5 Princes and I: The Royal Wedding

Chapter 6 Dress Fitting

"Bye, Nora. See you again next week." I waved goodbye to the little elf princess before I rode the carriage. Nora, Ace's little sister, was riding on Custard's back. She made a pout when her Prince Eltur carried her off of his so Custard could ride the carriage along with us.

"That's enough, Nora. They have to go back to Gija since they're going to do their dress fitting." Eltur carefully explained to her.

Nora was already around eight years old, but she still tends to act a little childish since Ace spoiled her too much. "Can't I come? I promise that I won't bother them too much. I want to play with Custard." I did not miss the part when Custard stiffened at Nora's words because he immediately felt a certain gaze targeting his back.

"It's not about you being a bother, but you might become more of a distraction to Ace." Darem appeared beside Eltur and Nora with a massive grin. "You see, our baby brother is a simp for cute little-"

"If you finish that sentence, you might lose your tongue." Ace cut him off. He was waiting by the door of the carriage and glowered at Darem. If Viex wasn't sleeping and wrapped himself around Ace, he might have appeared more menacing. Ace returned his gaze to Nora and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, little sister. When we're done, I will send a letter to allow you to stay in Gija for as long as you want. And then, I will make sure do have time for you. How does that sound?"

Nora beamed. Before turning to me, her eyes went to Custard, who let out a joyous bark. I smiled and nodded at her encouragingly. Nora returned her gaze to Ace after that. "Alright! I am looking forward to your letter. I can't wait to play with Custard."

"...Right." Ace's smile suddenly turned into a tight grin as he forced the words out.

Having fixed that dilemma with Nora, Ace rode the carriage with me. Soon, we were on our way back to Gija.

'M-Master.' I heard the nervousness from Custard's thoughts. I noticed that he jumped onto the seat beside me and shook in fear. 'Master Ace is looking at me weirdly.'

Out of curiosity, I turned my head to Ace only to find him glowering at Custard.

"Excuse me, but why are you looking at my familiar like you want to kill him?" I made sure that my eyes were telling him that I did not approve of his behavior towards Custard. He was already getting buddy-buddy with Viex, but he still seems a little too uptight when it comes to Custard. Probably because Nora favors Custard too much.

"Nora wants to come with us because of him." Ace blurted out without hesitation and pointed at Custard with a grim face. It was quite impressive for an elf to scare a grown wolf like Custard. A simple look from him managed to drive Custard back and made him bury his face at my back.

"Ace!" I chastised him as my hands flew to comfort my familiar. "Can you not focus on that right now? May I remind you that you haven't picked your best man yet." I subtly changed the subject so Ace would no longer glower at Custard.

Ace sat back and crossed his arms. He managed to avert his gaze from Custard and look out through the window at my question. I knew that it was a topic that he did not wish to discuss as he hadn't fully made up his mind yet. " Do I really have to make a choice?" He mumbled. "I can't decide between my brothers." When I thought that he has a soft side to Eltur and Darem, he added, "None of them are fitting. They're both annoying as shit."

I sighed, "You know, you can choose whoever you want as your best man. They don't have to be a family member."

Ace cast me a side glance. "Are you suggesting that I'll pick one of the princes?"