His body responded like a well-trained hound, but by the time he realized how compliant he was being, he couldn't withdraw - his mistake would've been too obvious.

Prince Heiko's hand shot across the table and took Celestino's before the general could pull away. His fingers were soft and cold, his nails clean and well-manicured. He lifted his gaze to see Heiko studying his own in a similar fashion.

"Is there something in particular you are searching for?" His voice sounded miles away, but the prince responded to them promptly, pulling back from him.

"Did you have a childhood injury?"

The prince had lively eyes on Cele, before tapping his right ear.

"Perhaps right here?"

Cele rested his head on a propped arm, feigning boredom. It was all he could do to fight the alarm. He was not so dense as to believe that the courts of Simo did not have plentiful intelligence on both himself and the king, but there was no way he could foretell the prince asking about an occurrence older than him.

When Cele didn't respond, the prince continued, his lips pulled at the corners slightly, pleased.

"I've heard much about you from my elder brothers, general."

"Cele is a well-awarded soldier and a well-educated advisor." Vincente conciliated, clapping Cele's back jovially. "He was instructed at the temple academy, Crescentius."

"Yes, I've heard of Ilysian temple academies." Heiko reached for his goblet of wine. "In this country, priests are the most educated, no?"

"Priestesses, I would argue." Alessandra's tone mirrored Vincente's: diplomatic and assertive. It was asking a lot of her to remain out of the conversation, and Cele doubted her brother truly expected her to. Still, something in the general's gut stiffened. Even more so when Prince Heiko cast his gaze to her.

"Yes indeed. Priestesses. Dangerous, no, for the most beautiful to be the most educated?" He asked.

Vincente shifted and his advisor understood why.

Just as the Simonese kept tabs on them, they too kept ears open for the northern nobility. It wasn't difficult to find gossip on this princeling in copious amounts - educated in proper Simonese fashion, bored of his role as third and least important prince, spoiled beyond repair, and blindly cruel. Not to mention, seventeen and unmarried - a lurid testament to his affability. Cele wondered what kind of woman would find him appealing. Or if he received any offers at all. Adele was right, after all. He was slim and fair, and unlikely to please a woman, considering how self-involved he seemed. Perhaps if he had an exorbitant inheritance, a woman would suffer through a union with him. But he had nothing.

"Why would that be dangerous?" Alessandra parlayed, inclining herself to Prince Heiko in a display of assertion. "Women are not cruel by nature. Men make them that way. Educated women are not innately dangerous."

"When did we begin discussing women?"

The princess could've given a rebuttal without a second thought, but she was apt, she waited, learning from her dear Adele's misstep.

"Whether man or woman, the intelligent are wise enough to know what they want, and the beautiful are gifted what they wish." The prince sounded like he was speaking from experience. It didn't surprise the general that he was so bold about it.

"And what of your servant?" She asked, pointing a crimson painted nail to the redheaded boy. "He is beautiful, no? Is he intelligent, too?"

It seemed like a loaded question to Cele, but Heiko considered it anyway. The boy was fiddling with a thin silver ring on his finger, looking anywhere but at his master.

"Perhaps." He decided finally, turning back to the princess. There was a slight hesitation in his response, and Cele could only wonder what caused it.

"And is he dangerous?" Alessandra pressed, a wily smile on her lips. "Is he where he wants to be? Station-wise, perhaps," She supplemented.

The prince didn't respond for a moment, and while his eyes were on the princess, they weren't looking at her. Eventually, he turned to his servant.

"Baptist, what is your greatest wish?"

Not a single breath was taken before the boy replied with, "To serve my master."

Heiko turned to Alessandra, awaiting her next question, but it was Vincente who delivered it.

"And how does that make him dangerous?"

The prince shrugged.

"To what purpose does he want to serve his master?"

It was clear by Vincente's grin that he was intrigued by the idea, perhaps more so over the tangled workings of the prince's brain than by the actual notion at face value.

Cele, however, was not. In fact, it made him worry for the battered boy even more. If Prince Heiko thought Baptist had dangerous intentions, his touch would not be gentle, and by the looks of the boy, that wasn't an uncommon occurrence. It bothered him even more knowing that they would be sharing a bed only hours later.

"What could he possibly gain from serving you with treacherous intent?"

It was a pure enough question, though it was clear that there was subtext: you're not important enough as a noble to gain such clever enemies. Of course, both he and Cele knew that wasn't true.

"Perhaps he is a spy, under my brother's employ."

Baptist stole a quick look at his master, scouring the plains of his face for not but a moment, before turning back to his fork and plucking a stray brussels sprout from Heiko's plate. If the prince noticed, he said nothing.

"But my dear Prince Heiko," Vincente began amusedly. "Why would your brother want to spy on you?"