Minutes later, Kaze met with Lucentia inside of her room.
Compared to Lunaria, Lucentia looked to be the type who didn't mind a simple room with enough space. Since Lunaria had to go out of her way to add a bunch of extensions and features using magic, Kaze was used to being in a huge bedroom like hers. With Lucentia, she had what looked to be the bare minimum a princess could have in her room, the main difference being that she had a walk-in wardrobe due to the nature of her job.
"Are you sure I can wait in here with you?" Kaze asked, his back facing Lucentia. "I can always stand outside…"
"You're already sleeping and living in Lunaria-nee's room, I don't see why you can't enter mine," Lucentia commented, combing and adjusting her hair at the corner of the room where a mirror was. "Besides, it's not like I'm changing."
Sighing at her points, Kaze had nothing to counter them and simply sat silently. At the same time, he took the chance to admire Lucentia's room, with many things intriguing him. He could really tell how each princess were based on the design and style of their room, such as comparing Lunaria and Lucentia. Clearly, the two liked big beds but Lunaria was more of a housewife person, since she even had a mini kitchen in her room for cooking any time she wanted.
Kaze's eyes fell on her bookshelf. There were a few interesting reads on it, mainly about general knowledge and fiction. The thing that caught his eye was the fact there were a few books about modelling and photo albums. It was definitely correlated to her career, seeing that modelling and being an idol required keeping a certain profile level.
"I'm ready," Lucentia approached him from behind once she was done. "Let's go."
He turned around and immediately had his breath taken away. Usually, Lucentia was already charming enough with her silent beauty. Now that she had make up on along with other features like a fresh outfit and her hair tied in a complicated braid pattern, Lucentia had completely transformed. It wasn't like she had a heavy makeover, yet it was enough to change her image to one that exude confidence and pride.
"W-Wow…" Kaze widened his eyes and gulped nervously at her beauty. "You look… so different."
"Thank you," Lucentia made a rare smile at his comment. "Follow me, we will be leaving the palace."
"Eh? We have to go into town?" Kaze asked, not expecting that she would have to work away from the safety of the palace guards.
"Don't worry, it's not some suspicious business," Lucentia guessed what he was worried about and reassured him. "You'll see what I mean. Come on."
Kaze followed Lucentia out of the palace to where she wanted to go. It wasn't a long walk by any means, but he felt it that way since they were going to a different part of town that they hadn't been to during the 7 days in Aravel. Lucentia definitely knew where she was going, considering how far they were walking right now.
The whole time they walked there, Lucentia didn't say a word to him. It wasn't a sign of her being in a bad mood, rather it being her quiet nature showing. Lucentia wasn't like the others who talked normally, she chose when she wanted to speak and only when necessary. One would say that Lucentia was slightly more introverted compared to her sisters, but that wasn't necessarily the case.
"We're here," Lucentia pointed at the building ahead.
Just like Lunaea and Luniel's lab, the building wasn't as impressive from the outside. It was definitely just as big, being a double-storey large wooden house with minimum reinforcement of concrete and bricks around it. Entering it was a different story altogether. The usual security check with guards was present, the modern setting inside, the team that was already ready for Lucentia, everything exceeded his expectations.
What Kaze had thought about Lucentia being an idol was sort of a human misconception. In Czech, particularly Tristania, where most of the political, social, and economical activity happened, an 'idol' would be defined as someone who sings, dances, socializes with the crowd, a popular person, a diva essentially. In Aravel, an idol had essentially the same meaning, only that there wasn't as much activity and craze for the idol.
It was hard to figuratively imagine how an idol response was like in Aravel. In the few days he was in Aravel, Kaze felt like there wasn't much of a demand or craze for things like an idol, hence why he was surprised to find that Lucentia's job was an idol other than being a princess. She was a princess idol, something rarer and harder to imagine. If royalty needed privacy, how was Lucentia going to balance her social work with the strictness of being a princess?
"Welcome Kaze, we were expecting you," one of the male dragonkins walked up to them and shook his hand. "I'm Kiryov, Lucentia-sama's director. My team and I have been screened, interviewed, and approved by Laevia-sama to exclusively decide anything regarding Lucentia-sama's work."
