But which first meeting is she talking about? When they were children they naturally got along, so one would think that she is referring to their meeting in the future. However, she was referring to their meeting when they were younger. Other people may remember it differently but Lyn did not forget how rude and brazen Rhys was.

Even if he made a mistake regarding her age, he should not have behaved that way towards a woman.

"You know something has bothered me for awhile now so I hope you could answer me." Rhys suddenly spoke up.

For the past few minutes, since they started eating, Rhys did not say anything to her.

"What is it?"

"Why do you act so differently around Kazuya?" His voice sounded louder than usual then. "The Lyn Kazuya dated is different, hyperactive, eager and a ball of suns.h.i.+ne. But even though we are going out you still have occasions where you look at me coldly. I guess it is more accurate if I say something like your eyes looked dead."

Lyn blushed when she heard that explanation. Oh gosh, has he thought that way all this time? The reason she avoids his gaze from time to time is because she is embarra.s.sed. It is not like she is deliberately trying to hide from him. Why would she do something like that towards the person she likes? 

"B-Because we started as friends." Lyn replied with a mixture of different feelings. Anxious, doubtful, not cold at all. 

She watched as a small smile appeared on his face. 

"That is no reason to treat other people like. . . you know. I mean, I"m surprised you were friends at first. " he observes.

"I-It"s not like that. Because I have to . . . Because, I – well, it"s not like I don"t – I still want. . .," she mumbles, her voice getting quieter. Lyn no longer knew what to say on this topic. No matter what she says, it will sound like an excuse won"t it? So would it not be better for her to keep her mouth shut and not say anymore? She may make her situation worse.

When Rhys first tells her that he loves her, love not like - or interest. Lyn remembered feeling speechless. The first thing she thought was, was that a joke? Why would he say something like that towards her after all this time? 

Rhys sighed. "I hope you don"t take offence to my words and I know you like me a lot now. Besides you have already said it."

Lyn opened her mouth but she does not know what to say. What is there to say? That he is wrong? 

Because—because he"s not. It is like she had said, that her answer would be no.

"Y-Yeah," she affirms, stumbling on her reply and she"s not quite sure why.

He smiled. "Do you want some of my food? It is quite good."

Rhys changes the topic before she could even react again. Whenever he behaves this way, Lyn can"t help but think there is something wrong. She hesitantly extended her hand out. "Could I sit next to you?"

"Sure go ahead."

Lyn stood up and walked over until she sat beside Rhys. The moment she sat down he kissed her. What--?

"Why are you blus.h.i.+ng? I have given you more pa.s.sionate kisses before."

T--that"s true. So it does seem strange that she is more embarra.s.sed about now than the previous times. But, she cant help it. She covered her red face with her hands. The moment her hands made contact with her face she felt a burning sensation. To think she is this embarra.s.sed over a simple kiss. What would happen if he did something else to her? 

"Its because you kissed me out of nowhere and looked at me with a serious expression. Ahhhh…..I sound like an idiot."

Rhys chuckled. "Great, let"s be idiots together."

Lyn laughed. "Your so silly." The tension from earlier seemed to have vanished in an instant.

The next few minutes were spent eating and flirting. Lyn felt so happy and yet, she tugged on Rhys sleeve and whispered in his ear. "There is a suspicious presence."

Rhys nodded. "Yeah."

So he noticed it too? It seems like they did not come here just to relax. She liked that situation better. "Lately I feel restless when I am not working, it seems like I have become a workaholic.."

"Well, that fiance of yours has quite the reputation."

"Allen does?"

Rhys looked troubled but nodded. "Yeah, he does. This is the reason why he is the heir to his family and not his brothers. It is because he has proved that he is capable."  

So that is how things work in the Wind Kingdom huh? The one who is more capable takes the throne. "I wonder if anything would change if we do that."

"Well if you do you would lose the throne to your eldest brother."

Lyn sighed when she heard those words."I suppose that is true." No matter how experienced she is now, she will still lose out to her brother at the end of the day. She picked up her drink and took a sip. "Sweet?��

"The water in this place is flavored. Do you want a normal drink? It isn"t hard to find."

She shook her head. "This is fine."      

Lyn scanned the room, not too many people were eating here today. But since she woke up earlier, she noticed how loud it was outside. Everybody must be at the festival already.

To think there is still a place like this in the Mist Kingdom that is unaffected by everything that is happening. When they return they have to address the issue with the Stone Kingdom properly. Also her mother"s healthworries her. People say the Queen is locking herself up because she is planning something large. But Lyn knew that was not the case.

All that poison she ingested over the past few years and the effects of the temporary cure are wearing off now. No matter how strong her mother is, after being poisoned so many times, the body will break down. Her mother"s health has deteriorated since the First King pa.s.sed away but this was something different.

Her gaze fell towards Rhys. Initially she got close to this person to find out if he could help her mother. But at some point those feelings changed and she genuinely developed feelings for him. By now she has learned that Rhys can indeed help her mother. But another problem has arisen, the scar mother caused Rhys.

Rhys hates my mother more than anybody.

He only tolerates my mother because of me.

I can"t possibly ask him to help now.  

"By the way the guy that is looking at us isnt a bad guy." Rhys suddenly said. She raised her eyebrows at this.

"Not a bad guy?"

"He is a Rain Kingdom official."

Ah? The Rain Kingdom sent somebody like that here? "Is this because of my sisters engagement?"

"Yeah."

Since earlier Rhys seemed oddly quiet, she thought the tension had disappeared now. But it seems like that is not the case here, Rhys still has something troubling him. Lyn thought about what to do for a moment before she leaned forward and kissed his lips.

"Mm?"

"W--well.." Lyn looked down. She had no explanation for kissing him just now.

"Apologise for making you uneasy." Rhys trailed off. "Hey Lyn, if something bad happened to somebody you considered a friend, would you take revenge?"

She blinked at this unexpected question. Revenge? A fri--- Lyn paused in mid-thought when she recalled something Silver told her not too long ago. Now that she thought about it, did that guy not say something? The grudge Rhys has towards her mother is because somebody got killed. The person who died must be Rhys acquaintance.

From his reaction, it does not seem to be an old lover. Then just a good friend? That theory seems to work the most. 

"I want to help you," Lyn mumbled.

"You can."

"I can?" She did not expect him to respond so quickly. Lyn thought he would think it through more. No matter how close they are to one another, it does not change who her mother is. For Rhys to say something like this, he must be very desperate. Lyn wondered if if was okay for her. 

She belongs to Rhys but at the same time, she is the Second Princess. She needs to separate her personal affairs. But it is indeed impossible for her to go against Kazuya or Rhys.

These days it does not seem like her family treats Kazuya or Rhys with hostility anymore. Unlike before something has changed, could she hope for a better future?