Review Responses:

pretty-on-point: Small spoiler alert, but Alice does tell someone about her dream in this chapter! It's only mentioned briefly - you'll find out more when you read it, LOL - but it will pop up again in the future chapters! And oh no. I was trying to show that the whole ordeal with Mira, Keith, and Gus was how changed Keith is compared to how he originally/usually is - Mira is not in the wrong in this case. I apologize for that confusion. ORZ

MagicxMusicxMelody: Small spoiler alert: Shun makes a VERY small cameo in this chapter! But it's just for a bit, haha. And to find out if Keith'll pose a problem to our favorite ninja, you gotta keep up with this fic to find out~ ^_~ AND HECK YEAH - TEAM MIRA ALL THE WAY! ╰(‵□′)╯

cherry-tree-of-life: I made a small note at the end of the previous chapter that Alice was breaking the fourth wall a bit with that statement! And I of course don't hate Alice - I just gotta spice up the story a bit ^_~ Small spoiler alert: Shun does make a short reappearance in this chapter, but of course, there will be times when his presence is not needed. And you're going to have to keep reading to find out what Mira and Keith are up to~ ( ̄y▽ ̄)╭

Innocent-Diamond: Haha, you're fine! There's only been...3 countries, I believe, mentioned so far in this story, but I can see why you'd get confused! There is a queen, though she hasn't been involved in the story as much - Queen Serena of Neathia, who Ren asked for permission to marry Fabia! Haha, I do have a queen(card)! ( ̄︶ ̄)↗ And there will be a tea party with those three women one day - *cough cough* within the next few chapters XD. And you're going to have to continue reading to find out Keith's secret motive~ (* ̄3 ̄)╭

Chapter 11

"Whoa." Ace Grit took a step back from the scene in front of him. "You all right?"

"Never been better." The 'Prince of Thieves' gritted out in-between punches. His forehead was glistening with sweat and droplets of sweat fell from his bare arms like rain. His body felt sore from the excessive physical extortion from training for hours but he couldn't stop. At least, not until he got his anger out of his system. And as of now, it didn't feel like it would be leaving anytime soon.

Shun prided himself for being always being prepared, for having a plan for every situation. Take Duke Lync's visit to Wardington, for example. Sure, he didn't know that the pink-haired male would be visiting Gehabich Manor until an hour after his arrival, but he was prepared. A few smoke bombs was all he really needed and before he knew it, he had sent that poor excuse of nobility running back to Vestal. If that wasn't enough, take Prince Hydron. He knew that the duchess was invited to visit the kingdom of Vestal, but he hadn't expected that Hydron would force her to the engagement. But that mattered not - he had Ren with him and even if he was a little rusty, the Gundalian male still managed to keep the prince's bodyguards under control while Shun dealt with Prince Hydron. There was nothing that he couldn't deal with and Shun knew this.

However, that didn't stop him from feeling irritated at the presence of King Keith from the kingdom of New Vestroia. He wasn't afraid of King Keith, exactly, but rather, he felt...uneasy about the male. The 'Prince of Thieves' knew relatively enough about the newly crowned king of New Vestroia, but what he doesn't understand is why King Keith is interested in Lady Alice. As far as he knew, King Keith never showed much interest in any of the women in nobility, and as a new king, marriage shouldn't have been a matter of importance as of yet. And even if it was, why would he be interested in her?

"Is this about King Keith's presence here in Wardington?"

"Perhaps." With one last punch, the dummy fell to the ground unceremoniously. Shun grimaced as he finally looked down at his red fists. One of his knuckles was threatening to bleed. He really did overdo it this time -

"You know, if you would have made your move on Lady Alice sooner, none of this would have happened." Ace smirked.

"Perhaps." The 'Prince of Thieves' repeated once more. "Perhaps if you made your move on Princess Mira sooner, she wouldn't have to be a possible candidate to be Prince Klaus's wife." Shun smirked at Ace's scowl. Was that petty of him? Yes. Did he care? No.

xoxo

"Is there something wrong, Christina?" Alice asked her mirror. She was in her room, brushing her hair on her vanity when her lady-in-waiting asked to come in.

"What is he like?" The crimson redhead giggled as she took a seat on the foot of the duchess's bed.

Alice blinked in confusion, turning to face her friend. "Who?"

"King Keith, who else?!" Christina squealed. "Tell me EVERYTHING. What did you two talk about, what did you two do, is he - "

"Slow down, Christina." Alice laughed, gently. "There's really not much to talk about. We mostly made small talk."