"I'm Kaze, currently residing in the palace as a guest from Czech. Pleased to meet you," Kaze smiled wryly. "Though it already seems like you know about me."
"Lucentia-sama was the one who informed us about you," Kiryov laughed heartily. "Don't worry, we understand you are here to observe and learn. Right this way, please."
Kiryov led Kaze into one of the rooms where the studio was while Lucentia followed two other female dragonkins to a different space. For the time being, Kaze was to get a short briefing from Kiryov and crew about what was going to happen.
"Lucentia-sama's currently getting ready with two of our makeup crew," Kiryov told Kaze. "She will be wearing a slightly different outfit for today's production."
"Excuse me for asking, but Lucentia hasn't exactly told me what we would be doing," Kaze asked. "Is it going to be an interview or a dance performance?"
"More like a new song release," Kiryov winked at Kaze. "You're very lucky to be able to firsthand, as an outsider, see the recording process for Lucentia-sama."
"Eh? A song?" Kaze widened his eyes at this. "Lucentia records songs?"
"Ah, you probably don't know much about what Lucentia-sama does as an idol," Kiryov nodded understandingly at Kaze's lack of knowledge. "For starters, I would like to apologise on behalf of my team because we do not know how humans treat their idols nowadays. For us dragonkins in Aravel, there are unspoken rules set in place for the very reason that we want to avoid certain problems occurring."
"For Lucentia's case, I expect that to be particularly difficult."
"Precisely. It's already amazing enough we got permission from Laevia-sama. So, Lucentia-sama does singing, dancing, performing, modelling, and promoting, to summarize her job scope. You could probably figure out what each are from the word alone. For today, Lucentia would be dressed in a new outfit created for the sole purpose of her new song, which would be recorded and released in a few days' time."
"How do you record a song? I don't think such a thing exists in Czech…"
"Ah, we have this magic equipment that captures soundwaves from Lucentia-sama's singing. It was devised by the research faculty from Lunaea-sama and Luniel-sama for this purpose, in which they have also created a sort of picture-capturing product too. It is hard to describe the exact way the device works since only a very limited amount has been produced, but it utilizes light magic, dark magic, and mana to create a picture."
"… I feel like I understand every single word you just said when I actually have no idea what is going on. Basically, you have a magic device that enables voice recording and picture-capturing?"
"Yep. You will be able to see that soon when Lucentia-sama models for the release of her new song. We sell them to any dragonkins interested by allowing them to purchase one of those devices."
"Alright, I think asking any more questions about the devices will not be beneficial until I see them. What will we be doing now?"
"I'm going to give you a quick tour of the place while we set things up. Lucentia-sama arrived at the perfect time as always, so we only have a bit of spare time for you."
Kaze then got an introduction to some of the crew members along with a walk around the house. As he had expected, the place was already turned into a proper studio for whatever work they were doing, meaning that this was where Lucentia would spend most of her time if it were related to idol work. He also got to get close with the picture-capturing magic device, one of the two available in the house right now. The crew only used one for the actual job and a second as a spare, meaning that they had to be careful with how they used it since it was still counted as an unfinished prototype.
After everything was done and said, Kaze was led back to the main area where the recording would take place. There, most of the crew were set and ready, doing a few final checks with their setup. It was clear that they didn't want to waste any time with preparation out of respect for taking up Lucentia's time, since she was still a princess first and foremost before she was an idol.
Finally, the main star of the show appeared. Dressed in a long dress that barely reached her ankles, a huge cut could be seen at the back which revealed most of her shoulder all the way down to her lower back. Her tail protruded from under one of the many layers that made up the dress while her wings remained exposed from how the dress was designed. To compliment her physical features, the colour of the dress was mainly red and orange with a few streaks of black to enhance the design of the outfit.
"Lucentia-sama, how are you feeling today?" Kiryov addressed the dragonkin politely. "All good for your new song?"
"Mm, more than perfect," Lucentia nodded, her usual expressionless look on her face. "We can start anytime you want."
Lucentia stepped towards a small platform where a huge cloth was hung to make it look white or any colour they wanted. Floating orbs overhead began charging up with magic by the expert control of a few crew members, positioning it properly before light magic came through. They must want there to be a good lighting to take Lucentia's pose, hence why so much equipment setup was needed.
