“The sun is so bright today.” Dove remarked as he looked up at the shimmering sky. It was the afternoon, but it didn’t seem to be hitting sunset any time soon. He sat there, on the little bench at the park near the town square, still cross-dressed and dazed by the date he just had. The sparkling sight of the sprightly beauty Matsuri. That one moment where he liked himself in the mirror. That moment where he caught Matsuri, feeling just how amazingly feminine he was. Dove’s face turned slightly red. He wasn’t sure if it was adoration, admiration, jealousy, or something else, but he felt a churning in his heart. “If only I could be as cute as him…” he mumbled.

Sighing, he tried to stand up. Almost immediately, however, he noticed his vision go black for a moment as he suddenly felt himself about to tumble. “This is bad…” He thought. He was so caught up in the date that he completely forgot to have any food since morning, and barely drank any water in the scorching heat. “I’m going to… collapse” he thought as he started to fall.

“Whoops, that was close.” A strangely familiar sounding, yet distinct voice rang in his head as he looked up. Under the sunlight, he saw the person who had just caught him. Half slicked-back, golden hair that shimmered in the sun as part of it flowed almost to the person’s shoulders, the other parts neatly tucked back into a dashing knot. The attire - a blazer, white shirt, and colorful tie – worn in a very stylish way, as opposed to the formal variant. His golden eyes that were half covered by teasing side-part bangs stared at Dove, glimmering, and exuding a certain charm alongside the handsome smile. “Almost fell there, my dear lady. Thank goodness I caught you when I did. You don’t look great. Are you alright?” The person smiled warmly.

Dove, now bright red, stammered his next words. “U-um… I suppose it’s because I’ve not eaten or drank enough today… haha… but… I’ll be fine, thank you… erm?”

The person smiled. “Ah, you can call me Haru. It’s not my real name, though, heh.” They smiled lightly as they helped Dove sit up. “It’s an alias I use when I’m working. Would you be willing to visit? You seem like you could use some nice and delicate care, my precious lady.” They flashed a grin, pointing with their gloved fingers to a cosplay café nearby.

“A… A…” Dove looked at the person intently, triggering a head tilt. “A… Charming Prince…!?” Dove exclaimed in his mind as he saw the charming man (as appraised by himself) in front of him. A sleek build complemented the stylish uniform and the handsome face. He spent a number of seconds staring at the dashing individual before him before coming to his senses. “Ah… erm… sorry… I haven’t really been in those places before…” He looked away.

The prince before him put on a sly grin. “Ah, then this will be your first time then~” he takes Dove’s hand and kisses it, bowing and looking into his eyes. “My princess~”

Dove could merely freeze there as he could not compute what was happening, neither with his brain nor his heart.

The princely young man chuckled again and held out his hand. “Let’s go then, my dear lady. First meal will be on me, I want you to get hooked to our place after all.” He winks, making Dove’s heart flutter further as he simply stands up and nods nervously. The slightly shorter boy in front of him smiles and takes his hand, bringing him into the café.

A sense of warmth and a bit of eccentricity colored the café’s atmosphere, as people in maid and butler uniforms served enamored guests, each seemed to be charmed by their respective server. “Let me show you to your seat, my lady.” The princely young man who escorted him said with a dazzling smile, making his head dizzy as he got swept by the flow. Dove found himself seated and was given a menu and a glass of water. “Today, I’ll be your personal server, my lady, so please, order anything you wish.”

“Am I in a Shoujo manga?! Huuuh?!” Dove panicked internally as he simply thanked the one whom he had now assigned the prince moniker in his head. He then gulped and slowly looked at the menu. “Erm… then I’ll have the parfait… and the French fries…” He said meekly.

“Right away, my lady.” The prince bowed and walked off.

Dove sighed in relief. He drank the glass of water and looked around his surroundings. There were couples chirping, people in proper attire, and people clearly interested in certain servers. The setting of the place was charming, delicate, and decorated, yet clean and not overly ornate. The seats were padded and comfortable. He saw the menu once more. It was pricier than normal, but not exorbitantly so. He saw all the cute food and drink options and sighed heavily.