"Really?" The lady-in-waiting sighed, dejected. "What a shame that he is so boring - he really is so handsome."

"Beauty isn't everything, Christina." The duchess gently chided.

"I know, I know." Christina sighed, dismissing her duchess's words with a wave of her hand. "But it's a good thing that he's staying with us, no? That way you two can get to know each other more."

It was Alice's turn to sigh. "I suppose so."

"I'm sorry, milady." The lady-in-waiting reached out to hold Alice's hand. "I know that you're exhausted from...everything and King Keith isn't making things any better, but - "

"It's...It's not that, Christina. Well, it is a bit, but..."

"But?" The crimson redhead asked, encouraging her lady to continue.

"I...I had a dream last night."

"Oh? And what was it about?"

"In my dream, I was a mere child and...and there was a boy."

"Was he handsome?"

"Christina!" Alice had to laugh in spite of herself. Leave it to her lady-in-waiting to ask about such things, the imp. "And...And I was asking him if he really had to leave. I forgot why, but he really did have to leave. He promised that he would come back though. Or, I suppose that's what he was going to say next. You woke me up before he could finish what he was going to say."

"I apologize for that." Christina smiled, sheepishly. "But you do understand the severity of me waking you up, yes?"

"Of course." The duchess responded, immediately. "It was quite a surprise - you're never awake before I am."

"Blame it on Masquerade!" The lady-in-waiting grumbled. "He was the one who noticed King Keith and Princess Mira's carriage early this morning and like the dolt he is, he wakes me up to wake you up."

It wasn't long before Alice was so amused and wrapped up with Christina rambling away about Masquerade that the dream of the raven-haired boy slipped her mind...

xoxo

"Are you excited for Prince Klaus's ball, Your High - "

"Oh, don't call him "Your Highness", Alice - merely Keith will do." Mira interrupted, waving a hand dismissively in the air. The brother and sister as well as Alice were strolling around the Gehabich Manor's garden with Alice in-between the two of them. "And to answer your question, he is excited for the ball, trying to assess the other noblemen and see who he can marry me off to."

"Mira." King Keith's tone turned icy as he glared at his sister, who seemed unfazed had it not been for her sapphire blue eyes that gave away her fear. "Need I remind you of your last...'suitor'?"

"He was never a suitor." The princess snapped, getting defensive.

"But of course. After all, why would the princess of New Vestroia court a ninja?"

"So what if he is? He's a better person than you ever - "

"I...I think we should head back." Alice blurted out, causing Keith and Mira to redirect their attention from each other to her. "Christina mentioned that Cook was making sponge cake - you must try it, it's very delicious."

"Perhaps another time, Lady Alice. I shall be in my room - I am getting a headache." King Keith declined, smoothly as he walked off, leaving Alice and Mira alone.

"I can't believe that I used to look up to him as a child." The princess of New Vestroia mumbled under her breath. "I apologize that you had to witness that, Alice. I feel as if all Keith and I do is squabble in front of you."

"It's nothing to apologize for, Mira. I am an only child, so I find it interesting to see the dynamics between you and your brother." Alice fibbed - quite smoothly if she must say so herself.

"How I wish I was an only child now." The princess sighed. "You mentioned, sponge cake, yes? Come, I must try them - perhaps we can invite Julie as well?" Mira looped an arm around Alice's arm, diverting the explosive topic nearly perfectly. It was the second time in one day that the royal siblings had such a fight. Alice wasn't sure if she could survive the visit any longer if it kept up.

End of Chapter 11.

Note: The second update for this chapter that didn't take years in the making! Can you believe that?! Because I can't! \(〇_o)/

But before we go onto this chapter, I just wanted to apologize if this chapter seemed rushed. I had final exams in the middle of this month, and I had family coming over to celebrate my...GRADUATION! After YEARS, I FINALLY GRADUATED! I'm still going back to school in the fall, LOL, but hey! Gotta celebrate the little wins as well, right? But anyways, the reason why I'm saying all of this is because the end of the month is almost here and I hadn't updated anything and I REALLY wanted to keep up with my goal of updating at least one fic a month, so that's why I'm rushing to get this chapter up! Because of that, I apologize for any minor mistakes that this chapter may have - please forgive me. ORZ

Anyways! Whoo! Another chapter that ended in a fight between Mira and Keith - those two really ought to just talk it out. Not only that, but Shun made a *small* reappearance! More shall be discussed in the next chapter, but of course, I had to let Shun make a small cameo - I can't just leave him to his own devices. \^o^/

As always, please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, and I shall see you in the next one! Bye~! o(* ̄▽ ̄*)o