Flower of Steel

The servant closed the door as he left. Everything that I saw here felt unfamiliar and new to me… but I should try my best not to show that this was my first time, no matter what may happen. And right after that, I saw a hallucination again. Yeah, I must be tired to see such a…

That’s when everyone got up from their seat and immediately bowed.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

At my cousin and Rian’s greetings, the Crown Prince nodded casually, “Yes.”

It was Rian, the cousin of the Crown Prince, who spoke regarding the prince’s sudden visit. “What brought you here, Your Highness? I believe you don’t like plays.”

He seemed quite surprised as well, as Rian had such a nervous look in his eyes, which wasn’t like his usual calm self. The Crown Prince looked at him disinterested and replied, “It’s not bad from time to time.”

“Pardon? But the theater-”

“It’s not like you to talk so much, Adrian. Didn’t you say I can use your family’s guest seats whenever I want?”

“Hah… Yes, I did. But this isn’t like you either, Your Highness. I didn’t expect you would show up so suddenly at a place that you don’t like,” said Adrian.

The Crown Prince wore a cold smile on his face. “No, this is exactly like me. I don’t care about the way or the method. If you don’t feel confident enough, then get lost. I’m actually getting quite annoyed because of you.”

Rian sighed at those words, then turned to me, who was gazing at the two of them and smiled. After making such a refreshing smile, he turned back to the Crown Prince and shook his head. “I am sorry, but I have no intention of giving up. After all, you and I are in place of being selected in the end.”

At those words, the Crown Prince glared at him, then turned his purple eyes towards me and my cousins, who were awkwardly standing. “You can all sit down, or you don’t have to if you want to tell everyone that I’m here.”

That wasn’t exactly correct. These special seats were on the second floor and were in isolated quarters, so it was separate from the regular seats. It was also separate from any other special seats, so it wasn’t visible from other seats. While I was thinking of that, the Crown Prince took his seat, and I had to take a gulp.

Interestingly enough, the Crown Prince was sitting right next to me and to my left was Rian. I’m watching a play between two of the best men in the entire empire!

“Oh, this is like a dream! To watch a play with Your Highness and Sir Droinel! This is such an honorable night.””

Lumi spoke exactly what was on my mind, which shocked me. She didn’t seem to care if the Crown Prince was here and chatter. “I heard that there’s a special show tonight! A sword dance! I want to see it!”

“Hey, do you want to show off your violent side that badly?” Jianne whispered from her side, but Lumi didn’t seem to care.

“Who cares? Marina likes sword dancing too. I’m sure everyone will enjoy it. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”

Lumi’s sudden question shocked me yet again, and I was about to turn toward her when I heard a kind voice from the Crown Prince.

“Yeah.”

Well, I guess he would like a sword dance. It was said that the Crown Prince is quite skilled in swords. That’s when I heard a kind voice from my right.

“I like it.”

As soon as I heard that, I could hear my heart racing again. What- it’s doing it again? I’m not sure why it’s doing this so often these days. That’s when I heard Rian’s beautiful voice.

“I like it too, actually.”