“Hm? What’s with the sigh, my lady?” Haru returned with a beaming smile, piercing through Dove’s heart. “Is our restaurant not to your liking?” he calmly asked as he put down the parfait and fries Dove ordered.

“Ah-erm-no… it’s not that… it’s just that I feel… kind of out of place.”

“Hmm~? How so?” Haru tilted his head.

“Oh… erm, well… I’m… well… to put it bluntly, this place is a bit too cute for me…” Dove managed to stammer.

“Oh? Why do you say that?” Haru said with a look of surprise.

“Ah… well… I’m really plain you see…”

“I see.” Haru closed his eyes for a second.

“Uh yeah… so… this kind of place… isn’t really fit for someone like me…” Dove looked down in shame, turning slightly red and twiddling his thumbs.

“Hmm, well then, may I offer some extra service to compensate for your discomfort today, my dear lady?” Haru smiled.

“Huh?! Extra…” Dove’s face turned red. “Erm… I mean… uh…”

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I’ll just be accompanying you while you eat. I’ll talk to the manager about it, it’s something we do from time to time for some customers, you see.” He winked.

Dove’s mind stopped working for a second. “huh? What? This hunk? Sitting with me? While I’m eating? Huh?” he thought. In the end, Dove lost himself in his confusion and blurted out; “Yes? W-“ but before he could say “What was that you said”, Haru had already smiled.

“Perfect. I’ll be right back!” he said as he left for the backroom. Dove was left slack jawed as he couldn’t muster up the social energy to go after him or even just deny it verbally. “W-what have I done?!” He thought.

A few moments later, Haru returned to Dove’s seat, sitting across from him as he looked at Dove. Dove gulped and opened his mouth, only for the boy in front of him to speak first. “I shall be your attendant today, my lady. Please, feel free to converse and ask for any help you may require with your meal. I would be grateful to serve you and would be delighted to get to know you~” He smiled charmingly, the stunning shine of his hospitality making Dove almost want to shield his eyes as he couldn’t handle the situation. He eventually gave up and nodded, slowly starting to eat.

“Ah… well… when it comes to stuff like this… I suck so much… I’m so nervous… I need to make some sort of conversation…” He glanced at Haru, who gave him another cool grin. “Impossible! It’s impossible! I can’t talk to that dazzling creature!” He decided to just keep eating his meal quietly, trying his best to try to speak, but failing each and every time due to his anxiety.

As the clock wound down to near the evening, Dove put down his spoon. He had finished his meal, without saying a single word to his “attendant” in the end. He sighed and slumped on his seat. “Ah… I’m the worst… I couldn’t say a word in the end… and neither did he… he must think I’m so boring… he must have regretted his decision to sit in front of me…” He thought. “I should at least apologize…” he considered before opening his mouth.

“I see, so you have finished your meal. How was it my dear lady~?” Haru warmly said with a smile.

Dove’s eyes widened, and he simply said “It… was delicious.” Without thinking.

The grin on the princely host’s face grew brighter, as he said, “That’s a relief.”

Dove’s cheeks went red as he could only reply as he felt. “I… I’m sorry… you wanted to get to know your client… but in the end… I wasn’t able to utter a word…” he looked away, feeling immensely guilty.

“I don’t think you have to apologize.” Haru said, maintaining his smile. “Some customers are like that. That’s also part of your charm.”

“Charm…?”

Haru nodded. “Yes, your charm.” He glanced around the café. “You said this place is too cute for you, and that I didn’t get to know you this afternoon, right?”

Dove felt his heart sink. “…Yeah”

“That’s false!”

Dove looked at him, puzzled and startled at that statement.

