Two weeks later

"It was so nice to see you again, Fin."

"Um, to which one of us are you talking to?"

"Both of you, obviously. Both your names can have Fin as a nickname."

Finral just rolled his eyes with a smile and Finesse chuckled, amused. Vanessa just giggled, she was really happy to see them again.

The newlyweds just returned from their honeymoon and before they got back to their own house, Finral and Finesse decided to make a stop at the Black Bulls hideout. They were lucky, most of the Bulls were away today, so that the hideout was unusually calm for a change. The big Welcome Back Party for Finral was only planned for the day after tomorrow, when he was officially back to work.

Vanessa smiled at her best friend and his wonderful wife. Those two just looked so happy and it was pretty much obvious how good those two weeks of honeymoon did to Finral. That poor man was doing a lot to hold the squad together and given who the Black Bulls were, it was truly a stressful activity.

"Well, I'm happy that the squad didn't burned down while I was away," Finral said, looking at the basement with relief.

"Don't worry, Finral, you're not always the only one to hold the squad together. Most of us realized how much you did while you were away with your little darling and since it was forbidden to interrupt your honeymoon, we had no other choice than to give ourselves a good kick in the butt. Well, must of us."

"Yami will using me as a taxi again once I'm back and I bet paperwork will fall on me again."

"Oh, you know, Gordon took a liking to it while you were away and Noelle did a lot of it too. Even though, she probably did it to get out of cleaning duties, leaving it all to poor Asta. As for Yami… well, there wasn't a day without him complaining that without you, he had to travel with broom, how much magic he had to waste on that and that he looked ridiculous. You know captain Yami, he can be pretty lazy."

"Oh my, are you allowed to talk about your captain like that?" Finesse asked and even though she smiled, of course, there was some concern in her voice.

"Doesn't change that it's true," Vanessa replied with a giggle. "But well, if we don't want to get his wrath, which is often, we obviously don't say that directly to captain Yami. Although, I don't think he would do anything to you if you were to tell him that, Finesse. Even Yami finds that you're too nice for this world, he won't try to scare you or anything. Besides, you're an honorary Black Bull and not a knight, so he can't delegate the worst cleaning duties to you as a punishment."

"But maybe he would punish me," Finral mumbled. "I've missed you all, I'll admit, but there some things I haven't missed at all."

"Which is fair, Fin. So, now you better go away before captain Yami and puts you to work two days before your officially first day of work after your honeymoon."

Vanessa hugged them both as goodbye and waved at them as went through Finrals portal.

She still smiled when the portal disappeared. For an arranged marriage, Finral and Finesse looked very happy together, anyone who didn't see that must be blind. Well, their case was probably a rarity within all those arranged marriages within nobility and royalty, so it was most certainly not be expected in most cases.

Vanessa stopped smiling as her thoughts lead her to Nozel again. Whenever he would choose someone in a political marriage, he won't choose someone to be happy with, but because of duty. Nozel took duty very seriously, more so than anyone she knew. Remembering their talk in Spade and what Finral told her at his wedding, he would do it for his siblings, so that they will be free to choose.

But at the same time, he was around 31 now and he still haven't choose someone. And from what Vanessa directly witnessed since she met up with him, he never seemed to really search a potential spouse.

And honestly, this was reassuring. Vanessa knew that Noelle would never accept that her oldest brother would sacrifice himself into a loveless marriage just so that she would have her freedom. Nebra probably won't be happy about it either. Vanessa didn't know Solid at all and to be fair, she didn't like him, but if he cared about Nozel just half as much as his sisters, then he also wouldn't be happy about that sacrifice.

Also… Vanessa came to care for Nozel, after those months following the raid in Spade. More than she would ever imagined, to a point that she sometimes wondered if Rouge would work on him as well. She didn't want him to be in an unhappy marriage. So, the fact that Nozel didn't actively searched for a potential spouse was also reassuring for her.

"Let's hope it stays that way," Vanessa said softly.

What was Nozel for her, anyways? A question she asked herself from time to time again, especially those last two weeks. He opened a bit more since she brought him back to his mother's favourite café and they met up more often in person, instead of just talking through the communication device or short meetings at the Silver Eagles headquarters.

Vanessa would like to think that Nozel was a friend. But if he was that, it felt so much more different than with any other friends she had, be it Black Bulls or people outside the squad. Maybe because he was Noelles brother? Maybe because of what she learned from him at first and how different he seemed from those prejudices since Spade? Maybe because he was like no one else she knew, still mysterious?

Whatever he was for her, well, Vanessa was determined to find out. She got a lot glances behind that cold mask of his lately, but never fully. But Vanessa hasn't given up. Honestly, the more Nozel grew important to her, one way or another, the more she wanted to know him better. And even though that was probably too much ask, she also wanted him to know her.

For him wanting to know her.

Too much to ask, Vanessa knew that. But still, it would be nice.

