I'd never felt like I wanted to throw something at someone in my life until this moment. And I thought my patience was great. However here I was, losing my patience every seconds passed by. I thought Rossa had prepared me to be patient from all her annoyances. I'd never thought someone else could rival her in being such an annoying asshole.
"We have our birthday banquets as grand as possible. Nobility and royals from all around the world would come and bring us gifts. Well, I'm sure Evi's birthday celebrations are grander than mine but I think it's just the same." She bragged with a wide grin. For the past hour she had been yapping about her similarities between her and Evi. She wanted to highlight the fact that I was a different class than them.
"Oh, how do you spend your birthday, Ms Resse?" She was obviously looking down on me. I forced a smile.
"Back then, I just spent my birthday with extra meals as a present but ever since I've met Evi, I spent all of my birthdays with her. With cuddles, kisses and dates." I saw how her face turned into a frown but quickly forced a smile. She was gripping her teacup way too hard than necessary. Well, she asked me and I told her honestly. At least, that was what the original Resse's memory showed me.
"I.. I see." She forced a friendly chuckle. Honestly, she really couldn't act without being obvious. I must've caught her off guard. "You two are already engaged right?"
"Yes." I took a sip from my cup. The tea was still hot despite an hour had passed by. There must be a magic in it to keep it hot. I shouldn't agreed to join her for tea. I regretted this so much.
Well, initially I wanted to get to know her. To see if she was a good person and a good match for Evi. If she was truly a good person, I would feel a little better. At least.. At least Evi could have a good partner. Ugh, the pain in my heart didn't ease up one bit thinking that way. However, somehow I felt a little relief that she was obnoxious. Just a little.
"I heard that you were about to get married but it was cancelled." She smirked annoyingly. She was pushing my buttons.
"It was postponed. Not cancelled." I corrected her.
"Ah, yes of course." The way she faked her sympathy was repulsive to me. "But it needs to be cancelled now right?"
"I'm not sure." I looked away. She just hit a nerve. It was a sensitive topic to me.
"Well, I mean, you fainted after going to pray at the temple. That's a bad omen, they say." She was being mean. I looked back at her, eyes slightly widened. "And you also went together with Evi. Yet, you were the only one fainted. Isn't that a sign?"
"You're awfully well informed about that despite being an outsider, your highness." I kept my cool and smiled at her. Her amused grin vanished, replaced with a nervous half smile.
"Oh you know.. I just heard rumours. That's all." She said dismissively but I wasn't just going to let this go. She spilled something crucial here.
"Oh wow, where did you hear the rumours, princess? I'm a bit concerned."
"The rumour is true right? No need to be concerned."
"No, you misunderstood me, your highness. I'm not concerned about its credibility. It's more like, I'm concerned your source is giving you an outdated rumour. That thing happened months ago after all." I made her uncomfortable with my sharp gaze. She shifted in her seat, clearly feeling the pressure.
"Well, it's no matter anyway. It's a pretty big thing. Rumours like that won't die that quickly." Oh how ignorant she was. I couldn't help but chuckle. She frowned at me. "What's so funny?"
"My apologies, your highness. I didn't mean to offend you." I continued to smile. "I just find it amusing, that's all."
"Amusing?"
"Yes. The incident did happen, yes. However, it was supposed to be classified. Evi forbids a word about the incident to spread around. Only selected individuals knew about it." I watched her face turn pale, finally realising the gravity of her loose mouth. "It's amusing to think that your highness somehow caught wind of the incident. Despite being a foreigner and all. Or is it due to Franciff's royal blood that you have an amazing pair of ears that can eavesdrop? Or an overly large nose to stick it to someone's business? Which one is it?"
"What? It.. I.. What nonsense are you saying?!" She was flustered. A nervous wreck that was so easy to read.
"Are you aware of one of the obligations in the Franciff and Atheen peace treaty, your highness?" I rested my chin on my palm, looking at her with great interest. It was worth it to spend my week off reading about the history of Atheen in the royal library. Mostly because I wanted to avoid Princess Ana and I just couldn't sit still without anything to do. Who would've thought all of that would bear fruit this instant?
"What?"
"I think it's the second obligation, that says; 'It is forbidden to pry into each other's secrets or state matters unless either party gives their consent.' Your highness as of now in a situation of knowing the secret information in Atheen. The incident that we spoke of, is supposed to be a secret. Oh my, what will happen now?" I smirked. She was visibly sweating nervously. "Isn't that a break of treaty, your highness? Isn't that bad?"
