Dinner was a pretty lively affair. It was rare for so many guests to stay for such a long time. Souma was having fun with all of them here. There were old friends in Mayumi, Akira and Ryo and new friends with the others. He noticed,with a bit of amusement, that Ikumi avoiding his gaze at all costs. He also noticed that Erina was missing.

"Hey, where's Erina?", he asked, thinking any of them might know.

"Her Highness is a princess", Akira said. "She probably realized how many commoners are here and decided to take all her meals in her room."

"You don't think she's lonely, do you?", Souma asked.

Ryo gave Souma a tired look. "Even if she was, she'd never admit it. You royals are always so proud."

"Pride isn't such a bad thing."

Dinner continued with conversation mostly being held by Souma and Ryo, with Akira and Megumi making comments here and there. Ikumi kept quiet, still think back to the baths, while Mayumi had something on her mind as well.

After eating, everyone went to their rooms. Mayumi normally would have gone to the servants quarters, where she lived, but she followed Souma, wanting to see him alone.

"Your Highness", she called out.

Souma turned to face her. Despite knowing each other their entire lives and having done away with propriety early on, she still referred to him as such from time to time. Usually when she was nervous, or serious.

"Mayumi, what is it?" They were completely alone in the hallway, lit only by moonlight and lanterns in this late hour. "Oh, that's right, your date is tomorrow. Have you decided what you want to do?"

"I... No, I-yes. Yes, I know what I want." She took a deep breath and tried to still her fidgeting. Souma waited patiently for her to continue. Mayumi looked up at him resolutely and with confidence that he'd never seen in her before.

"I don't want to go on a date with you." Before Souma could protest, she continued. "We already know so much about each other. And more importantly I... I", Mayumi looked away for a moment before meeting his gaze again.

"I already know that I love you. I love you, Souma. I never thought it would be possible for us to be together. And to be honest, I still think it's only a dream. But you chose me to be in your harem. Even if it's only to please your father, I want you to know how I feel. You have my heart, always."

Souma was floored. He had no idea what to say to all of that. He had never known Mayumi felt this way about him. And they'd known each other for so long. He didn't speak for a long time and Mayumi's confidence waned with each passing moment.

"I guess I should start taking you seriously", he finally said. He stepped closer to her. "I thought you were just going along with this as my friend. But you're ore than that. You're my best friend in the world. And I must be the luckiest man in the world to have your love."

Mayumi let out a quiet breath of air. "Souma..."

Souma leaned in close and kissed her forehead. They both looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Mayumi took a step back.

"Well, good night, my prince." She bowed and turned away.

"Good night." Souma waved at her back and watched her go, then returned to his own room. It wasn't until he laid in bed, feeling wide awake from Mayumi's confession, that he remembered Ikumi would be next.

Meanwhile, Erina lounged in her room confident in her plan while being none the wiser to developments that had occurred right under her nose.

"How about this one?"

"It's fine."

"You're not even looking."

Still, Ikumi didn't turn her gaze at Souma, as she had the entire morning. Breakfast she didn't look at him either. Souma knew it must have something to do with the previous night, but he hadn't thought that she would be this sensitive about it. He had to do something about it. Make her loosen up a little. She hadn't chosen anything particular for their date, so they were just browsing through the local market.

Ikumi looked everywhere except for Souma. She couldn't get last night off her mind. Every time that she glanced at him, the sound of whatever he had been doing with Kurokiba echoed all around her. Water sloshing and moaning and breathy sighs.

"Are you okay? Your face is really red", Souma pointed out.

"I'm fine!" She stomped forward, away from Souma and to the next booth. He sighed and followed.

"Hey, are you having fun?", he asked.

"Fun?', she repeated.

"That's the whole point of this, to have fun with each other. Come with me." Souma took Ikumi's hand, oblivious to her even more flustered state. He took her back home and into the room where her piano had been left.

"Wait here", he said before leaving the room.

Ikumi sighed, not sure what she was doing here or what he was planning. Did he want her to play for him? Or an audience? She wouldn't mind that. The piano was like an old friend to her. She sat down at the keys and played a few notes. They were quiet and slow. And then the notes got more complex. It was like reuniting with an old lover.

Intertwined with the sounds of her instrument, another sound appeared. It was light and airy, like the melodic sound of a spring breeze. Then Ikumi realized the sound wasn't just in her head.

"Your Highness?!" She stopped playing and turned to see Souma with a flute.

