Chapter 14 - Crazy Kai

"Oops, I apologize, your highness, my hands slipped. I suggest you stop this nonsense talk." Thea sarcastically said.

Kai wasn't surprised, he continued smirking. "You know that I can help you, right?"

"I don't need your help, as I have mentioned, this is none of your business. Just close your eyes if you see me "pitifully" pursuing Daniel." Thea rolled her eyes and looked at one of the servants.

"You! get me another cup."

"Are you saying you already have a plan? Is it to torment Lady Ashmore at school? Allowing her to be his concubine? Or will you set Daniel to get you pregnant? By the way, I'm available to help with the first option." Kai mockingly snickered.

Thea remained silent, even though she doesn't want to admit it but those options he mentioned are also one of the things running through her head. She cannot possibly kill her since she would be the primary suspect and it would be easy for Daniel to hire wizards to trace for clues.

Thea looked at Kai. 'This guy looked very attractive, if he isn't just a little psychotic then I would have liked his previous proposals.' Thea paused, 'Haha, who am I to judge him when I'm already considering killing that dull-looking and impoverished girl. Maybe it's a good thing to hear his ideas.'

"So, what ideas do you have?" Thea asked curiously.

"Now you're interested. Haha" Kai snickered, he continued, "Well, you have few options… you can beg the King to move your wedding date or make Daniel jealous." Kai smirked. "Moving your wedding date would be hard since the King would suspect that the prince wants to usurp the throne after marriage, so I guess the second option is better?"

"And how could I evoke jealousy out of him? Who will he consider to be a rival?" Thea demanded angrily.

"It's me of course," Kai said proudly.

"What are you two talking about?", A tall handsome man walked in. His eyes looked like shiny purple orchids that paired really well with his golden blonde hair. He definitely has a bad-boy type appearance thanks to his heavy brows and thin, sexy lips. Thea just couldn't keep her eyes off him. She quickly gave her sweetest smile and politely bowed and greeted her fiancé.

Kai immediately changed his teasing demeanor to a serious one.

"I need to hire a wind mage, but I don't have time to obtain one from Sorav right instantly," Kai explained right away his reason for going there.

"What's the rush? And why do you need one?" Daniel, who had just taken a seat, asked him inquisitively.

"It's quite confidential at the moment but I would certainly share the details in about two weeks," Kai explained blankly.

Daniel looked at Kai. Despite not considering themselves friends, they do not act hostile toward one another. Since Kai's Kingdom is stronger than Erias', he desired to be closer to Kai. If he ever needed assistance in the future, he only had to remember this request.

"All right, I get it. I'll have it set up right now." Daniel looked at his assistant, who immediately caught his signal and left the room.

"What about you? What are you doing here? How come you didn't leave?" This time, he turned himself to face Thea. His cold words hurt Thea more than when he was just ignoring her.

"Am I not allowed to visit my fiancé?" Thea made every effort to hold back her tears and keep her voice from breaking.

"I thought you were educated since the age of eight and had mastered proper manners? You are only allowed to come to see me if I have arranged a letter requesting you to do so. I don't remember making one." Daniel stated in a mocking tone.

"But you never made one since—!"

"Exactly, now leave." Daniel cut her off. She doesn't want to hear her whine all day.

"I—I", Thea no longer wants to humiliate herself any further. She also already spent 6 hours waiting for him and he's only making her a laughingstock for her efforts. She stood up and loudly opened the door and walked out.

He never liked his fiancé since they were ten. He would remember her bullying other noble girls their age and proudly claiming ownership of him. Over the years, she joined tea parties and boasted about her status as a fiancé instead of developing herself or creating a unique character. He detests the fact that she doesn't put much effort into anything and merely uses her position and title to obtain what she wants, while he's trying to excel in his studies and swordsmanship in order to earn the right to the throne.

He just couldn't envision her as an empress, as somebody who might help him in the future and bring the Erias more prosperity.

"You really don't like her, or is it hatred? I assume." Kai tried to probe. He really likes this drama between the two.

"She is nothing but a pretty face with good family background. Nothing else." Daniel continued sipping the tea that had just been served.

"Ah, I see. Earlier, I suggested that we act shamelessly or romantically to pique your attention and make you jealous. I'm aware that the likelihood of changing your opinion of her is quite slim, but I'm trying to trick her so we can be closer. Eventually, she'll share all the evil things she's planning to do with Lady Ashmore. What do you think?" Kai leaned his back while attempting to convince Daniel.

"And why are you helping me?" Daniel asked curiously.

"For FUN of course! Hahaha," Kai laughed crazily. "I actually like seeing her act really pathetically, it's fun. Isn't this a case which we can both benefit from? I'll have fun while I can give you a heads up when she tries to scheme and hurt lady Ashmore. Right?" Kai said plainly. He was dying to see Thea concede defeat and fall on her.

"You can consider this a gift in exchange for helping me arrange things for the mage" Kai added.

"The level of favor is not the same, but I suppose I can only agree. I look forward to this cooperation."

Daniel and Kai grinned as they agreed that their strategy was excellent. They carried on their tea break quietly as they waited for Daniel's aid that was tasked with Kai's mage request.

•

••

•••

••

•

As soon as lunch was finished, Malia and her group resumed their song rehearsal, repeating it two more times. The performance was already flawless, and Malia was astonished by how easy it was to collaborate with such gifted individuals.

The Marchioness and Matthew came right when it was time to start the recording. Malia was pleasantly surprised and overjoyed. She was unable to contain her smile.

"Mom! Brother!" Malia came over and gave the Marchioness a bear hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Could we really miss the day our genius Malia recorded her first song? I wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of my life!" Matthew joked.

The Marchioness smiled and added, "Hahaha, right, honey, we're here to support you of course." After the recording, she undoubtedly had a present ready for her.

"Mother, brother, thank you. I appreciate you being here with me," Malia exclaimed with joy. Since she was holding her mother, she heard her thoughts and was already aware and eager to know what her gift was. She led the two to their seats while acting as though she didn't know anything.

"Are we ready?" Malia faced her team.

Some people were reluctant to speak, and others took their time responding.

Malia repeated her question while yelling like a captain, "ARE WE READY?!"

Everyone felt the energy and this time, they all responded at once.

"YES!!!"

The Marquis then entered the room, and he was also surprised to see his lovely wife and son seated. Sean, Sofia, and other staff members in charge of setting up the studio were standing behind him.

"Dad we are ready!" Malia smiled at her father.

"Alright, Sean and his team will get everything ready first," Marquis said.

"It will only take a few minutes to prepare Lady Malia." Sean motioned to his team to proceed swiftly and set things up for the recording.

While they were getting ready, Sean once more gave a briefing to Malia and the musicians about what to do inside the main recording space before and after the song is completed. The musicians knew exactly what to do because it wasn't their first time, and Malia was the only one paying close attention to what Sean was saying.

.

.

.

--- end of chapter 14 ---

.

.

.