Chapter Text
The streets were already returning to their usual life. Every morning, Kanade saw from her balcony the town that she swore to protect before her parents. That morning, the prince closely observed the inhabitants who moved from one side to the other with an enviable energy. She could barely keep her eyes open when her maid went to wake her up. Beside her, Mizuki walked calmly, smiling and returning greetings. She wished she could interact with her people like her knights did, but there was a risk of an assassination attempt. She still couldn't die.
“Is something wrong, prince?” Mizuki looked at her with concern as she recognized her frustrated expression.
“No, I was just thinking about how alive the town looks.”
Years ago, her parents played an important role in saving a territory devastated by war that involved all the kingdoms of the world. They expelled all the aristocrats who managed the lands to establish a new regime with a new king at the head. The Empire was a relatively recent territory compared to the others. That is why many tried to attack the weakened nation by all means, but they didn’t take into account that King Yoisaki had a strategic genius among his men. The former king of the Asahina kingdom had sworn allegiance to Kanade's father and made his utopia a reality. At that time, the queen had had a daughter whose existence was hidden from the rest of the world.
Kanade had grown up outside the royal palace. She was hidden from all people only living with a couple of maids and two other girls who were assigned as her companions. One was Mochizuki Honami, her faithful maid who accompanies her to this day. Her company was that of an older sister in much of her life. She learned the trade from her to offer the best of herself to Kanade and she appreciated it by taking her as the only maid capable of knowing state secrets. Many were against her, especially since Honami had a history of associating with commanders of enemy armies, but Kanade put her hands in the fire for her and would do so until her life proved otherwise.
The other person was Mafuyu Asahina, who is now known as Yuki. Her father hid her from her mother. Queen Asahina wanted to regain her political strength in every way and she planned to make an arranged marriage with the kingdom of the Tenmas. His priority was to hide Mafuyu until she came of age. At that time, while they were spending time in the hidden palace, a knight was sent to guard the premises when the war gained greater strength. It was he who trained Mafuyu. However, when they were cornered by Queen Asahina's army, Mafuyu voluntarily surrendered and disappeared for years.
When she turned 14, she was notified of the death of his parents in combat. They had gone to fight alongside underprepared soldiers to defend the north of the country from an invasion by the Kagamine kingdom. Without firstborns, there was no one from the lineage who could take the throne. So the aristocrats started a competition to choose the next king. Kanade was the winner. She had to hide her gender and identity, she kept her name and was given her parents' last name to hide the naming of a bastard. Kanade was angry about that, but she understood that her existence was hidden and thanks to that she had the opportunity to follow her parents' legacy.
The only people who knew the truth were Honami, Mafuyu and Mizuki. The latter was a knight who was Mafuyu's best friend in the Asahina kingdom, followed her companion to the Empire and swore loyalty to Kanade. She still remembered how fast her heart beat when she saw Mizuki get down on her knees in front of her, taking her hand to place a kiss on the back of it. It was a magical moment that sparked an instant crush when she saw his face up close to her. Sometimes she would make some movement to declare herself, but Mizuki, she didn't know if consciously or unconsciously, diverted the moment to something lighter. However, she did do blatant flirting when both were with their close friends. That confused Kanade.
“Mizuki,” she said, playing with her fingers, “seeing your eyes bathed in moonlight, I couldn't help but think that pink is definitely your color. The witches are right when they say that pink stones symbolize peace, that is what I feel every time I see your eyes.”
She looked away from her to Mizuki who was still walking in silence. She was disappointed to see no different reaction until she focused on her ears. They were red.
“Prince…you are very good with words. You should be careful what you say to a lady.”
The castle was close to their sight. There were guards going back and forth, surely they had discovered his absence on Honami's alert and he was going to be scolded by his ministers when he set foot inside it. The last time she sat for three hours listening to the old men in the library for having deviated from the plan in a meeting with other heirs from neighboring kingdoms.
“The prince always causes a ruckus,” Mizuki laughed without attracting the attention of the guards, “whoever marries you must be an extravagant person.”
"I don't believe it. I have attended many meetings and no lady has noticed me.”
“Surely we saw the same meetings? I could see hearts in her eyes. They were completely dead to have a commitment to you. If Mafuyu were here, he would agree with me,” she perhaps didn't pay as much attention as her knights, “You have an engaging personality and you move by altruism without judging their stories. Also, look at you, your appearance is that of a fairy tale prince. Only a crazy woman wouldn't be enchanted by you. The chosen one must be very lucky.”
Her face was red with praise. When she went to meetings, she could only focus on Mizuki's elegant bearing at the side of the room. The different expressions she made when her boredom reached a limit and she started murmuring to Mafuyu about any topic. It was fun to watch her talk while her army captain stood stoically watching some fixed point until the end of the meeting. Kanade only had eyes for one woman in her life, if her fiancée was a lucky lady then.
“Then you are a very lucky lady, Mizuki,” she lifted her face with a sincere smile, staring at the knight. They both looked at each other until Mizuki looked away from her, hiding her face with her hand.
She let out a whimper before saying, “A critical hit.”
Seeing her shy expression, her red face up to her neck, encouraged Kanade to continue with what she said.
“You seek the good of those close to you, you are there to listen to me even if it is my excitement for a new discovery about distant lands, you taught me that there are more options than destroying myself until I achieve my goal and, above all things, the most important emotion in life of any person. I feel like the lucky person to be able to meet you.” She didn't know if Mizuki was still listening to her with how red she was, however, it was her time and she wasn't going to waste it. “That's why I want to tell you something. For a long time I”
"Prince!”
Honami hugged her with tears staining her robe. She removed her hood, drawing the attention of the guards who immediately ran to surround her. She stroked Honami's head gently trying to calm her down, but it was difficult when she was so much taller.
“I'm fine, I'm sorry I made you worry.” She murmured softly.
"These children." One of her ministers walked up to her muttering curses to which Kanade was going to turn a deaf ear just this once. “First the navy captain and then the prince, should we retrain them to remember the danger of leaving the castle?”
“Sorry, I had something important to do. Please, let’s not cause a disturbance in public, let’s talk inside about today’s duties.” He nodded, clicking his tongue, and ordered the soldiers to return to their positions, assuring that they would inspect each one. She turned to Mizuki who was about to follow her classmates and stopped her by grabbing the sleeve of her uniform. “Mizuki, see you later. I want to finish telling you about now, so please wait for me.”
The knight looked from side to side seeing no one paying attention to them other than Honami who was drying her tears. Kanade made a surprised noise as her robes were snapped up covering both of their heads. She felt Mizuki's warm breath near her lips and closed her eyes instinctively.
“Who is embarrassed now after saying all those things?”
Opening his eyes, she met Mizuki's mocking smile. Although it was somewhat dark, she could notice her red cheeks as well as her own. Mizuki moved forward and kissed her cheek quickly.
“I'll wait for you in the gardens at night,” she whispered against her ear before separating from her, leaving him completely red. “Have a good day Honami! Take care of our troublesome prince.”
Honami returned the greeting and squealed in surprise when Kanade hid her face in her chest.
“Yoisaki?” She asked, worried about her prince's behavior.
“She agreed to see me…I'm so happy I could die right now.”
This time Honami stroked Kanade's head with a calm smile. She even didn't understand how the two of them weren't in a relationship, even a secret one, but it was adorable to see how they were both sure excited about their date night. She had to plan her dinner to have a romantic atmosphere.