Cross

Lyn rolled her eyes, 'What an impossible man,' she thought. Still, it seems like he will uphold his word about not doing anything to her. For Lyn, that was enough. While she can't give him a response because of everything that's going on right now, she can at least say, "Thank you for being honest."

Rhys nodded, "Yeah."

Because what else can she say other than her gratitude? What she feels towards Rhys; what their relationship is with each other is something utterly foreign to her. Lyn wondered what ordinary people would do in this situation?

....

Rhys suggested for her to say over which ended up with her hitting him and marching off. A deep sigh passed her lips as she made her way down the hall, she took one last glance back and found Rhys stood at the door staring at her. Lyn immediately turned away and increased her footsteps. 'Don't bother with him now,' she thought. Just return to Kazuya quickly.

Just as she thought at a pillar by the end of the hall, she found Kazuya acting suspicious, 'He heard, and saw, huh?' Lyn walked over and called his name, "Kazuya?"

"I don't know who you're talking about miss; I see no Kazuya here."

Lyn exhaled deeply, "So, right now I am not speaking with my handsome boyfriend?" she emphasized the word handsome, and looked down, "I guess not, if my boyfriend was here he would be giving me my hugs, Im very cold now," no sooner had she finished that sentence she felt Kazuya's arms wrapped around her. He was nuzzling his face in her neck, "Why is this stranger hugging me, I wonder."

Kazuya sighed, "Hey, you know I was only joking around."

"I know, but your acting cold."

"After you hugged another man for a long time. It is only natural."

"Do you think I have enough strength to escape Rhys grip?"

Kazuya shook his head, "I know, still frustrates me. Only I can use you as a body pillow."

Lyn cheeks puffed up into a pout, "Im just a body pillow?"

"Nope, you give me happiness elsewhere too," Kazuya said. Lyn didn't have to ask what he was talking about and she stepped on his foot. This must be the men of the Sound Kingdoms nature, all of them are flirts and perverts, "But really, that surprised me too."

"You didn't know?"

"I knew," Kazuya nodded, "But I wasn't sure, well, Rhys is not the type to fall in love, so yes, I was uncertain," not the type to fall in love, huh? But that's not something people can judge, Kazuya must have read her thoughts since he apologized, "Sorry, I'm just a bit bitter. Though I predicted it, I didn't think he would confess. I thought even if he had those feelings, he wouldn't confess to you because of our mission."

So that's it, "Kazuya, I'm sorry. Maybe I should have turned him down."

Kazuya shook his head, "It's fine. Besides, I'd rather you don't make such abrupt decisions," he trailed off, and Lyn felt his lips graze her neck, "If Rhys is my competition, I have to try harder."

"K--Kazuya, please stop doing that," Lyn exclaimed all flustered.

"Ah, yes, yes."

'Exactly like Rhys, both stubborn,' Lyn thought as Kazuya didn't move away from her. After awhile Lyn decided to turn away, and she regrets it immediately, since Kazuya immediately inched his face close to hers, "D--don't get so close," this is more embarrassing than when Rhys got close to her.

Kazuya smiled, "Your turning red like a tomato."

"K-Kazuya," this is so embarrassing. Even more, than Rhys, whenever she is like this with Kazuya, it feels like her heart is going to come out of her chest with how loudly it is beating. To her surprise, Kazuya suddenly drew back, "Ah."

"Shall we go outside for a bit?"

.....

Lyn laughed; the two of them had found a quiet spot outside and sat on the wooden benches while Kazuya told her another story. As the night sky stretched above them, they could see faint lights from the town. Due to everything that's been happening lately, it's been quite some time since she last heard a tale from Kazuya. So it felt refreshing, what's more. Lyn peeked over at him and saw his bright smile. 'Thank goodness,' Lyn thought. Lately, Kazuya has seemed very restless; he hasn't been smiling much, at least not properly anyway. Is it because he met with her Eldest Sister? Lyn wondered, what they were talking about?

Her thoughts broke off when Kazuya took hold of her hand in his; a troubled expression appeared on his face and Lyn immediately understand why, "I'm fine, it doesn't hurt," she quickly assured him. Lyn never cared much for the state of her hands. Though Rhys made a sly remark about her hands getting damaged in the process of training with a bow, "Besides, it's worth it. These cuts and injuries I sustain are all proof that I am not just sitting around and doing nothing."

In contrast to before, she is in a better position. While she is still living an isolated lifestyle, instead of just aimlessly relying on books with little knowledge in them, she can gain more practical life skills. For her, that's more important than the state of her hands.

"And your skin is rougher than before, your eyelids swollen," Kazuya listed.

"I—I still take care of myself," Lyn exclaimed. No girl wants to hear the first half from their boyfriend. Girls want to look prettier for the one they love; she doesn't want to hear him say such things. Before she could say that, Lyn glanced into his eyes.

Kazuya's gaze was dim, as he asked her, "At times I wonder, Lyn, why are you going so far? Is this just to prove yourself for those who made fun of you all these years? For your dream?" Her boyfriend's expression looked darker than she had ever seen before. He must be bewildered.

Lyn paused, right? For Kazuya, her actions may seem unusual. After all, she may be a Princess living in not such pleasant circumstances. But it could be worse; her family could have abandoned her and left her in the care of other relatives. While being confined to the castle isn't exactly the best situation, it's still better than some people's cases. She's still on the castle grounds; people still address her as 'Princess,' and her family has revealed her existence to essential people. She's even marrying into the empires most influential family. She has a good aide and teacher. What is there to complain about?

For a girl who is born with a birthmark that is supposedly cursed, the fact that they have not locked her away in a tower with seldom any visitors is already surprising. Usually, when kids are born with something defective about them, they'd get locked up, but it was not like that at all with her. For some reason, her family didn't lock her away like all the others.