"I, Jennie Ruby Jane of House Asteria, pledge my loyalty to his royal highness, Taehyung Ares Delrico, The Crown Prince of the Valorian Empire.
"How far does your loyalty lie, Princess Jane?" He stalked towards her, unrelenting even as her back co...
"Out of your element? Believe me, all I've heard for the last few weeks is how annoyingly good you are at your job. I was supposed to bargain for higher tax rates on the Dukedom, yet somehow you managed to mitigate that as well." He recalled as Jennie chuckled, knowing her rather cold-hearted political attitude had caught up with her.
"Annoyingly good only comes with exhausting decisions. You'd know better than anyone, Your royal highness." She smiled, as he tsked.
"I told you to drop that." He glanced at her as she nodded.
"Right, sorry. Old habits die hard." She shrugged.
"Why are you so insistent on me breaking one of our longest standing royal disciplines?" She questioned after a minute as he reached out to toy with the hourglass on the library's desk.
"Because I want at least one person I don't have to pretend with." He replied, rather earnestly as Jennie froze a moment, her eyes lingering on his somewhat somber face.
"I hope my insistence on using our first names didn't make you uncomfortable." He added a moment later, finally raising his gaze to her's once more.
Jennie met his gaze, her expression thoughtful. "No, it didn't. It was unexpected, but... it reminded me of simpler times. I think we could all use a bit of that these days."
"I'm glad. I just wanted to ensure there's no awkwardness between us. We have to work closely, after all." Taehyung nodded, a sense of relief washing over him.
"Agreed. And, Taehyung?" Jennie added, her voice softer. "Thank you. For treating me as an equal, not just as a duchess or a general, but as Jennie."
"And thank you, Jennie, for seeing me as Taehyung, not just the Crown Prince." Taehyung's smiled a bit at her words, a warmth spreading through him that he hadn't felt in a long time.
Their conversation flowed naturally from there, a comfortable silence settling between them as they both returned to their respective tasks.
Taehyung watched Jennie from across the table, her focus unwavering as she analyzed the maps and reports spread out in front of her.
As the clock ticked away, Jennie finally closed her folder, signaling she had finished her work for the night.
She looked up, meeting Taehyung's gaze, a slight exhaustion visible in her eyes.
"I think that's enough for tonight," Jennie said, stretching her arms above her head, trying to relieve some of the tension that had built up over the hours of meticulous planning.
Taehyung nodded, standing up as well. "I should probably head back too. These documents won't sign themselves, unfortunately."
They both laughed, the sound echoing softly in the library, a brief respite from the weight of their roles.
Eventually, they parted ways, Taehyung back to his chambers to face the pile of documents awaiting his attention, and Jennie to finalize her defense plans.
But as they left the library, both felt a lightness in their steps, a sense that, despite the challenges ahead, they had found an ally in each other—an unexpected, but welcome, development in their unusually close newfound relationship.
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