Maybe she should go to the Silver Eagles basement? No, that might be too bold and as much Vanessa loved to tease Nozel, he was really like a bird and too much boldness would make him flee away. Vanessa didn't want him to flee from her.

But if she had a reason to come to the Silver Eagles headquarters? Another reason than delivering rapports from one squad to another, than Magic Knight duties?

Maybe she could go to the royal capital, buy something nice for Nozel and bring him that gift. He deserves some kindness like that, he surely didn't get it often. Except his siblings, maybe. But Noelle would maybe give him presents not in person and that was certainly a Silva thing.

That wasn't Vanessas style, she find it nicer and more exciting to give gifts directly.

"Now, that's a plan," Vanessa said, grabbing her broom and leaving the Hideout.

While she was flying, Vanessa wondered what kind of spontaneous gift she could get Nozel. Maybe something sweet? He was a sweet tooth, just like Noelle and since the café, Vanessa learned that it was always a good argument to get him somehow out of work.

Or maybe a new quill, a good one? A new quill holder, one of those modern ones, which included an ink bottle? Nozel might appreciate it, but at the same time, it was something good for work and he clearly needed to work a bit less. If Vanessa didn't find anything else, maybe she could get him something like that, still.

How about something with a water lily theme? She didn't forgot that this were his mother's favourite flowers and maybe he would be happy about something that remembered him of Acier Silva? But at the same time, it might be difficult for him. He clearly was still grieving about his mother and Vanessa wanted to risk to open old wounds while he was trying to heal.

But she could find something with another flower theme. Just like Noelle, Nozel didn't show it, but seemed to like flowers. At least, from what Vanessa observed those last two weeks. Maybe something with roses. He told her once indirectly that he liked the scent of her rosewater and Vanessa had been touched by that, despite the fact that her perfume was a cheap kind. Or maybe she could find something with lavender? Nozel had slight scent of lavender soap on him, he might like that plant. Noelle told her though that lavender wasn't considered fine enough for royalty and nobility. But if Nozel had lavender soap, he might appreciate that scent and didn't mind if it was not fine enough for royal or noble standards.

Vanessa smiled. His view on lavender could told a lot about how he truly views royalty and nobility.

When she arrived at the royal capital, Vanessa still had no idea what she could get Nozel. Well, whatever, she would just go through the shops and if she saw something, she would buy it, then fly straight to the Silver Eagles basement.

Vanessa giggled happily. She loved spontaneous plans like that.

So, she took her time.

Slowly walking through the streets, stopping by from time to time to look at the ship windows or to let the warm afternoon sun shining on her face, Vanessa just enjoyed this day.

After a while, she came to the street where the café was. Acier Silva's favourite café, but Vanessa also liked to call it their café, thinking about Nozel. That was sometimes the term she used to invite him and even though he always replied that this café didn't belong to them, he couldn't resist long to come with her.

She saw the café, the cosy, old-fashioned style of the house and the windows, even the table at which Nozel and her used to sit. They came here quite often during those last two weeks. But Vanessa hasn't told anybody about it. She knew that Noelle would freak out if she ever learned about it and even though Vanessas meetings with Nozel were so innocent as innocent could be, Noelles vivid imagination would go nuts. And the Bulls would maybe follow her, out of curiosity or out of overprotectiveness or willing to fight in Lucks case, which was something Vanessa didn't want, for Nozel and herself.

For now, she enjoyed to have such an innocent secret.

Vanessa stood right in front of the fashion shop of Soie Velours, that modiste who had such a renown in the whole kingdom. At least for nobles and royals, Vanessa never heard of her before Nozel told her about that woman.

The dresses and gowns that modiste created must be highly expensive, which was maybe the reason why Vanessa never heard about Soie Velours before. She had quite a good salary as a Magic Knight, true. But she was still a Junior Magic Knight and compared to the fortunes of nobles and royals, it was probably nothing. Not to mention that Vanessa loved spending her money. Clothes, mostly second hand, plants and other potion ingredients, magical items, silly things, also fabrics, needles and some threads for her needlework. And wine, of course.

So, yes, it was very unlikely that Vanessa could ever afford herself a dress from Soie Velours.

But Vanessa also loved fashion, so she couldn't help herself but stop at the shop window every time she passed by and admiring the dresses presented.

Today, four dresses were shown. Two very similar dresses with silver embroidery at the sleeves, on the corsage and on the under half of the skirt, representing some branches and flowers. One dress was in a dark blue-green, the other one in a lilac purple.

Next to them, a dark pink gown with an open skirt, showing the under skirt. At least, Vanessa called them like that, she didn't know the proper terms. The gown was unicoloured, but the under skirt had embroideries of butterflies in burgundy, cream and many shades of purple.

The last dress was in a bright spring green, with garlands of pink flowers, which Vanessa suspected to be cherry blossoms. There were always gowns with garlands of flowers, so maybe Soie Velours liked it.

