The RGB brothers had returned from their short festive tour. They were eating at a round table when a subordinate's voice whispered to Ryu.
"Your Majesty, the Princess will be arriving now."
Ting!
The elevator door opened, catching the RGB brothers by surprise.
Inside the elevator were Yume and Yiyi, accompanied by the knights.
Everyone could see the people inside the elevator had their curiosity piqued and overwhelmed by the unprecedented scene on the fifth floor.
The floor has only one round table. While a few servants were standing at the sides, showing a luxurious place of a one-of-a-kind experience.
Roy, who saw the group in the elevator, blinked a few times. "Hmm? Am I hallucinating? I think I can see the Lady of Snowcrest inside the elevator?"
"Me too." Gavin swallowed a piece of meat before speaking.
"Umm, guys... I think it really is Lady Yume." Blake realized he was currently holding a chicken drumstick, so his face flushed red from embarrassment.
While the three were occupied in their thoughts, Yume, who saw them, was also confused. Her eyes widened in a bewildered look. "Ryu?"
When the RGB brothers heard Yume speak, they immediately understood that she was the real deal and stood up hastily.
"G-Greetings, Lady Yume."
Paying their respect to the daughter of the Duke. Her title was equivalent to a marchioness, so she would only need to pay respect to the Royalty and those with the same title as her parents. That's why almost anyone would need to greet her first.
"Greetings to these gentlemen," Yume said.
"Hello, Yume, Yiyi." Ryu greeted them casually. A foreign noble would have leeway in addressing the nobles in another country. In addition, Ryu and Yume were already friends, so he could choose not to greet her formally in a private meeting.
In this land, forcing someone from another country to submit will be mistaken as an offense against the foreign country itself. Such rules between foreign nobles were created to prevent conflict and misunderstandings.
"I'm quite appalled from what's currently in front of me, Sir Ryu." Yume widened her eyes. Her tone was quite harsh.
'Have I done something wrong?' Ryu thought to himself.
Even before Yume collected her thoughts, Yiyi intervened and went to Ryu faster than a baby kangaroo running towards its mum. Yume felt funnily betrayed. Yiyi said, "Good afternoon, Sir Ryu."
"Hmm? Do you two already know each other?"
"N-Not really, Milady. We just bumped into each other once. Haha."
"When exactly?" Yume's eyes became doubtful as they shrank and focused on them, watching straightly at Ryu and Yiyi's complex expressions. She was looking for a slight twitch on their face for evidence.
"Hehe. I can't remember, Milady. A-Anyway, why is Sir Ryu here?"
'Good call for Yiyi.' Ryu complimented Yiyi inwardly. He noticed how Yiyi immediately changed the topic, which seemed adequate enough for Yume to make a soothing down gesture.
"Well, we have plenty of time to talk. Why don't you ladies and the Sir Knights sit first and eat."
After thinking it through, Yume knew there was no harm and surrendered.
"...Alright, please accept my sincere gratitude, Sir Ryu."
The restaurant servants assembled a few sets of tables for the knights while Yume and Yiyi sat at the round table with Ryu and the RGB brothers.
Though everything was prepared, Yiyi was confused when she was led to the main table. She hastily whispered to her Lady. "Is it alright for me to sit here, Milady?"
"Well, Sir Ryu already insisted." Yume glanced at Ryu, and he nodded.
"It's alright. I also wanted to talk with the two of you. And Yume, please just call me Ryu as we promised."
"...Alright, Ryu."
Blushing, Yume's ears went red. Ryu might not have noticed, but her maid was other news. But to not make things more awkward, Yiyi decided not to say anything and kept her giggles to herself.
The bodyguards started to eat while they praised how delicious the food was. Their table was placed far enough to prevent disturbing or hearing their master's conversations but still close enough to protect her if trouble came.
The RGB brothers who finished eating believed they would only be a hindrance. Hence, they respectfully pardoned themselves and left with the excuse of enjoying the festival more. Leaving Yume, Yiyi, and Ryu at the round table.
"Do the ladies still have no appetite?" Ryu noticed Yume hadn't touched a single food on the table.
"Pardon?" Yume said.
"Are the street foods yummy?" Ryu said teasingly.
Knowing the reason, Ryu teased her. He knew these two already ate enough street food before coming for lunch.
"Mm, yes, they were yummy—oh... Is it obvious? But—"
Before Yume could make an excuse, Yiyi jabbed her Lady with a sentence that something she couldn't refute. "Milady ate a lot."
"Yiyi!"
"Milady, the food here is so delicious!"
"Hahaha, then Yume can just eat later," Ryu said, seeing that Yume had some reason for not eating based on her worried expression.
Ryu had a slight idea why Yume was not eating. He also found her looking at her money pouch every time the knights and Yiyi eat more. Surely enough, it was because of Yume's limited budget to afford the meal.
Sometime later, Yume decided to tell Ryu about it. "I don't think I can afford such luxurious food, Ryu."
"Don't worry, the tabs are on me. But I'm curious. The Duke doesn't provide for his daughter?"
Ryu, of course, knew when he had already read the novel. Still, he wanted to learn her own thoughts about this.
"My father does support me. But not much. Since he taught me to be frugal, I was only provided for my necessities. And I was also saving money to buy a gift—Now that I think about gifts, I almost forgot to ask you a question."
"Ask anything you want, Yume."
"I've been meaning to ask this a while ago. Please excuse me for asking about your Kingdom. You see... Since you are from the Xan Kingdom, do you know anyone named Fan?"
"...Fan?"
