On the other side of the table, Kyra was filling Lin Xuelan’s cup when the Dragon Princess suddenly addressed her.

— What about you? Do you also dislike sweet things?

The maid raised her head to meet the woman’s inquisitive gaze.

— No, I’m quite the opposite, Your Imperial Highness. I have a sweet tooth.
— Which dessert is your favorite then? And please, there’s no need to be so formal with me.
— I like blueberry tarts the most. — Kyra answered shyly. She had difficulties withstanding the attention from Xuelan’s glistening eyes.

The Dragon Princess looked around the table.

— Hmm… It seems that there aren’t any. Is there anything else that you would suit your tastes?

Kyra’s eyes widened. She was not expecting Xuelan to offer any of the pastries to her. The confections came from the most famous patisserie in Lucetta. It wasn’t something a lowly maid could ever dream of eating, let alone for free!

— No, no, no… there’s no need, Your Imperial Highness. I’m really thankful for the offer, but I can’t accept.

Lin Xuelan rested her chin on her hand and studied Kyra for a moment.

— You are sisters, but you’re nothing alike. How curious.
— That’s because we are not blood related, Your Imperial Highness. Valeria took care of me when I was living in the streets and saved my life. — Kyra lowered her eyes, feeling ashamed of her past. She didn’t want the Dragon Princess to be disgusted by her.

Xuelan remained silent for a moment, then slowly got up and stood in front of the girl.

— There are no blueberry tarts, but we have blueberry cupcakes.

Kyra looked up and was immediately met with the sight of a dessert floating in front of her eyes.

— Wh…
— I asked you to speak freely with me, but you were still very formal, so as a punishment you have to eat this. Unfortunately, I’m not as well versed as Princess Oriana, so I can’t speak in such a passionate manner about the food, but I can assure you that it’s very delicious. — Except for a tiny, mischievous sparkle dancing in the Dragon Princess’ eyes, the air around her was completely serious. She brought the cupcake closer to Kyra’s mouth, urging her to eat.

A thousand thoughts rolled through the girl’s mind. She was at loss at what to do. It was unthinkable for a commoner like her to be fed by someone of such a high status as the Dragon Princess of Liung-Mun. At the same time, she was in no place to refuse. Even if it was just a joke, she had to listen to her superiors.

There was also a part of her that wanted to be seen by Lin Xuelan. To be touched, and doted on, and cared for by her.

This part eventually won, and she carefully took a bite from the cupcake.

Seeing this, a satisfied smile alongside two charming dimples bloomed on Xuelan’s face.

— How is it?
— Out of this world… — Kyra blurted in awe.

How can someone be so beautiful and so cute at the same time?

Between the commotion caused by the Princess and a precious moment shared between Lin Xuelan and Kyra, one person remained unnoticed.

The Prince sat quietly, a violent storm was stirring in his blackened heart. In quick succession he was mistreated, offended, and ignored. At the source of it all was one person.

Valeria.

He couldn’t pretend not to notice her anymore, nor could he downplay her influence over the Princess. In his eyes, she was the rot that was spreading everywhere she went. Her filth was poisoning Oriana, violating her, robbing her of her purity.

He thought he could wait until after the wedding to separate the two, but at this moment, he realized he was naive. The longer they were together, the harder it would be to rid the Princess from the Villain’s influence.

The desire to cut the Commander down right this moment was burning in his veins. Fortunately, he wasn’t some primitive that would let the emotions cloud his reason. He was better than this. He worked hard to be better than this.

While other boys his age were training their muscles and fighting skills, he was honing his strategic and logical abilities. He always believed that wits were a far more powerful weapon than even the sharpest sword.

That didn’t mean that Emil couldn’t fight. Quite the contrary. He emerged first in his fencing class and even won the Adleran Swordsmanship Tournament. Even if he considered mental skills vastly superior to physical ones, he couldn’t deny that some situations called for violence. That’s why, he deemed it necessary to master both.

If he only wished it, he could take Valeria’s life in a matter of seconds.

If only Oriana wasn’t here, I would crush you like the pest that you are.

Luckily for the Commander, the Prince didn’t wish for the Princess to witness such a gruesome scene. Instead, he decided to focus on coming up with a plan that would remove her from the scene and allow him to get close to Oriana.

He had to think carefully about the solution. Being away from the Adler Kingdom was significantly limiting his options. Normally he had a whole garrison of people, who were ready to fulfill any order he gave them. In Aelius, on the other hand, he was almost alone.

A figure flashed in Emil’s memory.

Right. I could ask him to help me solve this. With his support this should be a piece of cake.

The Prince’s mood brightened. With a bit of luck, and help from a certain acquaintance, his problems could be solved faster than he originally assumed.

Emil took a look at the unsuspecting Valeria.

Enjoy yourself Commander. Who knows how much time you have left…