"Am I, by chance, interrupting?"
Rosie asked with no consideration.
"...No."
Yume answered hesitantly, dropping her head quickly to prevent Ryu from seeing her face. Despite her gesture, he still noticed the negative change in her expression.
"Is that so?"
Rosie smiled and blinked as her eyes adjusted on him.
"Then, can I borrow your time, Sir Ryu?"
Rosie Lavier was the fourth daughter of Viscount of Fereshta. She belonged to a wealthy family of businessmen with three sons who were all successful merchants. They govern a large province in the east of the Zen Kingdom.
The Lavier family owned the Psari Port City, one of the largest trading cities, where goods shipments were sold, traded, and delivered throughout the continent.
The reason why Rosie has an affable personality was from her family's accumulated experience in customer relationships.
'No wonder even the Crown Prince enamored her.'
But being in a reputable family wouldn't justify all the rotten things she had done.
"What do you need me for?"
With slight irritation, Ryu sized Rosie up discreetly from the sole of her feet to the crown of her head. He acknowledged she was skilled in words and possessed a beauty that harmonized with her golden hair and eyes.
In his previous life, these kinds were poison to the conglomerate, where the wealthy killed each other for the sake of one vicious woman.
Luckily, Ryu could proudly say, 'I'm different.' Not only did these vixens irritates his eyes, but he could also freely see the expression they made. They saw men as easy to manipulate by using their beauty and temptations.
"Oh~ sorry for the late introduction. My name is Rosie, daughter of Viscount Xavier of Fereshta."
With a proud look, she softly bit her lips and blushed, glaring at Ryu like a predator that found her delicious prey.
"I'm a friend of Shin, the Crown Prince, with who the Sir had a friendly duel at the entrance examination."
'Friend, my ass!'
That was what Ryu would like to say, but he didn't want to look uncivilized in front of Yume. Should he be given a chance, he wanted to slap this vixen for all she had done.
'I am not a saint.'
Patience. Ryu decided to leave revenge for another time.
On another note, his plan of showing prowess seemed to have worked deliberately since the treacherous couple successfully noticed him.
When Rosie spoke and initiated by showing her well-off connection to the royalty, Ryu had an inkling of what she wanted from him.
"And?"
"I would like to invite you to a tea with the Crown Prin—"
"Stop!"
Yume, who was listening, lashed out.
"Oh my, why did you shout at me, Lady Yume?"
Rosie spoke loud enough for other people to hear. Effectively, the crowd became curious.
"Is there a fight?"
"No, no, it's nothing. Pardon me, Sir Ryu."
Yume said her farewell as she turned around and left quickly.
'There goes my quality time with the Princess!'
Yes, Ryu needed the couple to shift their gazes towards him. But making Yume sad in front of his eyes defied his existence's purpose.
Rosie smiled, seeing Yume leave.
"Now she is gone, let's go—"
"No."
"What? Did I hear that correctly, Sir Ryu? Did you just...?"
Rosie's face was quick to show true colors. Without replying, Ryu left, not waiting to see her lustful facade turn into an ugly one.
'Her presence was not even worth comparing to how the Princess felt.'
Though Ryu didn't know the exact reason why Yume looked for him, the thought of her noticing him would still be more precious than anything.
'How could a fan like me ignore this?!'
Ryu remembered the most challenging time in his previous life when the adults whipped him to shape to serve their purpose of having a perfect heir.
'The Princess's story gave me the strength to overcome things.'
For other people, this might seem ridiculous. But there was one time that Ryu even planned to commit suicide. Thankfully, a new chapter of the novel was released. At that time, reading about Yume's hardship wouldn't even compare to his.
As a boy, Ryu was ashamed. Therefore, he decided to stop whining and do his best to live his life. Now, knowing she was a real person made everything much better.
"Princess!"
Ryu hurriedly shouted, grabbing her hand without a thought.
"Sir Ryu? Wait, wait, wait, your hand, Sir, your hand... It, it's holding my hand!"
Yume panicked and reddened; her eyes swirled in confusion.
"Yes, I'm holding your hand... Any problem?"
"No—Yes, I mean yes! I mean, there are people here, Sir Ryu, and I have a fiance."
"You don't want your fiance to know?"
After asking this ridiculous question, Ryu's eyes became heavier for some reason. Unconsciously waiting for an answer.
"No! It's just... People might gossip about you, Sir... And your reputation..."
"Because of me? Not your fiance?"
"...Yes? I'm sorry."
Her clarification suddenly washed away the heavy feeling in his heart. He was so glad he couldn't control himself from smiling.
"Really? Then as your reward..."
"Reward?"
"Wah! Sir Ryu, where are you taking me?"
