On a certain clear night at the Neville territory, the main residence of the ducal family was bubbling with activity, instead of the usual tranquility from the day-to-day affairs, a considerable number of carriages and people walked into the residence's main areas, with a focus in question to the dancing hall and in the wide back garden which was filled with tables and seats.
It was an event, after all, it was the date that the daughter and heir of the Neville Family, Lysette Neville would be turning 15, the age usually considered when someone finally becomes an adult.
Different from another relatively recent birthday event, that of the crown prince, Lysette could be seen greeting each arriving guest at the dancing hall, as they showed their business smiles at each guest, while gathering everyone's attention, after all, Lysette's dress, an elegant mix of red and black with many finely worked decorations, but just enough to not look excessive, which complemented her natural beauty and golden hair, in a way that could only be called... Breathtaking.
With a perfect appearance and etiquette befitting of someone of her class, everyone else in the dancing hall couldn't help but constantly glance at Lysette whenever they had a chance.
"Ara, It is my utmost pleasure to be receiving you two today, Lady Isabelle, and Sir Isak"
"The pleasure is ours, Lady Lysette"
"As Lady Isabelle said, it is our pleasure to be here, Lady Lysette"
"You can be a little less formal when referring to my Isak"
"I am sorry, but I still cannot feel comfortable while surrounded by nobles with positions higher than mine..."
"Goodness grief"
"Fufu, I am glad to see you two getting along well, when I heard the news that Sir Moray tried to object to your engagement, I was afraid something bad would happen"
"Do not worry, Lady Lysette. Isak was able to convince my father by knocking him out cold with a single punch"
"..."
Hearing that new information, Lysette couldn't help but look at Isak in silence, as he looked away while cold sweating.
"... ... ... I hope, your father is alright, Lady Isabelle"
"And I hope he becomes less annoying about my family's traditions"
"..."
"... I shall take my leave now, Lady Lysette. Follow me, Isak"
Isabelle noticed Lysette's smiling face with closed eyes, as a warning about her rather lax conduct. Quickly made a tactical retreat away from Lysette, while allowing for the next guest to greet Lysette.
"Good night, Lady Jade, Sir Aron. I am glad you two were able to come today"
"I am the one who is glad to be invited, Lady Lysette. And so is Sir Aron, is that not right, Dear?"
"... *Breaths in deeply*"
"... is something wrong with Sir Aron, Lady Jade?"
"No, there is not anything wrong, Lady Lysette. This is just Sir Aron being shy"
"... *Breaths in deeper and harder*"
"... Erm, are you sure about that, Lady Jade"
"Yes, I am. Also, I need to you, but Sir Aron last week kept on chasing a-"
Then before Jade could finish what she was saying, a hand was placed on top of her right shoulder, which belonged to none other than Aron.
"Oi!... You told me you wouldn't tell her about that!"
Hearing his clearly angry voice, caused Jade to show a big and amused smile as she turned to look at Aron.
"Fufu. Did I? It appears I forgot about it, dear"
Jade said that as she made a playful face towards Aron
"That's the worst excuse I-... ... ... Dangit!"
When Aron was about to say something else in an angry tone, he noticed Jade making an amused smile, that she only did whenever she won a bet against him. This caused him to remember the bet he had made with her earlier today.
"Ara ara, Sir Aron. It appears that I won again, I hope you will fulfill your end of the deal"
"... ... ... Yes... ... ... My love, kuh!..."
When Aron said those words, he felt a sharp pain in his chest by the extreme amount of embarrassment and cringing he felt from saying that to Jade.
"*Nods* Very well... Lady Lysette, if you excuse us, but we shall take our leave to not let the other guests wait any longer"
"... Yes, very well... Have a good evening, you two..."
Lysette could not help but feel a bit lost at the interaction of the two, but she also felt happy to see that her friend was getting along on her own with her fiancé. As she thought such, the next guest walked forward, who was also someone Lysette knew very well.
"Lady Lysette, it is an honor to be present here for your birthday"
"*Bows down* Good evening, Lady Lysette. And thank you for giving me the honor to accompany Milady here today"
"Mm *Nods* it is great to have you two here, Lady Rosemarie, Sir Jan"
"Lady Lysette, may I ask you how have you been lately?"
