"Prince, open wide!"

"I'm not a baby you know," Laharl quietly refused. "I could eat them myself."

Laharl grabbed the spoon from Etna's hand and placed the sweetness into his mouth. It was just the right amount, before he gave Etna her spoon back. With a grin, Etna scooped a spoonful of her own sweetness and savored them inside her mouth.

As the pair of overlord and his vassal did their occasional routine, Flonne watched from across the table. She was smiling brightly as she cheerily ate the pudding Etna had brought for her. It was sort of amazing how three hundred years were able to change individuals altogether. Laharl went from a bratty kid to a respectable overlord, while Etna was able to be more honest with her emotions and feelings.

Her chest was still flat though.

"Flonne," Etna had sensed the Seraph's thought it seemed, and interjected. "You need to look in the mirror yourself."

That hit the mark for her, but she was not going to refute it anymore. She had accepted it for her own sake one hundred years ago. Even though it hurts her more than any insult.

"Are you guys staying the night in Celestia?"

"Nah," Laharl replied. "We're visiting Sicily after this. Want to come with us?"

Flonne's eyes met with Etna's while Laharl was looking somewhere else. It only happened for a split second, maybe even a nano of a second, but it was clear that Etna felt very aversive of her decision. In a mutual respect of both things that she found precious, she now knew what she needed to do.

She wasn't about to be a third wheel afterall.

"You two can go ahead," Flonne replied with a smile. "I need to take care of a few logistics coming from the human world. It's nothing for you two to be concerned about. Go have some fun for the three of us."

"If that's what you want, Flonne, who am I to force?" Etna quickly stepped in for the follow-up. "Want some souvenirs from the Evil Academy?"

"The last time we visited that place was for Sicily's graduation ceremony, wasn't it?" Flonne began to think as she placed the tip of her index finger against her lower lip. She then stood up and went toward her work room and came back with a sheet of paper in hand. "I remembered there was a really nice place which sold giant robot parts. I want you to give this to Sicily and have her organize a delivery to Celestia."

"Are you embezzling money to build a giant robot again?" Laharl broke out in a cold sweat at the mention of a giant robot from Flonne.

Flonne shook her head.

"I'm paying it from my own pocket this time," Flonne pumped her fist into the air. "I've been visiting the item world recently and had racked a lot of HLs to spend. This is just the right time to use my war coffer!"

"Right..." Etna wryly smiled. "Let's bounce, prince."

"The tea was nice, Flonne. Appreciate it."

As they walked toward the exit door, Etna snidely commented. "Since when were you a tea person, Laharl?"

"When I found out tea and your selection of sweets go well together."

Flonne could hear Laharl's guffaw even from inside her house and the absence of sound from Etna.

The Seraph pulled out the flier that came from their purchase and silently smiled at the promotion. 'A two for one price for couples,' it said. Very sweet of them to buy some extra ones for her.

Closing her eyes, she remembered a time they had an adventure together. It had been some time ago, had it not?

"A shame I couldn't go for this one, but I hope you'll have a good time, Etna."