<Karma>
I remember not long ago that I insisted to Nagisa that we should arrange for our families to meet over a nice meal. Of course, he didn't reject the idea this time around because of good amount of time we had on our hands.
It was around five in the evening where we were getting ready for my families to arrive at the palace. Nagisa and I were in my room getting dressing up for the occasion.
"I'm quite nervous and I'm not sure why." Nagisa said as we were being helped dressed by the maids at the palace. They fixed his white collar while someone worked on his hair. Every now and then he would look over with an expression I found quite humorous which he did not like.
However, it was the same for me as we had to stand frozen, not moving a single inch.
"I think this will be quite interesting." I commented, "my little daisy will be joining us. Did you know that on the weekend, she went sailing with that blond brat."
"You shouldn't bully kids." Nagisa sighed, "I think they're a cute match. Yuriko seems to be fond of him, so ease up."
"That's quite impossible. It's hard to explain but my little sister is very precious to me and she's a female. Girls these days are vulnerable and I don't want her to get hurt. Fortunately he won't attending the dinner."
"If this goes on even after her marriage vows, she will surely stop speaking to you altogether." Nagisa lightly chuckled, "Yuriko is an intelligent young lady and witnessing it for the first time during the Noble Council meeting was amazing."
"She's quite something isn't she? We'll have to tease her tonight." I joked. "On another note, Yuriko is actually interested in meeting your father."
"Is she now?" Nagisa raised a brow, "Then this is a good opportunity regardless."
"She just probably wants to meet the father of her first crush, that's all." I whistled over and even the maids that were helping us quietly giggled to themselves.
"Karma, you surely have no limits." Nagisa rolled his eyes, "don't mind him, he seems to not have any spec of shame." He spoke to the two maids.
"My King, the way you speak of your sister, I can tell that you cherish her deeply. I wish my older brother was as caring and genuine." The maid that was buttoning the cuffs of my sleeves spoke.
I smiled at her sincerely and when she caught sight of it, her face immediately turned bright apple red. As she did not move a muscle, I waved my hand in front of her.
"Um, are you alright?" I leaned in a bit and she finally reacted. And It looked like she was holding in breath during that time because she was gasping for air all of a sudden.
"My apologies!" She hung over in embarrassment, "I should leave." And right after that, she left the room.
The second maid bowed her head as if she didn't see what just happened because Nagisa was even holding in the laughter on his part.
"You're both all set. Enjoy this evenings dinner." And then she left herself.
"Charming all the ladies." Nagisa patted my shoulder and headed towards the door. "Let's go Karma."
••••••
On our way to the dining hall and escorted by Karasuma, the three of us approached Dame Hayami and Sir Horibe who were walking in our direction.
"Good evening."
They both greeted us with a slight head nod forward and we acknowledged them back.
"We're glad that the both of you arrived safely back." Nagisa said to them, "we've also received the letters from Scienion. The final preparations will be dealt with soon."
"Indeed." Dame Hayami lightly spoke, "Sir Horibe and I did the best we could with their military filtration. With the help from the experienced knights of our own, they were able to handpick a good solid thirty-five to sail home with us. They are in the Red Halls as we speak."
Sir Horibe glanced over at Karasuma,
"it would be wise to go easy on them. Some are still sensitive to what happened in Scienion."
"I'll remember that." Karasuma replied, "I suppose the unit that stayed behind in Scienion had no complaints of staying a little longer?"
"There are possibilities, but none were voiced. We'll await for further news and decide from there." Dame Hayami spoke, "and if I may ask, where is Lady Kaede at the moment?"
Nagisa and I glanced at each other. With a shoulder shrug on our parts, we wondered why she was so fixated on Kaede.
"She recently came back with her unit that was training at Sage Hill. She should be in the Red Halls as we speak." Karasuma replied.
"Splendid. Then I shall be on my way." Dame Hayami bowed her head and walked off first and Sir Horibe stayed behind.
"You may be wondering why she's been interested in the Lady." Sir Horibe brought up, "I even had to ask her myself."
"Surely there's only one obvious reason." Karasuma said as he started walking again and glanced back at us to follow.
"Maybe for you. Though, not all of us can deduct such patterns in her behavior so easily." Sir Horibe glanced at Nagisa and I. He gleamed then tipped his head, "enjoy the rest of your night."
As we continued to walk towards the dining hall, I tilted my head and stared up at the ceiling to collect my thoughts and ideas. Could there actually be another and more significant meaning behind Dame Hayami's interest in Kaede? I peered over and notice that Nagisa had a blank expression as well.
"We still have much to learn don't we?" Nagisa lightly chuckled, "even though it feels like we've been staying at the palace for quite some time, we still haven't understood the structure of the palace and every little detail. Something like a mere behavior from Dame Hayami is recognizable to you Karasuma but not for us."
"Then again, Karasuma has more experience." I pointed out, "surely we'll be able to develop those skill sets gradually. Though, it would be nice to know about why Dame Hayami has grown attached to Kaede." I nudged.
"Are you asking me as the King?" Karasuma turned around and stopped in his tracks.
"Is it something that's personal and cannot be shared easily?" I inquired.
Karasuma shook his head, "no it is not. But I think it will be a good surprise when the times comes. That is why I haven't said anything up until this point. Even Sir Horibe didn't explain it when he had the opportunity."
"Secrets, I see." I crossed my arms, "then I guess we'll wait unless we figure it out before then." I patted Nagisa's back and he nodded his head.
"Even if the both of figure it out, only one person cannot know of it." While Karasuma spoke, I managed to see a fading grin on the side of his face. A rare sight!
Finally at the door of the dining hall, we could hear chattering on the other side. The two palace guards standing on either side of the large doors greeted us.
"It is good that the both of you are able to relax before the coronation. Please take advantage of it before you are literally chained down to this kingdom, it will be more demanding than ever from that point on." He cautioned us.
"What a stressful warning that was. Right before our dinner too." I sighed and placed my hand on my hip, "anything else?" I teased.
Nagisa frowned and latched onto my arm. He started pulling me towards the door.
"Thank you Karasuma for escorting us. We'll take your words into consideration." Nagisa smiled and motioned his hand for the guards to open the door.
As the both of us stepped into the hall, I glanced back once more at Karasuma. His head lowered and faced the ground as he was bowing one last time.
Then the doors closed.