The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

The Storm Part 2

I suppose it never occurred to me that all my friends wouldn't necessarily know one another. It came off quite an odd sight, in fact, to see both sides almost glowering or simpering in some sort of weird mixture of emotions.

On one hand, the prince stood by with his now healthier complexion, his brown eyes squinted as he stared at the boys beside me. The other team with the Montauk prince and the red commoner appeared quite distraught, their eyes flitting away everywhere but where the prince of Luna stood. However, I observed their proud posture as they kept close to my sides, sandwiching me between them.

'What were they doing?' I thought with mild interest and annoyance.

I coughed, promptly ending the short bout of awkwardness and weird tension. "So I see you haven't met yet. Let me introduce you-"

"No need," Charles held up his gloved hand. "I am already aware of their names, student standings, and backgrounds."

I glared at him. "Well, sorry, Charles. But they don't seem to know you yet."

He froze for a while, and then like the passing of spring came over, his eyes melted down into its usual warmth, and his usual smile returned to his face. "Sorry. I came off as rude."

"Good that you know," I retorted, to which Joren gasped at silently. Ignoring him, I continued on, "Charles, Crown Prince of Mond Empire, meet my dear friends, Joren of Kingdom Saule, and Second Prince Albert of Kingdom Montauk."

"Best friends, if I may add," Joren mumbled, although his eyes didn't quite meet Charle's.

"Of course," Charles said amiably. "I've heard a lot about you from Therion here. It's nice to finally meet you."

Joren blanched in shock. "Th-Therion? Did he just call you Therion?"

I giggled at his childish jealousy. Turning towards the high prince, I explained, "Joren here thinks he's the only one allowed to call me by that nickname."

"Oh," Charles mumbled. "Did I call you that first?"

"Sadly, nope," I replied with an easy smile. "You lost in that regard. I met Joren first, and he gave me that nickname first."

Although, of course, they shouldn't know that I met Charles first if I were to be completely honest. Regardless, I still found myself amused to see their jealous faces. Having not had this many friends before (or at all), I found this scene oddly comforting. There were now people who I could be myself with, whose stares I wouldn't need to be wary of.

Then, I saw a peculiar sight. Joren was blushing mellowly, a lovely pink tinge on his already rosy cheeks. He played around with his fingers as he mumbled softly, "But I suppose Prince Charles could call you by that too. I'll allow it if it's the high prince."

I almost laughed. I wasn't aware the kid already knew which legs to hug onto. Charles didn't seem to view the other boy's actions as weird, though, and he only nodded his thanks...

Sighing, I looked around us again. A group of four might be enough for some tests, but might be too little for others. There were always advantages in bigger numbers. Besides, if we would have a surplus of members, we could just split ourselves down to match the test requirements. So, I kept looking around us for more familiar faces.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find Zepherin anywhere. In fact, all the other Sinus Fidei Maximus didn't seem to be around. Well, except for Charles, of course, but the others definitely weren't here.

When I was about to give up my search, I finally saw a familiar pair of pigtails. "Kendra!" I shouted, making the smaller girl bounce.

She saw me waving at her, and she immediately came over, although she did so with slow movements.