"That.. That's not it! It's just a rumour! Just a rumour I heard randomly upon arriving here! That doesn't count." She argued in desperation.
"Where did you hear such a rumor, your highness?"
"The..the.. The servants were talking about it."
"Oh? And your highness just randomly caught the servants talking about it and believed it immediately?" I tested.
"We-well, I mean they're working here and probably witnessed it themselves. Of course it's believable!"
"Was it intentional eavesdropping or accidentally eavesdropping?" I tilted my head to the side, smirking. She was already eyeing our surroundings, trying to find an escape. Oh my, this was fun. It was satisfying to pressure her like this. Yes, I was being a meanie because I might have a beef with her.
"Accidentally of course!" She declared.
"Care to share the time and place where this event happened? I can consult the Crystal Ball to look at the memory of this palace. Don't worry, your highness. This can be proof that your highness is not breaking the treaty." That was the final nail in the coffin and she hastily stood up.
"I.. I think this is going too far. You're accusing me with baseless claims!" She slammed her hand on the table, making me flinch in surprise. She got a nasty temper, this one.
"Eh? Is that so? Then, I apologise, your highness." I stood up too. "I will have to take my leave. I have lunch to attend with Princess Evi."
I was being too casual about it and it was pissing her off greatly. She didn't even bother to mask her displeasure with me. She openly glared at me. I didn't know making someone angry was so fun like this. I should do this often to the people I dislike. Oh god, I was turning into a jerk. I left the hall after lowering my head at her.
The Crystal Ball was a high class magic item in this world. Its function was simple to understand. Crystal Ball, once activated, would record everything that happened in the area. It collected memories of the place where it was placed. Almost like how a CCTV works back in my previous world. The reason why Princess Ana lashed out was we both knew there won't be such an event recorded in the Crystal Ball if I checked. It would be proven that she was lying about accidentally eavesdropping the servants' gossiping hours.
Well, I wouldn't know anything about the Crystal Ball until Evi told me about it after the incident at the banquet. Only the council members and Evi knew about its location. I guessed the council just felt so bad and allowed me to know about it too. It was open information that every building must have a Crystal Ball. The secret was the specific location of it. That was the classified information that was shared to me. I remembered pretending to know all about Crystal Ball because apparently the Resse of this world chose to be ignorant about it the whole time. I had to go to the library to find out what the hell was that. Well, it was one of the security systems in the palace after all. A magical ball of breach of privacy, to be honest. Apparently, it could even record what everyone's doing in the bathroom. That was creepy and a total breach of privacy. Well, it was fair that only a few people could have free access to use the Crystal Ball.
Anyway, I knew for sure an insider provided that information to Princess Ana. It could be considered a treason. I would want to interrogate her more until she tells me the informant but I didn't think I would be able to without resorting to violence. That was just too much. She was lucky she was a princess. If she wasn't, I wouldn't even hesitate. Woah, where did this violent tendency come from? This world was a bad influence on me.
"You're late." Evi sulked, turning her body away from me.
"I'm so sorry, Evi. I had tea with Princess Ana. Well, we lost track of time." I reasoned and sat down beside her.
We were supposed to eat lunch on the balcony. Because Evi was feeling like shit, I suggested that we should have lunch at a different place to put her in a good mood. Well, that was thrown out of the window when I upset her due to my lateness anyway.
"Do you have fun with her?" She still didn't want to look at me. Did I hear jealousy? It was making me feel warm.
"Well.. It wasn't exactly fun. She was torturing me with her yapping." I told her. "And.. Forgive me for being rude but she talks so damn much that it almost makes my ears bleed."
"Watch what you say, Resse." She cracked a laugh. I exhaled in relief. She looked at me and smiled. "Let's just eat."
We ate peacefully and talked about casual stuff. We didn't mention the whole marriage proposal. Evi never brought it up again or told me what she had decided to do. It was making me slightly anxious but I trusted her. She knew what was the best for everyone after all. I was just anxious about how well I would be able to handle it. I didn't want to think about it too much. I just had to wait and see.
A knock on the door interrupted us. There was a maid standing there, carrying a package. Mails always delivered at our respective workplace usually. It was rare for any package delivered directly to us. Evi was just as confused as I was. But then, I remembered something.
"Oh! Thank you for bringing it here." I chirped, excited. The maid smiled and then left the balcony.
