Giliath demands your power stones, let's try to get over 500!
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"H-huh?", Princess Alfin tried to respond, not expecting to hear Prince Cedric, her twin brother, speak up like that, which drew our attention. To my surprise, he was the one who asked too. I could even see a hint of worry in his eyes. Contrary to how Prince Cedric acts in the games, I essentially wiped away the so-called curse he would eventually succumb to at a very early age, by taking the responsibility of becoming Testa-Rossa's pilot. His bloodline was strong with the Divine Knight, so I am not sure if he feels those impulses. As for me too, I haven't felt any thus far.
Perhaps the Gamer System had a role in that. I wasn't particularly granted that mind-related skill, but it was true to say I haven't felt any impulses the Infernal Castle would try to send in hopes of corrupting the link it shares with whomever becomes the primary pilot of Testa-Rossa.
In short, Prince Cedric right now was a normal boy who had the responsibilities of being a prince, much like my current position now. Apart from that worry in his eyes, I saw a hint of annoyance, likely because I saw him outside Valflame Palace earlier in the morning.
Considering the fact those four girls denied Prince Cedric at Princess Alfin's behest to enjoy a breakfast hosted by the Imperial Family. I bet his pride was pretty shattered when he was shot down, haha!
His current annoyance was sound, to say the least. Still, I saw that he was worried about Princess Alfin's current appearance, as did his mother, Empress Priscilla, seeing Princess Alfin's eyes dazed.
Yet to my right spoke an entirely different story. Shifting my eyes, the first thing to pop into view was a visible look of anger appearing over Mueller's forehead, and for a good reason. Despite wearing his vermillion attire of a Crown Prince like he often wore when he visited Thors Military Academy in the future, right now, Prince Olivert could be seen with his arms wrapped over his head.
As Princess Alfin remained dazed, Prince Olivert, on the other hand, currently felt his head pounding, which caused him to slump over like that, even if he was trying to enjoy the meal presented to him.
"This is why I advised against you drinking that much wine last night, Your Highness. Hangover medicine often takes a while to kick in too.", Mueller berated Prince Olivert, who was likely still experiencing a massive hangover.
"It wasn't all for naught. It even let me catch glimpses of Alfin's first dance, even if it wasn't the real thing. Though it would seem she is currently closer to Aidios's embrace than I am. It pains me to say that I feel the grasp of Gehenna...", Prince Olivert retorted Mueller while having his arms gently grasp his head. Even Prince Olivert was struggling to eat his breakfast, but this was rather a funny sight to see.
Every single time Prince Olivert would try to drink with Scherazard during his time spent in Liberl in Estelle's party, well, let's just say it never went well for him. He would often find himself passed out, even sometimes stripped of his clothing. Thankfully the latter hadn't happened here, but he was definitely regretting how much he had drank last night.
To add to that, after my small exchange with Aurelia, both her and Roselia remained silent, only to sip the aromatic tea they had placed in front of them in silence while watching the Imperial Family converse with each other. On top of that, Sherryl had a hint of rosy cheeks, and it was clear her eyes were avoiding mine as she ate in silence.
It was pretty obvious to tell something had happened, though for better or worse, I do not know. Prince Cedric wasn't a foolish boy either, regardless of him receiving the curse's grasp. He was rather bright, considering that he himself would be at the helm of Thors Military Academy main campus in the future. Seeing Princess Alfin remain dazed, Prince Cedric gaze soon turned my way.
"Olivert's present predicament I understand, but Alfin rarely becomes distracted like this. She was completely fine during the dance in the event last night, so fess up. What did you do, Your Highness?", Prince Cedric asked in a more serious tone, squinting his eyes at me. Well, I mean he wasn't wrong.
A little something did happen which was the reason why Princess Alfin was currently behaving this way. Yet hearing Prince Cedric ask that in a serious tone, even Empress Priscilla turned to him.
"Now Cedric, isn't it rude to intrude upon our guests like this? I am curious about Alfin too, but she was the one who invited us all here for breakfast today, so the least we can do is enjoy it. Still, you should know what comes after drinking like that, Olivert. Thank you for looking after him, Sir Vander.", Empress Priscilla responded before I could answer, causing Prince Cedric to look her way.
