Following the mini drama that unfolded between Lunaria and Kaze, the next few events were conducted in rapid succession. By the time lunch rolled around, being a celebratory buffet lunch prepared by the academy with cooperation from some of the chefs around the area, the two were the talk of the student body. Everywhere they went, they couldn't stop the rounds of congratulating and polite stares they received.
"So what was this I heard about smooching in class?" Yuuji smirked once the couple managed to make their way to the usual group dining together.
"The rumours were exaggerated, and you know that," Kaze rolled his eyes at the prince's comment. "Besides, I fell to the floor BECAUSE I was surprised, not because I wasn't ready to catch Lunaria."
"Which… is the same, isn't it?" Noel asked in a slightly confused smile. "I was there, and you obviously looked shocked."
"Shocked enough to see Lunaria-nee," Luniel joined in the teasing. "Oh, you should have seen the look on Kaze's face when everyone congratulated him in class. Lunaria-nee was also blushing so hard that I thought she was having a fever."
"L-Luniel!" Lunaria's ears turned red from her younger sister's words for she knew it was true. "If you were in the same position as I was, you would have reacted the same way."
"So how much of it was true?" Sera excitedly asked her friends. "I could only wish I was there at the time."
"Same here," Shoko pouted. "Only Rena was able to see the moment…"
"Why are you two so interested in their love life? It was just an act of affirmation that the test was successful and two people being overwhelmed from what we have kept hidden from them all along," Rena objectively stated the facts while sweatdropping. "Besides, it was nothing more special than the usual cuddling you would see them do at the palace."
"Man, if only you two were there," Irene tried to rub it in their face event more, referring to Chris and Albert. "I guarantee that you would have acted the way I did: completely flabbergasted."
"Sometimes I want to trust the rumours more due to how exaggerated it is," Chris admitted with a disappointed sigh. "But out of respect for Kaze and Lunaria, I am going to spare them the pain of remembering it."
"You have no idea how hard it was for some of us to keep this under wrap," Albert informed Kaze and Lunaria. "It took us quite the effort to ensure that this was unknown, though it did nearly slip once or twice."
"Spare me the shame and get on with it," Lunaria glared at Albert, who seemed to be the only sensible person at the table for the time being. "When did you find out about this?"
"Since the first day of school," Albert gulped, not wanting to get razed by Lunaria. "You and Kaze went off on your own after dinner, so the Emperor and Empress took the chance and told us about the plan. It was somewhat of an unexpected timing since the Emperor admitted that he wanted to bring you and Kaze away as a form of distraction or something."
Kaze and Lunaria both shared a quick glance. They both knew that the reason for their departure from the dining table that night was due to discussing her interaction with Ash. It still was something that hadn't been told to their friends since the issue had already been resolved. Had they known that this was what went down during their absence, they might not have done anything differently either way.
"Haa… I really apologise to everyone here for going along with my father and mother's schemes," Lunaria properly apologised with a bow. "You could have just rejected them and said we would deal with our problem ourselves."
"Please, we wouldn't have given up hope that you and Kaze would have to be apart," Yuuji lightly dismissed Lunaria's apology. "As the crown prince, I am also aware that our nation's relation might developed unfavourably if we don't act right. With the ability I have right now, this was the best I could do to show Czech is not hostile with Aravel."
"Besides, I don't think we have the guts to disagree with the Emperor or Empress," Mitsui corrected Lunaria. "And I think the purpose behind the experiment was fair. In return for spying on you two for a few days, we get conclusive evidence on whether or not your relationship is worth announcing to the public here."
Sighing yet again out of pure frustration, Lunaria stuffed her mouth full of chicken. She chewed noisily on it before downing a huge gulp of juice from her class. It was clear that Lunaria felt betrayed to the extent that she was trying to take it out on someone but didn't know who she should make responsible for it other than her parents. It also didn't help that Kaze was sitting next to her and looking around uncomfortably, adding fuel to her fire.
