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The sun was brimming in the sky embracing the whole place in a warm atmosphere alerting that the summer is on the doors

High orange trees and cherry ones were laying their shade above the group of people sitting in the royal garden while loud laughters could be heard all across the garden and even out in the hall

The princess who is known for her gloomy and sharp demeanor was laughing so lighthearted today and everyone felt easy and comfortable

Every noble there looked at her in awe , the only princess of their kingdom wasn't just beautiful but also strong and bashful

Her hazel eyes and cat like lips gave her a sly and smart looks and her dark black hair was down on her back dancing with the light wind , her violet silk dress made her emit a genuine and confident aura

Her hand was twisted with another big tanned hands and the young man flushed in embarrassment looked so pleased that even his neck was glowing in red

Jean harbor was one of the emperial knights owning his title as the commander of the princess's guards, he got much attention for not being a nobility and owning such title , and contrary to his strong face he was also a delicate and soft man who knew nothing when interacting with a lady , any small act could make embarrassment swallow him

So feeling the princess' soft skin envolping his own harsh one made him sweat, his attention was only on the princess who was now so nice to him, his heart ached when he recalled her cold attitude towards him just yesterday

But it's fine , right ? He is willing to forget her cold attitude if she's going to treat him so nicely now , almost like lovers

Every now and then men and women would look at them in curiosity but she never looked at them even once , her bright hazel eyes were fixed on jean smiling brightly at him

" I heard that Zen dropped you again at yesterday's race , shouldn't he be used to crowds by now ? "

Ignoring the nobleman who was talking just now she tightened her grip around jean's hands directing her question at him

Jean flinched not expecting the sudden attention so he cleared his throat giving apologizing looks to the man whom the princess cut off with zero manners

" actually he is used to it by now , but yesterday a small dog suddenly crossed the path although that was a strange coincidence " he laughed lightly and Reina frowned directing her gaze to another direction

A pale tall man was sitting crossing his legs nonchalantly siping from his glass of wine

Claude narathia , the man who resembled a snake in his manners but a wounded lamb in his appearance , his grey eyes were so relaxed and curved in a small crescents while gazing at her , it was almost nerve wrecking how looking at his eyes was so likeable

" Claude , don't you find such coincidence so out of place ? If your management of the race is at such poor quality should i give the task to someone else ? "

Claude was the son of duke narathia the first supporter of the king , also known as the man who helped the king take the crown

Reina knew very well that an argument with the narathias wouldn't make her father so pleased , but Claude was an exception

He did everything he could to see her angry at every possible opportunity since she was just a child , and she grew up despising him and his actions

" Well your majesty , who would you give the task to ? " when her hand that was holding jean's let go she was completely facing claude now looking at his lips that was twisted in a small smirk and her blood boiled with irritation

" would you like to manage it yourself ? " when her silence carried on, he chuckled standing up " by the way , congratulations mister jean for winning third place "

In a strange way jean never won any race since she declared her affection for him , jean also excelled at horseback and won five times in a row , so she had no doubt that him losing was such a joke

She knew that claude was somehow behind jean not winning but she couldn't say anything feeling almost like she was trapped by his playful gaze while siping from his wine

The thick tall glass got to his lips once more and he sipped the remaining of the wine putting it back on the table then headed out

Her chest felt lighter as his figure got further and further but somehow she couldn't move her eyes from the direction he went , gritting her teeth Reina wanted to slap him although this time he did nothing

" your majesty , how could you allow such impudent manner ? " duchess Anstasia asked in an unpleased tone and when she examined the expressions of the rest of the nobles she knew that none of them were actually fond of claude

None of the nobility liked how the narathias used their power to somehow control the king , Reina nonetheless knew that they all would do the same if they were in the narathias' position

When the tea party ended the young women and men bowed and left the garden slowly

A figure standing still around the corner of the garden got her eyes fixed on it and that firm build was so familiar to her already

" would you like to see zen tomorrow ? " jean asked in a soft voice capturing Reina's attention and she nodded quickly standing at a haste " tomorrow, maybe you could show me after touring the capital " with no further delay she gave him a small smile then headed out immediately

Jean sat there his hands clutched having bitter feelings , Reina would come to him acting so intimate and nice sometimes but soon she would go back to her old self and treat him indifferently

He was tired of his feelings being played with , but each time he sees her he would forget the words he kept telling himself to keep his distance , he would mindlessly rush to her and soon he felt his pride being wounded

The cold ceramic hall send a shiver to her spine but she marched with confidence towards the person she believed to be Claude

" Waiting for me ? What a gentleman ! " his resting face lit with fury when she approached her voice ringing across the hall

" A gentleman you say ! Your majesty I thought that jean was another puppet of yours to get me mad , don't you think you went too far this time ? "

His cold grey eyes were looking at her with a burning gaze and his Jaw clutched , seeing him burn with anger lifted her spirit

She didn't react immediately instead she examined him once more smiling widely and then she let out a high bitched mocking laugh

" pardon ! since when were you the center of my actions ? I care for Jean deeply and i hope you let go of your childlike acts " her mocking and sly smirk infuriated him and with no second thoughts he trapped her between his arms and the wall

" so you decided to torture me after refusing me ? Is playing with my heart so enjoyable to you ?! "

As much as she wanted to be scared by his huge body trapping her or his harsh tone she found herself puzzled by the nonsense he spat

" refusing you ? When did you confess for me to refuse you ! " her hands shaked a little while pushing his arms away

He looked at her as if he was seeing if she was lying , but seeing her genuine confusion he couldn't believe, did she already forgot how she refused his kiss a couple of weeks ago ?

When he almost opened his mouth to remind her of what she did, he hesitated

Seeing his preplexed features and his opened mouth she thought Could he really confess now ? What would she do then ?

Claude took a breath then bent himself to see her face better and her expecting and anxious face made him laugh , then she was waiting for him to narrate what happened again , would she be happy to hear how she harshly left him after refusing his kiss ?

" do you want to hear me confess again that badly ? " he pushed himself away feeling hurt

" fine , want to play it like that then ! Let's see who would end up being humiliated the most your majesty "

Pushing Reina aside harshly Claude made his way out of the hall leaving her trying to process what happened

" when the hell did i refuse him !? " she almost shouted feeling so lost , he didn't even once voice his feelings to her, yes his actions were always confusing but she can't just think that this means him carrying feelings for her

He wouldn't hate her right ?

Yes they would always play on each others nerves but she never thought of it as a act of hatred

Still she may had thought at a point that she despised him but she knew deeply that this was never the case

If she did hate him, why would she care to see him jealous , she used different noble men to lit his jealousy and then leave them

Jean was no different , but this time Claude didn't give much reaction and that was the sole reason for her to keep jean for a long time

At the end , maybe he was right, most of her actions were only centered around him

But Reina never thought Claude to be so stupid or maybe foolish that he would make something up in his mind and believe it , because she was aware that the moment in which Claude would confess to her would be a moment she would never forget