"I received a birthday gift from him a few years ago. The letter said he was from the Xan Kingdom. I haven't met him personally, but... Um... It's also the reason why I'm saving money so that I can buy him a gift to express back my gratitude."
'Fan? The Xan Kingdom?' Ryu was puzzled. No way anyone in the Xan Kingdom would gift Yume without him knowing. 'Wait... Now that I think about it.'
After thinking attentively, Ryu sent her the first magic device he had made, and he only wrote the sender as a fan, not someone named Fan. He was too engrossed with learning and creating magic devices that he almost forgot.
'To think that Yume would make a big deal out of that.'
But on the other hand, even with the misunderstanding, Ryu thought it was nice to know Yume didn't forget about him.
"Yes, I do know him."
The 'Fan' in the letter isn't a name since it was a word that came from his previous life. The term 'admirer' would most likely be appropriate in this setting.
'I would explain it to her next time we're alone.'
"Really? Do you know what kind of gift he liked?" Yume said, eyes gleaming in excitement.
"Ehm... I think anything Yume gives him will be treasured."
"That's not helpful." The anticipation on her face suddenly got disappointed. She thought Ryu would give some genuine advice.
Ryu didn't know what to say. Seeing her face, he promptly changed the topic. "So, how was your date?"
"What?"
"Didn't you reject my invitation to this festival because you already have a festival date? Or you guys haven't met yet?"
Ack! Eck! Ack!
Without warning, Yiyi choked on the food she was eating. Listening to Ryu and Yume conversing was enough for her to use the food on the table to mind her business. But then, hearing the topic of the two surprised her, forcing her to quickly drink water.
"I, I'm okay. Please don't mind me."
Ryu and Yume looked at each other and laughed. After calming down, they remembered the last conversation.
Yume was the one to speak. "Hmm? I think you misunderstood since it was Yiyi to who I made a promise, so I had to decline your invitation at that time. And... The only person who could've been my date is already with someone enjoying the festival."
She sighed while another thing came up to her mind.
"Now that I remember, I should thank the restaurant owner for inviting us, or we would have starved this lunch."
Knowing that Yume didn't have anyone in her heart lifted a heavy burden in Ryu's chest. Now he realizes that he does care about her. He glanced at her enchanting black eyes as they shined, which surprised him when she noticed he was looking. Yet, instead of rebuking Ryu, Yume just stared back.
"You have beautiful eyes, Yume."
Yume stiffened. Her reaction was so easy to understand based on her facial expressions.
'One of the things I like about her—I mean liking her as an admirer, yes. What I like about her as a fan is her face having no facade, always truthful and honest in her expressions.'
"Mm... Thank you. You also have gorgeous blue eyes."
"A-Anyway, Yume and Yiyi can always come here. Just show the YFC badge."
"I've been thinking about it, Ryu. Are you the owner of YFC?"
Pfff!
Yiyi, who had just survived choking on food earlier, again suffocated by a sudden question.
"Cough! Milady, you mean Sir Ryu is the owner of the best restaurant in the city?"
"Not just in this city, but the whole Kingdom." Ryu interrupted, lifting his head with pride.
"Sir Ryu," Yiyi said.
"Yes?"
"Would you like to accompany Milady to the festival?"
Dumbfounded, Yume and Ryu answered simultaneously.
"Sorry?"
"Pardon?"
Sweats dripped on Yiyi's face, and she added, "I mean, accompany us? Hehe."
"Yiyi, when did you—"
"Alright, I'll accompany you guys."
"Ryu?"
"I can't?"
"...You can."
"Then it would be my honor, Yume."
"Mm, but please answer some of my questions in exchange."
***
After eating and resting at the YFC Restaurant, Yume and Yiyi went back to the streets with another person, her friend Ryu. When she learned about him being the owner of YFC, she asked him many questions about his real identity.
Ryu told Yume that he was once a resident of the Zen Kingdom. Then she wondered if he was once a slave. However, Yume immediately discarded that thought when she felt it was an inappropriate question.
Yume remembered Ryu saying that he was the King of Xan Kingdom.
'Is that true?' Thinking about how amazing he was, Yume figured it might be possible.
'Then what if he really was a king? What should I do?'
"Yume, where do you want to go?"
In deep thought, Yume was asked by Ryu, who was looking at her.
While thinking about his identity, Yume glanced at his black hair. It was beautiful. She had never thought about her black hair as something good before. But now that she saw it in another person, her perspective changed.
When Yume is with Ryu, her world changes wonderfully. She is happy. So she decided that may it be a king or a slave, he would always be someone important to her.
"I'll go anywhere as long as I'm with you," Yume said without thinking. She smiled as she shifted her gaze to his fantastic blue eyes.
"Anywhere?" Ryu said.
"Anywhere."
"Pffft! Milady, is that a proposal?" Yiyi, who couldn't take it anymore, teased Yume straightforwardly.
"—What?! No, it's not!"
'Oh my goodness, I was so lost in thought that I blurted something I shouldn't. I could feel my face burning.' Yume thought inwardly and walked quickly, moving forward, leaving everyone behind so that they wouldn't be able to see her flushed face.
A few minutes passed without noticing that Yume herself had stepped into a secluded place with tall buildings. "Where am I—Hmm?"
"Yume!"
Turning around, Yume heard Ryu and saw him running with all his might while his arms stretched towards her. The time suddenly slowed, and she noticed the ground was glowing.
As Yume looked at where Yiyi and the knight were, there was also the same glowing inscription on their ground.
Weird characters in circles were inscribed as they shone more brightly every second passed.
"Are these magic circles?"
Ryu shouted panickily. "Yume, dodge!"