(From Blue''s Perspective)


    I ordered the maids to serve the food and then leave so Ruby and I could chat freely. They did not need to be told to do so when it was Dem and me.


    "I have brought a wine bottle from Dem''s collection," I grinned. "He told me I could take one whenever I want. So, here we go."


    "Yes, I know about the collection. They are very costly and rare," Ruby said. "Seeing the collection, anyone will think His Highness likes to drink. But His Highness was never fond of drinking. Before His Highness married Your Highness, he used to drink a bit more than now. But that really doesn''t count as loving alcohol."


    "Yeah, he told me about it. He doesn''t like to drink much, but in his opinion, if he drinks, he is gonna drink the best wine," I chuckled. "You like to drink, don''t you, Ruby?"


    "Yes, I do enjoy drinking. I am good with alcohol, unlike Luc, who likes to drink, but is terrible with it," she said. "We drank together a lot and every time, he ended up losing his mind."


    "Haha, he and I are the same. I sometimes wish to drink after working too long and then every time I do, Dem needs to carry me back. One time, Calix could not handle me alone because I totally lost my mind. Then, he had to call Perita and both of them had to take me back to the bedroom. Dem said I swore at him that night."


    "Your Highness swore? You must have totally lost it that time," sheughed.


    She and I both knew I was not someone to swear. Even if I did, it was very rare. It was surprising how even after living in that family, I did not develop this habit despite being sworn at all day and night.


    "That said, has Your Highness heard anything from Luc?" she asked, suddenly getting serious.


    "No," I shook my head. "I told him to report to me as soon as he found out something, but he still has not. I am sorry I cannot tell you much about the mission as it is a secret for now. But I still don''t understand how he has not found out anything yet. It should not have taken this much time. The team sent a report, but nothing from Luc.


    He is very powerful and with the team, so there is nothing to worry about."


    "I see... He has sent me a letter actually."


    "When?"


    "Two days ago," she said. "He asked me how I was and stuff like that. He also wrote to tell Your Highness that you have given him a nasty job and he is having a hard time. But the situation is under control for now."


    "Nasty job? Well, I can''t argue with that. But what does he mean by for now? Is the situation getting worse?"


    "I do not know that, Your Highness. He only wrote this much before ending the letter," she said.


    "Hmm... But why didn''t he write to me?" I grumbled. "I could understand better if he said something more and written to me."


    "Who knows? I also think it would have been better to write to Your Highness directly about it."


    "Yea... Anyway, let''s forget that for now. Do you know that my adoptive brother has told me about some things regarding you?"


    "What...? What did he say?"


    "He said you are pretty cute and sometimes feisty. I heard you even hit him on the elbow once," I said.


    "That''s because... He did not tell Your Highness the reason, right? That shameless guy..."


    "No. Remember the day when we went to see Mom and Dad? You could not go because Athena was in the magic tower. That time, Mom asked how was both of our marital lives going. That''s when Luc said it though he did not tell us when or why."


    "That''s good," she let out an air of relief.


    I did not need to ask her to know when or why it happened. Marriage was full of surprises and fun, after all.


    "Is the food okay?" I asked.


    "Yes, Your Highness. The food of the Imperial Pce is the best," she said.


    "All thanks to our cook. He really does an impressive job with the ingredients," I said. "I am d you like it. By the way, do you want to go out with me tomorrow?"


    "Where?" she asked.


    "Two of my orders are in my hand now. I ordered brooches for my knights and some academy supplements for the academy. I was looking for some time to hand these things over. Tomorrow will be a perfect time. Come with me. It will be fun."


    "The knights'' order of Your Highness?"


    ''Ah, Ruby is ufortable meeting them while they train. She told me about it before too. ording to her, their behavior is weird.''


    "If you are ufortable, you don''t have toe with me. But let me rify. They might behave informally with everyone and sometimes with Dem and me as well, but that doesn''t mean they are bad people. They are pretty chill which makes it easier to get along with them," I said. "My knights are very loyal to me and they are friendly too. Some of them are really big.


    No kidding... They are huge. Dem is so tall; they are even taller than him and very bulky. They look scary, but you will be surprised if you get to know them. They are the super friendly and outgoing ones. That one knight, I forgot his name because I was drunk, offered me a huge mug of beer.


    I don''t what those mugs are, but they were made of wood. I could not taste much, but it was very buttery and sweet. Anyway, that knight had been telling me many stories. I forgot most of them, but I had a great time."


    "Really? When did it happen?" she asked, surprised.


    "On the night of the swordsmanshippetition," I replied. "We decided to enjoy the final match between the duke and Lord Marcus with something to drink. The knights also went to the match and my knights wanted to suggest me something to drink. Dem told them not to get me something strong, then they brought the beer. Dem did not want to let me drink that, but I did. I had fun that night.


    My knights and I talked a lot and I screamed a lot for some reason with the crowd. I got a sore throat the next morning. Dem scolded me."


    "Oh my... So much happened."


    "You should have gone with us. It was fun."


    "Well, Athena was in the magic tower."


    "Yeah. But next time, you will being with us," I said. "That''s why let''s go tomorrow. We will have fun together."


    "Will His Highness be going with us?"


    "No," I shook my head.


    For some reason, Dem had suddenly started to express his insecurities very less. Did he improve? I did not ask him about it. If he had gotten over his insecurities, then it was a good thing.


    Ruby also knew about Dem''s insecurities a bit since she had worked as my personal maid. But she always refrained from asking about it. I appreciated it. It would never be aforting matter to talk about.


    After dinner, we drank. I refrained from drinking more than one ss. But the wine was too tasty. It was hard not to go for another ss.


    "The wine is pretty tasty. It tastes a bit like... I can''t really point it out..."


    "It''s kind of minty, huh? I think it''s mint," I said. "It''s quite an unusual vor, but I like it."


    "Oh, that''s right, mint! It tastes rather well," she said.


    "Dem has different vors of wine, including the basic vors and unusual vors. He has cotton candy, bubblegum, rose, and walnut vored wine. Weird, huh? Dem and I taste them sometimes. He doesn''t let me drink too much because I end up getting a bad headache the next morning. I really can''t handle alcohol at all."


    "Then it will be better if Your Highness doesn''t drink much."


    "Yeah, just thisst ss."


    Ruby tried to stop me, but could not. I finished the one ss I wanted. One ss did not make me too drunk. I just felt a bit lightheaded.


    Ruby helped me back to my room because she was worried I would drink more if she left me in the dining hall. She was also worried that I would get dizzy and fall down.


    "Haha, don''t worry anymore, Ruby. I am perfectly fine now. You can go back," I grinned. "Or, you can just stay here in the pce. I will tell the maids to prepare a room for you."