Kaze was someone who didn't like attention, as was mentioned before by him personally and known by everyone in the group. In particular, Lunaria was someone who specifically treated this trait of his very seriously. As a lover, she took Kaze's word to the tee such that the intrinsic meaning was also understood to the fullest. Sure, one would say that it was expected of her to look out for Kaze precisely because she was in love with him, but the personal reason Lunaria was feeling angry FOR Kaze when it wasn't her problem was much deeper than the surface level affection she showed.
A good example would be one of the times Kaze and Lunaria shared a private dinner back in Tristania some time after the centipede attack. Lunaria had prepared something light for the two of them during their study session as it was close to exams. Everyone else was also off on their own, leaving Lunaria to teach Kaze, who was weaker in terms of results compared to the others.
"Time for a short break," Lunaria told Kaze, carrying a small tray with three bowls on it. "Dinner."
"Thank you for always doing this," Kaze sighed, feeling embarrassed. "I could always eat myself…"
"Nope, I have seen you starving yourselves multiple times already. I can't bear the fact you have to force yourself through this to save money," Lunaria placed a bowl in front of him and the other where she sat. "I understand that you are working part-time to earn some income, but it just gets in the way of your studies. Let me share the burden of your food and living costs in return for good grades, alright?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am…"
"Good. Tonight's menu: green pea salad with assorted vegetables and roasted pork leg."
The salad Lunaria had made was on his bowl while hers was the roasted pork leg. On the third bowl that Lunaria placed in between of both of them looked to be additional roasted meat for sharing purposes. Since she was a dragonkin, she didn't need to eat as much veggies as a normal human would and thus just cooked meat for herself. Meanwhile, Kaze's was a balanced diet that one would expect for any normal human.
"Smells good," Kaze smiled. "How are you always able to turn common items into a luxury meal?"
"Ah, it's hot. Just came out of the oven," Lunaria warned Kaze when he reached over and ate one of the roasted pork slices. "How's it?"
"Mm, super good," Kaze nodded while munching. "I like how you made the outer skin crispy and inner parts moist while balancing the amount of fat in between."
"Yep, it was all about choosing the right meat portion," Lunaria sat down and began eating her meal too. "Sometimes you get lucky, other times you don't."
"… Oh."
"Hm?"
"N-No, I just bit down on my tongue."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just a minor- ahh, its bleeding…"
"Lean back."
Lunaria cast healing magic with Kaze's mouth open, enabling her to see where the bite wound was. It wasn't necessary for her to get this concerned over a minor injury like this when their training sessions would result in cuts more severe, but it was Lunaria's kind-heartedness and recently developed love for him that made her care. The wound was quickly healed before Lunaria returned to her seat.
"How did you manage to bite yourself? Was it carelessness or…?"
"Ahh, I was trying to chew this part of the meat when it suddenly broken apart. It was a little too chewy?"
"Hmm… you are right, I can see where it was not properly cooked."
"I think that was inevitable. Not all parts of the meat can be evenly cooked to the point of perfection if you are roasting it. Besides, this was a slightly tougher meat than usual, so I don't blame your cooking. It was my mistake for being impatient in eating."
They then resumed dinner without much more talking. In silent, Lunaria made a mental note to properly check whatever meat she cooks in the future to prevent accidents like these from happening again.
That sort of mentality firmly remained to this day. From Lunaria gifting Kaze her sword Felta to feeling angry for him, she had unconsciously developed the urge to hold Kaze's feelings dearly in her heart. It was the sort of urge that bordered on the line of obsessiveness, where she often found herself thinking more about what Kaze was doing than her actual work.
Lunch ended with a huge speech by the principal and their day at the academy was over. The guests were invited to share some of their final words or thoughts regarding their time together with the students and teachers of the academy. It was surprising to see how the student body reacted as each of them had their turn, for the scene was rather emotional as tears were seen in the eyes of some students. Halfway through her speech, even Irene and Mitsui got teary-eyed at the departure with her new friends.
