The Dragon King's Heart

The parade was well received by everyone in attendance. Laina was impressed by the amount of effort Dante had personally put in to surprise her. As such, she decided to look for him after watching the final parade float go by. 

"Where do you think they will be?" Laina asked as she turned to look at Margaret. 

Margaret looked around the festival grounds, towards the route in which the floats had taken after making their round. 

"Perhaps over there?" 

After a short walk, they found where the floats were. All the performers were getting off the floats, removing their costumes as Laina and Margaret walked through them. It took them a while, but they eventually found where Dante and Marius were. 

Dante had already taken off the catsuit and he had Shadow cradled in his arm. He greeted Laina with a smile as soon as he saw her. Shadow leaped out of his arm as Dante reached for Laina's hand. He got down on one knee and kissed the back of her hand.

"Did you enjoy my little surprise, your Highness?" Dante asked as he got back up. 

He wanted to pull her in close and give her a kiss on the cheek, but Dante stopped himself from doing so. There were too many people watching. To his surprise, Laina leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. 

"I thoroughly enjoyed it," Laina replied with a smile. 

Laina looked from side to side, realizing she was in public. 

Her cheeks were beet red as Dante locked arms with her and walked away from the float. For some time, Laina could not muster any words to say. Dante glanced over and noticed the look she had on her face. 

He could not help but chuckle a little. 

"Dante," Laina leaned over and whispered into his ear. 

"Yes, my princess?" 

"Did I… Did I just kiss you, with everyone watching?" she exclaimed in a whisper. 

Dante nodded, "You did, you did indeed." 

Laina's eyes remained widened in shock. Her mouth agape. As he glanced over to the performers around them, he could see them stealing glances at him and Laina. He was not too bothered by it but he wanted to make Laina feel a little better. 

"Are you embarrassed by what you did?"

Laina looked to the side, not wanting to face Dante as she mumbled a reply, "A little."

He cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. Dante stopped them in their tracks. They were facing one another, all eyes were on them. Dante leaned in and kissed Laina on the lips. 

Her look of shock remained on her face. But as Dante attempted to deepen the kiss, Laina reciprocated. At that moment, the world around them disappeared. There were only the two of them, sharing a passionate kiss. 

When they parted lips, they returned to reality. Laina was still a little dazed by what just happened, as Dante gently brushed his thumb across her lips. 

"There. Now we can both be embarrassed together," he declared with a smile. 

Margaret and Marius, who were trailing behind the royal couple, witnessed everything. They could not help but smile as they watched them. Margaret still had some of her reservations, but she was warming up to it. 

It was as if Marius could read her mind, "Dante will be able to protect her regardless, you have nothing to worry about."

Margaret replied softly, "Perhaps."

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Marius whispered into Margaret's ear, "Perhaps we can focus on us, now that you can relax a little."

He held onto Margaret's arm and dragged her forward. She did not have any time to react or to protest as Marius pulled her to speak to the royal couple. 

"Your Majesty," Marius greeted Dante, followed by Laina before making his request, "Your Highness. Lady Margaret and I would like to request special permission to enjoy the festivities."

"What? Marius…" Margaret wanted to protest. She looked to Laina with a look of innocence and guilt. 

Laina and Dante turned to one another, then back at the couple before them. 

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Lady Margaret has been working hard as of late. This golden opportunity would allow her to experience some much-needed rest and relaxation. Marius, I leave her in your care."

Dante and Laina walked over to the festival grounds. There were rows and rows of stalls, waiting for them to explore. A small platoon of royal guards followed them around to ensure their safety. 

As the nobles noticed Dante and Laina together, they all made way for them. Laina was enthralled by the beautiful decor. Even the lights that were strung above them were cat-themed. Shadow and Titan trailed alongside their owners, enjoying the festivities around them. 

The nobility was also showering Shadow with much love, especially since she was the Royal Feline of the festival. 

"That stall over there looks really interesting," Laina pointed out. 

"Let's head over," Dante said as he guided her there. 

It was a stall selling cupcakes and other bakery treats. Every item was painstakingly handmade. As soon as Laina and Dante made their way over, everyone else cleared from the stall. The stall owner immediately greeted both of them as soon as they came over. 

Laina had her eyes on the adorably designed cupcakes that were simply too cute to eat. Each of them was of a different flavor. 

"What flavors are these?" she asked eagerly. 

"Your Highness has good taste!" the stall owner praised, "These are special cupcake designs created just for this festival. We have four flavors in total…"

The first one had a cream white swirl with white chocolate pieces for ears and milk chocolate button eyes and piped-on feline features. It was a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. 

The second one was a chocolate cupcake with a patched cat design piped on with cream. It also had a molten center filled with melted hazelnut chocolate sauce. 

The third one was a vanilla cupcake with strawberry jam in the center. It had a paw print-shaped macaron for its topping. The macaron was summer berry flavored. 

The last cupcake, inspired by Shadow, was a black sesame cupcake with a replica of Shadow piped onto a cat-shaped cookie. 

"These all look so amazing!" Laina exclaimed with glee as she looked at them. 

The attention to detail on these cupcakes made them too adorable to eat. Laina had a hard time picking just one. As such, she decided to purchase a dozen of them instead.