Kaze had expected the place to be quite noisy from how much coordination was required. Instead, what he got was nothing other than a few hushed speaking. The only loud voice he could hear was from Kiryov and another male dragonkin, who was in charge of fiddling with the photo magic device and giving suggestions for poses. This really showed the crew's cooperation and teamwork, speaking volumes on how experienced and talented the crew was. Laevia-sama must have made careful deliberation for this to happen when picking the best members for the team.
Following Kiryov's instructions, Lucentia took position and began assuming pose after pose. She was already a natural when it came to deciding on certain poses and what she wanted to show off to her fans. Even without Kiryov needing to intervene as much, Lucentia took on the role herself to ensure that she chose the best poses possible while the magic device recorded her. The orbs floated overhead, ready to reposition anytime there was a slight change in Lucentia's pose.
The photo session went by fairly quickly for Kaze, who was captivated by Lucentia's professionalism. It only took half an hour for Lucentia to be done with it, which in retrospect really wasn't that long, but it felt like only a few minutes passed in Kaze's perception. Did Lucentia really have the ability to make him forget about time?
"We will take a short break before continuing with the voice recording," Kiryov told Lucentia, handing her a water bottle.
"Mm, good work," Lucentia nodded and accepted the bottle.
She then walked over to Kaze, who was sitting at the side of the room throughout the entire process. During her photoshoot, she did not once glance at Kaze as part of her professional behaviour to ensure the take was smooth. It was also why she was a little curious about how Kaze reacted and what he felt from watching her.
"Kaze, how was it?" Lucentia sat next to him. "Was it what you expected?"
"Sort of. Kiryov already told me about the overall plan for today," Kaze smiled at her. "You were amazing, way more than I thought you already were."
Lucentia blushed a little at his comment. While she was already used to praises from different people, she could only feel touched when it came from the person she liked. In response, she clenched the bottle tightly with both hands out of embarrassment and slanted her gaze from his face to the ground. Kaze chuckled after realizing her response was out of shame.
This small act did not go unnoticed with some of the crew members. Instead of feeling curious or repulsive, they all wore smiles on their faces as if they already knew what was happening right from the start. Whether or not Lucentia was dating Kaze, they could tell she had feelings for the human male before her. It was rather interesting to them that Lucentia would fall for a human male since the princess didn't show suggestive emotions to the opposite gender usually.
"Lucentia-sama, pardon me for interrupting, but we can start already," one of the dragonkins awkwardly approached the two to get her attention. "So, if you don't mind…"
"Ah, of course," Lucentia quickly nodded and stood up. "Sorry for being distracted."
As Lucentia hurried away to hide her embarrassment from getting spotted flirting with Kaze by her co-workers, Kaze himself was left with a stupefied smile on his face. It was clear that the crew knew what they were up to from their simple gestures, yet they seemed accepting of it. Kaze knew that his status with Lunaria, Lunatea or Lucentia was not announced yet, so acting in a suspicious manner was bound to cause people to start second-guessing.
Thankfully, the crew didn't have time to contemplate what Lucentia was doing with Kaze since they had the recording to start. Once Lucentia was ready, they set up sound barriers around them to filter out any additional background noise that might cause problems for the recording itself. This meant that other than the sound of Lucentia's singing along with a few musical instruments, there would be nothing else left in the recording.
This was also when Kaze managed to get a good look at the device they would use for the recording. Unlike the photo device that required a stand for it to be displayed due to its large size, the recording device looked like a mechanical ball that fit into the palm of one's hand. There were glass engravings in it that glowed upon being filled with magic, ready to record whatever was sung by Lucentia.
Lucentia held one in hand and closed her eyes. A few moments of silence followed, everyone paused and waiting for her to begin. The sound of a soft beep could be heard coming from the orb in her hand. Along with the few keys of a nearby piano playing the starting notes to the song, Lucentia opened her mouth and a melodious voice followed.
The duration of the song was a mere 3 to 4 minutes long, yet time seemed to have stood still. Kaze and the others were instantly drawn in to the mesmerising tune that Lucentia had. Synced with the timing of the piano keys, Lucentia let her emotions guide her voice. With her head swaying side to side at times throughout the song, one could tell she was really getting into the vibes of her song.