Vanessa sighed deeply. What a shame that she couldn't afford one of those gowns. And she certainly won't beg anyone who was richer than her to buy a gown like that for her. Not Finral and Finesse, not Nozel either. All she could do was dreaming about it and to be fair, it was enough. At least, it could gave some inspiration for her needlework.

Vanessa walked away, leaving the fashion shop and the café behind her. Maybe she could come back later with Nozel, for a hot chocolate. Or they could go to the park, under the willow at the pond with the water lilies.

Vanessa grinned. She knew that Nozel would come with her, he learned that it was impossible to say no to a witch and live to tell the tale.

Soon she saw a noble restaurant, the Finest Desire. Vanessa saw it many times before and even though the wine must be exquisite, it was a noble restaurant. Not only was it of course too expensive for her, but she also doubted that she would be welcome. Besides, every time they passed by, Nozel made a subtle face, so maybe he didn't like this place for various reasons.

There weren't many people on the outside tables, only three young men and given by their expensive looking clothes, it had to be nobles. Vanessa wondered if she could just walk by quickly or take another path altogether. She knew from experience that most noble young men, especially those who weren't knights, weren't the kind of people she would want to hang around.

But while she was thinking about how to avoid them, she heard them say Nozels name. And she couldn't help but eavesdrop…

"I swear it's true! My father saw them two weeks ago, in the parc, under that stupid willow at the pool with those ugly water lilies!" the first noble yelled, a skinny lad with pink hair and turquoise eyes. Colours that looked somehow familiar to Vanessa.

"Come on, Reginald," another one replied, with cupper hair styled in a bob, a pointed chin and small yellow eyes hidden behind small round glasses. "It's an open secret that your father is kinda desperate to find a suitable sixth wife and to marry your siblings, he probably started believing that his worries are reality."

"Not true, Airain! Okay, I'll admit my father is not the most calm on that topic recently. But seriously, do you think he would invent something like that? I mean, he would never invent something like that about Nozel Silva of all people!"

Vanessa froze. She had no idea what this conversation implied and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know or if she would like it…

"Well, if what Reginalds father saw is true," the third noble said, a rather fat one with pale blonde hair and greyish blue eyes, "then maybe it would explain why Noelle Silva wasn't thrown out of house Silva, despite having being sent to the Black Bull squad.."

What?

"Don't be stupid, Stanislas," the noble called Airain replied, sounding kinda irritated. "No royals had been thrown out since the time of the first Wizard King. That is not how it's done today and if it was, there would have been a royal hearing. But there wasn't one for lady Noelle."

"Yes, you're right," Stanislas said shyly, putting a whole slice of cake in his mouth.

"But even so, why would he his sister where his mistress is?" Reginald asked in frustration, clearly trying to bring the conversation back on his topic.

Vanessa didn't know if she just couldn't understand who he was talking about… or if she didn't wanted.

"Once and for all, Reginald, we have no idea if what your father believed to have seen is true or not. There may be rumours already, but you should only feed them when you definitely know if it's true."

"But Airain… Argh, come on. It's Nozel Silva we're talking about, of all people! It would sound like something he would do!"

"But… he has such a perfect reputation as royal and as a head of house," Stanislas replied, but his shy voice didn't sound convincing at all. Vanessa almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

"Just because he acts with perfection doesn't mean that he's truly perfect! It's scandalous how liberal he leads house Silva!"

Vanessa flinched slightly. She didn't liked how this Reginald talked about Nozel. Disrespect and insults covered his voice. And Nozel, liberal? Okay, the captain of the Silver Eagles wasn't really one of the most open-minded royals and he was only carefully changing his ways, like when he accepted a bastard daughter in his squad. But how was that considered too liberal?

Vanessa already had suspicions that Nozel wasn't as respected by some nobles, like two weeks ago with that jerk who tried more or less subtle to make marriage proposals. But this? This wasn't subtle anymore.

She really wanted to run away, to ignore and forgot this conversation, those three nobles. Their opinion shouldn't matter. But somehow, Vanessa found herself unable to move.

Airain just let out a deep sigh, as he was dealing with two stupid five year old children, while he didn't look that much older than his companions. Then he spoke, "Stanislas is right, lord Nozel is definitely an exemplary royal. But only on some topics and sadly for him they are few. He was already unable to lead house Silva from the start."

"Wasn't he only fifteen when he took over the house? And the late lady Acier died not so long before that. At least, that's what my grandmama told me."

"My point still stands, Stanislas. His age wasn't important. Once you take over the position of a Head of House, you had to do it perfectly from the start. No excuses, those are for peasants, commoners and weaklings. This is common knowledge. And well, it was his own fault to even grieve for his mother to begin with."

