But...
“I’m sorry.”
The moment her response hit me, my whole world went dark.
“Prince Caesar, I don’t think Tida’s breathing.”
“Judging by the look on his face when he went down, I think he was so choked up that the second part of her sentence didn’t even register.”
“Don’t just sit there and analyze! Someone get Tida and Amy out of here!” Princess Isabella said sharply, and the guards quickly sprang into action. They surrounded Tida, shielding him from the crowd.
“Amy, let’s go somewhere else for now.”
Once I stood next to her, Prince Caesar had one of the staff members escort us back to the reception room.
“Come on, Tida! Snap out of it!”
Once we got there, Prince Caesar posted guards at the door. He then started shaking Tida by the shoulders. And when that didn’t work, he slapped him firmly on the cheek.
“Huh?”
That did the trick. Tida blinked and then looked around in confusion.
But then, he locked eyes with Amy.
“Ah... Ah...”
Everything must’ve all come rushing back again, because his shoulders slumped in despair.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things awkward...” Tida muttered. He then whirled around, clearly intending on running out of the room, but...
“Hi-yah!”
“Argh!”
Luna had been waiting behind him, and she stuck out her leg to trip him. He’d been in such a rush to leave that he wasn’t watching where he was going—he never saw it coming. He landed hard on the floor, right on his face.
While Luna looked very pleased with herself, their parents were frowning. They didn’t scold her, though. I guess they figured that keeping Tida from running away was more important. For now, anyway.
“Tida.”
Amy knelt down beside him and gently said his name. Tida wasn’t ready to face her yet, so he kept his forehead pressed against the floor.
“I don’t think you heard everything I said before, so I’ll say it again. I’m not ready to get married yet. We’re still kids. But...I’d love to be your girlfriend. Because I like you, Tida,” she said.
“Huh?”
Amy repeated everything he’d missed before, and he looked totally baffled. He just stared at her with a dazed look on her face for a while. Then, he glanced around at his mom, dad, me, Gramps, and then Luna—she was watching the scene unfold with a scowl on her face.
I wasn’t sure whose reaction snapped him out of it, but when it sunk in, he leaped to his feet.
“Really?! Thank you! Yessss!” He grabbed Amy’s hands and started dancing around so joyfully that you’d never guess this boy was really Tida. He was literally dancing like no one was watching.
“Anyone up for tea?” I asked.
“I’ll take some,” the prince said.
Princess Isabella nodded. “Me too, please.”
“Count me in,” Gramps said.
“Tea, please!” Luna exclaimed.
I passed around some tea and snacks while we all watched Tida and Amy dance. She didn’t seem exactly thrilled with this, but she was putting up with it.
About ten minutes later, their dance came to an abrupt end when Tida tripped over his own feet. He wiped out again.
“Looks like that’s the end of that. Isabella, would you handle Amy?” Prince Caesar said.
“Of course.”
The prince and princess split up, taking Tida and Amy to opposite ends of the room.
“What do you think they’re talking about? I’m guessing it’s about what comes next, right?” I asked.
“Probably. And since Amy’s involved, I’m sure you’re about to end up busier from now on, Tenma,” Gramps said.
The biggest issue this new couple would face was their difference in social status. Amy was born a commoner, so there wasn’t much she could do about that. Well, not under normal circumstances, at least. But thanks to Cain, I already knew a little trick to work around that problem if Amy was up for it. It would be a surprisingly simple fix too. It did mean Gramps and I would have to jump through some hoops, but it would be worth it for Amy’s sake.
The princess returned with Amy before Prince Caesar and Tida finished their talk. “Tenma, can I ask a favor of you?”
She wanted me to speak with Amy’s mom and grandma to start moving things forward. She even offered to make it a formal request, but I told her that wasn’t necessary. I was already involved, so this wasn’t going to be a job for me. I would do it as a personal favor.
“Tenma, I have a feeling Tida’s going to be causing you all kinds of trouble from now on... And since Amy’s involved, we’ll be counting on you,” the prince said to me after he finished his talk with Tida.
Tida and Princess Isabella bowed politely, and Amy followed suit.
Although Amy had said she wouldn’t marry him right now, she hadn’t said that she would never marry him. That meant that, technically, marriage was still on the table at some point. And since she was now officially Tida’s girlfriend, that essentially made her the first candidate to be the next queen. That meant she had a long, tough road ahead of her. Amy would have to undertake a formal, royal education, learn about politics and high society...
We returned to the party, and the moment the crowd saw how excited Tida was, everyone in the room realized that he and Amy must be dating now.
“Let’s just hope no one gets any strange ideas about trying anything with her,” I muttered to Prince Caesar.
“Don’t worry. The royal family’s already planning on assigning guards and assassins to her,” he said.
The two of us sighed quietly and continued chatting about Amy’s safety. As for Tida, he was still acting like a lovesick fool.