i don't own KKM characters, but other than that, they're mine! :D

Chapter 1

Saralegui stared at his servant, Berias with sharp eyes. "An invitation?"

"Yes, heika. The king of Seville Kingdom, King Everard wants to celebrate the birthday of his princess's coming of age. This is also going to be the first time he introduce the debutante to everyone." Berias said with his usual stern voice.

"I see… Berias, Seville Kingdom is one of Big Shimaron's provinces, right?" Saralegui asked for confirmation.

"Yes, heika. It was situated at the boundary between Big Shimaron and Small Shimaron."

A smirk made its way to the blonde king. "A debutante, huh…? This is going to be interesting."

"Heika?" Berias stared at the young king.

"Berias, do you remember what I said to Yuuri before when I visited Shin Makoku?"

Berias nodded. "Yes, heika. You're going to rule both Big Shimaron and Small Shimaron."

Saralegui chuckled evilly. "I will definitely fulfill each of my words, little by little. You're going to help me don't you, Berias?"

"Definitely, Heika." Berias bowed his head a bit. "What did you plan to do, heika?" he asked.

"Make the kingdom mine, officially."

"Huh?"

Saralegui shrugged. "I don't want to break any war, as how Yuuri taught me. I think, this way is kind of interesting. We can do a lot of other ways besides involving my people in a war."

Berias gave a small smile. King Yuuri had changed King Saralegui a lot. "What do you plan to do, heika?" he asked.

Saralegui smirked. "I'm still wondering about that."

Berias had an idea, but he won't spill it out unless his king asked him to.

"My coming of age is going to be so exciting, Marianne!" a young lady squealed at her loyal maid. Marianne smiled and pulled the princess's hand gently and led her to sit in front of her dressing-table. She took a comb and started combing the princess's long and straight pink hair.

"You're reaching the age where you're going to decide what kind of adult you're going to be. Look at the mirror, Lady Adelinne." She said softly.

Lady Adelinne stared at herself in the mirror. She blinked a few times innocently.

"You had grown into a fine, beautiful noblewoman. I'm so glad. Your late mother must be really proud of you. Queen Evilynn must be so happy." Marianne chuckled.

Lady Adelinne giggled. "Okaa-sama…" she smiled and grabbed the diamond necklace tied around her neck. It was her mother's gift for her since she was born. She stared at the reflection of herself in the mirror for a long time. She inherited her mother's beautiful golden eyes, pink hair and gentle smile. She has fair complexion and delicate fingers. Her tall, slender figure was inherited from her father.

Marianne put the comb on the dressing table and softly grabbed the princess's shoulders and lowered her face so that both of their faces are on the same level. "Soon, you're going to fall in love with a fine gentleman, get married, and become the queen of the kingdom. Then, you're going to have a bigger responsibility. To your husband, to your children, and to your people."

Lady Adelinne lowered her head suddenly. Marianne gave her a questioning look.

"It sounds scary, Marianne. Can I do all that at once?" the young lady asked innocently. Marianne chuckled. She is going to turn 16 years old soon, but she's still a child eventually.

"Of course you can! You have your mother's spirit, right. Remember, she'll always be there for you." The pretty maid tried to reassure her.

Lady Adelinne's face lit up with a smile. "Emm! Ne, Marianne?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"When I fall in love with a fine nobleman someday, what should I do?"

Marianne giggled at her question. She IS always a child. An innocent angel with a pure heart. She gave Lady Adelinne a soft smile.

"I'll teach you about that later, when the day comes."

Lady Adelinne smiled happily. "Okay! It's a promise!"

Marianne returned the princess's smile. But, deep in her heart, something was bothering her. Can she ever keep the secret as how Queen Evilynn wanted before she died? She kept staring at the pink haired princess as she stood up and spun herself in front of the mirror to have a better look of her new purple gown she got from her father today. Marianne sighed silently.

"Never let Adelinne take off her necklace… Remember that, Marianne."

Queen Evilynn's weak voice still could be heard in the maid's head. It's been 5 years, but the gentle and loving queen was still remaining in the hearts of the people in the kingdom especially the people in the castle.

Soon, Lady Adelinne would be the same as how her late mother been before. A small smile formed on her lips.