Vanessa gasped. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"Lady Acier was one of the strongest Silver Eagles out there, there's no denying of that. But just because she was amazing, it doesn't mean that she was without fault. From my uncle's stories, lady Acier was not stern enough and it is most probable that despite not showing it, lord Nozel got more from her soft, weak personality than from his father's strong will and perfection. There are a lot things that have gone wrong with the Silvas and this for century. Maybe lady Acier should have let her husband take over the house, even though it would have been uncommon, since he only married into royalty. Lord Nozel was definitely not the best candidate to take over her legacy. He made many things wrong. For example, he should've never let lady Nebra become a Magic Knight, mist magic isn't that strong, even for royalty. Lord Solid isn't controlled enough, it is only a matter of time before he'll bring another scandal upon the Silvas. No wonder that he apparently gets less marriage proposals than his siblings. And lady Noelle, well, sending her to the Black Bulls was one mistake. I might understand why he didn't called a hearing to kick her out of royalty, it is always a delicate subject. But she's definitely not a fit for the Magic Knights. Even as a no knight, I can tell that."

"Um, Airain, maybe you exaggerate," Reginald replied, but he didn't sounded convincing.

"I would if I was talking about another family. But this is the Silvas we're talking about. The royal house were all of their members either die young or in celibacy, were most branches are disappearing left and right, leaving only four Silvas today. Marry the most renown names of nobility and more importantly, conceiving heirs, this is the only way for the Silvas to survive, otherwise we'll see a royal family fall and that would put the kingdom of Clover in a fragile state. With her past reputation, lady Noelle should have been married to an advantageous party in order to keep it in check. In fact, she should already have been at least engaged when she got her grimoire and lady Nebra should have been married a decade ago. But well, that's probably not the biggest problem here. Oh, it's just my opinion, but I'm probably not wrong. I think lord Nozel should have been married a long time ago, in order to really make house Silva stand tall again. But he haven't done anything of it and this is all on him. Let's hope lord Lac will soon come back from his diplomatic trip and put an order into this mess."

Vanessa swore that she was close to puke. She didn't know what made her the most angry. Basically everything that Airain jerk said in his speech would be enough to make her blood boil. Even more so, that pointed chin said all of this bullshit with such calm while sipping his wine, as he was just stating facts or talking casually about the weather.

Were most nobles always this awful?

What was worse in Vanessas eyes, Airain not only somehow insulted Noelle, but also Nozel. Making it sound as if Nozel was just a marionette without any strings, unable to do anything right. Heck, even Nebra and Solid!

Vanessa already knew that Noelle was practically a black sheep of royalty. Even though she got stronger and more confident, she was still a Black Bull and even though it sucks, it wasn't surprising that arrogant noble jerks would spit on this squad, just by principle. But the whole house of Silva? Nozel even? She just had doubts at this point and Nozel wasn't very talkative about his worries yet.

But he wasn't present here and those three scumbags were insulting him more directly.

She should go away. She really should do that exactly. Doing what she always did, what most Black Bulls always did. Ignoring so called nobles being jerks and prove them wrong one day.

But she was still frozen. Why were her feet unable to move? Why was she still listening to this nonsense? Why was she staying and risking to become angrier, instead of following her original plan and find a nice gift for Nozel?

"Well, whatever, back on topic," Reginald replied arrogantly, flicking his hand. "If the Black Bulls witch really is the mistress of Nozel Silva, you would understand that this is just intolerable!"

Vanessa felt even more sick, unable still to understand and the same time, almost connecting the dots.

Did… did someone actually saw her with Nozel in that parc, two weeks ago? But no one had been there, the parc had been pretty empty and the willow had more than enough leaves to hide them from unwanted glances. Okay, there had been that noble jerk who tried to engage one of his kids to the Silva siblings, even suggesting he was an option. But he had left before Vanessa met up with Nozel.

But what if he came back shortly, just to see the both of them walking together?

Come to think of it, that Reginald jerk has some similarities with that man from two weeks ago. Same bright pink hair and same turquoise coloured eyes. Vanessa already found those beautiful colours wasted on the father, the same applied to the son.

"For heaven's sake, Reginald, don't overreact like your father," Airain said calmly.

"And besides, it's normal for nobles to have mistresses, right? My father has one too," Stanislas added and Vanessa couldn't choose if she should roll her eyes or if she'd rather feel sick again because of that word. Mistress…

"But it's never a… a WITCH! That's worse than a commoner or a peasant! I don't want one of my sisters or cousins married to a man who has a witch as a mistress! How would you think, Stanislas, if your youngest aunt Donatella would get married to someone like that? And you, Airain, how would you feel if Cuivre has to share her husband with a witch?"

