"Please this way, Sir Rowan," says a servant guiding him towards the audience room.
Although Kyrie expected the palace to look fancy, his jaw still drops in amazement from its grandiosity. The expansive hallways lie exquisite carpets, and the walls hang delicate ornaments and extravagant paintings.
The vibrant blue of the garden catches his eyes, so his attention soon turns to the hydrangeas, abundantly blooming in the garden, matching the vibrant green of the spring going to summer and the soft blue of a clear sky. Like a painting, he watches the outside with a smile on his face through the ceiling-high windows.
The blue hydrangeas remind Kyrie of Ian's eyes despite their different shades. Kyrie's mind fills with recent memories of Ian, helping him put the collar pin on - his shaking eyelashes, his soft voice, and his hands gently brushing on Kyrie's skin.
His eyes soften with the thought of the man who managed to take his heart. There is no way he will just let any opportunity of spending time with Ian pass by, so he has decided.
[I want to go to the festival with Ian!]
"Sir Rowan, we have arrived."
"Thank you," replies Kyrie.
The audience room's doors open, and Kyrie watches the red carpet directing his eyes towards the man on the throne. The king's subjects stand on the red carpet's edges, opening a path for Kyrie to walk towards the king. Since he is the main reason for the gathering and the last one to arrive, the nobles start to turn their body to look at their last guest.
With his formal outfit and impartial expression, Kyrie gives off a strong presence that unconsciously makes everyone in the room straighten their backs as he walks by them. Even the king, who was casually sitting on his throne, sits up to receive him. His face hardens while giving off a feeling of indifference.
Kyrie kneels and puts his right hand to his left chest.
Kyrie respectfully greets, "It is an honor to be in your presence. I am Kyrie Gerwyn Rowan."
"You may rise. It is nice to get to meet Vita's paladin finally."
"The honor is mine," Kyrie replies and stands up.
Kyrie looks to his right and gives a respectful nod at the Chancellor of Aria, who returns the gesture.
King Ethern asks, "May I know your sudden appearance in my kingdom?"
"As you may already know, I have been transported through space magic into the academy without prior knowledge."
"Is it the intention of Vita?"
"I have not received Vita's commands yet. Regrettably, I could not answer your majesty."
The king rubs his chin, seemingly circling in his thoughts.
"Do you intend to stay?" the king asks after a few seconds of silence.
"Your majesty, Sir Rowan..." says the Chancellor of Aria in haste, but the king raises his hand as a sign that the Chancellor spoke out of turn.
[Does he intend that I become a citizen of Ethern? This will become more complicated for the kingdom of Aria. However, I still want to stay a bit more time. So, maybe...]
"Your majesty, I intend to stay until I accomplish what I am here for," says Kyrie.
"I see..." smiles the king, "Our church welcomes you anytime, Sir Rowan. I hope that I could provide you with better accommodations."
Although the king would expect that Kyrie would not immediately decide to become a citizen of Ethern, he is content that Kyrie will stay until his duties are finished. At least he has some time to think of a way to keep Kyrie in his kingdom.
"I am grateful for your goodwill, but I would like to stay in the academy to continue my studies. Prince Ian has been very hospitable to me," says Kyrie while giving a forced smile.
Ian's mention causes a flinch on the king's face, cracking a little his indifferent expression.
Kyrie's statement has a clear message: Vita's paladin is on good terms with the only prince of Ethern. Now, the king cannot ignore Ian's presence as he used to.
"I am glad that he is of use to you," replies the king with a cold smile.
Despite the Chancellor's visit to Ethern, he barely gets any chance to talk during the audience with the king of Ethern. However, the outcome is not as bad, so the Chancellor's expression softens.
Kyrie gets to see Liam Rowe, the Chancellor of Ethern, the only person who sides with Ian in this entire palace, and a commoner turned noble. He is a wise man who can see past rumors and arrive at conclusions without biases.
After the audience with the king, chancellor Rowe meets with Kyrie in the hallways of the palace.
Chancellor Rowe greets him, "Nice to meet you, Sir Rowan. I am Liam Rowe, the Chancellor of Ethern."
"It is nice to meet you as well, Chancellor Rowe."
"Thank you for being so kind to prince Ian. I would like to ask that you continue to interact with him."
