The princess was completely different from what he had expected. Instead of a mature woman, she instead had the mannerisms of a child and always sucked on a piece of candy on a stick. She wore a constant mischievous smile and sometimes waved around with the candy.

When the princess joined Antoinette’s group, he wished there was such a thing as time travel. With another pointed question, Res spurred on Vincent’s monologue. Yet, most of his concentration was focused on the princess’s bodyguard. All the while, Serafina was somewhat excluded from the conversation. Presumably out of pity, the princess motioned for Serafina to get something to drink.

“Bro, this is your chance. Don’t jinx it. This may be the last opportunity.”

Res sighed and replied in an ironic tone: “Thanks, for the encouragement”

With some vague promises about speaking again, Res left Vincent. With a confident smile, he strode towards the table that Serafina was walking towards. If that romantic quote he had spouted out last time had worked, he hoped that this would work too. He had read of this legendary action in various books they had to read in the academy. When Res was three meters away, he channeled a minuscule amount of aether that pushed her left boot to the side. Res cheered in his mind when she actually tripped.

He sprinted towards her while using a small part of aether to push her so that her back faced the floor. With a last lunge, he managed to catch her soft but live form in his arms. The only thing that screwed up the situation was the steel dagger pressed against his throat. Yet, his immense calm remained and he grinned at Serafina.

“I couldn’t help myself. I would even exchange the princess’s crown for one of your smiles any time, madame.”

Her eyes widened to saucers and the pressure of the dagger lessened, so he retreated. She scrambled up and stared at him for several long moments, but Res only grinned at her.

Then, she pulled her sword. “I, the protector of the …”

Res held his hands up in defeat and motioned for her to stop. All around them, nobles were watching them with a mixture of amusement and confusion. In contrast to his calm outer self, his whispers carried a hint of desperation. “Let me explain this. Please don’t tell anyone my name. It is our little dirty secret.”

For some reason, she blushed at that and whispered back. “You will be my prisoner from now on, understood? Don’t make any moves.”

Res grinned at her and gave her a wink. “I don’t mind as long as it is someone who is as adept with the sword as you.” Her flush deepened and she roughly began to push Res along.

“Bro, what have I told you. It always works. You have to give a genuine compliment about something that the person loves to do.”

“Do you think I did well?”

“Yeahno. That is yes and no. It would be an eight outta ten.”

Res avoided one of Serafina’s prods and began to walk next to her. “You know, I wanted to ask you something.” Res waited … and waited … Finally, she burst out: “What would you like to ask me?”

He plastered one of his most innocent smiles on his face. “I wanted to ask about the location of your window.”

For that, Res received a well-deserved sharp prod in his back. “I don’t like your real face. In comparison to your old face, you are more akin to a rag. From what hero painting did you pick your fake face from anyway? You try to twist hearts with allusions.”

Res laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it. He wiped off some of his tears off his face. “This is my fake face and the other one is my real one.”

Serafina flushed such a deep scarlet that her face began to blend in with parts of the red carpet. She took a deep breath and composed herself. “I fell for a simple lie. You couldn’t get past the two aether mask user detectors at the front door. My already low opinion of you continues to fall.”

Res turned to Serafina and looked her in the eyes. He picked at some of the rubbery material on the surface which began to bounce, not skin-like. “Serafina. I don’t lie. Especially not for you.” For the umptieth time this evening, she began to redden.

Jason cheered him onwards: “Yes, perfect. Keep those bland compliments coming. The edgier, the better.” Jason’s confirmation spurred him on in his role. “If someone blushes, it is usually a defense mechanism against awkward social interactions. You use it for offence because if you blush, I am left defenseless by its beauty.”

In the back of Res mind Jason howled with laughter: “Bro, Holy macaroni, you are a total mad lad. Nailed it. Ten outta ten.”

Jason was right as always with women and Serafina began to blush even more than before. He studies her emotional cycle with interest. She would realize that she was flushing at his comment about her flush and flushing even more because of it. Once again, she fell back and began to prod him along with the scabbard of her sword like a prisoner. He continued up until he was driven into the group of nobles that was crowded around the princess.

With the help of aether, he pushed the scabbard a little bit to the right and stepped to the left. The result was Serafina poking a powerful noble into the back with a scabbard. The spectacle that unfolded after that was a sight to behold. The noble screamed out in pain and whirled around with a dagger. The noble’s gaze immediately fell on Serafina who glanced at Res who in turn shrugged. He was coming to like her blush. She cleared her throat and announced to a confused princess.

“My princess, I have made a … ”

Before she could say ‘prisoner’ Res stepped in the gap that had formed and interrupted. “… friend. Serafina and me, Leonard, are friends.”

Before she could protest, the princess started in a fit of giggles: “My, my Serafina. You are finally loosening up, are you? How did the two of you find each other?”

Res ignored Antoinette’s victorious looks and instead continued in a dramatic tone. “When I saw her … ” Res gave off a dramatic sigh and feigned being heartsick. His tone shifted to a low monotone. “I said: ‘Hello’ and then she said: ‘Hello’ and then I said: ‘Do you want to be friends’ and then she said ‘Yes’” He finished his performance with a little flourish.