"Calm down, Reginald, you start to sound like your father," Airain said, sounding vaguely irritated. "First off, we can't be sure that what he saw was the truth, with all due respect. Second, lord Nozel has many faults, but even he would never choose someone from lower class, not to mention a witch, as a mistress. I dare to doubt that he would ever take a mistress in the first place. After everything he tried and in many cases failed for the Silvas to stand tall again. We should be happy that your father isn't one to spread rumours and that he only told you about this… illusion. Nobility can't manage to break into chaos, especially since the marital questions are more important than ever. As far as we know for sure, Nozel Silva and the Black Bull witch don't even know each other, which is how it should be, of course. But I do agree with you that witches are a plague. It's scandalous that those are accepted as Magic Knights, even squad captains. We have tolerance with the Witches Forest, it's more than enough, we indeed don't need some of those in the kingdom. Those witches should just come back where they belong and don't mend with us."

Finally Vanessa wasn't frozen anymore. Her first initiative was to turn away from this nobles and get quickly out of their reach. She was already lucky they haven't noticed her presence.

She hated the discussion she overheard. Every bits of it. She was also angry and sad.

Angry because those three jerks insulted Noelle and basically the Black Bulls, they also insulted her fellow witches, especially Dorothy Unsworth, who was a Magic Knight just like Vanessa. Granted, they weren't that close, but still. And they insulted Nozel and somehow, everything they said about him made her blood boil more than anything else. Because she knew that none of it was true! Vanessa was certain of it, since she saw the cracks of his mask in Spade.

Vanessa was always angry when people close to her were insulted and looked down upon. But… it was something else entirely when she was involved.

Vanessa was used to be looked down upon. She was Black Bull, she was a witch, never had it made her angry. She was always angry for others, not for herself. It never made her even sad before. Nobles weren't in her circles, so why getting upset over something that wasn't in her general reach to begin with?

But now… She was upset, she was even sad. Because Nozel was involved.

Why would people even think that she was his… his… mistress? Why was he even that hard to even think that word? She wasn't Nozels mistress, he was always polite with her, trying so much to act like a gentleman. A TRUE gentleman, not like Reginald, Airain and Stanislas! They were just…

What were they actually? What was between them?

Vanessa stopped walking at all, stunned by this question.

That question always had been there, but Vanessa just ignored it most of the time. But now, she couldn't help but ask herself.

What was she to Nozel? What was between them?

Vanessa would like to think that they were friends. But she had many friends and what she felt for any of them was not what she came to feel when she was with Nozel. It was different, totally different. Just subtle, but once you realized the difference, you couldn't ignore it anymore.

She was still curious about him and she wondered about the real Nozel the more they met up. But never had she thought what others would think of her interacting with the captain of the Silver Eagles, the head of the house of Silva?

"I never cared about what noble's opinions are, why would I now?" Vanessa groaned, putting her head between hands.

Why would she, indeed?

Maybe… because Nozel wasn't a Black Bull? He wasn't a misfit, at least officially? Maybe she cared because he had a reputation, a position, because everyone looked at him? Some with admiration, some with the hope he failed, in order to use and manipulate him?

What would it mean for him if he had a witch as his… mistress? Was it really that scandalous, even more than a commoner or a peasant? But Nozel and her never did anything shocking, they just meet and talked, it was innocent and sweet.

But… nobles wouldn't consider it that way, right? They would just saw what they wanted and be offended, demanding Nozel to break any bonds and ordering Vanessa to go back where she belonged in their eyes.

Back into the Witches Forest.

Back into the cage.

A cold shiver went through Vanessa. It had been long since she hasn't thought about the cage, about her past.

Why did that memory still shiver her? It was behind her, she was somehow on better terms with the Queen of Witches, even though they were not close, and she was able to come visit the witches in the forest, if she wanted to.

So… why did she reacted like that at the memory? Was it really behind her?

No! No, she shouldn't think about it again! It was behind her!

Vanessa felt close to cry right now. She didn't want to remember her past and the cage, she didn't want to let those three nobles conversation bother her that much, even though it did.

Was she a bother, a burden for Nozel? She really hoped it wasn't the case, because she liked more and more being with him. She also didn't want to cause him problems. But she also didn't want him to be out of her life. She wanted to hold what they had, whatever it was.

"Vanessa?"

She flinched as she heard that specific voice. Looking up, Nozel was in front of her. Looking as royal and posed as ever, but the glance in his eyes…

He was concerned. Concerned about her. It was somehow scary, because it was new. But also comforting, so comforting.

"What happened?"

Of course he knew that something was bothering her. Well, she wasn't hiding anything right now, but it felt nice.

Vanessa gave him a small smile. A sad one. She wasn't fine at all right now, but at the same time, she didn't want him to worry. Nozel already had so many worries that burdened him and what he needed was to relax more. So, Vanessa didn't want to tell him.

"I'm… well, a bit upset. Can you hold me?"

That was bold, but honestly, she was always bold with.

Nozel blushed a bit, like always. But he didn't really hesitated as he slowly put his arms around her.

The hug was awkward, but Vanessa didn't care. Not one bit. It felt comforting, it helped her feeling better.

