defend herself against those threats.

Lisa popped a piece of cake into her mouth, "It's up to the Royal Family to decide. Besides, it doesn't really concern us, does it?"

"Well… She's coming to visit me to have tea the next time she's available…" I told her.

"Eh? Wait! The princess is coming here? To Aster's house?" Lisa gasped.

"Yep, Mommy was the one who invited her to come visit us actually."

Odeta let out a bark of laughter, "Wahahaha! As expected of Mother!"

Delmare also clasped her hands together, "That means we'll be able to meet a real princess, right?"

I was about to answer an affirmative when Lisa spoke up, "I would think that it might be a better idea for us to not get involved with her though…"

I turned to my Infrid, "Is it because you're concerned that we might be caught up in that prophecy?"

Lisa also has Clairvoyance magic so it isn't surprising that she takes the prophecy kind of things quite seriously.

She nodded, "Anything that involves demons is usually never a good thing… I would like us to stay away from them as much as possible…"

"You sound like you have experience with them?" Odeta noted while popping a macaron into her mouth.

"Unfortunately, I have… And it was not a good experience… And before you ask, I would rather not talk about it… But if Aster wishes to know, I will tell you."

I haven't actually seen Lisa look this sad before which told me it was most likely a really serious matter.

Even though I am really curious about it, I decided that it would be a better idea not to ask her about it.

I cut a slice of my cake, "But we've already invited her and she accepted it though… We can't just tell her to go home after that right?"

"Unn… That is true… But don't worry! Whatever happens, I'll protect you, Aster!" Lisa declared while hugging my arm.

"Ha! I will be the one to protect Sister Aster! You don't need to worry about that!" Odeta thumped a fist on her chest proudly.

Delmare also came in to hug my other arm, "Ah! No fair! Me too, Aster!"

"More tea, Mistress?" Katsuki offered casually amidst all that.

While I'm really flattered and all… Shouldn't we be protecting the princess instead?