"There is no need for you to make sense of them," Rhys muttered. "The one you love is Kazuya, that has not changed.""Alright," Lyn nodded. "But if I were to choose you over Kazuya, would you reject me?"
Huh? Choose him over Kazuya? Rhys never thought of that possibility before. After all, Rhys saw it with his own eyes, how perfect they are together. Is she serious? Or is she messing with him? No, Lyn wouldn"t joke about this. Rhys looked at her indeed to confirm her thoughts; she wore a determined expression.
"Then, I would accept you. But keep in mind I won"t take you if you"re using me only because you"re lonely. Kazuya is always wandering off, and I spend more time with you. I don"t want you to blame him for leaving him and fall for me over a superficial reason."
Lyn sighed, "I do get that. I admit I am lonely, and your presence comforts me. But Rhys, you can"t blame me."
Rhys cupped her cheeks, "I won"t blame you, Lyn. Why don"t we go to town today? I"ll take you on a date."
It was late - but still early enough for a stroll around town.
"You"re really brave, but okay. I do want to check some things out in town. Let me get ready first."
Rhys nodded and squeezed her hands; he watched as she cheerfully went away. Well, that succeeded. He wanted to take her out for a while now, but Rhys didn"t think she would agree. Still, if Lyn knew this would be the last time for her to walk around the town freely, he wondered what she would say. After this, Queen Orthez will most likely tighten the security around her. She may even personally a.s.sign the first Prince to watch over. When that happens, Lyn"s freedom will vanish completely.
That smile, while she be able to smile from now on? Rhys pulled out his lighter and smoked when he felt a familiar presence behind him. "Finally, snapped out of your crazed state, Reiji?"
Reiji sighed, "Don"t make it sound like it was my fault. That crazy first Princess did something weird to my food."
"You"re a fool to have met with her."
"It"s called orders from the King, doofus."
"And so?"
"Tomorrow morning," Reiji muttered, "That"s when the Stone Kingdom will raise the flag and beam."
"War already, huh, and I guess Princess Lethia is the one who showed them in."
"Indeed, going to warn her?"
"I"ll keep her safe; you guys should return to the Snow Kingdom. Don"t get involved in this internal conflict. Convince your King not to intervene."
Reiji nodded, "I understand, but what will the Sound Kingdom do?"
"For us over here, it"s Kazuya"s call. Unless we receive other orders, we will continue playing along. An attack on the Mist Kingdom is good for us, but at the same time, it isn"t."
The stone Kingdom won"t heed to their demands at all. The ones who need to bring down the Mist Kingdom is the Sound Kingdom. They can"t have anybody disrupt their plans. "For now, we will alley with Queen Orthez. However, only temporarily."
"I understand, then we shall do the same in secret."
...
Mist Kingdom Central Town
Rhy"s gaze fell on the girl who was happily looking at the market stalls. Coincidentally today, there was a festival on. "Hey, quit wandering around, you will get lost."
There were more people than he expected, it"s quite worrying, actually. Later on, those soldiers hiding away in the mountains will charge right into town. Rhys planned to get Lyn back to the palace then. But, with this many people. He wondered if he could bring her back before then. Should he not have brought her out? However, this really will be the last time for a while before the dangers happen.
Lyn turned around and pouted, "But, this is the first time I"ve seen so many people from different Kingdoms."
Huh? Different Kingdoms? Rhys looked around and indeed noticed Lyn was right. Many people wearing different styled robes set up random stands along with the usual ones. Rhys frowned, "Is this normal?" Sure the Mist Kingdom allows other people from other places. But, to allow them to sell merchandise - usually, there"s a long process for that.
Maybe he is overthinking things. "Then, at least hold my hand."
Lyn glanced down at his hands, curiously.
"Relax, I can"t attack you if you have one hand occupied."
She turned red and exclaimed, "I didn"t say that!"
Geez, this girl, she is something. Rhys grabbed hold of her hand, and Lyn nervously tried to drawback. But eventually, he felt her palms relax in his. "Such a stubborn woman." Honestly, sometimes Rhys wondered why he even bothered dealing with somebody like her.
"By the way, Rhys, do you need anything?"
"Anything?"
"I want to get you a gift," Lyn admitted. "I mean you already gave me that lipstick, I feel bad I haven"t gotten you anything."
Right, he gave her that. "That was a momento. I didn"t buy it."
"But it"s precious. Let"s walk around a bit more. If you see anything, please tell me. I will buy it for you."
"You have money now?"
"I go bounty hunting, so yes, I have money."
That"s right; she"s freely able to do that again. There is one thing that makes little sense to him. Why does she buy such plain clothing even when she has money? Rhys glanced around for a clothes shop and found several. This is the perfect time for him to buy her some pretty dresses.
Lyn followed his gaze and quickly shook her head. "I"m fine with what I have, Rhys."
"How can you be? I know your brother got you that outfit, but it"s too plain," Rhys muttered. He brought to one of the nearby stands, "I will choose some dresses for you."
Her cheeks colored, "Kazuya already bought me clothes."
"I don"t trust Kazuya"s fas.h.i.+on sense."
"Rh—Rhys, I"m really fine."
Why does she keep refusing for?