After walking a few minutes in the direction the princess had pointed us towards, we found His Highness, Sir Agliardi, and Sir Celes. It had only been a few days, but I was happy to see them. I’d been so happy to see Miss Maria again after we were separated for so long before too, but I didn’t think just a few days would be so hard. My heart was thumping.
“Ed!” Miss Maria yelled the prince’s name loudly.
Hearing it, His Highness paused his conversation with the Commander and turned towards us. “Maria! And Lucia? What are you doing here?”
“Hey! We managed to slip away from our guard.”
“‘Slip away’...” Sir Agliardi seemed startled when Miss Maria reported that with a smile as bright as the blue sky above us.
“Just as free as usual, Maria.” The prince chuckled as he walked over to us. “But that’s what I like about you.”
While it had seemed as if Miss Maria and His Highness had been distant since we’d joined back up with the group, it might have been better to describe it as them building up a different kind of closeness. The way they smiled at each other didn’t look hostile. They might not have been as touchy as before, but you could tell they were still close.
While His Highness was smiling, Sir Agliardi had a grim look beside him. So did Sir Celes. What could have happened?
“What’s wrong?” I slowly walked up to Sir Celes, peering into his face. He seemed exhausted.
“Lucia...” His eyes briefly sparkled when he saw me, but his shoulders sagged again immediately after. Really, what’s wrong!?
Sir Celes put a hand on my shoulder and turned back to the prince with a determined look, and said, “Your Highness, I...”
“Celestino, I do feel bad for you, but the relationship between Banfield and Dal Canto is a bit delicate. Because they’ve got both a Cristallo Sacro and the Tower of Learning, we need to treat them a bit differently than other countries. You’d only be escorting her. It’s not like I’m telling you to get married. You’re not engaged or anything, are you?”
What are they talking about!? Escort? Marriage!? While I was reeling in confusion, Miss Maria was getting angry again. Her beautiful eyebrows formed a glare as she grabbed Prince Edoardo’s collar and pulled his face close.
“What’s happening, Ed!” she exclaimed. “Does this have something to do with that selfish princess!? You’re gonna sacrifice Celes for your country!?”
“Oh, no. We’re not sacrificing him.”
“Sounds a lot like it to me! I’ve been thinking about it, but what’s with the royals in this world!? Don’t you feel anything for the people you’re using for your own gains!? Edoardo, I’ve lost all faith in you this time!”
“Wait, Sacred Maiden! Your Highness, please, explain things to them, otherwise all three of them will keep having the wrong idea!” Sir Agliardi moved in to try to soothe Miss Maria’s rage, and gave the prince a light glare. “While I appreciate that you enjoy letting your true self loose with them, you could do to lose your hobby of teasing them with delicate matters such as these.”
“Oh, it’s just that Celestino is so indecisive. I just wanted to give him a little nudge in the right direction.” His Highness smiled and made a show of shrugging.
Sir Agliardi, who was old enough to be his father, scolded him, “I was about to tell you this earlier, but you must stop butting into others’ relationships just because you’re jealous. Please don’t tease my subordinate.”
Before, the prince had seemed so mature, but now... No, thinking any more would be disrespectful.
After sighing deeply with a hand to his forehead, Sir Agliardi straightened himself up. “Please, allow me to explain. Will that be alright, Your Highness?”
“Fernando, you’re so serious. I’m always keeping the serious Crown Prince act up, so can’t I let loose and have fun with the people I don’t have to act around? I was going to explain things eventually, and I’ve already refused it, anyway.”
“The problem is what part you’re playing around with. Celestino, as His Highness just said, we’ve already refused their request, so calm down. And to explain things to the Sacred Maiden and Lucia, we received a request from the Kingdom of Dal Canto for Celestino to be Princess Cecilia’s escort at the upcoming party. Prince Edoardo refused it, of course.”
Hearing the Commander’s explanation, Sir Celes leaned on me, exhausted, while Miss Maria opened her big eyes wider. Really, what was the King of Dal Canto thinking!
“Yep, I turned it down for my precious companions. But I needed a reason. They weren’t backing down after learning that he has a lover, so I told them you were engaged. Of course, King Herbert would know that our ‘Dragonslayer’ was supposed to be single, but you still weren’t making a move, so I thought I’d just give you a push in the right direction.”
“It’s really none of your concern, Your Highness. We’ll go at our own pace,” Sir Celes grumbled.
“It’s so nice how much freedom you two have!”