Erina looked herself over in the mirror. And as expected, she looked perfect. And she had to. The emperor had been quite distant, she hadn't seen him since arriving. But today would be different. Today she was supposed to have her date with the prince. But unlike her so called rivals, she had no intention of spending time alone with him.

"As if he is worth such a privilege."

It was now the early afternoon and she was ready. Erina left her room and made her way to where the emperor would be.

"Good day to you, princess", Souma greeted, coming down from the opposite side of the hallway. Today, his form of dress was less casual and more befitting of the prince of an empire, as it should be. For the next few hours, they would be holding audiences. Erina had made this her request and Souma had thoughtit was a good idea.

"You want to use our time together to tend to my people? That's pretty noble of you", he said.

"I am royalty, as I'm sure you are aware", Erina smirked. "I've held audiences before. This is the best way to see what sort of a prince you are. And in turn, what kind of emperor you will become." Not that she had any intention to let Souma anywhere near the throne. Once she was married to Joichiro and had given birth to his child, they would be the heir.

And Souma would be nothing.

They both entered the room and Souma took his place next to his father's right hand side. Erina sat on Souma's other side and they waited for it to begin. People began to file in. There were commoners here to have the emperor address something only he could settle, merchants who had traveled from far with their wares, all who wanted to ear of their ruler for even a moment.

Joichiro listened to them all patiently, giving his judgement. Souma only interjected every once in a while. But Erina paid him no mind. She only had eyes for his father. She could still remember when she'd first met him. It had been years ago, when she had still been just a child. But the memory was clear and vivid. He had come to her country on a diplomatic visit.

He had spent most of his time with her grandfather, but also a significant time with her. Joichiro had been so kind and encouraging to her. She was a respected and revered princess in her country, of course. Still, nearly everyone was under her. They were expected to behave this way. There was hardly anyone in her world who was on her level, her equal.

Joichiro was. He was in fact above her, and yet Erina never felt inferior. The crush of a young girl had developed into love just as she matured. Everyone who had something to say had their turn and then it was over. Joichiro stood first to leave and Erina nearly called out to him to stay, to not leave her behind. But she couldn't play her hand just yet.

Soon enough, she would be his wife and leave right by his side. Until then...

"I could use some lunch right about now. You, princess?", Souma asked while stretching his limbs. Any regal atmosphere brought upon by his father was completely dissipated by him.

"I shall take my meal in my room", she said more to the attendant than to Souma. She turned away from him and left the room. Erina seemed a little distant to him, but he figured that was to be expected. She was in an unfamiliar environment after all. He decided not to dwell too much on it, he had his outing with Megumi to prepare.

Not that he had any idea what they would be doing. Megumi hadn't told him yet. But whatever it was, he was sure he'd enjoy himself. He liked her cheerful personality. Although she seemed flustered easily.

Meanwhile, Megumi was trying to calm herself down in her room, wondering just how she'd propose her outing to the prince. Before parting with her mother, Megumi had been given some advice.

"To know how a man truly is to know how he is at his worst."

Her mother hadn't had time to elaborate, so Megumi wasn't quite sure how she could see the prince at his worst. But giving him something to do that a prince normally wouldn't seemed like a step in the right direction. However, Souma was fairly unorthodox by princely standards. He'd gone fishing with a past, non-royal lover.

He'd picked up several who weren't a member of the nobility to be in his harem. It really was odd. Megumi knew one way she could see into his heart. But she wasn't sure if he would let her, or even if she wanted to see what he truly felt. This whole time she knew him, it could be a front meant to lure her and the others in. If that were true, she would need to find out for herself.

"You want me to help you make a quilt?", Souma repeated for clarification.

Megumi nodded. "I've been working on it since I was a child. I would like it if you could help me continue it."

"If that's how you want to spend our time together", Souma shrugged. "But I'm not that great at sewing."

"That's fine. I don't need your help with that." They were in Megumi's room. She was still getting used to the fact that she had a room in the royal residence. It had been a lot to take in on her first day. Megumi had taken out a quilt and laid it out on the floor before them. Each patch was lovingly stitched. Some depicted a scene like a mother holding her child, or a wedding day.

Others were more vague, but just as beautiful - a flower in a field, a parasol in the sun, things of that nature. Megumi took out her supplies while Souma waited for some kind of instruction. She sat next to him and grabbed his hand.

"Let's get started", she said with a slightly nervous smile.