The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

King Jaren made sure that Mana and Raven didn't have to meet either Head Sage Yue or Crown Princess Pica before their departure, even though both of them had approached several times to meet the children. But King Jaren had already asked Raven if he wanted to see them after the debacle with Head Sage Yue – and Raven had asked nervously, "Would I be a bad person if I said I didn't want to meet them?"

His anxious little face had made King Jaren go into overprotective papa bear mode. Jules and Bella had offered to take the two younger ones on a picnic to a nice lake outside the capital, and Mana and Raven went along happily. The only surprise was that Azar, who was always excited to see new places, wanted to stay back with his Grandpapa.

"If you like the place, just stay there for a few days," King Jaren told the four children. "I may be able to join you once these envoys of the Obsidian Kingdom and the Pearl Kingdom bid us farewell."

"I'm sorry," Raven said, looking down at his shoes. "I caused you trouble, Papa."

"Well, you can make up for it by looking after me when I'm old and senile," King Jaren told him, ruffling his hair affectionately. "For now, don't bother with these unnecessary things – or I'll have Mana give you another long lecture about harbouring futile guilt over actions of other people you have no control over."

"Besides, we're entitled to cause trouble for Papa," Mana chipped in.

"Naturally," King Jaren agreed. He narrowed his eyes at Raven. "Do you need a lecture on this subject as well?"

Raven shook his head and giggled helplessly. King Jaren smiled. The boy was really starting to come out of his shell after his encounters with his parents. Especially since Crown Princess Pica's attitude had completely changed now that he had become powerful, which was fully attributable to his own merit and nothing else. And even if Raven didn't realise it consciously, there would be a bit of happiness within him for winning his mother's approval of his own merit. Head Sage Yue, on the other hand, was only halfway there. Perhaps his prejudices were too deep for the man to know his own mind. King Jaren had clearly seen that the other man wanted Raven's affection – the jealousy in his eyes couldn't be hidden when he saw the easy and affectionate interactions of Raven and King Jaren. But he still stubbornly clung to his own ideas and refused to accept his own wrongdoings. Part of him wanted Raven simply because he could see so many of his peers and superiors holding Raven in such high esteem. However, until the man repented and was sincere towards Raven, King Jaren wouldn't allow him near the precious child.

"Mommy! Daddy! Uncle Jules! Auntie Bella! Have fun!" Azar called, waving at them cheerfully.

The family shared a hug and then the four children went to IMARI to pick up Fox and Vanilla, who would be joining them for the picnic.

Thanks to Mana's plan of a surprise date at the Rose Pavilion, Fox and Vanilla had confessed to each other and were now officially dating. Now that Fox wasn't single anymore, he was eager to show off his girlfriend to his friends!

Mana and Raven had been too busy because of all the drama created by Raven's parents, so they hadn't had the time to meet Fox and Vanilla since their relationship was confirmed. They, too, were looking forward to it – after all, they knew how Fox had been pining over the girl all these months!

A few hours later, the six youngsters sat by the lake, eating and chatting happily. The royal family owned a nice villa near the lake, and looking at the beautiful scenery, Mana decided that she wanted to stay over.

Raven, too, was quite taken with the tranquillity of the place. Besides, if Mana was staying over, so would he!

Jules and Bella had already come prepared to spend a few days here, and Bella had already dropped a hint to Vanilla – so the clever girl had packed clothes and other necessities for herself and Fox when they came, too.

Mana and Raven were the only unprepared ones – but it was easy enough to send a couple of servants back to the imperial palace to pick up some things for them!

Besides relaxing and catching up with Fox and Vanilla's new romantic (mis)adventures, Mana and Raven also wanted to take this chance to discuss the details of the pastry shops. Raven had already left a detailed plan on King Jaren's desk before leaving, as promised. Now, they explained everything to the four youngsters as well.

Jules, Bella, Fox and Vanilla were stunned.

"You…you actually came up with this on spot…?!" Bella cried, looking at Raven with wide blue eyes.

Raven flushed and nodded. "I couldn't have done it without Mana and Papa playing along, though," he murmured. "And the plan was initially Mana's – I just modified it a bit to suit ourselves…"

Mana swung an arm around Raven's shoulders and laughed. "There's no need to be modest, my little darling," she said with a smirk, pinching his cheeks.

Raven turned even redder, and everyone else laughed.

"I never thought my little sister would be such a hooligan, teasing a beauty like this," Jules said, laughing so hard that tears pooled in his eyes. "Where on earth did you even learn this from, Mana?"

Mana giggled. "It's a secret! I won't tell you, Big Brother! Besides, you've got your own beauty, you go and tease her if you want! I won't let anyone except me tease my beauty!" she declared, thumping her chest like a local gangster.

Jules tapped his chin thoughtfully, while both Bella and Raven blushed.

Fox frowned. "But this doesn't seem right. Why is Raven your 'little darling'?" he asked. "You're younger and smaller than him – shouldn't you be the 'little darling' and Raven be the 'big darling'?"

Everyone burst out laughing.

"Our savant friend makes a good point," Mana said, wiping her eyes when she finally stopped laughing. "Isn't that right, my big darling?" she teased, pinching Raven's cheeks.

"Yes, my little darling," Raven replied obediently, making everyone laugh again.

The youngsters had a lot of fun all day, and the six of them decided to cook together when it was time for dinner. Jules got to show off his barbeque skills again – and Bella was so impressed that one could see the hearts blooming in her eyes as she watched Jules turn the skewers and sprinkle seasonings like an expert. Fox had learnt to prepare all kinds of teas and refreshing drinks, and he, too, performed well, trying to impress Vanilla with his skills. Vanilla's admiring eyes made him laugh happily and make even more – and in the end, all six of them ended up with over five beverages each! But they really were delicious, so no one complained. Mana and Raven took charge of dessert, as usual. Bella had never cooked before, while Vanilla was used to kitchen work – the two of them cooperated seamlessly to get everything else ready.

And thus, in the end, the six youngsters had a fantastic (and humongous) dinner and finally lay on the grass with bulging tummies.

"That was the best meal I've ever had in my life," Vanilla declared.

"You'll have even better ones from now on," Fox said, taking her hand.

Vanilla blushed.

"So…when are you two planning to get married?" Mana asked them. "You're the only ones among us that are old enough for a wedding."

Fox stuck out his tongue childishly at her. "Why are you in a hurry to get us married?" he demanded. Looking at Vanilla's darkening expression, he added quickly, "Not that I don't want to get married to my Vanilla as soon as possible!"

"Well, Azar needs a playmate," Mana said bluntly. "It'll be a while before Big Brother and Big Sister Bella get there, so we can only rely on the two of you to give him some cousins to play with!"

Fox and Vanilla stared at her in shock. "Cousins…" Vanilla repeated faintly.

Mana furrowed her brow. "Well, of course. You're our friends, so I assumed that the godparents of your kids would be amongst us – so that would make them Azar's cousins," she explained. "It's perfectly fine if you don't want to, though! I was being presumptuous."

"No, no, not at all!" Fox said hurriedly.

"We'd be honoured and delighted if you were to be godparents to our children!" Vanilla said at the same time.

Mana smiled in satisfaction. "Good, good," she said. "So…how about the wedding?"

"Fox's parents are meeting my father soon," Vanilla said. "We'll see how it goes…"

"A spring wedding would be nice," Fox murmured dreamily. "The weather is just right, and there'll be lots of flowers and greenery and Vanilla would look so nice when she walks down a garden path towards me…"

Vanilla blushed.

The other two couples smiled at each other. Looked like Fox was quite a romantic now that he had found his love!