More so than anything, everyone felt surprised by the content of Lucentia's new song. Judging by the lyrics accompanied with the tune, this was definitely a love song. The way it was delivered made it obvious enough, such that Kaze immediately garnered an awful lot of surprised stares from the crew. The inspiration behind the song itself, for Lucentia who never sung anything so filled with emotions of expressing her love to another person, was without a doubt the human male sitting before them.
This was essentially a love letter by Lucentia to Kaze.
Even Kaze himself was aware of it. As the song went on, Kaze felt his heart thumping louder and louder. A loud fuzz began to fill his head from Lucentia's singing in a good way, such that it clouded any judgment or reasoning he tried to make to convince himself that it was a mere coincidence. Her voice was simply too powerful, picking and tugging on his heartstrings with each passing second.
By the time the song ended, everyone still seemed like they were in a trance of disbelief and shock. Lucentia surveyed the room with a quick glance before bowing, causing the crew to snap out of their state.
"How was it, Kiryov?" Lucentia addressed her director. "We can always make a second take."
"A-Ah, um, it was… surreal," Kiryov muttered, feeling slightly off. "Can you pass us the device you have? We need to analyse the quality of the sound before deciding whether we need a second take…"
"… Alright," Lucentia handed over the device. "Was it really that good? I don't think I have heard an immediate praise for anyone of my songs on the first try."
"It was, and it is," the cameraman who previous handled the picture taking nodded his head vigorously. "Your inspiration for the song must be deep, Lucentia-sama."
"Inspiration, huh…" Lucentia thought about it for a bit before her eyes slowly fell on Kaze.
This caused Kiryov and the cameraman's eyebrows to light up, as if realizing that their suspicions were correct. Kaze, on the other hand, sweated profusely from being stared at so intensely. He looked at Lucentia in return, pleading for her to help.
"… It would appear so," a thin smile appeared on Lucentia's face, completely abandoning hope for Kaze
"Ahhh…. Alright then," Kiryov pretended to exclaim aloud when a sneaky smirk appeared on his face. "We must thank that piece of inspiration for having influenced such a powerful song, shouldn't we?"
"Indeed," the cameraman deeply nodded. "For the time being, we should process the recording first."
Kaze was then left alone with Lucentia while the crew got back to work. Lucentia's words earlier that neither confirmed nor denied Kaze's involvement in being her inspiration motivated the crew to work harder. If anything, it only got more eyes locked on Kaze the whole time, wondering what sort of involvement Kaze had with Lucentia.
"Lucentia… you didn't have to make it that obvious," Kaze mumbled in dismay. "Isn't this only going to make things worse?"
"The announcement of your relationship with Lunaria-nee would be made sooner or later, so I figured that they deserved a sneak peek of sort," Lucentia casually answered in a hushed tone to prevent the others from overhearing them. "So, how was my singing?"
"Your singing? I don't think I have words for how well you did," Kaze put aside his personal feelings and honestly responded. "As Kiryov put it: surreal."
A satisfied smile could be seen dawning on Lucentia's face. For a second there, she tried to lean in to his side before stopping herself as she was reminded that they were in a public area. If they were seen by anyone else, then there definitely would be chaos. She had to pull herself back and brushed her fringe to make her previous movement seem inconspicuous. It was a clever move, but not for Kaze who knew exactly what she nearly did.
While waiting for the results of her singing to be told, the two sat silently under the company of each other. Not much was said after Kaze's remarks on her singing. Since there wasn't much of a common topic they could talk about at the moment, mainly from both of them being overwhelmed by what just happened, nothing happened for the next few minutes. Yet, it was these few minutes of silence that they appreciated from each other, giving them time to sort out their feelings and prepare for what comes next.
Kiryov came back out with the recording device in hand and a satisfied grin. Without needing him to tell them, Kaze and Lucentia knew that there was no need for a second take. Lucentia must have poured her heart out when producing and creating the song in the first place that no noticeable flaw could be found. Especially during the singing part, which she did flawlessly. There was no additional comment needed other than some business talk that Kiryov had with Lucentia, such as planning the next meeting on the song production, scheduling more dates for future events and so on.
