"I heard you met her." William said as he opened a thick book and briefly spared a look at Mikhail.
"Pardon?"
"My fiancée." William said it so casually that Mikhail scratched his head thinking about it.
"Well, yes? You didn't dine with her?"
"I was busy getting things ready for your first lesson. Didn't have anytime to entertain her. Besides..." William paused as the doors to the library were suddenly thrown open.
"William! There you are! I was looking everywhere for you." Aria said as she entered the room.
"She'll be joining our lesson for today." William continued as he gave Mikhail a rare smile.
"Huh?" both Mikhail and Aria turned to face William with a look of puzzlement on their faces.
***
"I don't know if you were informed, but the Winter ball will be held in a month from now. Assumin
A shriek resounded throughout the corridors as maids and knights find themselves searching for the source. When their eyes fell upon the doors of the ballroom they shrugged it off and went about their day. Of course, the same could not be said of the people within said room."Mikhail! What were you thinking?! My sincerest apologies Lady Aria. Did you injure yourself?" William asked as he hurried towards Aria and held her hands, holding her steady."Eh? Uh... I thought it was fine to do so... I got advice from someone who told me they were well versed in dancing." Mikhail scratched his cheeks flusteredly as he watched William attending to Aria."Well versed in dancing?! Unlikely given your performance. Who was it? Name the person who said it was fine to continuously spin your partner at every chance you get?! There's a reason why men twirl their partners occasionally during a waltz rather than constantly." William barked
Light knocks resounded on the door as Xander briefly glanced upwards acknowledging the fact that someone else was present. However he did not reply the person as he continued to look through the paperwork piled on his desk."Your security is pretty lacking." Susie said as she leaned against the door frame, looking over her shoulders as she folded her arms."... I wouldn't say that if I were you." Xander replied, glancing at the ceiling before shifting his gaze back to the work at hand.Susie glanced towards the ceiling, taking note of the men he had guarding him. She huffed in slight amusement before heading towards the desk."Not another step forward," Xander said as he took off the reading glasses he had on and faced Susie with an unreadable expression, "Why are you here?""What? Since when did you decide to become so cold?" Susie grinned smugly as she shifted in her stance and placed a hand on her hip."I wonder. Perhaps it's when I found
Xander held his gaze on Susie as they shared a glance in silence. The look in his eyes were intense as Susie nonchalantly sat back in her seat, studying his profile."Anything you want to say?""... Was that an underlying statement that you will bring destruction to our country?" Xander asked as he finally shifted from his thinking pose to lean forward and question Susie."Who knows." Susie replied with a similar nonchalant expression earning her a narrower gaze from Xander."... Honestly, assuming that was your life story... I just couldn't help but ask... What does the mark on that man's face mean to you?""... That man... Hah. To think I had wandered blindly thinking you knew anything when it was a story most likely thought up by a random stranger." Susie scoffed as she realised that Xander had tricked her into telling him what he needed to know."Not necessarily. Meeting him was something of a coincidence. He wouldn't have convinced me o
Mikhail stared at the page before him before finally deciding to shut the book in its entirety. He took in a huge breath before sighing as his mind replayed the scene where he blindly agreed with Susie's suggestion."Finally taking your eyes of those dreary books?" a voice startled Mikhail as he choked on his own saliva."*cough**cough* You startled me!" Mikhail exclaimed as he hit his chest to dislodge the fluid."I had been sitting here for awhile." Aria said as she combed her hair to the side and gently placed her hands on the armrest."I didn't notice.""It's fine, I know. ... Is it easier though? To learn dancing from a book?" Aria asked as she pointed at a book spine hidden beneath other books stacked above it, pointing at the title engraved in silver letters."... I mean... no offense but... I didn't understand what you were teaching me." Mikhail
"My goodness me, it has been quite a long time since someone brought me around the palace without a clear direction as to where they are going." Lilith shrugged, dabbing her handkerchief on her forehead to wipe off her perspiration as she sat on a bench beside a thoroughly exhausted Mikhail."Sorry... For dragging Your Majesty along with me... If I had memorised the layout properly I..." Mikhail sighed as he briefly glanced at Lilith who was watching him intently."I would assume you held my hand and hurried off because it was something of urgency?" Lilith asked as she studied the landscape of their surroundings whilst awaiting his response."... It is as you said. I know it was due to my ignorance of the palace layout that I have no idea where we are but... I need your help to take care of her." Mikhail pleaded as he clasped Lilith's hand yet again with a panicked expression."... I could easily help you but... please calm yourself and recount the story
Susie blinked her eyes slowly as she waited for them to adjust to the dim lighting of the room. Although she was barely in the room Xander had provided her here at the palace, she knew for a fact that this was not said room.She sat up and glanced around before her eyes met with murky green eyes that were barely visible in the dark of the room. The man had briefly taken his eyes off of the book he was reading and had glanced over in her direction to check the condition of the patient when he found Susie had awakened from her slumber.His lips parted as though he was about to say something but he stopped before he spewed any nonsensical words. Susie blinked a few times as she studied his profile, waiting for the moment her memory would click as his name was lost somewhere in the back of her mind.Louis. That's right."Where am I?" Susie asked as she pulled off the covers and dangled her feet of the bed, hovering slightly above the ground."My
William glances out the window of his room when he spotted Aria rushing over to his side of the palace. His expression contorted to one of bemusement as he sighed.It was not that he particularly detest her, but the idea of having a fiancée was much to tedious for him to deal with at the moment. She felt just like another extra weight on his shoulder. However, the benefit of no longer having the opportunistic nobles forcefully introduce their daughters to him was one thing he could do without. Hence, he made peace with the idea of a fiancée.He shuts the curtain and headed to his seat as he waited for the door to burst open. Unlike how reserved she had acted when they first met, he had found out how boisterous she was by accident and ever since that day, his peaceful days were long over."William!" Aria burst through the doors, completely meeting his expectations as she rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him.William staggered fr
In the days that followed, Mikhail had finally been allowed to practice his swordsmanship under the tutelage of a new mentor as William had busied himself with preparation of the Winter Ball.However, Mikhail's new mentor was not exactly pleased with being put in charge of teaching a man of low birth. He may have been blessed with the silver hair bestowed to those of the royal lineage but one of low birth will always remain inferior in comparison to those who came were raised in nobility.The mentor does teach Mikhail some small percentage of his necessary skills. However, he would always point out minor flaws to find a reason to maltreat him.As this training is considered a personal matter, not many people would take note of Mikhail's lessons aside from him and Susie. William would usually oversee his progress as well, but due to the upcoming preparations of the ball, he had to shift his attention to it and prepare the list of invitations before submitting the