"I thought this might be more fun for you", he said, walking closer to her. "I had to learn some kind of instrument as a kid. Now it's coming in handy."

Ikumi looked at him warily before turning back to the piano. "What shall we play?"

"Just play what you feel. I'll try to match it." Souma said this confidently as if it were child's play.

She sighed and began to play, letting her fingers move as they pleased. For a moment, she forgot that Souma was even here. She closed her eyes and let the music flow through her. Then she heard the sound of Souma's flute. It started out in the background and then he was able to follow Ikumi's melody more and it truly became a duet.

Ikumi was a little surprised by how well they sounded together. The improvised song came to a natural end and Ikumi let out a sigh in satisfaction this time. She smiled down at the ivory keys.

"I think that sounded good", Souma said as he took a seat next to her.

"Yeah, you're not so bad with your fingers", Ikumi smiled before realizing what she said. Her face felt hot and she looked away from him.

"There you go again. Is there something on my face?"

Ikumi turned towards him and looked him in the eye. "I heard you and Kurokiba last night...in the baths."

Souma couldn't quite understand how she felt about that, but one thing he felt sure about. "Did that make...uncomfortable?", he asked.

"Not exactly." Her blush had calmed but her cheeks were still warm.

"Then what?"

"It made me remember... You're choosing people for your harem." Ikumi hugged herself. "That means you want people who will do... that kind of thing, don't you?"

"That kind of thing? Oh! You don't need to worry about that." Souma realized what her problem must be. "I just wanted to fill my harem with interesting people. And you're interesting. It's not like I'm expecting you guys to have sex with me at the snap of my fingers."

Ikumi felt herself relax a little. "So... you don't want to...with me?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I never thought about it. But I'd never want to force anyone into it. Even though I'm a prince." He was aware of the power given to him, but he never wanted to use it like that. Not ever.

"I've never even kissed anyone", she confessed, looking away again. "The others are probably better for that than me."

Souma's eyes softened a little. "You're pretty cute."

"Am not", she said, a little petulant.

Souma took a seat next to her on the piano bench. "Ikumi, may I kiss you?", he asked.

"What?! What-what are you saying?!" Her eyes got wider than he'd ever seen before.

"I just got the urge to kiss you, so I'm asking because I don't want to scare you off."

Ikumi bit her lip and noticed how Souma's eyes were drawn towards them. She wanted it too, she realized. And she wasn't scared of it or Souma either. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

"Yes. You can kiss me."

Smiling at her consent, he leaned in close and pressed their lips together. Ikumi, having never kissed before, was surprised at how soft his lips were. She knew kissing must be good but she never expected this. With the barest of contact, her body was warmed. And then all too soon, it ended. Souma pulled away and already her lips were missing his.

"Your Highness..."

"You can just call me Souma."

"S... Souma... You don't need permission to kiss me anymore."

"Huh?"

"What I'm saying is, you can just kiss me... whenever you want." Ikumi looked away as she said this, eyes focused on the piano keys like they were an anchor, keeping her grounded in this conversation.

"In that case, you can kiss me any time you want to as well."

As Souma and Ikumi got closer, Erina was still plotting. She was having a relaxing tea time in one of the gardens when Ryo came up to her.

"You've been sneaking around a lot. Even by royal standards."

"Just what are you accusing me of?" Although she responded, she didn't look up at him. He wasn't important enough to take her attention away from her tea completely.

"Have you been saying something to the other girls?", Ryo asked.

"We're all competing to be in the prince's harem and sharing living space. Of course I've had conversations with them. But you can expect that to end. They're all far beneath me."

"And what about Souma?" Ryo had noticed the princess taking special interests in her apparent rivals but almost always avoiding the prince.

Erina's grip on her tea cup tightened just a bit and she set it down for its own safety. Finally, she looked up at Ryo.

"I am here for the prince."

"As the crown princess of a foreign nation? I didn't realize your throne meant so little to you. I guess Alice will get her wish to rule then."

"It is interesting that you bring Alice up", her lips curled up in an arrogant smile. "Do you intend to abandon her for a foreign prince?"

He frowned, knowing the implications of his presence here. But Erina was in a similar situation. It was all a matter of who got called out first by their home country.

"I'm loyal to her. But Souma is also my friend."

"You can't have it both ways." Erina stood and walked away as a servant cleared her area and left Ryo to think about his choices. Just as he and Akira had come hear Souma's decision, he had his own to make.