"Well... Let's just say that I found a new hobby of sorts, but beyond that, nothing much has changed" <... ... ... I can't say to her that I shared a bed with Edward-sama and that we kissed way too much!>
"Oh my, that is really interesting, I would like to hear more about it. But I, nor Sir Jan, shall keep the other guests waiting, so we shall take our leave now. See you later, Lady Lysette"
"Bows down* Have a good night, Lady Lysette"
Differently from the previous four, there wasn't anything particularly noticeable at their short exchange, outside of the fact that it was perfectly normal and short. And then the next two invitees finally walked forward as they showed quite a lot of nervousness.
"I am happy to see that you two were able to make it here today, Lady Sofia, Sir Moss"
"I-I-It's g-g-good t-too s-see y-you t-too, L-Lysette!"
"... *Nods and bows down repeatedly*"
"... ... ... If you two need to, you can leave and go ask one of our servants to guide you two to an empty room, so that both of you can calm down"
"T-T-Thank you, Lysette!"
"... *Desperately Nodding*"
"Ahaha..."
All that Lysette was able to do was dryly laugh with a troubled face at seeing her friend, and her fiancé, who both were too shy to talk in public and even more so in a position where they had to talk to the person getting all the attention to herself, even if by accident. And after they had both left, there was no one else to greet her, at least of the normal guests.
And Lysette was starting to feel a lot of anticipation at greeting the last guest, who was also the person she wanted to see the most.
"... ... ... Hm?"
But then, she felt that there was something more, one extra guest, so she turned to her father who had been standing next to her, and perfectly holding onto his laughter, for quite some time, and asked him in a whisper...
"Father, do we have another guest today?"
"... *Deeply breaths in*"
Having prepared himself to answer to answer his daughter, Hamilton, crouched just enough to whisper to Lysette's ear.
"Yes, we have, and I am sorry for doing this. But, at the request of the king, and for the sake of appearances, I allowed the crown prince to come here as a guest. So please, just bear with it just to greet him, and then you can go spend the rest of your special day with Little Edward as you want"
"... ... ... *Sigh* Yes, father"
With a dejected expression, Lysette sighed in frustration and from a sudden burst of exhaustion, as she waited for the unexpected guest to enter, which only took a few seconds to happen after she and her father whispered to each other.
*Double Door opening sound*
From behind the door, the striking image of Crown Prince Ludovic was revealed, his elegant handsomeness caused the entire hall to fall silent, as his expressionless face coupled with his extremely good looks made it impossible to not look at him, especially for most of the girls present.
With graceful and firm steps, Ludovic walked towards Lysette, until he got to a respectable distance from her.
"You Highness Ludovic, it is an honor to have you here today"
"... Likewise"
"... *Vein popping up*" <At least show some manners towards the host!>
Lysette even with her growing anger from just seeing the prince, was able to keep her complaints regarding his demeanor towards her inside her, and she was even able to show a perfect friendly poker smile, however, she accidentally showed a bit of her anger in her voice's tone, which contained a low but clear hostility towards the crown prince.
Without anything else to say, the two stood facing each other for a moment as they made fake smiles, which to everyone around then, made it appear as if they fitted each other perfectly. After all both Lysette and Ludovic had unrivaled beautiful appearances, and were considered geniuses amongst their peers. And now seeing the two smiling at each other like that, only made the rumors that the two have been recently engaged, after it was heard that the two had a private meeting during the crown prince's coming of age ceremony, sound even more likely of being real.
As the dancing hall had fallen into a deadly silence, the faint sounds of steps could be heard getting closer and closer from the direction of the door, and alongside those steps, there were also two faint voices talking to each other, one male and one female.
And then the owners of the steps and voices finally revealed themselves, as they arrived at the opened door while they went silent from seeing the dancing filled with the other guests of the party. And inadvertently, the two final guests couldn't help but become the center of attention for a moment, as the other guests looked at who had arrived, which was none other than Edward Harding wearing a presentable suit, as he carried a bouquet in his hands, while a black haired girl wearing a white dress stood closely behind him as she hid her face from view.
"...!"
Noticing and seeing the two finally making their appearance, caused Lysette to broadly smile in happiness, as she forgot and ignored the crown prince who was in front of her.
.
.
.
"..." <So many guests, just like the last time>
With a small smile, Edward felt a bit nostalgic at seeing the dancing hall of the Neville family filled to the brim with guests, as he couldn't forget the first time he had come there to attend Lysette's birthday, back when he was the one visiting Lysette as he worked hard to get along with her, which by now, had been an overwhelming success for better or for worse. After quickly reminiscing, he looked to his left and then behind him, where he saw Nanako nervously shrinking behind his back
"... Nanako, hold my left arm and make sure to watch where you step"
"... ... ... * Weakly Nods*"
And so, Nanako doing as Edward asked, she stopped hiding behind his back and went to his left side as she continued to do her best to hide as much of her face as possible from view by looking down. Seeing Nanako tightly hugging his arm, Edward stepped forward, immediately followed by Nanako stepping forward as well.