When it was Kaze's turn, there was a considerable amount of noise that came from the student mass. The reason for it was obvious, but Kaze tried his best to maintain composure and spoke according to what he had planned to say. However, when he started his short speech, the student mass became quietly in order to show him the respect he deserved as both a guest and someone whom they had accepted to be dating their nation's crown princess.
Lunaria's speech received the same treatment, albeit a few more tears from the male audience than normal. Kaze and the rest couldn't help but sweatdrop at this. It was already a known fact that the nation's princesses were incredibly popular, especially Lunaria who had been referred to as the 'crème of the crop' by Lune-sensei. For her to be an icon of beauty or model of reference was normal, as with any royals in the world. There was bound to be more than a few heartbreaks from learning the princess had a lover, although it was all out of goodwill and wishing the best for her.
The end of their school day in Leiscatie Academy came with a huge round of applause from teachers and student alike as the group delivered a group bow to the crowd, expressing their appreciation for the time spent together as a class. This was then followed with gifts given out to each of them before their official departure of leaving the school grounds.
Back at the palace, it was decided that they were individually going to rest and be left up to their own accords before dinner. Due to the accumulation of fatigue and bittersweet happiness from the events of the academy, it seemed like everyone agreed they needed some time of peace and quiet for themselves. Only Chris and Irene, the iconic duo, seemed energetic enough to want to hang out in each other's room and talk over the events of the day. It was later explained by Chris to Kaze that Irene wanted to have a relationship talk together after getting 'motivated by the two of them', whatever that meant.
Kaze and Lunaria both needed their time to relax too, especially after such a stressful morning. A talk was definitely needed with the two rulers, but not without them calming down and destressing first.
The decided to spend their time doing their favourite activity: cuddling together in Lunaria's bathtub. They were, surprisingly, left alone by the other sisters, who definitely had things to say or do with Kaze. Out of respect for their true love, perhaps, that they chose not to intervene between the two for the time being. After all, Lunaria and Kaze earned their victory.
"Mm~~~~" Lunaria let out a long groan as soon as her butt was on Kaze's lap. "That feels good…"
"A long bath like this after work is superb," Kaze admitted happily, his hand wrapping around her tummy.
"I just want to fade away right now…" Lunaria continued muttering softly, her existence sinking into his body as she leaned into him from the front.
"Please don't do that, I need you right here after all that has happened," Kaze begged her with a nervous look on his face, even though he knew it was physically impossible to 'fade away'. "If this is about the hug…"
"I suppose it's about everything, isn't it?" Lunaria sighed. "The hug, the revelation, the secret… What's more, when will our status be publicly announced? That way, we can try and fight for getting you the rights and safety you deserve."
At her words, Kaze tilted his head back upwards and fell silent. It wasn't like he was expecting anything out of their public status since Czech very well has the rights to request for him to return. After all, he was a registered student at Czech First Institute, meaning they could dig up his records and use it for extreme means if needed, which was something he wanted to avoid. Surely, Sir Ethan would try his best to avoid something like this from happening, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Kaze?"
"Sorry, your words made me think about the agreement again. If your parents had this all planned out from the beginning, since Albert said this was told days before we received the notification from Czech, why did they have the talk with us in the first place?"
"… I don't know. My best guess is that father had predicted a sort of request would come from Czech beforehand and laid out a scenario where we have another choice in case something else happens. You could call it an alternative where we consider all possibilities."
"Well, whatever it is, fussing about it now won't do us any good. I think we should discuss this with Reginsleif-sama as soon as possible to see if anything changes because of it."
Lunaria tilted her head back to watch Kaze talk. Once he was done, Lunaria contemplated her own thoughts for a bit before resting her head back on his chest. The two remained in complete silence other than the occasional sound of water dripping, their bodies resting against each other.
Kaze took this time of silence to admire his girlfriend.
