The room became eerily silent as the tension permeated every corner of the space, suffocating everyone inside, this was especially palpable to Arthur.
Arthur found himself being placed between a rock and a hard place, his gaze shifted to a less than pleased Renner that looked at him with a neutral expression as she awaited his response but he knew she was far from calm.
The princess was outwardly calm and poised, despite her anger she showed the grace and elegance one would expect out of her, her ability to control and not show her emotions was something she prided herself in, she knew that outbursts were unbecoming of her.
Lakyus on the other hand, felt an intense sense of guilt and anxiety, Not only has she ruined her friendship with Renner but she knew well that Arthur would not choose her over Renner, his feelings for her probably weren't as potent as they were for the princess and frankly what did she have that Renner did not.
This was a losing battle for her and she knew it, in fact Renner knew it. So rather than embarrass herself any further than she already has, she decided to speak, trying to end this charade, although she couldn't help but feel a bit hurt, the man she liked didn't like her back.
"Ah–"
"First of all, neither of you are property to be chosen, so there's nothing to choose or rather since you aren't property I don't get to choose anything"
Arthur cut her off before she could say anything, his voice cutting through the air but only serving to thicken the tension in the room, however to Lakyus his words brought a spark in her eyes, surprised her and served to lighten her spirit and lift off the tension she felt on her shoulders.
"What?!"
The princess questioned, anger implanting itself on her face as shown by the crease on her brows. This was not the outcome she expected.
"Secondly, I can choose the both of you if I have to, if you're giving me the choice then I choose both of you"
The man in the room spoke with finality in his tone, his words further lifting the tension off Lakyus' shoulders but only creasing Renner's brows further.
"Ah–"
"I'm not finished"
Renner found her being cut off as the knight held up his hand and told her to speak no further.
"Thirdly, this is not the time for something like this, we're in the cusp of a civil war, let us focus on that first before any interpersonal issues"
He said and paused, waiting for either of them to respond but also congratulating himself for the quick thinking, Although he figured that to avoid any drama in the future he will have to try and keep in his pants.
"I agree with you, Arthur. This isn't time for us to be thinking about ourselves, instead we should focus on the good of the kingdom"
Lakyus stated, trying her best not to sound happy about the fact that Arthur didn't choose Renner over her, she wasn't particularly good at hiding her emotions but she made sure that her face remained neutral, denying the smile that wanted to form on her face.
Any other day, Renner would have rolled her eyes at Lakyus' words. She hadn't particularly appreciated the adventurer's goody two shoes nature but it something she didn't hate, however at this time her words felt nauseating, it also did help that the princess could see that the adventurer felt a little bit happy.
Renner took a deep inhale then exhaled, both of them were correct, Both her and Arthur's kingdom was waiting for them to take the throne, besides temper tantrums were unbecoming of her.
"I suppose both of you are correct, this will be revisited later."
She relented and sat back down but gave Lakyus a glare, that made her anger clear.
Seeing her calm down Arthur felt relieved and let out a sigh, this was a good outcome at least for the time being.
'Lakyus is immune to poisons, right?'
He thought to himself,he does remember that one time in the anime when her team tried to subdue her and it took several attempts to weaken her enough for Evileye's mind control to work.
"Great, Lakyus, could you call Brain and your team over, please? I have an idea on how to end this charade once and for all"
Arthur informed and Lakyus gave him a nod before exiting the room, feeling relief as she did so.
With the two now left alone together, silence permeated the room as they stared at each other. Renner had the urge to flip the table but she knew she didn't have that kind of strength so instead she asked him a question.
"I thought you said you loved me? Did I miss hear those words?"
She asked, this time her words filled with a vulnerability that made Arthur feel a sense of guilt.
"Of course I love you Renner, you didn't miss hear anything"
He said, his features softening as he approached her desk and held out his hand, especially asking her to stand up.
"Then why didn't you choose me? If you loved me you would have discarded Lakyus without a second thought"
She said, grabbing his hand and lifting herself up, Once she was standing Arthur scooped her off her feet, sat down and placed her on his lap, she clung to his neck as they stared at each other's faces. Arthur gave her a chaste kiss before responding to her question.
"Renner just because I love you doesn't mean I can't love other people too"
She frowned at his words and he quickly tried to correct his statement.
"Think of it like this, a parent loves their children, does that mean they can only love one of their children whilst neglecting the other?"
Renner didn't respond and instead waited for him to continue.
"You were supposed to say no to that question, my dear."
He said and once again gave her another kiss on her lips and the Princess could not help but find her anger fading away as she clung to his body, enjoying the moment.
"Romantic love can work like that as well, just because I love you doesn't mean I can't love someone else too and just because I love them doesn't mean I love you any less"
He explained running his fingers through her hair and she hummed in satisfaction enjoying his touch.
"That doesn't mean I have to accept this, you belong to me Arthur, I won't let anyone other than me have you"
She said, her tone less commanding despite her words being authoritative. Arthur couldn't help but sigh, it seemed that this will take a bit more convincing.
"OK, think about this practically, Lakyus is an Adamantite adventurer, she has no obligation to stay in the Kingdom, she's only helping right now because she sees this as her home, but that might not be the case in the future so by having her at our side we ensure that she stays in the Kingdom permanently boosting our military might"
He explained and she hummed, nodding in understanding, Arthur smiled and kissed her again this time it was a deeper and more intimate kiss, they separated after a few seconds.
"I understand what you are saying Arthur, but you aren't understanding what I'm saying, Darling"
She said clasping his face and mushing it like it was clay, she kissed him again before she stared directly into his eyes revealing her own obsession filled pupils to him and he felt a shiver run down his spine.
"You are mine and I will share you with no one"
She said, her voice sweet and sultry to his ears, her eyes bored straight into his own as if she was staring down his soul, She revealed to him her deepest emotion and Arthur found himself being turned on by such a display.
'Seems I'm going to have to put my foot down properly, can't have her thinking she's in control'
He thought to himself, it was a good thing she didn't cry during this whole ordeal otherwise he would have let her have whatever she wanted. Girl tears are a powerful thing.
...
A/N: Interestingly enough the more I write the more it feels like maybe I shouldn't end this so fast, so I was thinking of a more temporary ending.
I don't know I'm very wishing washy on this and my emotions on it fluctuate irregularly, sometimes I'm sick of it and just want to drop it and sometimes I like it and want to continue it's very weird.