Dominic may have looked as perfect as he did before shedding tears but his smiles were simply a few minutes away from disappearing into a frown.
He had descended to the banquet room as angelic as any entrance could be and immediately stole the attention from all in the crowd by simply stepping on the first stair in multiple on a staircase leading to the swarm of people below him. They had all paused as he walked down the stairs, their eyes following the royal blue of his cape as it flowed down the steps behind him and to the golden waves on his head, bouncing a little and waving in the air as he walked.
His face, with unrivaled beauty in the entire kingdom, had an expression so elegant and graceful that women swooned just from its sight. He was beautifully proportioned, with broad shoulders that weren't too big and long legs that weren't too long or big. And his outfit? Fit him as a tailored attire should.
He wore a beautiful black tailcoat with additions such pads of braided ropes that hung off his shoulders and a long golden rope hung from the right pad and swung over to the right portion of his chest, clipping to a gold medal. From there, the rope curved between his arm and his body to the same shoulder pad it hung from. A golden sash hung from his left shoulder and swung over his body to his waist, on the right side.
On that sash were medals pinned to both the sash and the actual black tailcoat. Some were large and others hung from lines and laid in one straight line starting from the left side of the sash to its right and ending on a little space of tailcoat. The line was 5 medals wide.
In the top middle of his chest, right below his collar, was a golden crest, carved into the shape of a heart, that laid on the long line that ran down the middle of his chest. On the on arms of the tailcoat were golden horizontal lines. Two straight ones and right below, gold designs that curved all over the lower arm and cuffs of the coat.
On Dominic's waist was a golden, metal belt that the sash hid behind. For trousers, he wore black, and on his feet were black shoes with gold touches here and there at the point and heel.
All in one, he looked stunning, ravishing to say the least. His emerald green eyes shone with such beauty that people were captivated without him actually having to look at them. That illusion completely covered whatever other emotion the prince may have meant behind his emotionless eyes.
He had to look perfect, of course. It was a celebration to congratulate him on his way to the throne and for his engagement with Princess Claudia.
Once he hit the ground, the crowd swallowed him up, the higher-ups grabbing his attention first and greeting him with their best smiles and best manners. He gave them a smile and a nod of approval in return.
He felt suffocated. The crowd, the room, was spinning, everything coming at him at once while he tried to maintain that perfect, graceful prince composure of his. He wasn't the only one who felt suffocated.
Boris, who followed behind Dominic as a guard felt the suffocation. All he saw was glimmer, shimmer, and bright smiles of nobility that he hated the most. He looked to Kalmin who was on the other side of Dominic, introducing him to those in the crowd smoothly and quickly like he had been born to do that job, and that job alone.
Before long, he had lost count of how many people Dominic had greeted, and even quicker, all expression on his face had seeped into absolute nothing. His need to get out of that crowd and quickly, only seemed to be building, quicker and higher.
His eyes turned to look at Dominic, the first glance he had given him since their argument. Dominic, despite all the arguing and tears he had spilled just moments ago, looked fine. He was talking fine and he was smiling fine.
He looked away from Dominic and turned to the people in front of him.
He knew very well that Dominic wasn't fine.
Kalmin nudged Dominic's shoulder again and pulled him along to the next nobility. It was a woman and her husband with a daughter standing right beside them.
"My prince!" They called out, immediately bowing in his presence.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Marquess Pori's," Dominic smiled, returning their greeting.
"My, you look absolutely handsome today, my prince," said the woman, bowing her head again. Dominic gave a smile in return.
"We were worried about how you would have taken the deadly blow this kingdom faced a mere two weeks ago," said the man, "it reassures us that you seem to be taking the set-back quite well."
Dominic flinched. Boris noticed it. Barely a second later, he flashed a slightly sad smile. It looked calculated, like he had found just the right amount of smiling and the right about of sadness to put into it. But to them, it looked just like the smile they thought they deserved to get. "I am indeed mourning my father's death but I must be brave and lead the kingdom forward in his absence. It is my duty from birth."
"We're honored to hear that. It will be no surprise to see the royal family heirs lead their kingdoms just as their father would. I look forward to seeing you take care of the kingdom just like your brother is for his," said the man. He flashed a grin, "or even better."
Boris looked away from them, displeasure showing in his eyes. 'You say that right after mentioning his father's death,' he thought to himself.
Dominic smiled, nodding his head at the man's comment. "Of course! It will be like nothing ever happened."
"I rest assured it will," the man nodded, a sly smile appearing on his face.
Boris flinched, noticing the undertones in the man's words. He turned to Dominic to make sure he wasn't the only one that heard. Dominic smiled again but underneath it, Boris could see the displeasure in his eyes.
He looked away from Dominic, annoyance building in him. This was what he hated, this was the exact kind of reactions, conversations, and intentions that he hated in nobles. 'What a beast...' Boris thought to himself. That was when he felt the stare.
