Lucian held Lady Bianca close to him, whispering into her ear, ''Are you afraid? It's just a hug."
Lady Bianca shook her head, not moving an inch away from him despite the commotion below, "No. I'm not afraid."
Lady Bianca's knight finally defeated the Crown Prince's people and stumbled into the room.
"Thank you," Lucian whispered, patting her back before letting go, "For staying." He sank down, resting just his head against the bedframe, and took a careful sip from the bottle. He blinked slowly, putting on the perfect 'lost soul' act, like a drunkard trying to look deep but really just forgetting what he did a second ago.
The Knight tried to stop the Crown Prince from approaching Lady Bianca, but the Crown Prince was stronger than him, easily overpowering him. The Knight's nose was bleeding, and his eyes were already turning black and blue, but he was still trying to get up.
"Let go of me, you brute! Unhand me!" Lady Bianca cried out, trying to push the Crown Prince away, "Let go of me this instant, or-"
"Or what?" The Crown Prince asked, kicking the knight and sending him flying across the room when he tried to interfere.
Lucian clicked his tongue in his mind, 'Did they feed him steel when he was little? What monstrous strength is that?'
Lady Bianca's eyes widened in shock, and the Crown Prince used that opportunity to press his lips against hers.
"Mhm!" She tried to turn her face away, but he grabbed her chin and kissed her harder, his teeth grazing her lower lip.
"Ah!" she gasped in pain, trying to bite down on his tongue, but he used his thumb to pull her upper lip and prevent her teeth from closing.
'Oh, so this is the infamous rage kiss I've heard so much about,' Lucian thought, watching the other man show ownership in front of them. It was a warning to the onlookers that this was his property and his alone, 'It's no different from pissing on a tree to mark it as your territory, is it not?'
The helplessness of the situation must have affected the knight greatly.
'Just a little bit more, and he will come to me on his own. I just have to show him the way,' Lucian thought, and threw a pillow at the Crown Prince.
It hit the back of his head, and he stopped kissing Lady Bianca, "..."
"You are just proving that I'm a better…kisser, your Highness," Lucian slurred with a crooked smile, "And that you are the worst she ever had. I can't blame you for being jealous of me… but this is just pitiful."
"..." The Crown Prince turned to glare at him. "You think you are better than me?"
"I'm used to being begged to kiss more, not to be begged to stop," Lucian said and sat up, making a show of scratching the back of his neck and trying to shake away his dizziness. "Please refrain yourself from assaulting ladies in my presence, your Highness. I have an image to maintain."
The Crown Prince calmed down and chuckled darkly, "Apologies for the shameful display. I forgot that I was in the presence of a gentleman and got a bit carried away. But what do I smell? Is that the sweet scent of wine or a whiff of cowardice to challenge me to a duel for a lady's honor?"
"Man can't even drink his sorrow away in peace these days without being accused of cowardice," Lucian sighed and stood up, swaying on his feet, "The loser of the duel shall not touch Lady Bianca without her consent… ever again. Agreed?"
"Agreed," The Crown Prince said, and Lucian threw a bottle of wine at him. He caught it and looked at him in confusion.
"We don't want others saying you beat me in an unfair duel, can we?" Lucian said and gestured for AL to bring him another bottle, "Drink. We will fight once the alcohol in your blood is the same as mine."
The Crown Prince smirked and took a large gulp of the wine before letting go of Lady Bianca, ''I hope you won't use alcohol as an excuse when you lose. It will make you look bad.''
Lucian took a gulp of the bottle AL handed him, ''I'm engaged to your ex, Your Highness. I can't look worse.''
The Crown Prince choked on his drink, and then started laughing like a madman. Lucian laughed along, ''Haha... Hahahaha….hahaha... Haha….."
'Kill or not to kill?' Lucian thought as they continued to laugh and take gulps from the bottle, 'That's the question.'