[3rd Person POV]

The day has come... A day to be remembered for eternity.

As the crown prince of Deruria Kingdom, banquets, meetings with foreign ambassadors, and other social events that were attended by high ranking members of nobility were not foreign to Alexus. In fact, due to the brilliance he had shown from such a young age, he had attended countless events held by the high society as a representative of his royal family and kingdom since he was young.

It was a normal occurrence for him and he had long since forgotten how to feel nervous from such an event. After all, one wouldn't be nervous to go on their daily run to the market. It was the same thing for him.

But right now... an incredible feeling of nervousness filled his entire being.

His heart beated quickly, and he couldn't help but move his limbs restlessly as he stood in front of a store at the border between the noble district and the main market district.

Noises of celebration, music, cheers, and all noises of festivities coming from the market district of the royal capital reached even this far out of the center.

It was the first day of the Spring Festival Holiday! One of the largest festivals in the kingdom meant to celebrate yet another year of bountiful harvest, peace, and prosperity for the kingdom!

The entire royal capital was filled with festivities with the people going around the many festivals, celebrations, and parties around the city and enjoy the spring holiday to their hearts' content.

But none entered his ears. He was too nervous to even hear the noise.

After all... this would be his first date with the love of his life.

He had dreamt of this moment countless times since he fell in love with her. To go on a date, an outing, as lovers... It was a dream come true.

He was dressed as a commoner in a simple white shirt, long brown leather pants, and a cloak to hide his features, and while it differed from all the dreams he had in the past, clothes did not matter to him in the least.

As long as he was with her, then he would be happy.

They've promised to meet outside of a small flower store a few blocks away from where Eden was at 9 in the morning.

Originally, Alexus suggested they meet inside Eden. However, with the event and promotion Eden was holding for the spring festival, it would be impossible for them to even enter the building and pass through an entire crowd without getting found out.

So, they agreed to meet here, and Alexus came an entire hour early.

The last thing he wanted was to come late to his first date with his beloved. But even more than that, he simply couldn't stay still in his home in the castle. He had been extremely nervous and excited at the same time since the day Alterisa invited him for this date, and he could no longer wait another minute.

He took a deep breath, and breathed out slowly, trying his best to calm his rapidly beating heart.

And to try to distract himself from his nervousness, he tried imagining his past with Alterisa.

How the world around him regained its color and became vibrant, full of life, the moment she came into his life. And then, she continued to paint even more color to his dull life, making every day of his life so much more exciting, hopeful, and joyful.

She had become the sun of his life. She was the reason he would always look forward to tomorrow. Because there was a chance that he could meet her.

A soft, loving smile appeared on his face, a smile that would've entranced all the ladies that were walking about on the road before him if not for the hood that covered his head.

And soon, he heard rapid footsteps coming towards him.

"Ah, Alex! Sorry for the wait!"

He raised his head and turned to his right and saw the love of his life, Alterisa von Lorya, dressed in a similar fashion to him.

She was dressed like a commoner; a shoulderless white top with scrunch trim around her chest and arms, a renaissance dark brown corset top, a long light brown skirt that reached her ankle, a leather belt around her thin waist, and a cloak that covered her head and beautiful platinum white hair.

The moment he saw her, his face brightened and an even more brilliant smile appeared on his face.

"Risa! Good morning."

"Uhn! Good morning. I'm really sorry for the wait! I had some trouble wearing this leather corset. It was a bit too tight around my chest."

She stopped right in front of him, but instead of looking at him, she was looking down to his chest with a frown.

He could see something moving inside her cloak, and given he couldn't see her hands, he could guess what she was doing under her cloak considering her words.

His face reddened, not for the reason he thought he would blush for upon meeting her, but for a different one... He could guess she must be adjusting her corset around her chest inside that cloak.

He had always questioned why his beloved fiance never seemed to be embarrassed for doing such a thing in front of him. At first, he thought it was because she didn't consider him a man. But when he confronted her about it, she told him, in a matter of fact manner, that she was proud of her breasts and their size. That there was nothing to be embarrassed about, especially since they're extremely close.

And although he agreed regarding her size, given the cloak couldn't even hide the obvious protrusions on her chest, he sometimes wondered how could such an elegant and graceful young lady think this way...?

He was the one who would always get embarrassed whenever she did such a thing in front of him!

"Alterisa-sama... Please stop adjusting your corset in front of his highness... It is unbecoming for a lady."

A few moments later, Anne, Maria, and Iris came after her. Themselves all dressed in similar clothes to their mistress except for Iris, who was dressed in clothes more similar to him. She was dressed in a simple white shirt, long brown leather pants, and a belt around her slim waist with a sheathed sword by her hips.