It was from the daughter of the man and wife. She was looking up at Boris with a stare that sent shivers down his spine. It was like she was inviting him, trying to seduce him with her stare and the bats of her eyelashes. His eye twitched and he took a slight step back. It was disgusting.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dominic saw her gaze and also how badly Boris was responding to it. He tapped Boris' wrist, pulling his attention to him. He smiled at the man and woman when he noticed Boris' gaze shifted to him.
Dominic was well aware of what the man meant by his comment and was well aware of the kind of sins the man must have been doing. 'Rest assured it will? Does he expect that the system will stay in his power and continue to supply him with his money while keeping quiet of his dirty actions?' he thought to himself. 'if that was the way father had been ruling... it won't be the same as the way I will be ruling.'
He had had just enough of the conversation and was about to turn away from the nobles when the man called him back.
"My prince!" he said. He turned to his daughter, slight annoyance passing on his face when he saw the direction of her gaze. "Analize!" he called out, grabbing her attention.
She flinched and snapped her head to Dominic, ending her attempt to seduce Boris and directing her dirty gaze to Dominic. She immediately bowed and smiled innocently. "Your highness."
Dominic nodded his head and prepared to leave when the woman held him back.
"Your highness, this is our daughter Analize," she pressed.
"As previously noted," Dominic nodded, biting back the annoyance peeking through in his voice.
The woman stepped closer to Dominic and her voice dropped to a whisper. "We made sure to keep her unmarried till this day, your highness," she whispered, looking up at Dominic with bright eyes. "She has mentioned several times her interest with his highness."
Dominic's eyes twitched and a sour taste flew into his mouth. 'Do they think I'm blind?' he thought to himself as he looked into her eyes and then turned to her daughter's. He saw it. The greediness in their eyes as they introduced their daughter. 'Have they forgotten what event this is for?'
"Great to hear," Dominic smiled, "I'm afraid that she is nearing the age that she must get married at, however. I'm glad I have my fiance, Princess Claudia for me so I don't have to worry about it."
The woman flinched, stepping back from Dominic. On her face was a light tone of surprise, as if she hadn't expected him to turn down her words.
"Ah... of course, of course! You two are a beautiful couple after all," she smiled. It was fake, so fake that it made Dominic sick.
Without another remark, he turned away from them and walked to the next noble, not even slowing down when he heard the man call him back.
Boris watched their figure melt into the crowd as they walked away from them.
"Your highness, is there something wrong?" Kalmin asked, turning to Dominic.
Boris clenched his jaw. 'Is there something wrong? Did he not notice what happened there? Did he not see their eyes? Hear their words? See how low they thought of him to suggest marrying their daughter as a concubine at an event made to celebrate his engagement to a princess,' he thought to himself looking down at Kalmin. 'Or is he just pretending he didn't notice?'
Dominic shook his head and gave a faint reassuring smile. "I'm fine, I can keep going."
"Ok, then your h-" Kalmin began.
"It doesn't look like you can," said a voice behind Dominic.
Dominic flinched, his face immediately turning to see that of the person behind him. His lips spread into a genuine smile as he recognized the familiar face. "Cryst!" he called out in happiness.
The woman smirked, hitting Dominic's shoulder lightly. "It's Grandduchess Roman, to you young man," she returned.
Dominic grinned. "Looks like you can still read me like a book ma'am," Dominic bowed, taking Cryst's hand and kissing the back of her hand.
"As I should," she smiled in return.
"What are you doing here?" Dominic asked.
"Why, visiting my favorite royal of course," Cryst retorted.
Dominic smiled, feeling his energy being filled again as he talked to the woman. Cryst Roman, the Grandduchess who owned many villages and was well respected in the court despite being a woman without a husband. As one of the only women with high titles in nobility, she was celebrated in the kingdom as she was a well-rounded noble that was well versed in war strategy, leading the people in her villages, being charitable to those who lived on the streets, controlling her mansion effortlessly, and raising her maids and servants like they were her children. Her old, well observed, kids that she cared for no matter their age.
Her greatest accomplishment however was raising Litian, a commander in the army. She was a completely fearless woman who would walk into war without a second thought and despite being held back by expectations of being a woman, continued forward as a warrior. She was also Dominic's childhood friend who he had grown beside since he was 4.
Dominic regarded Cryst as a mother he never had. She looked after him in all the ways she could even with the workload that she had on her shoulders.
Kalmin, after greeting Cryst, took his leave to great nobles on account of Dominic. He knew his prince and the Grandduchess was going to have a long talk
Boris, stood behind Dominic as he had been told to stay and looked at the woman with fondness. He knew who she was. All his friends knew who she was. She was the reason why there was even a shred of kindness directed at nobles. She was the reason why he didn't flat out kill Dominic upon sight.
