First Meetings

"Please sit here Your Majesty." Cyrus watched as the Yerin King guided his uncle towards his seat. The chair in question was plated with gold and decorated with countless jewels, not to mention that the cushion used seemed to have come from the fur of a white tiger–which was rare. Honestly, this chair could probably stand on par with the Emperor's throne. If it weren't for the fact they were in the dining room–Cyrus would've thought that it was a personalized chair made for one of the princesses.

"Hoho...what a beautiful chair...' Though the Emperor's face remained unfazed, the same couldn't be said for his thoughts.

'Cyrus!' The General ignored the panicked voice of his uncle. Unlike the Emperor, who remained standing and chuckling awkwardly, Cyrus had already settled comfortably into his seat. Yuno sat on his right, Derick on his left, with the seat directly across from him completely empty.

The majority of the Yerin Royal Family was already present: the twin prince and princess, the first princess, the third prince, the queen, and of course, the King–"Your Majesty please sit."–who was still preoccupied with his uncle. Cyrus's gaze wandered to the two vacant chairs. One, he knew, belonged to Licht, and the other presumably to the crown prince. Instinctively, his eyes flicked toward Yuno, who wore a smug, triumphant grin as he, too, stared at the empty seat.

Cyrus could only pray that the body wouldn't be discovered until they were safely on their way out of the kingdom.

After what seemed like an eternity of coaxing and no small number of "hohos," the Emperor finally took his seat. The Yerin King had originally offered the Emperor the head seat, his own place of honor, which the Emperor had quickly declined. The next thing he knew he was being offered a luxurious chair that stuck out like a sore thumb in the dining room.

Before they can actually start their dinner, the King stood by his seat, everyone's gaze turning towards him.

"It's an honor to have the North–especially the Emperor to come visit our humble land. Through this short visit, I hope that Yerin has made a good impression thus far."

No.

The King's eyes lingered briefly on the two empty chairs before his eyes softened and his usual smile returned. He glanced at everyone as he raised his glass for a toast.

"Here's to Yerin and the Empire's friendship!"

One by one the people gathered by the table raised their glass. Cyrus gulped the wine in one go–he's really not a fan of drinking, he often has a low resistance to such but today was special.

After experiencing such an eventful day, the General couldn't help but ask the server for another glass. The servant quickly went to refill it and Cyrus quickly drank it again–he still needed to talk about the marriage–that damn marriage...

His gaze travelled towards the third prince who was carefully slicing his meat. He seemed to realize the General's gaze upon him as he suddenly looked up and the two made eye contact. Liam smiled at him and the General belatedly looked away. Just as he was about to take another glass, it was swiftly snatched by Yuno.

"Eat, you've drank enough already." Yuno said sternly. The General did not pout nor did he whine continously like a kid into the other's mind–

'One more glass shouldn't hurt.' Derick tried to convince Yuno. Cyrus who was sitting beside him nodded unconsciously while he was in the middle of eating a piece of meat–which made for an awkward scene.

Yuno almost facepalmed himself before giving Derick a glare. 'No.' His gaze lingering on the slight flush on Cyrus's ears. 'Do you want him to start babling non-stop again? It would be one thing if we were in the manor, but we're in a foreign country right now. Not to mention that people here are weird.'

'... the General looks sad though...'

'...'

'Just eat your damn food. You too Cyrus stop pouting and finish chewing that meat!'

They were halfway through dinner when 'that' topic suddenly came up.

"So, General..." The Yerin King began, his gaze drifting toward Cyrus, who was glaring at the carrots on his plate as if they had personally insulted his ancestors. The sight was, frankly, amusing. Even the Emperor, seated nearby, looked as if he could barely contain his amusement, clearly wishing he'd brought a magic recorder to capture the moment.

Slowly, the King continued, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Have you decided on a date for the wedding?"

Hearing this the General stopped glaring at the carrots, instead he looked dumbly at the King.

Wedding? Wedding...oh that wedding!

The General gave the King a lazy smile, he was about to stand up, but was quickly grabbed by Yuno who firmly pressed him down on his seat.

'Behave.' Cyrus frowned at him, but Yuno ignored it as he politely bowed to the King.

"I'm sorry your highness, but it seems that the General is already drunk." Without missing a beat, Cyrus retorted. "I'm not drunk."

In response Yuno gave him 'the look'–his gaze trailed towards the carrots Cyrus was glaring at earlier and then back to the General.

'Say that without glaring at the carrots and I'll believe you.' The General tilted his head in confusion and Yuno just sighed. Hopeless–truly hopeless.

Luckily the King didn't seem to mind. He chuckled at the two's interaction before nodding.

"I'll ask him when he's sober." Before the General could even retort with 'I am sober!', the door to the dining room opened.

"The first prince, Licht Yerin and the crown prince, Lyle Yerin have arrived!" The guards announced, catching everyone's attention.

Two people walked in. One was dressed in a formal attire, his blonde hair slicked back as the red cape elegantly swung from his back. His golden eyes scanned the room, when he saw the North's strategist sitting by the left side of the table, he quickly retracted his gaze.

He flashed them a charming smile–one that would make the ladies swoon and omegas fall on their knees. "We greet his highness and our beloved visitors from the North. Forgive us for being late, my body was quite sore and I had to ask assistance from my good brother here. I hope you can understand."

He patted his brother's arm and the other slapped it away. Unlike the prince charming appearance of Lyle, Licht on the other hand looked as if he'd just woken up from a nap. This first prince didn't have the signature blonde hair of the family, instead, he had a smooth raven hair similar to that of the late queen. His long hair was tied up neatly, he wore his usual clothes with the addition of a thin coat. Honestly he looked the most comfortable here.

He gave a curt bow to everyone before he went ahead and sat on his seat, ignoring the King rattle about something, something. Lyle followed behind him, though he was quite adamant to sit when he realized that the person sitting in front of him was Yuno.

"Long time no see your highness."

Licht didn't really care, his gaze focused on the General sitting wide eyed and mouth opened across him. He held out his hand, a smile gracing his pale lips.

"It's nice to finally meet you Cyrus."

The General stumbled back on his seat, he almost fell down entirely if he didn't manage to jump out the last second. The chair fell with a thud, catching everyone's attention.

Cyrus moved back, his finger pointing accusingly at the first prince.

"Y-You...you–fucking bastard!"