Chancellor Rowe softens his expression when talking about his kingdom's only prince. Although pity is what Chancellor Rowe gives, at least, pity is given.
"The feelings are mutual, Chancellor Rowe. I am glad to have met him."
Chancellor Rowe's eyes open with surprise and then softens back his expression into a smile.
"Thank you, Sir Rowan. I would not hold on to more of your time. I hope that you enjoy your stay in Ethern," says Chancellor Rowe.
He bows at Kyrie until he no longer can see Kyrie in the hallways. Chancellor Rowe sincerely thanks Kyrie from the bottom of his heart.
This gives Kyrie a deep and meaningful impression of Chancellor Rowe. He will save Chancellor Rowe from the demon invasion that might happen soon.
If his deductions are correct, Vita might have transported Kyrie to the kingdom of Ethern due to the possibility of a sudden spawn of demons from the eastern side of the kingdom, the forest of Labam. There is also another possibility that this summoning is due to the Lantern Festival that is happening soon.
Kyrie furrows his eyebrows as he tries to recall the details from the novel regarding the reason why such occurrences are happening despite the events described in the novel have yet to start.
[*sigh* That lazy porcupine is not here when I need her the most... Maybe I will need to go on a trip to the church. Should I use this excuse to bring Ian and then go to the festival? After all, he has been locked inside of the academy for such a long time.]
---
Opening the dorm room's door, Kyrie sees Ian on his desk studying. Ian turns around speedily and stands up in haste. Looking at Kyrie, Ian scrambles for words.
In the end, Ian just says, "Hi."
Kyrie walks towards him closer and closer while Ian nervously backs up. Then, Ian's back hits his desk and looks at Kyrie nervously.
[Omg!!! He is way too cute~]
Kyrie lets out a chuckle and flicks at Ian's forehead. "I am back!" Kyrie says sweetly.
Ian looks down shyly while caressing his hot forehead. He is slightly taken aback by how timid he is towards Kyrie, but somehow he does not mind it as much as he would normally when someone comes into such proximity towards him. He cannot help but see how childish he becomes in Kyrie's presence. His emotions would go out of control, and he weirdly looks forward to anything that Kyrie does.
Kyrie comes out of the closet changed into more comfortable clothes. He looks at Ian back at his desk, working through some magic inscriptions. Kyrie pulls out his chair and walks towards Ian while carrying it. He sits on the chair with the back post in front of him and rests his arms on the rail.
"Say... Ian... Would you like to go to the church with me?"
Ian quickly turns his head towards Kyrie, shocked but then relaxes his face.
Ian responds, "You mean... for the reason why you came here?"
Kyrie gets confused a little bit from Ian's first expression, but replies, "Yeah. I guess it has something to do with Vita that I got summoned here."
Ian says, blushing, "Sure, if I am going with you."
Kyrie smiles and says, "No taking backs!!!"
"No taking backs."
Kyrie leaves to go to the library to find out if there is anything useful regarding ancient magic. But then, Kyrie suddenly realizes and screams.
The memories of his words play again in his mind, "Say... Ian... Would you like to go to the church with me?"
[huh? Huh? HUH? Did I just propose to Ian????? Ahh... Ah!!!]
Kyrie then starts to agonize about his choice of words. Those words are normally for the couples who had intentions to get married. He enters the library and encounters the vice principal.
Looking at the paladin flustered until his face beams of red, the vice principal asks, "Are you okay, Sir Rowan? You seem to have a fever!"
"No, vice principal. I am doing fine. It must have been that I had rushed to the library."
With concern, the vice principal insists, "We have a good medical team, Sir Rowan! There is nothing to be ashamed of."
"It's really alright, vice principal. I just came to look at the scrolls from the library."
[Old man, just leave it! I beg of you! I am embarrassed enough!]
The vice principal looks like he caught onto something and replies, "Then, please enjoy your time here."
He walks away from the library and asks one of the guards, "Did you perhaps see anyone walking around this corridor?"
The guard responds, "Sir Rowan... Ah! And also, Lady Larson!"
The vice principal's eyes shine, and he nods in satisfaction. His mood has gotten even better after hearing that his niece, Evelyn Larson, is the one who made Vita's paladin blush so hard.
Mr vice principal, aren't you mistaken really badly?