Cryst cocked her head and looked behind Dominic. Her eyebrow raised. "I see you have a new guard?" she asked.
Dominic flinched, nodding his head after. He didn't look at Boris. He didn't think he could, for now, he only needed a few more minutes or maybe seconds. Just not now. "He's not officially though, just for now. I'll be making it official after this."
"Like a quick run of what he can do for today," Cryst asked, tilting her head to the right.
Dominic thought about it for a moment before nodding his head. "Yea... like that," he grinned. He looked around Cryst. "Where's Li-"
"I think I know this person..." Cryst muttered, stepping closer to Boris. She peered at him with dark-green eyes. "Those golden eyes... they're one of a kind."
Dominic flinched, his eyes widening in alarm as Cryst inspected Bris. "I think you'll find that impossible to happen. He's not from this pla-"
"Of course he's not, I saw him on the streets a month or so ago on my trip to my mansion in the kingdom's central town. I don't recall his name though as it was only a brief encounter as I was giving out food," Cryst muttered. Her eyes narrowed. "I clearly remembered how his piercing eyes gazed at me. They were harsh and cold, heavily judging my every movement from afar before approaching me."
Boris was a bit taken aback but his gaze did not waver. They locked on her's, staring straight into her eyes as she did to his.
"...Just like the gaze he has right now," she muttered, a smile forming on her face as she leaned away from Boris. She turned to Dominic, an amused expression on her face. "I do remember him to be quite aggressive. Like he was trying o protect his people from me from the first half of our meeting before deciding I wasn't a threat to them."
Her head tilted. "Did you manage to tame him?"
Boris' jaw clenched at the mention of 'tame' and judging by the smile on her face after she saw his expression, she said that on purpose. She was teasing him.
Dominic stepped in between them. "I'd hate to refer to it as taming but rather befriended."
Cryst turned to him, a smirk forming on her face. "Well love, I'm afraid that it's only a different term to call it."
Boris' clenched his jaw tighter, his eyes staying stable as he tried to calm himself. He knew she was teasing him, knew she was rousing him up, knew she was only trying to poke at him. But it hurt, it angered him.
Dominic glanced at Boris and turned to Cryst, annoyance visibly showing on his face. he stepped between Cryst and Boris and stared straight into Cryst's eyes. "I'm sorry Grandduchess, but you seem to have been mistaken."
"Really?" she exclaimed, her head drawing back with a surprised expression on her face. She didn't even try to make it look real.
"Yes. I don't like to refer to human beings with words like that. When I say befriend, I truly mean befriend," Dominic snapped.
Cryst raised her eyebrow and tilted her head. "And I'm supposed to believe that? How do I know you aren't simply saying that for saying purposes? The matter of our conversation is within earshot after all."
Dominic froze, disbelief showing in his eyes as he glared at Cryst. A warning. It was the first time he had given one to her and hopefully to him, the last time. Emerald green clashed against her, condemning her with its gaze.
Her smile wavered. She stared at Dominic for a moment, her eyes shifting to Boris who stood behind him. Just as the tension climaxed, she burst into laughter, patting Dominic on his shoulder.
"I'm just playing love," she smiled. "A woman as myself wouldn't dare to address another with such derogatory words. You know that."
Dominic stared at her for a moment, his shoulders slowly loosening up and his gaze softening. "Of course. It can only be a joke," he smiled. He knew she got his message.
They stood in a moment of silence for a moment before the Cryst's eyes turned to someone behind Dominic. She grinned.
"The beauty of the night has arrived," she smiled, her gaze staring softly at someone. It wasn't an admiring gaze. She never admired others she was wary of. As well as others she didn't know much about.
Dominic turned around, his eyes immediately brightening. Boris looked at Dominic's change in mood and felt his mood calm down in response. He followed Dominic's gaze and locked eyes on a beauty walking down the stairs.
Dominic immediately waved goodbye to Cryst ad with Boris in close pursuit, ran after the person.
The crowd shifted as Dominic got to the stairs, standing beneath it as the woman descended from the stairs. They smiled at each other upon locking eyes.
As soon as the beauty reached the last step, Dominic drew out his hand and her's were placed directly in his without hesitation. They smiled at each other, a giggle leaving her lips that brought a grin to Dominic's face.
"My prince," she greeted with a bright smile.
"My princess," Dominic returned, kidding her hand
He led her down the last step and smiled when she bowed. He returned it with a nod.
"You look handsome today, Prince Dominic," she chuckled, her eyes shining brightly as they continued their greeting exchange.
Dominic stifled a laugh as he grinned. "Not on par with your stunning beauty, Princess Claudia."
They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. Both happy to be met by the other.
Boris turned from Dominic to Claudia and then to Dominic again. They shone brightly, drawing happy murmurs from the crowd.
He took a step back.