It's Annoying Because My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage

"I danced it when I was learning from my etiquette teacher."

The Crown Prince broke into a chuckle at my answer.

I hadn't meant to make him laugh, but it didn't hurt to see him find this amusing.

I suppose this is the price I pay for accidentally knocking you over earlier.

The Crown Prince's movements as he led me were more gentler than I expected. Thanks to him, I didn't have much trouble dancing.

We continued to dance, with me taking light steps as he led me.

I could feel all eyes on us, but I could barely pay attention to them as the Crown Prince himself was right in front of me.

"The princess is indeed beautiful." Once I was able to waltz at a more or less steady pace, the Crown Prince said to me.

I returned his compliment almost automatically,  "Thank you, Your Highness. The Crown Prince looks wonderful yourself."

And then, as if on cue, he replied,

"I know. Thank you."

"..."

Did this guy just say he knows he's handsome…

For a moment, I couldn't help but compare him to Lancer, and think of Lancer's words.

Skyla, you're always pretty.

You're already pretty, but you wanted to hear that you're even prettier now?

How much prettier could you already be?

I wonder what Lancer is doing right now.

Judging by how I don't hear anything breaking somewhere, Lancer doesn't seem to be amid a magic power outburst.

Thank goodness Hubert stepped in. Perhaps he had taken Lancer to where his family was.

"Princess Skyla?"

"Ah."

The Crown Prince's call brought me back to reality.

I lifted my head to find him staring down at me, only then did I realise how little space there was between us. His dark brown hair was almost touching the front of my head.

"Your mind seems to be elsewhere. Are you thinking of another man?"

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his remark. "Are you jealous?"

"Jealousy is for those who are in love."

The Crown Prince's hand on my waist felt warm.

"I am indeed fond of the Princess, but I am not in love with her."

'Not yet.'

I heard his thoughts again.

With each step I took in time with the music, I could smell the scent of his cologne from his nape. It was the same scent of lemongrass I'd smelled the other day.

"I think the Princess was lying when she said she had no friends."

"What do you mean?"

"I meant that his eyes looked like they were about to burst into flames earlier."

"I've never seen Lancer use magic like that before."

The Crown Prince blinked at my serious point, then nodded as if he understood my meaning.

"Magic? Ah, yes. I recall Duke Soli telling me that his youngest son was a mage."

"Yes. A very powerful archmage, too."

"I seem to recall hearing such stories."

It seems like the Crown Prince was vaguely aware of Lancer's existence, but not exactly sure who he was.

To be fair, Lancer was reluctant to expose himself to the outside world. 

He never left the Soli Duchy unless it was to meet with me, and he would burn every invitation that came his way. People would say, "'The youngest son of Duke Soli lives in seclusion."

"Allow me to apologise on his behalf for the trouble he caused His Highness." I said to the Crown Prince, recalling that Lancer had been rather rude to him.

The Crown Prince tilted his head as if he didn't understand, "Why are you apologising for something that Lord Lancer has done?"

"Because we are friends." I replied tersely.

Then he cast a stern look at me.

"Are you really just friends?"

"What do you mean by that question?"

The Crown Prince shrugged.

"From what I saw earlier, Lord Lancer is very angry with me. Was it because I asked you to dance?"

The Crown Prince waltzed lightly. I took a step forward, drawn to him.

"I don't want this to get out of hand, Princess."

"It won't get tangled, however..."

"However?"

"It was a little too much of you to seek me out as soon as you arrived at the ballroom."

I finally said what I'd been meaning to say to him since tonight.

"A little too much? Wasn't that something we discussed before? I was supposed to ask you to dance on the basis that I fell in love at first sight."

At his words, I sighed weakly.

"Of course, but you could have at least pretended to look around at the other young ladies when you arrived."

I had hoped that he would put on a bit of an act first.

I wanted him to show the others that he liked me the best out of the many young ladies, and make that the reason he was approaching me. 

But he jumped straight to the point without even taking that first step.

"People might misunderstand."

"What kind of misunderstanding?"

"His Highness, you've never interacted with me before, but as soon as you arrived at the ballroom, you immediately called out my name and asked me to dance. Wouldn't that seem suspicious to the other nobles?"

"Hmm."

At my point, the Crown Prince seemed lost in thought.

The orchestra's music was fading into the second half of the piece. Soon it would come to an end, and we would bow to each other and part ways.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince, busy with political affairs, did not have time to mingle leisurely with me throughout the ball.

He was going to use this ball as an opportunity to meet with the nobles who had travelled from the provinces.

Until the music ends, all eyes in this ballroom are fixed on the Crown Prince and I.

We had to fool them all in this short time.

I had to be as close to the Crown Prince as possible for this to be considered scandalous!

"Princess Skyla."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"The Princess has a point. I was a little short-sighted. I was trying to do things as efficiently as possible, so I didn't think of that."

It felt a little strange to see the Crown Prince easily admit his fault.

I had secretly assumed he was stubborn, as is often the case with people in high positions.

But now I realise I was being narrow-minded. The crown prince was more generous than I thought.

"So how will the Princess tell them?"

"How what?"

"How to make the people watching us now believe that we did fall in love at first sight?"

"..."

I couldn't answer that question straight away since I hadn't thought about it. He's right, what should we do?

"..I think it would be better to show a little more intimate appearance first." These words barely crawled out of my mouth after a few seconds of silence.

It was a suggestion with little real thought value, nevertheless, the Crown Prince seemed to like it quite a bit.

"Very well, then," he said, "I will call you by a nickname from now on."

A nickname?

For a moment, confusion flashed across my face. It felt a little strange to think that the Crown Prince was going to do something that even Lancer wouldn't do.

Besides, my name was a difficult one to nickname.

According to the butler, my parents had chosen a neutral name for their soon-to-be child so that it would suit both a girl and a boy.

Thus became my name, Skyla.

My name hadn't been able to be nicknamed before, so how could he possibly want to give me one?

"You don't seem to like it for some reason."

'Maybe she's not comfortable with me getting too close.'

Suddenly, I heard the Crown Prince's inner thoughts again. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised by the irregular occurrence of his thoughts.

This time, however, I didn't stop in surprise as I did the last time.

"You can just call me 'Princess' as it is." I suggested in a calm voice.

"Very well, then I'll think of something else."

With that declaration, the Crown Prince seemed to ponder again.

"..."

With my hand still on his shoulder, I looked up at him.

He was smiling at me tenderly.

"Come to think of it, the Princess never calls me by my first name."

"Who am I to insult the dignity of His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"I will allow you to do so."

He smiled at me.

"Ryan, that's my name."

The orchestra slowly began to finish the piece. The brief few minutes of deception were coming to an end.

"Now I want to emphasise my intentions once more."

The Crown Prince spoke over the lull of the music.

"Your intention is..."

"I like the Princess, and I mean that."

"..."

What is he saying?

He spun me around in silence, and then he suddenly stopped.

Whoops.

Caught off guard by the unexpected move, I stumbled for a moment, and the Crown Prince received my body as if he had been waiting for me.

"I have no intention of embarrassing the Princess, but perhaps, as you say, we should show the people something a little intimate."

I straightened up and he whispered in my ear, "So if I were to kiss the Princess right here and there, what would your expression be?"