As if it was exactly what she needed.

Nozel just hold her, he didn't say anything. He wasn't asking what happened, probably understanding that she didn't want to talk about it.

Vanessa sighed softly. She wasn't used to be vulnerable, to be the one to get comforted. With the Black Bulls, she was always the one who comforted and encouraged others, she was one of the strong and happy Bulls, who didn't give a crap about what others thought.

But… it was nice to be vulnerable one for once, to be the one to get comforted. And Nozel Silva of all people was giving her that!

It was strange, how he appeared so suddenly when she was feeling bad. But he did, almost like a guardian angel. Exactly what she needed in this very moment…

Vanessa smiled. He certainly didn't appeared like that at first sight, but Nozel was a good person deep down. If only he would show it more often. Unlike those three noble jerks, Nozel had nobility in his heart. Vanessa was certain of it.

"Ah, I swear, it is not easy to deal such a big family when you're Head of House, but at least, I'm reassured that house Évantail isn't filled with scandals. I heard that house Dragonstone changed from high nobility to medium nobility again, can you imagine that?"

"Oh yes, lady Bianca."

"Of course, lady Bianca."

"What a scandal indeed, can't the Dragonstones just stick to one level of nobility and stop making fools of themselves."

Charlotte said nothing, preferring taking a sip from her tea before she risked to say something insulting. As much as she wanted to, it wasn't the moment and it would have consequences she couldn't have the nerves to deal with.

"Oh course, given their scandalous history of scandals… Oh, I'm shivering by just thinking about it," lady Bianca, current head of house Évantail continued. "I'm grateful that the members of my house are acting more accordingly to the etiquette."

Because most Évantails were just that good at hiding their own scandals under the carpet, preferring to ignore them forever instead of facing the consequences of their actions. But of course Charlotte wouldn't say that. Today, it was almost like an unspoken rules to never deal with scandals and their consequences.

Charlotte sighed. She didn't want to be there. Until now, she had managed to avoid every meeting for tea her mothers and aunts invited her to. Because it was obviously attempts to find a potential future husband for her.

But today, she had no other choice than to be here. Not because her mother and her aunts forced her too, thankfully. Also not to search a husband, good Lord. Now, she was here as a distraction, while Yami somehow talked to the servants of house Roselei, in order to find a clue about her lost half-sibling and his poor mother.

Basically, she was here because of another scandal hidden under a carpet. What a small world, honestly.

Today's tea party was organized by her aunt Rosamund, who certainly haven't given up to marry her to lord Reginald Évantail. Heck, why lady Bianca, his mother and head of house Évantail had been invited today. Together with her youngest granddaughter. Or was it the youngest great-niece? Or a great-granddaughter? Charlotte couldn't tell, it was already difficult to keep track with the family tree of house Évantail. There were so many members and sometimes generations were crossing, having for example uncles and aunts being younger than some of their nephews and nieces.

Blanche Évantail haven't said anything yet, just drinking tea with a neutral expression. Charlotte wondered if she even wanted to be here in the first place. But obviously, she couldn't disobey her head of house, poor girl.

Besides Charlotte and Rosamund, the other Roselei present were her mother, lady Orchidea and another aunt, Florence.

"Oh, lady Charlotte, how is Églantine doing. I recall that she's a member of your squad," lady Bianca said, taking small sip of her tea.

"Since four years, yes. She is one of your great-grandchildren, isn't she? She's doing very wonderful. Églantine is a wonderful asset to my squad, she might reach the rank of Senior Magic Knight before her 21st birthday," Charlotte replied politely. Thank goodness, she was able to get one of the rare nice and not lazy Évantails out there. Églantine was also one who wasn't offended that the Silver Eagles took her bastard half-sister as a knight and that alone made her more than honourable in Charlottes eyes.

"Already? Goodness, today's Magic Knights are getting ranks so quickly, despite not having the experience," Rosamund said, with the subtle venom only she could do. Charlotte decided that it wasn't worth to reply her taunt.

"It is, but well, times are changing and one day, it might not be bad," Orchidea replied, always the diplomat. "But back on the topic that interest us more."

"Ah, yes, I almost forgot. Lady Charlotte, you seem interested to be court by my son Reginald, I recall?"

No, she wasn't interested to consider Reginald Évantail as a potential future husband and to become his sixth wife. It was her aunt Rosamund who seemed so strangely decided that her niece should marry him specifically.

But before Charlotte could even think of a polite answer, "I must admit, having you as a daughter-in-law, the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, would be most appropriate for house Évantail. And to be fair, Charlotte Évantail would sound nice."

Charlotte took a sip from her tea, to avoid making a face. Even though it wasn't unusual anymore that a husband marries into the family of his wife, it still wasn't the norm and house Évantail wasn't known to let their members marry into other houses.

