Atropa Belladonna

~~~二~~~

"Indeed there is," the noiret said as he stood next to the female and gave a proper salute to the royal that stood before him.

"Greetings, Your Highness, I am Chen Yulan of Tashya," he introduced with a smirk, causing the prince's eyes to widen as he took in a sharp breath.

"Oh my fucking god, you're the Second Prince of Tashya," the nineteen-year-old muttered as she raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, "Of course you are."

Shooting each other a look, the engaged couple both faced the third individual and gave their own salutes in return.

"Bai Diān Qié greets Second Prince Chen Yulan," the female spoke, the taller male remaining silent through his salute as he remained wary of the foreigner.

"Diān Qié, there's no need to be so formal," the newly revealed prince chuckled as the pair eased back into their normal posture, "Just call me by my name."

"No need to call me by anything fancy," he continued with a chuckle before gesturing to her pendant, "You're wearing my Spirit Jade and we already gambled together, we're friends now."

"Your Highness, you said that you were just meeting with the envoy to bring him back to the capital, right?" the ravenette questioned earning a nod from her fiancé, "We should probably get going then."

"Alright, I'll meet you both at the city gates in half an hour," Yulan said as he walked to the the broken door, "I need to gather my things first."

"Do all people from Tanshya act like that?" Diān Qié questioned as she rode atop her horse next to Long Zhang, "He's quite childish for a prince, wouldn't you say?"

The male only gave a short hum in response, not even looking at his companion which pulled a sigh from her.

"Are you upset about what just happened?" she questioned, noticing that his usually neutral expression was a touch harder than normal, "I admit that it was a bit irresponsible of me to play along with it, but he didn't intend to harm anyone."

"You're engaged," the prince interjected while turning to face her, effectively silencing the female in black before she could continue to explain herself.

"Huh? What does that have to- Hey! Your Highness, wait!" she called as the male suddenly urged his horse to go faster, leaving her to shake her head with a sigh.

'That nut,' the younger female sighed as she had her steed continued its leisurely pace, 'He knows that I won't break this engagement unless he decides to... or if he kills someone in my clan, so there's no need to get defensive.'

When the Second Prince of Tashya arrived on his horse, he was followed by four others dressed in silver armor and purple robes.

'Royal Guard,' the assassin guessed from the way they held themselves, polar opposite to the one they protected who excitedly rode up to her right with the prince in white to her left, 'I'm suddenly glad Lǎohǔ and Kōngtóu didn't come with us on this one... They would definitely be trying to mess with them the entire time.'

"Diān Qié, you really do look like a fairy of death," the noiret mused, earning a raised brow from the female, "Even your horse is black."

"I mean it would make sense," she replied with a shrug, "I do take the lives of others for a living. I have been since I was... eight, I think?"

"You were that young when you got into the business?" he replied with a whistle before turning back to face her, "What's your body count, then?"

"These questions are inappropriate," Zhang huffed as he kept his head forward, giving a glare to the other male out of the corner of his eyes.