~Aurora~

　　I...smiled.

　　Opening my eyes after sensing how he wouldn't say anything at my acceptance of his advances this time, he hits me with the words which were never told by anyone.

　　Who knew the Prince of Whispering Pines Lycan Kingdom was such a poetic, hopeless romantic!?

　　"Is that all you've got to tell me, Aurora?"

　　"T-That is all." I said, accidentally stammering. He chuckled at my reaction and gently brushed tuft of my hair behind my ear. The gesture alone had made the butterflies in my stomach run a parade! Marching towards somewhere I wouldn't want to share openly~

　　"You're adorable, Aurora. Ever since I've seen you, even if you put up a harsh facade, you've always been the cutest little thing in my eyes. Maybe...I just acknowledge the innocence in you."

　　"You are far behind on that, Prince Emeric. I'm nowhere close to being an innocent chap anymore. Maybe I was...when my parents were still alive. But after that night, everything changed in my little world. No one should have that kind of fate as mine. Not even my enemies." Suddenly, I found myself opening up about a lot more details of my life than just about the incident!

　　Before I realized what I've said, it was too late. I've made a man who's got infatuated with me, curious about my past.

　　"What happ-"

　　"I'm sorry. I- I don't want to talk about that. It also involves Alexia Thorn. That is the reason why she was behind me all this time. Bringing me down because of her own spite and revenge."

　　"Revenge?" There was a drastic shift in his voice and the energy that surrounded him! Realizing once again that I've overshared with the man, I tried to do some damage control for the situation! Due to personal reasons, Prince Emeric might reprimand Alexia by a long mile. I don't want her to loathe me more than she does as of now!

　　Especially after suspecting that she and Leif might have something going on as a plan to bring me down. I can't run the risk of making her hate me even more!

　　"Forget what I said, please, Prince Emeric."

　　"And for the last time, I want you to call me Emeric. When we are alone. Aurora, you should know that your truth will come out to me one day or the other. It is always better if you let me on it right now. You don't want me digging the truth out, or hearing it from others." I looked down at my lap at his words.

　　"...Are you threatening me?"

　　He fell silent,"No. No, that wasn't my intention. I get obsessively protective of you when you say this. Maybe it is my first time loving someone. I tend to be aggressively protective otherwise as well. Pardon me, if I've done something wrong." Taking my hand that rested on his lap, he placed a chaste kiss to the back.

　　"You can never do anything wrong, Emeric. You're Prince Emeric Wildhart! Everyone knows you for how wise and righteous you are!"

　　"Hmm...trying to impress me, I see." My eyes widened as his voice went an octave deeper. Oh my Goddess!

　　A small gasp of surprise escaped my lips. His hand had risen up to hold my cheek, ever so softly. It was warm, callous and everything nice. I felt incredibly droopy and sleepy against his touch.

　　"I'm going to do what I have to do. I hope you don't mind being the sole witness for your emotional disturbance against Alexia's tricks. You always knew it was her who was behind your downfall, right?"

　　"Yes. But..."

　　"No, Aurora. I'm still upset at the way you haven't told me about Alexia before. You know she was behind you all this time. And I know there's more to it. If you could only tell me-"

　　"I don't think past emotions should form for future revenge in my case, P- Emeric. Please. Let's not dwell into it." I tried to sound as polite as possible. But the tone was unintentionally rough as it came out of my lips. Regret had settled in me, and I watched Prince Emeric glide his neck down to face his lap. My words must have hurt him. After all, all he wanted to know was my past with Alexia. Apart from trying to get more information out of me to use against Alexia, he wanted to know the personal stuff which happened between me and her.

　　He wanted to get to know me, and my past.

　　How deep are his feelings for me? I feel as though I'm underperforming at the moment. But love blossoms at a subjective pace. I won't rush it from my end. Just because he's being such a sweetheart, doesn't mean I should pace up as well, to catch up with him and love him almost instantly. That's going to affect us in the long run.

　　"Well, you will be having to represent yourself in front of the audience as voice of victim tomorrow. Alexia will be sent back for her betrayal and use of forbidden substances tomorrow morning. In front of my Kingdom, and of course, the whole world." My eyes widened for the umpteenth time!

　　"Will there be a broadcast?" With a chuckle, he answered to my stupid question with a, "Yes,"

　　"But don't fret it. I should make up for the unintentional disrespectful act I've done against you at the beginning of the Trial." I stared at him, confused.

　　"What did you do against me...? In a broadcast...?"

　　"Yes. If you remember, you were incredibly upset at the way I stuttered your name. People have been making fun of you for that, weren't they?" All at once, those memories came back at me as my smile dropped down.

　　"Oh..."

　　"Do you...forgive me, Aurora?" Prince Emeric placed a gentle kiss to my cheek. How can I ever not forgive him if he's being such a sweetheart? He's even clarified the nuance between us, what I thought was a grand gesture to tease me in front of the whole world.

　　"This time, I'm going to make sure that the world looks up to you. They'll see the strong woman you've become. People's opinions sway greatly depending on how well the other side of that person's story was heard. Trust me, will you?"

　　"I do trust you, Prince Emeric. Thank you. Thank you very much."

　　I was lost...in his smile.

　　I kept staring at the valuable, rare smile of the Prince which made his cheeks blush and the corners of his lips touch ear to ear. He's so adorable when he smiles like this~

　　"One more. Please." His subtle request to kiss me again made me feel the butterflies erupt in my tummy. I wasn't aware that I tucked my lower lip between my teeth all this while. That was until he swiped his thumb across. Things were getting warm and wet. My skin was sweating with heat is what I meant.

　　"Your taste is addictive, Aurora."

　　"Yours as well," I don't know how, but a wave of confidence washed over me out of the blue!

　　And that was how I lost my first kiss to a literal Prince…