Serafina tried to step around him and protest indignantly, but he stepped in her way. All the nobles were looking at him as if he was a dork, but the princess broke out into laughter: “I like you. Unfunny, but a fresh breeze.”

Finally, Serafina managed to bypass Res’s blockade and cried out: “He is my prisoner!”

Res turned to her with a sly look in his eyes. “Yes, I know that you like that sort of play.” By now, the princess had lost her dignity and was rolling on the ground with laughter. Serafina’s elegant brows furrowed in indignation and she made as if to draw her sword.

The princess interjected: “I would love for you to be my guest.”

She held out her hand and Res performed one of his best bows and mimed kissing her hand. “It would be my pleasure.”

“Bro, holy shit that was smooth. The way you played both of them off against each other. Hmmm … Olalalaa. You may become a master, yet.”

Serafina could only stare at Res with disbelief and shock. Before that could turn into rage, he whispered in her ear: “Sorry for doing that. You can beat me up after the auction all you like.”

“Bro, by the way, she is shaking in rage right now, I don’t think that was a good promise to make.”

Yet, his most immediate problems were the raging mad nobles who all had wanted to join the princess in her booth. Before the matter could escalate, the announcer once again cried out. “Greet our honorable guest, my lords, and ladies. The crown prince of Trianon.” The prince strode into the chamber with his usual arrogant stride.

When the prince’s gaze landed on the princesses’ form, his eyes took on a glint of lust and amusement. All the emotions were replaced by anger when he saw Res, disguised as Leonard. His cries of outrage and anger must have been heard even outside of the auction house. “You, you bastard! You boot-licking peasant! How dare you even come close to my future wife?” Parts of the prince began to glow with power and Res was blinded when he shifted to aether sight.

“Bro, shit. I thought the prince was a B-Tier at most. He must have a fucking overpowered artifact. I can’t even gage his level right now. He is above S+ for sure.”

A servant whispered in the prince’s ear which toned down the prince’s emotions. With a smug look, he waved at Res. “You are nothing but a mouse that I will crush under my foot. With the power granted by my office, I hereby banish you from the auction house.”

This time, the princess took the initiative and she clung to Res’s arms. “Sorry, he is with me.”

“Bro, I don’t know whether I should like or hate her. On the one hand, I can’t relish enough in the sensation of her warm softness. But she has doomed us.”

The prince shouted in rage, but this time it sounded like the whining of a small, angry child. The servant scuttled over to him and once again whispered something. He took on a smug look and said. “You know what? In comparison to the normal lounges, the royal longue consists out of four instead of three seats. Let me invite you with your retainer and that peasant into my longue.”

The princess’s expression fell in resignation, so Res decided to gamble a bit. He put one hand around Antoinette’s shoulder and said in his most sincere voice: “I am so sorry, my prince, but Antoinette van Mayford owns a royal longue, too. She wanted to invite us, but was not able to say it out loud. It would be rude not to ask her opinion on the matter.”

The princess nodded as if she had planned to do so all along and all eyes fell on Antoinette. One could see how fear of the prince warred with curiosity and potential knowledge. Luckily, she didn’t see the prince’s murderous gaze. Finally, curiosity won out and she announced in a clear voice. “I, Antoinette van Mayford, invite you to my royal lodge.”

The announcement broke any last restraint the prince had and he began to scream in rage. Clouds of aether began to billow out from him and everyone had to take a step back from the display of force. Two men, like the powerful guards at the entrance, appeared next to the prince. Their counterwaves of aether were impressive but didn’t measure up to the prince’s. Most of the room’s occupants hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation and stared at the display of power in awe.

The resistance seemed to bring the prince back to his senses and he let go of the power. The room took a breath of relief, but Res realized something odd. One of the nobles had fled to a corner of the room and a silver glint around him could be seen. It tickled some part of Res’s memory. When the silver glint vanished and he watched the gate and everything fell into place.

“Jason, do you see that man with the small mustache and the purple robes.”

“Yeah, bro. What is it?”

“I am ninety percent sure that that is the head of intelligence we fought earlier. The monk even said that he had an important meeting to attend to today.”

“Shit, you are right. The mannerisms have changed, but his gate. That arrogant swing in his steps. It is him. What do we do? Should we fight him?”

“Good joke. We couldn’t even touch him. Let’s gather more knowledge first.”

Other nobles looked at the young group with scorn at their lacking diplomatic skills. Before the situation could escalate further, a bell rang out. A servant announced: “My lords and ladies, the auction will begin within three minutes.” Res inwardly thanked the organizers for their foresight in disbanding the gathering. As he followed the now pale Antoinette, he saw the prince miming slitting a dagger across his throat.

“Bro, you won’t be able to keep the persona any longer after the auction.”

Granny emerged from a group of women wearing golden medallions and pressed a pouch of coins into his hand. “Boy, you jinxed it this time. You could have angered anyone but the prince. Still, use this opportunity as best as you can. You will need to make powerful friends in this cruel world.”