That also concluded Lucentia's idol work for the day. Taking only a little more than an hour, their time went by quickly since idol work was limited in the first place. The only thing Lucentia needed to work on now was a live singing performance that would be done as an event to promote her new song along with working to create a new outfit for the singing.
"That was quick," Kaze commented once they left the building. "So that's a day in an idol's life for you?"
"Idol work is simple, to be honest. It just requires a lot of practice and patience on a daily basis before the actual job," Lucentia nodded. "Plus, I'm only a part-time idol, meaning I still have palace work to work on."
"Being a princess is your first and foremost, got it. What do we do now?"
"How about heading to the market? We can always get something to eat on the way home."
"Ah… won't it be troublesome if you head off by yourself?"
"In any part of the world, yes; in Aravel, no. The streets are safe enough that you don't have to worry about theft, much less a princess walking around on her own. Dragonkins and other people here aren't dumb enough to hit on a princess who is good with sword fighting."
"I mean… safety is still a priority, isn't that right?"
"Yes. If that's what you're worried about, you can be my guard."
"Ah… I don't know if I'm qualified to be considered a princess's guard."
"You would be, especially if you're secretly dating Lunaria-nee after being recognised by mother and father. You sparred with Sir Ethan and was defeated, but you managed to hold onto one of his strongest attacks, isn't that right? I would say that for someone who was able to ward off the King of a nation long enough, you are more than capable."
"…. Since when did Lunaria tell you that story?"
With a small smile, Lucentia ignored Kaze's question as she wanted to protect her eldest sister. It was no surprise that Lucentia would know about what happened since she wanted to find out more about the person she liked. Even though that point was obvious, Kaze still felt a little baffled that Lunaria would go to great lengths to even talk about things he had done before.
Arriving at the market area with Lucentia, they quickly got some meat skewers and returned to the palace. As Lucentia had promised, they did not wander around anymore than necessary, though she did hesitate on what to buy as a snack. It was lucky that Kaze left the palace with Felta in hand, meaning that he had a weapon he could use if things went south.
They returned to the palace without an issue. Upon arrival, Kaze didn't leave Lucentia's side immediately and instead chose to guide her back to her room first. It was expected of a guy to take the lead, especially when it came to things like going out together with a girl. This short time together with Kaze also made him realize that perhaps he should start going out with Lunatea and Lucentia seriously, like he did with Lunaria, for their relationship to progress further. It wasn't fair if he let the two dragonkins continue to try and pursue him while all he did was give them the cold shoulder.
"Thank you for today Lucentia, I had quite a bit of fun along with lots of surprises," Kaze thanked Lucentia once they were back at the entrance of her room.
"It wasn't much of an issue. Thanks to you, I was able to come up with a new song," Lucentia shook her head, a light smile across her face. "It was also unexpected that you would be interested in my job as an idol, so I take it as a compliment."
"Of course I was. How could I not try to understand more about the person who is interested in me?" Kaze laughed. "Besides, this short trip came to make me like you even more."
"… Eh? Should I… take that as you expressing your feelings for me?" Lucentia nervously asked him, feeling a little worried that she was being misled. "I don't deny that I was trying to make sure I put on my best performance for you today, but…"
"I meant what I said, Lucentia. Once again, thank you for today."
Before Lucentia could move, Kaze gently grabbed her hand and stepped forward. He tilted his head a little to the right, leaning in to kiss her. The moment his lips touched hers, Lucentia's heart rate shot up instantly. A huge blush crept up her cheeks as she didn't expect Kaze to be so proactive, taking her by the hand and kissing her. It caught her offguard that she forgot to respond with her own feelings, such that Kaze pulled back with a wry smile of guilt.
"See you for lunch," Kaze let go of her hand and walked off, leaving a very confused and embarrassed Lucentia standing in front of her door for a few seconds.
As he walked off, Kaze let out a sigh of relief that no rejection was made to his actions. He didn't feel confident enough to make it work since he wasn't sure how Lucentia would react, but he certainly glad he didn't chicken out.
After receiving Lunatea and Lucentia's responses, it was time up to Kaze to make the next move.