"It's yours, Resse?" Evi questioned.
"Yes." I grinned. This came at the right time. This might cheer her up. I handed it to her. "Open it."
"For me? Isn't my birthday is still a long way to go?"
"Just open it." I rolled my eyes playfully at her.
She complied and tore off the package carefully. Inside the box was the custom made vase I ordered back in the city. Evi gasped as she lifted the vase and looked at it closely. The porter did a great job making it. It was exactly like I had envisioned it. The main colour was blue. The same shade of blue as Evi's bright blue eyes. It was inspired by her eyes after all. She was in my mind the whole day when I went out in the city. I ended up making the design dedicated to her. There were flower motifs around the vase and simplified versions of waves near the rim. It looked good.
"Did you buy this? It's so pretty." She was amazed.
"Yes. When I went out to the city. The other day." I couldn't stop looking at her. I liked how her eyes sparkled in delight and she was so invested to inspect the vase. She was happy. I liked seeing that.
"Oh, wait. Is this for the flower you wanted us to grow together?" She guessed correctly. She remembered it. I thought that after all that heavy stuff happened recently, she would forget about it. I smiled broadly and nodded. "Ah, did you pick out a flower too?"
"Yes. I've purchased the seed already."
"You're so efficient, dear." She beamed at me. She looked at the vase again, admiring it more. "I've never seen a vase like this before. Is it the most recent one?"
"I designed it." I told her, shrugging nonchalantly. She paused and looked at me with wide eyes.
"You.. Designed it?" She repeated. I nodded. "Wow.. You're so talented, Resse."
"Impressed are you? Still gonna think my drawing is bad?" I teased.
"I was only joking when I said that! I know that you're talented, dear." She batted her eyes at me. Trying to look cute all of a sudden. She was doing a great job at it. I was almost in a trance. That was dangerous.
"A.. Anyway, do you like it?" I changed the topic immediately.
"I love it!" She grinned happily. "Though, I have to ask. Do you take the inspiration from the sea for this design?"
"No." I looked away from her, my face was getting warmer.
"No? Then, what does it inspired you from?"
"You're going to tease me about it." I mumbled out slowly.
"Eh? Come on, I won't do that." Evi nudged my shoulder with hers. She was in a better mood.
"Your eyes." I blurted it out so fast, hoping that she wouldn't be able to catch that.
"Hm? My eyes?" She repeated. Oh gosh, she caught that. I nodded shyly.
"It was inspired by your eyes." I explained and braved myself to look at her. Specifically her bright blue eyes. I could get lost in them.
"Really?" She bit down her lower lip, her cheeks flushed. I thought she wouldn't be any more cuter but she did. It took my breath away.
"Y-yes.. Your eyes remind me of the sky when the weather is perfect. Also the sea when it's shimmering under the sun. The blue flower that blooms beautifully softly graze by the breeze in the evening." I said while continue looking at her eyes. "A scenery that.. That I wouldn't mind enjoying for the rest of my life."
"Resse.." Evi called softly. She couldn't stop smiling. I snapped out of my reverie and the embarrassment hit me like a truck. I shoved my face into my hands, silently screaming. That was so freaking cringe. Evi laughed cutely. It was like a melody to me.
"Resse, you're seriously getting shy now after saying all that?" Evi tried to pull my hands out of my face but I stubbornly stayed put.
"Oh god.. What am I saying? That's so.." I grumbled.
"Poetic. Romantically Poetic." She finished it for me. I meant to say cringe. I shook my head. "Oh dear, you're so cute right now."
"End me right now.. Oh god.." I whined.
"Hey now.. No need to be embarrassed about what you said." Evi tugged my hands and I let her. I looked at her. She was still smiling. She kissed the back of my hand, doubling the beat of my heart. "You make my heart race so fast right now."
She guided my hand to feel her chest. She was telling the truth, I could feel her heart beating so fast. So, I wasn't the only one that felt like this. She exhaled softly.
"It feels like I'm falling in love with you again." She uttered.
Before I could process that, she leaned in for a kiss. Her fingers traveled from my cheek to the back of my ear and then went down to my neck. Shivers ran down to my spine. It was a pleasant shiver. The shiver I got from happiness. Her lips were so soft against mine. I didn't want this to end. She tilted her head to the side and deepened the kiss. My mind went blank. Nothing else mattered and all I could feel were her lips and her touches.