Honestly, if she had to marry, Charlotte always hoped that she could still keep her name. If she wanted to make house Roselei better, she couldn't become a member of another noble family. And if she would take another name, she would only accept Yami's, of course.

Charlotte Sukehiro… How many times did she dreamt of that night after night, in her wildest fantasies? But of course, that wasn't for soon. They weren't even dating yet and given how dense Yami was, it would take a while. It was highly inappropriate to already dreaming of taking his name!

From the corner of her eyes, Charlotte saw aunt Florence and her mother share a worried glance at lady Biancas last sentence. Which meant that they wouldn't like Charlotte quit the Roseleis for another noble house. Good, at least they could be kinda allies on that topic.

Unlike Rosamund, who sweetly replied, "It does sounds really good, very melodic. Don't you agree, Charlotte my dear?"

Charlotte did her best to not glare at her aunt. Seriously, what would she gain if Charlotte would marry Reginald?

"To be fair, I haven't thought about it."

"Of course, lady Charlotte, we're barely in the process of considering all of our assets before choosing any potential candidates," lady Bianca replied, negating thankfully the angry look in Rosamunds eyes. "I have myself all hands full with my own candidates, not only my son Reginald. Blanche here will get her grimoire very soon and so, I will have another one of my family to search a spouse for."

Poor Blanche. Charlotte gave her a sympathetic smile and for the first time since she came here, Blanche actually smiled. A small smile, a bit sad. But with a hint of gratitude.

"I was thinking that house Roselei would might be a good fit for her," lady Bianca continued.

Charlotte frowned. Again, house Évantail wasn't known for letting their members marry into other families, except for the disliked ones. And with that lady Bianca might have just implied… was that the case for poor Blanche? That poor girl, being disliked by her own family before she even got her grimoire.

"What an excellent idea," Rosamund said, finding her good mood again. "A double marriage between our houses is always better than just one."

What was Rosamund gaining from this? If Charlotte wouldn't already dealing with her love for Yami and her lost half-sibling, she might have started an investigation around her aunt.

"Oh, we would be glad to welcome Blanche into our family, if we'll come to that," Orchidea said and despite her faults, Charlotte was glad that her mother was at least diplomatic as well as nice and polite to every visitor.

"Yes, of course, of course," lady Bianca replied with a flick of her hand, clearly not caring if Blanche would be welcome or not. "And as I said-"

There was a sudden noise, as if a tiny stone had been thrown at the window. Charlotte did her best to not sigh in relief. That was Yami's signal, he was done investigating the servants. At least some of them, the Roseleis had a lot of servants.

"Goodness, what was that?" Florence yelped. Her nerves never had been pretty strong.

"It was probably nothing. But I'll go see, to make sure everything is alright. After all, I'm a Magic Knight captain, it is my duty to take care of the safety of the kingdom, which includes of course all of you."

Oh, how Charlotte loved to say this. It always gave her a wonderful excuse to go away from stressful talks like this one without giving others a valuable excuse to hold her back.

"But please don't take too long."

"Don't worry, aunt Rosamund. Lady Blanche, I fear your nose is a bit glowing, should I also accompany to the nearest bathroom so that you can powder it?"

Blanche didn't answer, but her eyes were full of gratitude. She was obviously forced to come here and it was the least Charlotte could do to help her to went away from this painful tea party.

With a nod from lady Bianca, Blanche got up and followed Charlotte out of the salon.

Just as Charlotte closed the door, she heard her mother say, "We indeed search for good potential spouses for our dear Charlotte. We also consider to marry her into royalty."

Goodness, it was really the time to flee.

After giving Blanche the direction not only to the bathroom, but also the library just in case, Charlotte quickly went to her meeting point with Yami. They had agreed to meet at one of the servants entrances, the one which was used the less and at this time of the day, servants were preoccupied elsewhere. Hopefully, no one would catch her with Yami like that.

She met no one as she reached the servants entrance and went outside. Yami was there, about to pull out a cigarette.

"Don't you dare smoke here! It's not because this entrance is barely used that you can nonchalantly smoke a cigarette, the scent can be smelled even outside this area."

"Geez, don't get paranoid, Prickly Queen. A cigarette smells barely anything."

Still, he put the cigarette back.

"So, did you find out something?"

"Not much for now. It's not an easy task, don't forget that, Prickly Queen. With no leads, we can't except something after two weeks already. But I have to say, I didn't know that some servants could be as much as jerks as nobles."

"It is not uncommon, sadly. The more powerful the noble house is, the more arrogant are also the servants, at least those with the important roles, like the first butler or the governess. And well, house Roselei is from high nobility. I already had to deal with one of our butlers with another one, just because that one served a house from low nobility."

"Geez, even the servants sucks, then."

"Please don't be so rude on them. Servants don't have the easiest job too, you know. It always depends on who they serve."

