At the same time, a bit further away, the Princess and the Prince were sharing a pleasant conversation about more or less unimportant things.

They had been spending quite a lot of time together lately, and the distance between them shrank significantly.

As it turns out, when he was not fixated on his hatred for Valeria, Emil made for an enjoyable company for Oriana.

Coming from similar backgrounds, there where a lot of common things about their upbringing. Classes, balls, meetings with people from the top of the societal ladder, all of it made it look like there were hardly any differences between growing up in Aelius or Adler.

That was also why with time, Oriana began to see Emil in a much more favorable light. There still weren’t any traces of love for him in her heart, but at least she had a much easier time imagining them as a husband and wife.

Sensing that the Princess was in a good mood, and seeing how there was nobody to interrupt them, the Prince deemed it a perfect opportunity to set his plan into motion.

— Oriana — he took her hand and cupped it with his — the past few days I got to spend with you were the best days of my life. I can’t help but notice that there’s an undeniable bond between us. You and I… We were meant for each other. So I was thinking…

Unfortunately for the Prince, as soon as he started talking, the second boat hosting Valeria and Xuelan entered Oriana’s sight.

As luck would have it, it was also at the exact same time when the Dragon Princess took the butterfly off of the Commander’s shoulder.

Being on the side that was mostly blocked by Xuelan’s parasol, the only thing that Oriana could see was her outstretched arm enveloping Valeria’s face, before they both disappeared behind the umbrella.

Nevertheless, for the Princess, who had been an avid reader of romance novels since the blissful age of nine, that was enough to fill in the gaps.

A KISS?!?!

— …let’s run away together! — said the Prince, completely oblivious to the world shattering scene behind his back.

— WHAT?!

— I mean… What’s the point of waiting for the official wedding? We can run away and get married even today. We can buy a nice house in the countryside, away from the ugliness of politics and all of those burdensome things.

Oriana had reached her limit.

She grasped both sides of the boat as if it was going to help her calm the raging storm inside her.

Between the sudden primordial desire to scream at the top of her lungs, and the overwhelming need to cry, it was quite a miracle that the answer she gave to the shocked Prince involved mostly laughter.

Uncontrollable, and partially sounding like sobbing, but laughter nonetheless.

— HAHAHA! Emil, you are sooo FUNNY! — said Oriana in the most fake and unnatural cheerful tone that Prince had ever heard — It’s the funniest thing I’ve head in years!… Now, please, take me to the shore.

The change in the Princess’ voice was so sudden that Emil couldn’t move for another minute or two, trying to comprehend what exactly had happened.

He was certain that even if Oriana didn’t agree to his proposal right away, she would at least take it into consideration. The reaction he was met with was not within his predictions, even the worst ones.

Seeing how the Princess’ eyes kept darting over his shoulder, even when she stopped laughing, he finally decided to see for himself what could attract her attention to this degree.

Naturally, the first thing he saw was Valeria rowing to the pier, completely oblivious to the chaos she just caused.

Of course it’s you. It’s always you, getting in my way.

The vile darkness in Emil’s heart had been awakened once again.

When they came back to the shore, everyone, with exception of Lin Xuelan, was rather dispirited, to Kyra’s surprise.

From where she and Paula were standing, it was quite hard to see what was happening on each respective boat. It did seem like they were mostly just having a ride, so seeing them so dejected once they came back puzzled her.

She didn’t have much time to ponder what happened, because the moment she was free, Lin Xuelan immediately appeared by her side, monopolizing her attention.

Not that Kyra minded in any way.

In the other corner of the picnic blanket, the cogs in Emil’s head were spinning at full speed, trying to come up with a way to get his vengeance on the unsuspecting Valeria.

He wanted to make sure that this time, his true intentions wouldn’t be as obvious as before. After all, he didn’t want the Princess to despise him.

He had to come up with a way to ridicule the Commander in an inconspicuous, yet clear way.

He needed something that would let him vent all of those negative emotions without scaring Oriana away.

Looking around desperately in search of inspiration, his gaze was drawn to the saber tucked among the other things they brought with them to the lake.

Just like most of the nobility in the human kingdoms, part of Adleran official attire was a saber. Ever since he received it from his father during his fifteenth birthday, it would always be tucked in an ornate sheath attached to the belt on his waist.

A nasty idea formed in his mind.

— Commander, I see you also have your saber with you — he said with a smile on his face.

Valeria looked at him calmly. Her expression seemed to ask “and what about it”.

— I was thinking that a friendly duel would be a perfect way to close this little excursion we had. What do you think? — the Prince continued.

— I don’t think it’s a good idea, Your Highness. Sharp weapons are too dangerous. — Valeria had no intention of getting roped into the Prince’s delusional idea.

— Nonsense, Commander. You and I are both professionals, the chances of anything happening are pretty much nonexistent. — he insisted.

Oriana opened her mouth to strongly disagree with the preposterous idea, but before she had a chance to speak, Lin Xuelan cut her off.

— I think it’s a fantastic idea. I would love to see you and Prince Emil give us a little show. — The Dragon Princess smiled innocently.

Contrary to what Oriana was thinking hearing her words, the reason why Xuelan was in favor of this was quite simple.

She wanted to see the Prince being put in his place.

She absolutely couldn’t stand this man, and every time she had to put up with the nonsense he spouted. All of his abysmal ideas felt like torture to her.

Given the chance, she wouldn’t hesitate one bit to give him a taste of the Dragon Princess’ wrath.

Suspecting that Valeria might also be one of the fey, she was certain that the Prince wouldn’t pose any danger to her.

And if, by any chance, she was mistaken, then she could always deal with Emil herself.

Her sentiment seemed to be shared by one more person.

— Yes! Commander! Do it! — yelled Paula with the eagerness of a priestess conducting an exorcism. She was still bitter from having “a precious moment” stolen from her “favorite couple”.

Kick his arse!, she thought.

Valeria felt at a loss. In a last ditch effort, she sought help from Oriana, but the Princess quickly looked away as soon as their eyes met.
Feeling like she had no other choice, she sighed and got up on her feet.

— Alright. Let’s do it.

DannyTheDaikon

Emil: Worst she could say is "no".

Oriana: Hold my romance novels.