Without warning, Ryu pulled Yume into a corner where no one could see them.
"What are you planning, Sir? I'm scared..."
"Don't worry. I'll be gentle..."
"Ge, Gentle?!"
"Epitrepste mou an petaxo choris periorismous."
"Kyaaaaa! Help me!"
Yume tightly wrapped her arms around Ryu's neck, burying her head on his chest, and then he felt her nails biting deep into his skin.
"Hahaha!"
Ryu laughed, chuckled, and chortled as they flung upward like a bullet. Also, he didn't forget to create a barrier protecting them from harm.
"Afiste mia aspida an mas prostatefsei apo to kako."
After a few moments of flying, they stopped.
"S-S-S-S-S-Sir... W-W-Where are we?!"
"Why don't you see for yourself, Princess?"
"I, I don't want to!"
"Why?"
"...ared!"
"What?"
"I'm scared!"
"Pffft... Then will you continue to hug me like this?"
"..."
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"...Please, let me just for a while."
"Alright."
Ba-dump...
Meanwhile, Ryu just realized he had done something crazy. The silence seeped into him on what great mind he had, giving him the guts to carry Yume.
'Am I possessed?'
Ba-dump... Ba-dump...
His heart continued to beat faster as he became conscious. He hoped that Yume wouldn't notice the change in his heartbeat. It was the first time someone had hugged him for a long time. In addition, it was from the Lady he had been admiring.
Soft...
'What was this feeling?'
The more Ryu thought about their circumstances, the more things came to mind. He started to feel her tender skin through her clothes, the warm feeling every time her mouth released some air in his chest, and how her arms tightened around him when he tried to move a little.
Ba-dump... Ba-dump... Ba-dump...
"I'm sorry, Princess. I'm sorry."
Ryu had thought of himself as some criminal when Yume calmed down and replied.
"Why? And let me clarify, Sir Ryu, that I'm not a princess."
Sadly, Ryu unintentionally ignored her explanation because of his current thoughts.
"Princess, open your eyes before we can return to the ground."
"...Alright."
Yume took a deep breath, turning her head slowly, peeking. Her eyes and mouth abruptly opened wide enough to see everything as she glanced at the scenery.
"Wow! Beautiful!"
However, simultaneously, Ryu felt her arms squeezed while her hands trembled.
'I see.'
Ryu noticed that she was still afraid. But what astonished him was how she tried and forced herself to even look at the scenery, despite her fear.
Ba-dump!
Instead of beating faster, his heart skipped a beat this time.
The time slowed as Ryu looked at her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The moment allowed him to carve every aspect of her feature in mind.
It was a novelty beauty from a fan's perspective.
"—yu."
Ryu was occupied with thoughts and couldn't hear, so Yume knocked her head into his chest, catching his attention.
"Princess?"
"Sir Ryu, this is amazing. Thank you."
Yume gave Ryu a one-of-a-kind and rare smile. Even in the novel, Yume's smile was so rare that he couldn't remember when. Seeing her innocent smile made him ashamed of all unnecessary thoughts about her, 'Now my mind is clear.'
"What am I doing?"
"Yes?"
"Nothing. Should we go back down?"
"Yes, pleas—kyaaa!"
Plop!
Ryu and Yume arrived on the ground safely.
"Hahaha. You can open your eyes now, Princess."
"Huff! Sir Ryu, please, next time, give me a warning for these kinds of things."
"Next time?"
"Hmph!"
Yume pouted but didn't decline.
'Does it mean that she liked it?'
Giving a positive impression was plenty enough for Ryu.
"Can you bring me down?"
"Oh! Sorry, Princess."
Ryu gently returned Yume's feet to the ground.
"By the way, Princess."
"Mm?"
"This is our little secret, alright?"
The Princess pondered for a second.
"Oh! But why do you want to keep this useful skill a secret?"
"Because I only use this for those important to me."
"Really? Then why did you use it now—?"
Smack!
"—Ouch! How could you hit a noble lady's forehead?"
"Airhead."
"Air, what?!"
"Nothing... Haha!"
"Sir Ryu! Where are you—come back here! I still have a question...! Sir!"
***
Ding-Dong-Ding... Dong...
The school's first day ended without much problem.
Ryu's plan to get the Crown Prince's attention succeeded, which made him feel glad, but the feeling couldn't compare to what transpired between Yume and him.
'It was most important.'
Ryu returned to his mansion outside the Royal Academy, another property bought under the fake noble title. The estate was used to prevent people from tracking him down if something went haywire in the future.
When Ryu stepped out of the carriage, Felix opened the main door of the mansion.
"Welcome back, Your Majesty."
Around one thousand servants bowed their heads and greeted Ryu simultaneously.