"Who are you, really?" The organizer, still sweating buckets, asked as he glared hard at Kaid.
'It's very hard for someone to see the king, much less get an invitation from him. How on earth can a lowly knight like him get it? Something is definitely not right,' he thought.
"Does that matter? This here is what you are looking for." Kaid leaned in against the table and tapped on the paper.
Meliora narrowed her eyes at both men and then squinted at the letter with intricate designs.
"That really is a letter with the king's seal!"
"You mean the king of Arcania?"
The ladies, all shocked, began to whisper. They turned to look at Meliora and were lost for words as they began to connect the dots and came to a conclusion.
"What if her father really allowed her to be the Queen of the Arcania kingdom?" one of the ladies said in a loud whisper that even a fly could hear.
Meliora's eyes twitched in annoyance, and her smile faltered. Kaid, on the other hand, had mirth dancing in his eyes, seemingly enjoying it more than anyone.
The organizer grumbled and then brought out a card with Meliora's name on it, stamping it hard. Humiliated in front of everyone, he shoved the card into Kaid's hands.
The organizer didn't see the darkened gaze of Kaid, nor did he realize that this single action would cost him his head in the future.
Kaid swallowed down the insult and walked up to Meliora. The latter had her face turned away, refusing to face him because her face was flushed pink.
Kaid was confused. 'Why was she looking away?' he thought. Ashtarte nudged Meliora, and she flinched.
It finally occurred to her that she shouldn't be hiding since she wore a veil, and he couldn't see her face.
"T-thank you..." She stuttered as she quickly collected the card and looked down.
"Are you blushing right now?" Kaid teased, folding his arms, a cold smirk dancing at the corner of his lips.
Meliora chuckled, realizing she couldn't hide anything from this man.
"Me, blush? Why? Who are you to me again?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. Kaid widened his eyes in surprise but then shook his head.
"Yes, I am no one to Princess Meliora, but can you see the future?" he drawled as he leaned in, closing the distance between them. He lifted her veil to see her widened eyes and parted lips.
He was stunned for a second, just like her, and the air between them seemed to crackle. But just before he could say something, Meliora snapped out of it and swatted his hand away.
"There you go again, crossing boundaries! I will soon be your Queen, and this is how you behave!" Meliora fumed, saying words she didn't really mean as she pointed at him with shaky fingers.
'I won't be your Queen, but you will regret ever trying these stunts on me!' she internally rambled.
Meliora was beyond red now, her body trembling in rage. Lucie, who noticed, patted her on the back.
"It's time to go, esteemed Princess," Ashtarte grimly chimed in, her eyes glancing at both Meliora and Kaid.
'Those two must really be onto something,' she thought, making a mental note to warn Meliora later.
Kaid waved at Meliora as they quickly left the building. Soon after they disappeared from his sight, and every other noble lady had left, he turned to the organizer.
"Now, where were we?" His voice boomed, catching the organizer's attention. "Come," he suddenly ordered, and his right-hand man appeared beside him in no time.
"Don't you think this man deserves punishment?" Kaid asked as he approached the organizer, whose blood had run cold with fear. He was trembling and sweating buckets.
"What do you want?! I have already given her the card, why are you getting closer?" he yelled in fear. Kaid waved his hand, and smoke gathered on the table, shattering it.
He did all this while walking until he stood in front of the organizer.
"Do you know who I am?" Kaid swooned as he ruffled his hair. Putting one leg on the rubble, he leaned on the organizer, who had fallen on his butt in fear.
"You—are you not just a lowly knight?" the organizer growled, gritting his teeth with eyes that spat fire. Kaid threw his head back and laughed.
"How dare you!! This is his majesty—"
"Don't spoil it; it's better he doesn't realize, even on his last breath," Kaid's voice deepened as he suddenly unsheathed his sword and slashed down on the organizer.
The organizer realized his identity too late. With his eyes wide open, his head rolled to the floor.
"Dispose of his body, and spread this to everyone: 'Meliora Livia Delacroix is favored by the King, and anyone who touches her will end up like this wretched organizer,'" Kaid informed, with a cold smirk at the corner of his lips and a mad glint in his eyes.
"Noted, Your Majesty."
****
Meliora slumped on the bed, legs wide, groaning, quite exhausted from everything that happened today.
"You can't lay down on the bed like that, Princess," Ashtarte warned as she proceeded to open the windows. Meliora pursed her lips in annoyance, pretending not to hear Ashtarte.
"And besides, we need to talk about Sir Kaid," Ashtarte mentioned as she advanced towards the bed to drag Meliora up, only for the latter to spring up in annoyance.
"Why are we talking about him now?! Do you like the fact that he kept embarrassing me?" she fumed, her brows furrowed into a frown, and her lips trembled. Her shoulders shook as she clenched her fists tightly.
[Master, he is just into you. That's all.]
Crucifix tried to appease Meliora, but that only added fuel to the fire.
'Do you know anything about love, Crucifix?'
She gritted her teeth, wishing she could say this out loud to Crucifix.
[More than you know, Master. And I can say for sure that he likes you.]
'Oh, fuck off.' She wished she could punch the daylights out of the robot, but she chose to contain her anger until she finally materialized him.
She pulled on her hair with a frustrated grunt. Ashtarte gasped in surprise and proceeded to stop her from that simple action.
Lucie, who was just standing there waiting for orders, gave Meliora a side look. 'The Princess is weird,' she concluded.
After a few minutes, Meliora had changed into a simple nightgown, tied her hair into a bun, and was ready to actually sleep when Ashtarte decided to bring it up again.
"Princess, no matter what you do, you have to remember that you are to be the King of Arcania's Queen and not a lowly knight," she warned with a serious expression on her face. Meliora yawned and blinked twice, pretending not to hear her.
"Remember you haven't told me anything about this scar on my face," she drawled, and Ashtarte widened her eyes, surprised.
"Well, I can tell you a story," she offered. Meliora's eyes opened excitedly, and she patted the bed next to her, then noticed Lucie, who was dozing off, and patted the other side.
Once the two women were in their spots, Ashtarte started.
"The Queen didn't want to give birth to you in the palace, she..."
Ashtarte started the story, and soon enough, Meliora and Lucie fell into a deep sleep.
She stood up from the bed and went to close the windows, only to find Kaid standing outside. He met her eyes and then gave her a salute.
Ashtarte felt uneasy, so she quickly closed the windows, fear gnawing at her heart.
"I hope the goddess protects our Princess from the clutches of that man. He has this dark energy," she clasped her hands in prayer and then sighed.
Kaid, who stood outside, ruffled his hair in confusion, wondering why Ashtarte ran away like that but decided to leave it.
He wanted to see Meliora's face before leaving, but he knew he was going to meet her soon enough, so there was no need to worry.
A few hours later...
"Wake up, Princess!" Ashtarte shook Meliora from her sleep. The sky had already darkened, and it was time for the banquet to celebrate the ladies that would be participating.
Meliora didn't feel like going anywhere, so she decided to stay frozen in bed.
"I don't want to," she replied curtly, her head still buried in the pillow.
"But I heard there is a lot of meat—"
"Meat!" Meliora sprang up in excitement, beaming from ear to ear, her eyes darting around.
"With a buffet with lots of meat in it too!"
Meliora's eyes sparkled at that moment as she jumped out of bed.
"Then dress me up for the banquet!"