"I, Jennie Ruby Jane of House Asteria, pledge my loyalty to his royal highness, Taehyung Ares Delrico, The Crown Prince of the Valorian Empire.
"How far does your loyalty lie, Princess Jane?" He stalked towards her, unrelenting even as her back co...
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The grand ballroom of the Valorian palace shimmered under the light of a thousand crystals, each gleam reflecting the undercurrents of power and persuasion that filled the air.
Jennie moved through the crowd with the grace of a seasoned diplomat, the layers of her delicate gown whispering against the marble floor.
Despite her usual place at Crown Prince Delrico's side, tonight she navigated the ballroom alone, her presence commanding yet approachable.
"There she is." Jungkook nodded over as she approached her friends, taking a flute of much appreciated champagne Jin had extended to her.
"Could they have not waited another week for this? The border conflict is more important than babying some prince for showing up late in the game." Jennie mumbled as she took a large sip of the champagne.
"Have you forgotten that this is the imperial family? They throw a banquet for everything. It would've been called unfair tactics and biased positioning if the returning prince didn't get a welcome ball." Jungkook pointed out, eyes trained on the said prince at the middle of the ballroom.
"I suppose." Jennie pursed her lips, taking a mental note of the noble family chatting up to the prince right then, before her eyes trained on Taehyung just behind him, in his own conversation with a royal family of one of their western kingdoms.
She pulled her eyes away before her staring would've been too obvious, refocusing her attention on her friends instead.
"I'm glad we're past what happened in the council." Jisoo spoke up for the first time since Jennie's arrival.
Jennie only nodded, smiling at her slightly as she spoke,"It was your father's decision, I couldn't blame you. Besides, you ended up joining our side anyways, so we're all on the same team now."
"Well all except..." Jungkook's voice trailed off as he eyed his friend, who was blissfully trying to ignore the conversation but failed miserably as the two girls had also joined Jungkook in wearing him down.
"Father thinks that after I marry into Novak and Jisoo ascends the Duchess role, I would convince her to turn Novak onto Prince Leonard's side. he obviously doesn't realize I have no plans on doing that." Jin explained as the three nodded, seemingly satisfied by the answer.
"Where did your father even hide the prince?" Jisoo questioned as Jin shrugged, also unaware of the answer.
"He seems like the type of man to have a thing for torture. I wouldn't be past assuming he had a hidden dungeon in his study." He joked, knowing that his words weren't actually being taken as an honest account of Prince Leonard's hide out.
"I heard a rumour that it was in a foreign country. Not too hard to believe as with all the acquisitions immigration control is quite loose these days." Jungkook informed the group, who themselves could not refute the empire's lack of border security for incoming and exiting citizens.
