Wayward [The Princess' jewellery box]

[VIII] Can you dance?

A few days passed, and normalcy seemed to be present more than ever. It's something that they didn't believe to be real, indeed, in those few days, nothing happened; not even the smallest incidents. And, Lucetta looked like she was waltzing with the snoopy souls that couldn't keep their curiosity to themselves; so after the single mention of those trinkets, the seemingly serene cauldron had begun to boil so much that its contents started overflowing.

But, Lucetta wouldn't be one of the emperor's prized confidants, if she just served his secrets on a silver plate, would she? Therefore, being the fox (literally and figuratively) she is, she only gave some vague answers making them run around like headless chickens, as it was quite entertaining to see.

Though, she didn't appreciate much that they were bothering her like some buzzing flies waiting to devour every little pieces of information, she is willing to give them. Up, until now, only the emperor and herself, know what those 'trinkets' are. That's because, the former is the one that asked her to retrieve them, and the latter had complied with his request.

The sole moment she could have loosened up was once again interrupted, and they were getting on her nerves.

"Captain—" One of the two knights who came to her urgently, with grave expressions, stepped forward and whispered something into her ear.

Listening to what the Knight wanted to say, Lucetta frowned, not liking the situation in the slightest. "It can't be avoided. Do, bring him here." She ordered and then sighed, which brought the other's attention to her. "My little moon, my apologies. It seems that our tea party is being cut short, because of some issues." She smiled apologetically.

A look that, they have never seen on her face. Why did she look sorry? It wasn't her fault that something happened, so why did she apologise? They knew that she was selfless, but not to that extent. Sometimes, it was frustrating for them, because they knew that she wouldn't change, even if they did point it out.

"There is no need to apologise, ma chérie. If anything, the one who is responsible for the issue should apologise in your stead!" Raymond exclaimed, huffing, and a little mad that their moment together, was interrupted. To which, the other agreed silently.

Lucetta smiled grateful, and then used her magic, to change her current clothes into, the formal garb, she wore when she had returned, to the empire's Palace. Attached to her thin waist, her two swords: one is purely decorative, while the other, could actually be used on the battlefield, as it was made from an extremely rare stone. Mana stone.

It sounds strange, but knowing that mana stone is extracted from a mage's condensed power, it makes it hard to collect and then forged; because at any moment, all that condensed power, could explode if not manipulated correctly.

After a few minutes, the two knights came back with a man full of himself, who was wearing inadequate clothes for someone who wishes to be part of the 'Gladiolus knights'.

At the first sight, the man has slicked back blond hair and brown eyes. Although, he wasn't too ugly, he wasn't handsome either; even more so, compared to Ariana's jewels.

He is wearing clothes that, follow the empire's current trend, but highly uncomfortable for a knight, so it wasn't hard to guess that the said man had never set his foot on a battlefield or even training ground. Because, restrictive clothes are quickly proved to be a weight in the fire of the action, be it trendy or not; someone who wanted to commit fully in the squadron, should have at least the decency to dress accordingly to the training received before admission. Him, showing up like this, showed that he was not ready at all.

Also, using the mana concentrated in her eyes, she saw that the flow of the man's magic is not fluid enough, showing that he did not attempt refining it (meaning the lack of training). It looked too raw, which is dangerous as, it was a proof that he had no control over it; in the worst case, it could cause a mana explosion, dragging in others.

Looking at him, only disappointment had showed up, on her face. And, her companions were not, in the least, impressed: one, is a Duke who had brought victory to Arbelzea empire, after a war. Some, are either general or commander, of their birth countries' military forces. The princess, herself, is extremely skilled; enough to be considered, as one, of the best. The other two, although, not being known for their strength but for their intelligence, knew enough to see that the man wasn't worthy to work under the command of their second female lover.

"My lady, this is the man." One of the knights stated blankly, before going away with the other. He felt disappointed to see such a man, wanting to join their ranks.

"So— Here is he." She said under breath. "So, who are you?" She asked straightforwardly.

"I'm viscount Lenox—" Before, he could continue, he was cut off by Lucetta, who had an irked expression on her face. Who would introduce himself with his title, and by his name? Of course, she already knew who he was, but she wanted to see if he was a 'puppet'.

That simple introduction had confirmed that, the man in front of her, is indeed a puppet who flaunts without thinking, his title like is it the sole way to identify him. It has always managed to irk her to see that people still think that without a title, they are nothing: a clear insult toward those who posses much less but work harder than anyone.

"I do not care if, you are the son of a baron, viscount or even a Duke. The tittle does not define the person, but you still had the audacity to address yourself to me, by your tittle." She bluntly stated, before continuing. "You brandish your tittle like you would with a sword— But, the difference is that, on the battlefield, no one care about such a thing. No one. Not your enemies, opponents, beast, much less your companions— Do you still want to join the 'Gladiolus Knights'?"

After hearing her statement, the man seemed to be profoundly vexed and outraged, because he never thought that someone, would ever look down on him, as he genuinely thought that his tittle was his shield. Uncapable of bearing with such humiliation, he stormed out, without thinking twice.

He didn't even notice the Princess and her entourage, who looked amused.

Lucetta sighed, before changing, once more, her clothes and trudged with grace toward her previous seat. Though, she was feeling sleepy, so she decided to settle on Neil's lap and, sleep for a short while.

"Mm— Sorry Neil, just let me sleep for a moment, alright?" She mumbled softly, into Neil's neck, making him blush softly.

When, he felt that she was asleep, his gaze softened and, put his arms around her waist to ensure that, she would not fall down. It was also a way for him, to show his possessiveness toward the sleeping woman.

The two of them were not nearly as affectionate as the princess with the other, but when they were alone, they did felt comfort and the sparkle of love starting to become stronger. So much that having a nap together, in their beast forms, was but an occurrence of every day in their lives.

Time to time, the jewels along the princess, could witness Neil in his wolf form sleeping and curled around, the snow fox that they long identified to be Lucetta, deeply sank in Neil's black fur.

Other time, they could see the two, in their beast forms, rubbing their snots together. Well— In their human forms, it would be more akin a kiss, but they didn't know that. That's why they thought that, it was cute.