"What is this thing and what are the tiny floating balls inside? It looks like mud water with floating goat manure." Ruby inquired after Aurelius handed her a big cup of something foreign to her.
"Ruby it's called milk tea or bubble tea, it's rather famous in the empire. The flavor is wintermellon and the floating things are called tapioca balls. It's delicious, you should try it." the prince suggested as he drank from his own drink.
Ruby was still skeptical about the drink but she tried it anyway.
"It has an odd taste at first but..." Ruby commented before taking another sip.
"It's surprisingly delicious and quite addictive. Rejoice prince of Neo Macedonia you actually did something good for once. You're not a complete and total shit after all. Just a huge chunk with a tiny sliver of usefulness." Ruby praised as she happily sipped her milktea.
"I'm not really sure that's a compliment but as long as you're happy I'm content as well. It's surprising how you never knew about milktea until now since they're quite famous these days." Aurelius said as they walked the streets of Rosebelle, another city in the north where beautiful edifices and rich establishments stood proudly boasting myriads of expensive products and services.
It's been five days since Aurelius arrived in Colchester and ever since then, Ruby had been forced to give him a tour around the whole place. The prince had begged her mother to allow Ruby to accompany him on the tour of a lifetime around Cadmure and surprisingly, her mother happily agreed for some unknown reason. The two of them have been going around Rosebelle for hours now visiting landmarks, famous shops and restaurants, and tasting the different delicacies and specialties the north has to offer.
Aurelius is a troublesome bastard and he flirts with her every time he has the chance but he doesn't seem to be interested in any other girls even though they've passed by some of the most beautiful and well-endowed women in the north but he only keeps his eyes glued on Ruby making her more suspicious of his true intent. However, he genuinely seems to be enjoying the tour due to the unparalleled look of joy in his face when they go someplace new and pretty. Nevertheless, he is quite idiotic at times and careless.
During their trip to the menagerie, the prince had abducted a cute tiny ice bear cub and offered it to Ruby.
"Ruby, can he be our baby? He's so cute, isn't he?" Aurelius begged, lifting the bear to her face.
"Put him back you idiot!" she yelled at him furiously.
"Oh, mommy seems angry Little Edelrelius. Can you give her a kiss so that she won't be mad anymore?" he cooed to the cub.
"Edelrelius?" Ruby questioned with distaste.
"Yeah, I'm still indecisive between Rulius or Edelrelius but Aurelweiss is also a top tier because Rubelius and Aurby sound weird."
"Whut?" Ruby asked with gritted teeth.
"Our couple name." The Prince simply answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Sir, put that bear down, that's illegal!" A zoo staff yelled before Aurelius pulled her to a sprint with the bear in hand. This exacerbated their deed because it made them look like they were trying to abduct the bear ending up with Althreya having to be summoned to mend their crime.
Ruby was the one to earn an earful from her mother instead of the actual perpetrator. She retaliated by kidnapping him from his hotel room and leaving him in a bear cave while covered in honey. The amusement was more than enough to give her a good laugh for years to come and a worthy revenge served sweet and ruthless. However, even with this insane prank, Aurelius doesn't seem the least bit fazed or annoyed at her. He was fine with the whole ordeal and never even retaliated to get back at her.
The Prince was never angry at her no matter what she said or did to him. In fact, the only time Ruby saw him angry was when she kissed a knight on the cheek as an amicable gesture and the prince who saw the whole exchange, almost flipped when her lips grazed the man's flesh. The bloodthirsty look on his eyes was unparalleled like a feral animal. It astounded even Ruby and even made her tremble for a moment until the knight left.
"Do you rarely come out of your castle to just have fun in the city?" Aurelius inquired while they traverse through a well crafted yellow brick bridge.
"While mother handles a lot of the political aspects including the military, I sometimes take it upon myself to look after the well-being of the people and take care of the monsters so I rarely go out and have some fun these days. I hunt monsters myself to protect the land that my mother loves and to protect her people. I built hospitals, shelters, and other stuff including laws and movements for the agriculture and other labor class sectors. Farmers and craftsmen are being looked down upon as mere tools or slaves who can only plow the field and grow stuff from the dirt but I quite like them. Unlike the people of nobility, they are actually real people. They have feelings too and their own consciousness. For me, every job is equally important be it ruling a kingdom or plowing the fields. If the farmers don't work everyone will starve, if the carpenters don't build we wouldn't have anywhere to live, they're just as important as the king."
"Ruby...that's..." Ruby noticed the serious look on Aurelius' face so she quickly interrupted him to amend herself.
"I know what I said sounds sacrilegious but it's just my feeling. I'm sorry for saying that and disrespecting your father. It was completely impulsive on my part." she apologized solemnly.
"No, Ruby it's wonderful. No offense taken. Your immense passion and love for equality are admirable, even though it's naive and you're idealistic, I will do everything in my power to protect what you believe in."
Ruby frowned but didn't say anything. He thinks that equality is naive and idealistic? How narcissistic and elite supremacist. The two of them will never really get along if he keeps on looking down on others.
"We've covered all the cities so far, what's the last thing on your itinerary so that we can get this absurd tour over with?" Ruby asked in a low voice.
"My last place in mind is Mount Belladoom but you seem... sour, Ruby. Are you okay? We can postpone if you want." he offered worriedly, pushing the locks of hair that fell on her face.
"Don't touch me!" she yelled, slapping his hand away earning the attention of the other passersby.
"Ruby, what's the matter? What did I say?" Aurelius tried asking but Ruby only ignored him, conscious of their crowd.
"Let's please cancel tomorrow's arrangement. I'm no longer feeling well to do anything anymore. I just want to rest. I'm sorry for yelling at you. Farewell, your highness." Ruby gave him a courtesy before walking away rapidly, making the prince unable to confront her further.
Aurelius' gaze followed her fleeting form with an unreadable blank expression that is clearly far from amused. She pushed him away once again and he didn't even know what he did. Is there any way for him to change and be someone that she'll like? Or is there any way he can make her love him?