“First of all, even if I didn’t get to speak to you, just seeing your gentle appearance, your adorable choice of food and drink, your soft mannerisms, your cute reactions to my actions, they all convey to me that you are indeed someone more than worthy to match this café, my precious lady.” He smiled warmly. “You are such a charming, adorable girl, my princess.”

Dove’s eyes widened as his heartbeat rose. He started to feel butterflies in his stomach. “Ah…” he realized something. “This is just like back then… the feeling… in that café… when everyone complimented me…” His cheeks turned red once more. “This mysterious feeling… of relief… of comfort… of satisfaction… of happiness…”

Haru looked softly at the adorable creature in front of him as he spotted something in Dove’s bag. “Oh, I know that dress. It’s the one displayed at the store near here, yes?”

Dove, a bit dazed, tried to reply “ah, yes-“

“I think it’s an amazing choice. It suits such a feminine, delicate, and honest-looking girl like you, my lady.” Haru continued.

Dove froze. He understood that this was a compliment. This brilliantly charming prince had complimented him sincerely and beautifully. But as he said those words, instead of tasting sweet, comforting honey, it was as if he was being forced acid down his throat. The words pierced his heart.

“Feminine…” instead of himself, he remembered the other three companions that he met recently, and how overwhelmingly beautiful and feminine they were. Flashes of his broad shoulders, his aversion to explicitly feminine clothing, the angles of his body, and other things flooded his mind.

“Delicate” he could only remember the amazingly delicate-looking Matsuri, falling into his arms, that in comparison seemed grotesquely thicker and stronger, more like tree trunks than a delicate flower’s stem.

“Honest…” Tears fell from his eyes, as everything fell down on him. Did people really see him as an “Honest girl”? in reality, he was a lying crossdresser, wasn’t he? Lying to the others, especially to Matsuri, who trusted him for his own secret. His smiling, trusting face flashed in Dove’s mind as he couldn’t control the tears.

“I’m…” he slowly said, trembling and looking down at the floor. “I’m none of those things…! I’m not very feminine! I’m not delicate! I’m not honest! I’m a liar!” he snapped, yelling loudly. A few moments of silence followed as he caught his breath, before freezing up and covering his mouth, as he saw the person who was complimenting him a moment ago look at him in shock. For once, his composure waned. He looked around, it seems that his shouting brought him some attention and whispers from the crowd. His heart slumped as he realized what a strong voice he used just now, and he quickly took his bag and ran to the door. “I’m sorry…” he could only quietly say to his prince of the afternoon as he left the café running and crying.

“Wait!” Haru said as he chased after him, stopping outside the door as he noticed it was dark out. He saw Dove running away and prepared to chase after him before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back, to see a redhead with matching red eyes. With a lollipop in her mouth, she stared down at him. He sighed, calmed down and smiled as he saw her.

“You scared her off," the redhead said as she stood beside him.

“It seems so.” He sighed once more.

“As always, you were pushing too much. You can be… a bit forceful at times, you know…” She glanced at Haru. “…Autumn.”

Haru could only smile and look at the girl beside him with a defeated expression. “Well, I couldn’t just ignore our pretty little new friend like that, could I… Edelweiss?”

“…” Edel looked away and scoffed. “It’s embarrassing if you call me that in real life.”

Haru began to laugh. “Such a hypocrite. I didn’t even realize you had a shift today.”

“Well… I’m done.” She said, still not looking at Haru.

“…Aren’t you going to chase after her?” Haru smiled at Edel. “Or are you gonna let me play the hero for once?”

“…You know how I am.” Edel replied. “You still have a shift to finish,”

“Do you need me to give you a ride at least? Maybe keep you company along the way? Help you talk with her?”

“I think you’ve done and said enough.” Edel sighed as she began walking, her boots stomping on the cold sidewalk. “Besides… in these situations… I don’t need help… from a two-faced prince like you.” she said quietly before she began to run after Dove.

“Heh… that’s rich, coming from you~” Haru said, smirking fondly as he watched Edel run. “My hot and cold Ice queen.”