Her gaze fell on Kazuya who was still trying to look away. "For such selfish reasons, I have to ask you if we could continue this."

"Lyn.. Sorry but I--" 

Lyn shook her head. "Let me finish speaking," She trailed off. "We can continue this, but we can return to how things were before. I still want to meet with you and talk to you."

This was selfish of her and she knew that better than anyone. But this is the only thing she can do right now. The only thing she can do..

...…...

Mist Kingdom, (Main Castle- Manor Gardens) Year 4014

Ever since that day Kazuya and her saw each other more. It was not like before, and yet it was enough. After they returned from that place, she only saw Rhys at night. Kazuya explained that he took over investigating the reason why those people had the jewel. He was tracking down who the real owner was.

Lyn was currently in the balcony attending yet another event. From the corner of her eye she spotted yet another group of people approach Allen. It seems like he won"t be free anytime soon. She did not want to stay inside without Allen with her, she could not deal with those people alone. So Lyn snuck off when she got the chance.

She was bored and right at that moment she saw Kazuya running from people again. Lyn somehow managed to get him onto the balcony.

"Why don"t you marry me?" Kazuya suddenly asked.

Lyn rolled her eyes at Kazuya"s question. Already a month has pa.s.sed since he came here and yet the two of them got close. For a while, during Allen"s stay, they dismissed her from her other duties and she wore her princess garments. The long dress was somewhat uncomfortable. But as of late, she wore them even when she snuck off to meet Kazuya.

His status in the Mist kingdom as a guest remained unknown. Usually, when one stays for a long time, they would be granted a status of some sort, but they had not given Kazuya any. Lyn pouted, "Forget that, why aren"t you asking me for help?"

Kazuya smiled, "Regarding my status? They don"t even mark me as a foreign exchange student," Kazuya trailed off and laughed, "They must hate me."

"Don"t sound so proud about it. This isn"t fair, you should get a t.i.tle," Lyn trailed off, "Even though it"s stupid, if you don"t have one in this world you"ll get laughed at," her sentence fell short when Kazuya reached over and grabbed a strand of her hair between his fingers and kissed it, "What are you doing?"

"Just showing you some love."

"Are you an idiot?" Lyn muttered, but she wanted to thank him. The words she said just now referred more to her own situation than his. She may have a t.i.tle, but she"s a princess in name only. Even though things have changed since her birthday banquet, it still wasn"t enough. There were many people who did not consider her as a Princess.

People acted like she was some kind of illegitimate child.

An illegitimate child? She looks exactly like her parents. She is the only one among her siblings who actually resembles her mother. It was stupid for people to make that a.s.sumption, when she looks like she came from the same mold. But regardless of this obvious reason, people still talk. They still judge her.

Lyn noticed Kazuya looking at her, a tint of red appeared on his cheeks. "What is it?"

"You look like your wearing a wedding dress.."

Is this guy stupid? He must be. Lyn sighed as she played with the hem of her dress. "Would you still be happy if you knew that Rhys was the one who gave this to me?"

Rhys was also the one who helped her put it on. He did not do anything inappropriate but she recalled his lips against her ear and then shoulders. He kissed her so much that it left a strange mark on her shoulder. Lyn covered it up as much as she could but some parts were still visible. The dress is an off shoulder one too.

Kazuya cursed and started mumbling something. "d.a.m.n, I lost there."

Her sweat fell at his words. Ever since that time Kazuya is very open about still having feelings for her. He declared something about war against Rhys. Since that time occasionally Rhys would get this strange look on his face. Whenever he is like that, Lyn could not help but worry. 

"Still." Kazuya reached out and squeezed her hands. "You look pretty Lyn."

You look pretty as opposed to Your gorgeous…

Kazuya and Rhys are very different. Lyn knew that from the very start, and yet these days she notices it more. Whenever one of them says anything, it overlaps with what the other one said. It is indeed a strange thing. 

But, a part of her understood it a long time ago. The feelings she has for Kazuya and the one she has for Rhys are different. She cares for them both so deeply. It was because they were there for her, that she even made it this far. Lyn would never have thought to break free from her shackles if it weren"t for them.

They gave her the strength and confidence she needed.

Others may criticize her and say so many things. But, "I want to treasure both of them." Her gaze fell on Kazuya who kept talking, would it be okay for her to tell him this?