Chapter 23 – A Date, Two Spies, and a Curious Prince
The afternoon sun cast a gentle glow over the Academy gardens. For at least three days, Ares had been internally debating whether he should do it or not. Blue, his familiar, had already dropped a not-so-subtle hint:
"You can defeat hundreds of monsters, but you're afraid of a simple conversation. Pathetic."
Finally, that afternoon, armed with a bouquet of magical wildflowers (Liana's suggestion), Ares approached Dana in the common room.
"Dana, would you… like to take a walk with me this weekend? Just the two of us."
The blonde girl raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden invitation. Then she smiled playfully.
"Is this a date?"
Ares, red as an enchanted strawberry, nodded.
"Yes… or, well, only if you want to, of course."
Dana let out a soft laugh and replied:
"Alright. I'd love to."
---
On the day of the date, Ares took her to a magical fair in the center of Rango. There were stalls full of enchanted artifacts, floating flute music, and sweets that hovered before melting in your mouth.
They walked together laughing, sampling treats and tossing magical sparks into the air. Ares even won a blue fox plushie for Dana in a magic-aiming game. It was… perfect.
Perfect? Maybe not entirely.
From a nearby rooftop, Liana watched them crouched, arms crossed and lips slightly pouting.
"What does he see in her?" she murmured, though deep down she knew Dana was charming, and Ares had every right to be happy. Still… she couldn't help the small sting she felt.
Beside her, someone else was watching too, cloaked in dark fabric.
"What are you doing here?" Liana whispered, noticing Agust's presence.
"Studying romantic behavior," the prince answered seriously, as if it were just another class. "I don't understand why people get nervous. It's… inefficient."
"You're a disaster," Liana huffed.
The two spies shared an awkward silence as they watched Ares gently take Dana's hand.
Liana looked away. Agust raised an eyebrow.
"Are you… jealous?"
"I am not!" she replied, far too quickly.
Agust smirked slightly.
"Interesting."
Meanwhile, Ares and Dana continued their walk, completely unaware of the eyes following them. Dana looked at him sweetly.
"You know, I'm glad you invited me. You're… different from the others."
Ares, a little clumsy but sincere, replied:
"You too. When I'm with you, everything else fades away."
And though neither of them knew it yet, this date would be the beginning of something special… though complicated, with so many eyes watching.