Sariel: Considering the gravity of our secret, and the possibility they knew of it, your lives may have been in danger if our answer had displeased him. The situation was, in fact, quite dire.
Veronica: ...I can't believe you're only telling me this now.
Sariel: But by claiming he was engaged to you, Prince Nokto overrode all their suspicions with one single, neatly-packaged story. And as a bonus, he even used the story to improve trade relations with the merchant. Which improves our alliance in the long run. It doesn't matter if the merchant doesn't fully believe it-it's an auspicious occasion for a member of the royal family, so he won't follow it up any further. Questioning the veracity of such an occasion is the quickest way to sour the relationship between two countries. Prince Nokto knew that, and that's why he played the card he did... the card where you're his fiancee. It's quite likely they're still a bit dubious, but it was the perfect play to force them back off, and get us out of a very precarious situation.
(I was so busy being mad at Nokto for tricking me that it never occurred to me how clever his plan was, but if you're praising him so highly...)
Veronica: Well, I still would've liked a bit of advance warning...
Sariel studied my expression for a moment, and then his lips twisted upwards in sudden amusement.
Sariel: In order to deceive your enemies, you must first deceive your allies. If you were this stunned, then it stands to reason that they were even more stunned. He truly is a shrewd young man.
In the end, I left Sariel's office with more questions that I'd had when I'd arrived.
***
Meanwhile, a certain shrewd young man was making his way through another part of the palace.
Rio: Waaaah, Prince Nokto, look out!!
Nokto: Hmm?
Nokto turned around, just in time to see silverware cascading noisily from the tray in Rio's hand onto the floor at Nokto's feet.
Rio: I'm so sorry! I'll tidy it up right away!
Nokto watched in silence for a moment as Rio crouched down and began to pick up the mess he'd made. But to his eyes, Belle's faithful pet seemed far too calm for it to have been an accident.
Nokto: What is it? Did you want to talk to me about something? Because that reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about something, too.
There was amusement in his crimson gaze, and as Rio glanced up, his sky-blue eyes seemed to light up in the same way.
Rio: Oh? I guess we're in sycn, then!
YOU ARE READING
Beauty and her Beast (Nokto)
Genel KurguYou've been selected as "Belle" to choose the next king out of the eight princes. If that wasn't hard enough, the princes turn out to be hot...and deadly. In a world of war and intrigue, will you be able to save his heart and yours as you enter your...