"Still sucks, though. Well, the most jerky ones didn't want to take a drink with me. As if they were better than me just because they're servants of nobles, but well, details. The others I met were more willing to drink and talk. But gosh, the crap they had to say about most of your family, geez. Some know curse words that might even make Sisgoleon blush. I pity those poor lads, dealing with those crappy masters."

"I'll admit that the Roseleis aren't the kindest nobles to serve. Sometimes, I really feel ashamed of my family."

"They should be ashamed, not you, Prickly Queen. If it's comforting you, they had no nasty things to say about you, only compliments and flattery and all kind of sickly sweets positive things. And most also had good deeds to say about your mom. Didn't know she was liked within servants."

"My mother has her flaws, but she was never unkind to servants. She always told me to respect those who served us. Respect and gratitude can be sometimes the best salary for their loyalty. Sadly, most people within nobility don't have that philosophy."

"Woah, I better respect your lady mama for that."

"Thank you. So, you found no lead?"

"Nope, not really. Or well, there is one that's maybe promising, but the old maid was already pretty drunk when she told me that, so don't know if it's something or not."

"What did she say?"

"That your old man had two butlers or male maids or whatever they're called who served him and followed him when he had to travel… like twenty and something years ago. Which does cross with the time your pops conceived that half-sibling of yours with that poor single mom."

Charlotte only nodded. It seemed to match, indeed. Whoever those two servants were, they might know something about that half-sibling and where her father met the mother of this child.

It was kinda exciting, to search for her lost sibling like that. She still had no idea what she should do once she find her brother or sister and the mother, but she hoped that it wouldn't be too late to apologize.

It was also good to have Yami at her side for this task. Charlotte knew she wouldn't have been emotionally able to do this on her own and it was a topic she couldn't just confide to anyone. As much as she was proud be independent and strong, she knew now that sometimes, there were duties and tasks she couldn't do alone.

Yami always said that she needed to lean on others from time to time.

He had been right.

Also, doing this quest together allowed to interact more with him and Charlotte couldn't ask for a better opportunity to spend time with the man of her dreams.

But…

Charlotte almost sighed. She wanted more than just being partners on some kind of mission. The more she spent time with Yami, the more she realized that she longed for him. Terribly.

That was the other side of this whole teamwork. She wanted to be so much more, to do so much more. Well, Charlotte already longed for Yami years before, but it was nothing compared to those two last weeks. And she had no idea what to do with those longing emotions.

Again.

Was it always going to be like this? Every time she did a step forward, she would be stuck her for a while before she would have the knowledge and the courage to take the next one? It was so frustrating.

She hated and loved the proximity they had since two weeks. So much better than running away, stuttering or insulting him on instincts. But still… Charlotte wanted more. It was selfish, she knew, but she couldn't help herself.

The closer they were, it became more and more impossible to go back. Not that she wanted to anyway. But with every step forward, Charlotte feared each one would be the last, that she would be forced to stop before the end. And that uncertainty was a much heavier burden than anything she'd knew before.

Charlotte closed her eyes. She shouldn't focus on that right now.

"I will search into the servants papers about those two who served my father closely around that time. It might take a while, but at least it's a lead."

"Hold up, you guys have a whole paperwork for your servants?"

"Of course we have, you idiot. How do you think we could give them their salary if we don't even know them?"

"'kay, fair enough. But how was I supposed to know that, Prickly Queen? Geez, you're still very harsh on my poor little and delicate heart. Although, I don't complain too much about it. Would be not you if you'll stop being harsh on me."

Charlotte had absolutely no idea if she should take this as an insult or as a complement.

"Well, my job here is done, guess I'm off. Until next time, Prickly Queen."

Yami turned and waved casually at her. Charlotte flinched her fist. She had no reason anymore to hold him back. But she didn't want him to go away already.

She didn't want him to go away at all.

"Yami, wait!"

He turned around again, giving her a stunned look. But Charlotte was just frozen, cursing that tongue that acted on its own before she could even think about her words.

They just stared intensely at each other, just like at that wedding, even though they weren't as close this time.

Charlotte just dived into those dark grey eyes, softly imagining those muscular arms around her, her body against that majestic chest… Him being here for her, her being here for him. Her ears full of his sweet teasing or even love confession, not big ones, but typical Yami love confessions and his lips…

His lips on hers…

"Goodbye Yami. See you soon."

Her tongue acted again against her will, she could curse it. Before letting Yami reply, Charlotte turned and went back into the house, closing the door behind her.

Good Heavens, those thoughts again, those daydreams she couldn't stop. They were getting more and more intense and Charlotte had no idea if she could handle them any longer, especially during the night.

When she wasn't having nightmares of losing Yami again and for good this time, she was having dreams about him that were everything but innocent. And since two weeks, they came almost every night.

Yami was everything she loved in a man, he was more a noble than all of those lords her family tried to marry her with. But how much time would she stay strong before she couldn't hold back that cursed longing anymore?