Saralegui and Berias reached at Seville castle with his carriage. A guard welcomed them and showed them the ballroom. Berias followed his king obediently from behind. Saralegui was at the centre of the ladies' attentions all along the way to the grand ballroom. He had his long golden hair tied up in a ponytail. He wore his red royal attire with red cloth tied around his slim waist. He noticed all the stares he got from the ladies, and he even smirked at some lucky ladies who squealed inwardly in return.

Lady Adelinne was absolutely happy that night. She gets to meet many friends from other noble families and some of them were her childhood friends. She was aware of all the glances from the nobleman and princes from other country upon her. She was the most enchanting that night, after all. She wore a pastel yellow ball gown with lots of frills around her waist and the lower part of the gown. She also had a pair of lace hand gloves on. Her long, straight pink hair was tied into half ponytail and her straight bangs were left hanging at the sides of her pretty face. She had a little make up on; all thanks to Marianne who made her looked amazingly gorgeous that night.

"Congratulations, Lady Adelinne! Finally, you've reached the age when you can get married to the person you like!" a young lady from other noble family said cheerfully. Lady Adelinne blushed and smiled.

"Mou… Cut it out already. Everyone was telling me the same thing all over the night." She pouted playfully. Lady Isabelle laughed upon hearing the debutante's answer.

"So, which guy here in this ballroom caught your attention tonight?" She asked.

Lady Adelinne sighed. "It seems like nobody has the guts to talk with me at all. I wonder if my Otou-sama had warned them something like he'll kill anyone who touched his daughter or anything like that." She murmured sadly.

"Ah, Maoh heika." Lady Isabelle curtsied before the king of Shin Makoku kingdom, Yuuri.

"Hello, ladies. Congratulations on your coming of age, Lady Adelinne." He greeted politely.

Lady Adelinne smiled and bowed a little. "Thank you, Yuuri heika. Did you come alone today?" she asked curiously. She was wondering if Greta, Yuuri's twelve years old daughter came along with him tonight.

"I wanted to, but almost everyone wanted to come along too. Ah, Greta came too! You should meet her later. She was really excited to meet you tonight. I saw her playing with Beatrice before." He grinned. He knew that the beautiful Lady Adelinne and his daughter were getting along very well. He even thought of making her his daughter's mother. However, thinking of Wolfram's rage and outbursts that would come later, he had to forget about it. He sighed at this.

"What's wrong, Yuuri heika?" she asked in concern.

Yuuri laughed nervously. "N-Nothing, really. Ah…Ha ha…"

"Ah… Greetings, Yuuri heika! It such a pleasure to meet you here." A gentleman called from behind.

"Nicholas!" the maoh smiled happily.

"Well, Yuuri heika. Please excuse me. I need to go and greet the other guests." Lady Adelinne excused herself politely.

"Sure. See you later." Yuuri answered. He moved with Nicholas to the other part of the ballroom.

Before the debutante could turn around, she bumped into someone and nearly stumbled on the floor. She shut her eyes tightly, afraid of the consequence that would result from this fall. Thankfully, a strong pair of hands caught her and gets her back on her feet. Slowly, she opened her eyes when she smelled a wonderful fragrance of the owner of her savior.

"Are you all right, my Lady?" Saralegui asked worriedly.

Lady Adelinne was speechless. She was mesmerized by his elegance and smile. The way he caught her made her felt safe in his arms. She nodded eventually.

"I-I'm fine. Thank you for… saving me." She stammered suddenly.

Saralegui smiled in relief. He offered her a hand. Lady Adelinne blinked at him.

"May I request a dance, my Lady?" Saralegui asked politely.

Lady Adelinne smiled. He was the first person who ever had the courage to ask her for her first dance. "Sure." She accepted. She put her right hand on his offered left hand.

When the both of them walked towards the dance floor, the music had already started. Saralegui sensed the nervousness in the princess's heart.

"Don't worry, just follow my lead. Relax." He whispered seductively in her ears.

Lady Adelinne blushed and stammered again. She nodded. Saralegui smirked. 'She's interesting.'

They started to dance at the centre of the ballroom, and at the centre of attention of the entire guest in the ballroom. Lady Adelinne found that he was a good dancer. It was really easy to follow his steps. She enjoyed the night very much. They stared into each other's eyes all along the dance.

Yuuri noticed Saralegui dancing on the dance floor.

"Sara?"