With calm and careful steps, the two slowly walked towards Lysette, and the closer they got to her the more guests started looking at them, or more specifically, at Nanako. Even as she did her best to not show her face, everyone's gaze was naturally attracted to her, her naturally beautiful and cute face as she blushed, her very aggressive dress design, and her long and lustrous black hair tied in a ponytail revealing the nape of her neck. All combined with a seemingly shy personality, made everyone interested in her for a variety of reasons.
"..."
Even the crown prince who had noticed the final guests walking towards Lysette could not help but also keep his eyes glued on Nanako, as he stepped to the side to make way for her and Edward to greet Lysette.
"Lysette-sama, I am really happy to be able to see you today and to show my sincerity I brought you this bouquet. Happy Birthday, Lysette-sama"
"... ... ... *Nods* Mm! Thank you, Edward-sama. I am also delighted to have you here today!"
When Lysette heard his voice and received the bouquet that she had asked from him, she felt stunned for a moment, she was feeling very anticipated of seeing Edward and had even prepared herself for any sweet words he might end up saying to her. But just hearing his honest words and tone, was enough to make Lysette forget all of the anger she had felt just seconds ago.
So with a truly happy smile, Lysette thanked Edward before looking at the shy Nanako with a gentle and happy smile.
"Nanako-san, it is also good to have you here today as well"
"... ... ... T-T-T-Thank you f-f-f-for h-h-h-having m-m-me t-t-t-t-t-today! A-And h-h-h-happy b-b-b-birthday, L-Lysette-sama!"
Nanako who felt that it would be rude of her to not properly answer back to Lysette, lifted her face and looked at Lysette, even though she knew it would make it possible for everyone else to see her face. But her wanting to properly greet and congratulate her friend was stronger, so with a trembling voice that showed how nervous Nanako was feeling from being in a very unfamiliar place and position, she did her best to greet Lysette.
"Fufu! Very good, Nanako-san. You did it very well"
"Ah! T-Thank you..."
Receiving Lysette's praise, Nanako's shyness returned as she averted her gaze by looking down again. But the damage was already done, due to her lifting her face, many of the noble guests were able to look at Nanako's beauty in full view, one that was even more beautiful than Lysette, causing all of them to freeze in place at seeing such a beautiful girl.
"..."
The crown prince was no different, he attentively kept looking at Nanako with a surprised face, her beauty was such that even he, could not resist. Ludovic felt his heart racing as he looked at Nanako, he wanted to talk to her, he wanted to know more about her, he wanted to get closer to her. The prince gulped down and stepped forward towards Nanako.
"Good night, my fair lady. But may I introduce myself to you?"
" " "!" " "
Lysette, Nanako, and Edward all showed surprised reactions to the prince attempting to talk with Nanako. Lysette, from seeing the prince acting properly, Nanako for having a noble talk to her this soon, and Edward... Well, mostly from surprise, but there was also a good hint of protectiveness.
"Ah!... E-Erm... H-Hm... *Bows down nervously and hides behind Edward*"
Nanako who didn't know how to respond to the noble in front of her, did as Lysette told her so, she bowed down and retreated behind Edward as she tightly grasped onto his clothes. Seeing her doing so, prompted Edward to take the reins of the conversation to avoid having a man, besides himself, approach Nanako.
"I am sorry for my fiancée's behavior just now, but she is a rather shy person. And as her engagement partner, I must ask you to talk to me in regards to anything related to her"
Using his position as Nanako's fiancé, Edward effectively cut away any excuse Ludovic could use to talk personally or privately with Nanako as he stood between the prince and Nanako.
"You are her fiancé?"
"That is right, so if you want to introduce yourself, you may do so to me"
"... ... ... Very well"
The prince showed a clear dissatisfaction with what Edward said, but wanting to avoid making a bad impression on Nanako by acting unreasonably, he agreed to what Edward said and began to introduce himself.
"I am Ludovic Callan, the firstborn and heir of my father, King Robert, it is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Edward, Lady Nanako"
"It is an honor for us to be able to meet you today, Your Highness"
Edward gave Ludovic a respectable, if standard, response, while he showed a perfect friendly smile without any signs of being forced or fake, after all, Edward now had way more things to worry about rather than the advantages of meeting the crown prince.