Anne reprimanded her mistress for her behavior, but... She just didn't stop.

"Uuuhh... But it feel tight. Hah... Is my breast growing bigger again? It fitted just fine a few weeks ago when I bought it. But it's tight now..."

Alexus's face reddened even more, and Anne quickly berated her mistress.

"Alterisa-sama! Please stop saying such things in front of his highness!"

"Eh? Ah... Hehe, sorry Alex."

"I-It's fine..."

She finally looked at Alex for a brief moment. But she didn't notice his clearly redly blushing face right now as she was still preoccupied by her corset.

"Hah... I guess I'll just have to live with it for today... Anne, can you help me adjust the size tonight?"

A sigh escaped from Anne's lips as she pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"I understand... I shall adjust it tonight."

"Hehe~ Thank you, Anne~"

This time, she finally looked at Alex, and let out a beautiful, brilliant smile.

"Good morning~! Now let's go explore the festival~!!! I'm sure you've been excited too, right? After all, you came here so early~!"

Although she was nervous about going out with Alexus alone for the first time, the moment she saw the festival and heard the noises and sounds of celebration from a distance, all her nervousness was replaced by excitement!

While it wasn't her first Spring Festival, she was still excited for it! Especially since she hadn't been able to visit it freely and leisurely for the last few years after she opened Eden. So she was super excited to be able to explore it once again!

Alexus's smile stiffened from her words, but after the many years he had spent with Alterisa, he managed to recover his mental health quickly.

"Of course. I'm excited to explore the festival with you, Risa."

Alexus emphasized the reason behind his excite, something even Anne, Maria, and IRis noticed. But unfortunately, it seemed to go past the person herself completely.

"Fufufu~ Then what are we waiting for~ Let's go try the food first! I skipped breakfast especially so I can taste the festival food to my content~!"

Alterisa grabbed his hand, and quickly pulled him along as she made his way towards the center of the festivities.

Alexus let out a helpless sigh. But looking at his hand that she was holding, a smile appeared on his face once more. And he followed after her, grasping her lithe, soft hand ever so gently yet tightly as he could.

They quickly made their way into the marketplace, where the fun and festivities were raging on. But suddenly, Alterisa started slowing down before fully stopping in her tracks. And then, she let go of Alexus's hand and clasped her hands to her chest.

"Hm? What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

Anxiety quickly filled Alexus's heart as he tried to see his beloved's face, which was covered by the hood of her cloak.

And when he leaned down, he saw Risa blushing furiously under her hood as she looked at her hands with widened eyes.

The sight stunned Alexus for a moment and Alterisa quickly pulled her hood down even more in a fluster.

"W-Why am I the one h-h-holding your hand!!! How could you let a lady be the one to take the initiative!!! You should offer your arm to me like a true gentleman!!!"

What a blunder! Risa thought to herself. She was so excited to go to the festival that she instinctively pulled Alexus by his hand!

Although this wasn't the first time she had done it, she suddenly felt super embarrassed the moment she realized it.

Perhaps... could it be because her head has been filled with the romantic scenes from the otome game when she's thinking of how to counter the flags that she became conscious about romantic gestures?

Kuh... I didn't expect it'd have such effect on me! What a blunder!

Alterisa wanted to bonk her head a few times for this mistake. But then, she realized that Alexus was being very silent.

She slightly raised her head to look at him, and saw a confused and dumbfounded expression on his stupidly handsome face.

Hm? Why is he looking at me like that?

She wondered, but suddenly, he began laughing out loud as his cheeks reddened.

"Pfft... Ahahaha! I'm very sorry, Risa! But you were so excited for the festival that you just pulled me yourself before I could offer my hand."

"U-Uuuhhh... Y-You can't blame that on me! How could you shift the blame to a lady?!"

"Yes yes. It's all my fault. Then, let me try again."

He began bowing with one of his hand raised towards her with a charming smile on his face.

"My lady, may I have the honor of escorting you through this festival?"

Alterisa felt her face blushing at his actions... She blamed it on his stupid handsome face and voice.

But, she quickly snapped out of her daze and faint a cough.

"A-Ahem... If you insist."

"Thank you very much, my lady."

Alterisa placed her hand on his, and the two resumed on making their way to the festival. But this time, with her hugging Alexus's arm and dragging him by that instead of his hand.

She found it easier to drag him by the arm as she could use both of her hands now to pull him. And with her physical strength, even he had no choice but to follow her lead.

The crown prince got (literally) dragged around that day until the sun set.









AN: Super sorry for the late update >_
I hope you guys still enjoy the chapter nonetheless!!! Please feel free to comment your thoughts! Would love to know your opinions~!!!