The maoh flinched when the memory of him dancing with Saralegui when he was pretending as Miko came into his head. 'Geez… that was creepy. Anyway, Sara and Lady Adelinne looked great together, right?' he smiled at his thought.

"You're a good dancer." Saralegui praised. The music finished and both of them were heading towards the corner of the exclusively decorated hall.

"Oh, really? You too! Anyway, this is my first dance. I'm so happy tonight! It's easy to follow your steps. I've always thought that it was difficult to dance." She giggled.

"Why did you think so?" Saralegui asked, interested with her words.

"Because I was afraid that… I might step on your feet." She murmured softly and blushed. She averted his gaze when he kept staring at her.

Saralegui chuckled. "Well, you didn't step on my feet. So, your thoughts were not true."

Lady Adeline beamed with a smile. "Yeah! Moreover, it was fun especially when it was you." She laughed happily.

Saralegui smiled. "I'm honored to be your first partner then."

Lady Adelinne giggled. He is really a true gentleman. Which kingdom did he come from?

"Ah, please forgive me for being rude. My name is Saralegui. You may call me Sara." He introduced himself.

Lady Adelinne frowned her brows. "Sara? It sounded like a girl's name." she murmured softly, but Saralegui could hear her, making the young king twitched. "I thought you are a girl before. Furthermore your name sounded like a girl! Everyone would think that you're a girl if you wear a gown. You're going to look so beautiful! Eh?"

Lady Adelinne saw Saralegui's face darkening with some creepy aura surrounding him. She sweat-dropped and gulped.

'Oh no! My uncontrolled mouth!' she cursed silently. "I-I-I'm really sorry, Sara! I didn't mean to hurt your feeling! I just wanted you to know that I was grateful to meet such a beautiful person like you-"

"Beautiful…?" he muttered the word dangerously.

Lady Adelinne gulped inwardly. "N-No! Pretty!"

"Pretty…?" Saralegui's voice turned hoarse in all of sudden.

Lady Adelinne turned more panic. "N-No! That's not the right word! Uh… what should I do? Please forgive me Sara! I'm truly sorry for my troublesome mouth. I just can't control it because I was too excited before and I lose control every time I get excited and-?"

Her golden eyes widened as she tried to interpret what was happening to her right now. Saralegui is… kissing her?

They parted a while later, staring into each other's eyes.

Saralegui sighed. "Finally, I managed to get you quiet and calmed a bit." He said. "Please excuse me, I need to find my servant." He bowed in front of her before leaving her there alone.

Lady Adelinne blinked a few times. 'That was my… first kiss…' she blushed… and turned deep crimson red.

"Marianne!"

The debutante ran towards the stairs and towards her room where the loyal maid of hers were waiting for her.

"Sara!"

Saralegui turned around and smiled at the owner of the voice. "Yuuri."

Yuuri grinned. "Wow, Sara and Lady Adelinne looked great together just now!"

Saralegui twitched. "Y-You saw it?"

"Yeah! But then Wolfram distracted me and I couldn't watch you until the end." Yuuri whined.

Saralegui was relieved. He was thankful that Yuuri didn't saw that incident. He blushed suddenly. Where did he get the courage to kiss that debutante?

"Sara? Are you okay? Your face is all red!" Yuuri asked in concern.

Saralegui smiled nervously. "Nothing. Maybe I'm not feeling well tonight. Berias!" he summoned his servant.

Berias came out from nowhere and stood behind the blonde king. "Heika."

"Shall we go home now? I'm tired."

"Yes, heika." Berias answered.

"Well, please excuse me, Yuuri. I hope we will meet again someday." Saralegui excused himself politely.

Yuuri nodded happily. "Sure!"

On their long way back to Small Shimaron, Saralegui was unusually quiet in the carriage. He didn't say a word to Berias. He kept staring outside of the carriage's window and rested his chin on his palm. Berias noticed his king's unusual act and wondered what happened. Was it because of the kiss he gave to Lady Adelinne before?

"Heika, is it okay? You said that you wanted to meet Everard heika."

Saralegui sat still, not moving even an inch from his position. "Not now, Berias. That will have to wait. We still got time."

"Yes, heika." Berias answered obediently. He couldn't anything because his king said so.

Saralegui let out a deep breath. He decided that he would apologies to the pink-haired princess later.