"Oh it is no issue. I am very much used to handling this, Your Majesty. Thankfully this ba--, I mean, His Highness, woke up and managed to get out of bed just fine. We are just waiting for the medicine to kick in.", Mueller said, answering in a polite tone, considering Her Majesty was currently present, and right across from me no less.
It was this time Princess Alfin finally snapped out of it after hearing her mother's words, and Mueller's, causing her gaze to land on Her Majesty.
"Oh...I do apologize for having you see that, Mother. It's nothing, really.", Princess Alfin's voice said. Still, as she said that, it would seem Princess Alfin's face turned a deep red, likely recalling what had happened several moments prior to us coming down here to join the Imperial Family.
In the end, I could only let out a sigh as I took another glance to my right.
If there was anything to blame, it would be Master. She decided to have a little outburst seeing Tamamo's adamant refusal in letting her hand go earlier. I couldn't do anything about it though, considering it was Master we were talking about. All of that moving around, you could probably guess what happened. It was the same reason why Sherryl's rosy cheeks were present and why she was looking the other way.
Princess Alfin and Sherryl were still in their bath towels. Tamamo did get pretty hands-on with Master during that little exchange, but as a result, there was enough friction to where those towels became loose.
You can probably guess what followed suit. Both Princess Alfin and Sherryl weren't wearing anything underneath at the time since they had planned to change their clothes upon coming out of the bath, but were interrupted by Master's little quarrel with Tamamo. Since the towels became loose, they dropped down onto the floor, which revealed their still wet bodies. I didn't have to explain any further as to why Princess Alfin and Sherryl were now behaving like this, now did I?
If there was an unfortunate one, however, it was me. Despite being in the nude for a brief period of time, the rising sunlight just happened to release an intense gaze upon the bedroom, preventing my eyes from seeing too much of them. Still, the two felt very embarrassed about it, and quickly darted behind the changing screen, turning silent mostly after.
And unless Prince Cedric was persistent on finding out the answer, I wouldn't answer him of course. I doubt he would want to know those details. At the very least, it seemed Princess Alfin had calmed down some after that little shenanigan. I honestly was expecting a slap in the face, but she just turned meek and remained dazed for a period of time.
I didn't pursue it further, but we still came down to breakfast, even if it was a little atypical. Thankfully I saw Princess Alfin's gaze appear more normal with her blushing eventually fading away. Her Majesty's calm eyes remained on our position, and only revealed a smile after hearing Princess Alfin say that.
"It would seem it wasn't anything too important, but I wouldn't mind hearing the details later, Alfin. I'm sure our guests have a busy schedule. Your Highness plans to visit the Vander School later today too, right??", Empress Priscilla asked me, causing me to nod my head.
"Yes. I plan to study there for a good period of time, but seeing as His Majesty was so kind enough to offer me some private quarters to stay here in Valflame Palace, I do apologize in advance for intruding on your family.", I politely said to her.
"So what Father said was true then. If you will be intruding on us for a period of time, I would still like to request that duel we previously spoke about, Your Highness. I am quite interested in how far you've come with the way of the sword.", Prince Cedric said, nodding his head as well, seeing Princess Alfin's appearance more normal now. Even Aurelia looked my way.
"So you're following the path I once took, eh? It wouldn't be bad to pay Master my respects, seeing that I am here in the capital. I wouldn't mind having a spar against you either, son of Vander.", Aurelia mused, looking Aurelia. His annoyance remained, but he scratched his cheeks.
"Haha, I am a bit preoccupied at the moment, but I will see what I can do, Lady Aurelia.", Mueller responded, glancing toward Prince Olivert again.
"Hmph.", Roselia's voice responded at this time, only to carry a harrumph, trying not to recall what had previously happened in the room.
At least it wasn't anything bad. I know I am set to have a spar against Sherryl, but with that happening, I do hope she is still ready to do it. Thinking that, I glanced toward Sherryl again, and saw her remain silent, continuing to eat her meal in silence. But at least she didn't avoid my gaze anymore. It would seem she had calmed down as well.
Thankfully, we were able to keep this cheery atmosphere with Princess Alfin starting to talk more and more, conversing and eating our breakfast, making the time go by swiftly. I didn't forget about Claire either, but she remained silent during this whole exchange and simply enjoyed her breakfast, acting as if she was a ghost to us.