In the few months that they had known each other and had their relationship develop from friends to lovers, Kaze felt his impression of Lunaria changing each passing time. In the beginning, he treated her as someone compassionate, someone who was indifferent regardless of race and status. She was a literal idol in the sense that whatever she did seemed right because of how she treated him. Over time, as they made more friends via Yuuji, this perception of his had improved to one of a normal friend, someone he could talk to without worrying about being judged as well as someone he could trust enough to study and hang around her.
After the centipede thing happened, everything rushed by so quickly Kaze thought time had accelerated. It was there that he realized something was beginning to change between him and Lunaria. How their dynamics was around each other felt a lot different in a good sense, especially since they were getting a lot closer to each other. Lunaria began sharing secrets of her past and exposing her true self around him, influencing himself to expose his weak points directly to Lunaria. It was a process that repeated between them and eventually helped each other to grow in their own ways, both academically and mentally.
From then on, things remained stagnant until the devil attack, another major event that essentially set the point where Kaze realized his feelings for Lunaria more so than before. It led to their confession, their first kiss, and even their first night together. What's more, it led to the introduction of another pair of royal leaders. The whole Aravel experience over the past two weeks truly inspired Kaze in multiple ways, as it did with the rest of the group. This was definitely not something he would forget anytime soon, especially not when things were progressing between him and Lunaria.
Looking down at her, a tinted blush coated Kaze's cheeks. It was a normal reaction of his whenever it came to marvelling his gorgeous girlfriend.
To start off, Kaze appreciated how Lunaria had ears with pointed ends, similar to that of elves. From there on it was all about admiring her dragonic features, including the structure of her tail and wings, and how they were connected to her body. It was something Kaze had explored with Lunaria privately in a professional manner, where he was able to ask any uncomfortable questions so she could clear any misunderstanding of his. Right now, he was staring at her nape, which immediately led down to her back where her wings were connected. It was a place so foreign due to the difference in their race, yet so familiar as this was the same back he had stared at countless times before.
Onto her physical features, there was nothing not to like about her beauty and composure. With a slim body that complimented her petiteness, she was essentially someone who would, in the right condition, arouse people regardless of their gender. Kaze fell right into the snare of her beauty and seductiveness, a weapon that was reserved to Lunaria to use only on him during any hot session of theirs. Not to mention her chest and hips, both of which were very well-balanced in terms of size and structure. The number of times that Kaze had seen them was countable with his fingers alone, but the number of times spent fantasizing about them was a sin that crossed his mind countless times. It was shameful to admit, but Kaze was definitely falling deeper into the honey trap known as 'lust' for Lunaria.
"Kaze."
"M-Mm?"
Lunaria's voice broke the silence as she called out to him sweetly, causing him to fumble out of his imagination and looked down at her.
"Should we get out anytime soon? I'm asking because if you want to schedule a talk with my parents, we should do so as soon as possible."
"I agree, b-but…"
"But?"
"… I don't feel like ending my time together with you yet…"
"… It can't be helped then. Maybe another half an hour longer."
"T-Thank you."
"It's fine. I should be the one thanking you for catching me when I jumped at you earlier. That was my mistake for losing my composure."
"Why are you apologising for that? We both know it was neither of our faults that we reacted that way."
"Mm, but just like how you always do, I felt like apologising for the sake of it. It makes me feel better."
"… Lunaria, are you actually recovering? You know, since you just had a breakdown recently over the announcement of us splitting up temporarily…"
His question prompted another short period of silence from Lunaria's end. Whether she liked it or not, it was a question asked out of concern for her own good. This was especially so when she was supposed to be recovering from the devil attack in the first place, meaning that some form of progress must have been expected.
"… Can we talk about this tonight? For the time being, I just… want to relax with you without thinking about much…"
"… Mm, I want that too. I will keep quiet."
"N-No, please don't. Its fine if we talk leisurely, but nothing about anything considered problems. I like talking with you, it's relaxing."
"Hehe, alright then. Leisure talk it is."