"..." <Huh?... ... ... HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHH!?!?!? HE'S THE CROWN PRINCE!? I JUST BOUGHT A FIGHT WITH THE GUY WHO'S GONNA BECOME THE NEXT KING!? PLEASE GO FIND SOMEONE ELSE BECAUSE I DON'T THINK MY STOMACH CAN HANDLE THIS!? JUST PLEASE, LOSE YOUR INTEREST IN NANAKO!?>
As Edward began screaming inside his mind, he could also feel his stomach feeling weird caused by the anxiety of facing the crown prince head-on.
"Then, Sir Edward. How about we go find a table so that I can ask you more about your fiancée?"
<You're not even trying to hide the fact that you want Nanako for yourself anymore, damnit!!> "... Hmm... Well, you see..."
"..."
Edward now knowing the true identity of the person who got fancied by Nanako, began to lose his bravado from earlier. After all, he was just the son of a count, and the person in front of him was the crown prince, and he didn't want to know what sort of thing could happen to him or his family if he ended up pissing off the crown prince. However, in his anxiety, Edward forgot another detail about himself, that was right next to him as well, and that was...
"... *Gently hugs Edward's right arm* Your Highness, unfortunately, Edward-sama and Nanako-san will be joining my table for tonight's celebration. And I am regretful to say that you will not be able to join our table, as it is reserved for our families"
The fact that he was Lysette's fiancée, the daughter of a duke, and a person who now held a grudge against the crown prince. So, she used this fact to get in the way of Ludovic and Nanako, as a form of revenge for his condescending demeanor towards her. The prince clearly noticed what Lysette did as an obvious intrusion in his attempt to get closer to Nanako, and so he tried to have her back away.
"... Lady Lysette, do you not know it is rude to intrude yourself into the conversations of other people"
"Hmm? *Confidently grins* Your Highness, as Edward-sama's fiancée, any business you have with him is also mine. And, I am telling you that Edward-sama will be busy accompanying me during the party"
"Huh? You are also... Sir Edward's fiancée?"
"*Nods* That is right"
"... *Looks at Edward*"
"It is true, Lysette-sama is my first fiancée, while Nanako is my second fiancée, with the explicit permission of Lysette-sama (And not to mention the fact that I was the last person to know about her becoming my second fiancée as well)"
"..."
"Your Highness, I should also mention to you that, attempting to seduce an engaged woman in front of her partner, is a very rude breach of etiquette. Now, if you may excuse us, we shall take our leave. Father, if you will excuse me"
"Of course, and I shall take my leave as well"
When Ludovic realized the implication of Edward's position, he was left stunned, and seeing that he was unable to react, Lysette took that opportunity to flee that spot alongside Edward and Nanako as she pulled them to the table reserved for them, while not forgetting to be respectful to her father as well.
"Thank you for saving me there, Lysette-sama"
"It was nothing, Edward-sama. (And you also helped me get back that guy)"
"Did you say something?"
"No, I did not"
With a refreshed smile, Lysette continued to hug Edward's arm, as she also continued to hold the bouquet with her free arm, Nanako in a fit of jealousy went back to hugging Edward's arm as well, as she continued to do her best to ignore all the stares she was receiving. As for the prince on the other hand...
"..."
After snapping back to his senses, Ludovic looked at Nanako's back which was getting farther and farther from him, gifted since birth with a great intellect, wisdom, looks, and position, Ludovic was always able to get whatever he wanted. Be it by his unmatched genius, or his position, he was always surrounded by nobles, be it adults or children, all who wore masks as they tried to approach him.
Even Lysette Neville, who did little to approach him, did so while wearing a mask, as she hid her second intentions, but that black-haired girl, was different. As other noble girls attempted to feign uninterested in him, Nanako didn't even know who he was, were others wore masks, but Nanako had none, her reactions and expressions were her real thoughts and feelings, and her beauty, unblemished by heavy makeup had a natural charm, that the prince couldn't do anything but be ensnared by it.
But when he tried to approach her, he was denied so by a boy, who proclaimed to be her fiancé, and when the prince tried to covertly pressure the boy to step aside, Lysette, a savvy duke's daughter that he knew his father tried to engage him with, also stepped in his way towards Nanako. Only for it to be revealed to him, that the boy that got in the way of his first love, was also her fiancé.
The prince couldn't accept this, whenever he wanted something, he always got it, and now he wanted Nanako.
(A/N Notes: If you want to read up to 4 or 5 chapters ahead, go check my Patreon for early access and other stuff.
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