"I have some pills here to suppress your pheromone secretion, one pill per hour," Minoru explained, throwing me the small glass vial.

"Will this stop my red moon?" I asked uncomfortably.

"No, my dear. It's simply to make it so you don't give off a certain scent, it's completely harmless, safe, and tested, per your father's request. No side effects, and the whole vial was made by your aunt Saran from Xander if you know her," he said, tapping the label with the name Su Saran on it.

"I've met her, she's a great pharmacist," I smiled.

"Then that's great, my dear," Minoru smiled back.

"So, 24 pills means a whole day?" I asked curiously, shaking the vial with tiny red colored tablets.

"No, no. That's something you must not do," Minoru said quickly.

"I thought you said it was safe?" I tilted my head skeptically.

"It is, over dosing won't kill you but..." he trailed off hesitantly.

"But??" I said impatiently.

"The pills cover up your scent and filter some of the pheromones, but taking too many at once would mean that you'd block the pheromones completely, meaning they're stuck inside your body," he explained.

"And that's bad how?" I asked again, thinking it was a good idea.

"Keeping those pheromones inside of you will mean that you, yourself, would be affected by it, making you very... Drunk," he continued, making small gestures.

"... Wow... Drunk... Like... Sleepy drunk? Or... Get-into-trouble -I-shouldn't-be-in-at-my-age kind of drunk?" I asked lightly.

"The second one, but one pill per hour should be just fine," he replied with an amused smile.

"I see..." I nodded.

"So you can smell it as well??" I asked.

"Of course I can, but I've already mated so the effect is very minimal," he laughed.

"Alright. Now that we've discussed that, what's the plan?" I asked seriously.

"I will set up a meeting with you and all of my sons, they will all think they're there to woo you, except for Kazuki and Ken, Aina will be teaching them how to help you best they can," Minoru said, giving me a thumbs up.

"Then, the ones I have to babysit are Akihiko, Kiyoshi, Masaro, and Osamu, correct?" I sighed.

"Correct! I'm surprised you know them by name. Shall I inform you of behavior?" he asked curiously.

I nodded silently.

"Then let's begin. Osamu, 17, is the eldest, with Kazuki second by a week, and Ken who was behind them both by a year. First and only son of my first concubine Himiko. He wants the throne badly, too badly, thanks to the relentless pushing of his mother and grandparents, but he's the only one openly showing his wanting for the throne," Minoru gave me a picture of him.

"Superiority complex," I scoffed.

"Next, fourth son, Akihiko, 14, first son of my second concubine Murasaki, he tends to bully Ken a lot, despite Akihiko being younger... But his mother does spoil her children rotten, and so does his grandparents, who always compares him to his older brothers," Minoru continued.

"Inferiority complex..." I sighed.

"Next, fifth son, Kiyoshi, 13, second born of Murasaki. He thinks I don't know why he asks about how to rule Slade, he says it's to help his brother, but I've heard his whispers... He calls Osamu delusional and dimwitted, he acts nice to Ken and Kazuki while playing little tricks on them..." Minoru shook his head.

"Oh? He's two faced... What else is there about Kiyoshi?" I asked.

"He had a sister, he was very attached to her, Sakiko was a nice child. But she ran away to Flameheart a long time ago..." Minoru sighed.

"The night she left, we were all asleep. Except Kiyoshi who woke up the whole kingdom with his crying and screaming. I don't know exactly what happened, but Kiyoshi became distant to everyone after that, he started to misbehave, and he started to play the dirtiest tricks on Ken and Kazuki," Minoru explained.

"Two-faced with abandonment issues... With abandonment issues, obsession will be a prominent trait. That'll be hard to work with," I groaned.

"I understand your worry, but I don't think this will be as hard as dealing with them as full grown adults," Minoru comforted.

"Doesn't mean it's any easier when they're children. But these are surface level speculations. I have to see through them in person," I laid down.

"Do you think you can fix it within the time frame?" he asked with a tired sigh.

"I haven't seen them yet. Nor am I exactly a licensed professional," I raised a brow as Minoru laughed slightly.

"Remind me again why you can't get a professional?" I closed my eyes.

"Therapists are a taboo here in Slade. Going to a therapist means you're weak and have a problem with your head," he said, displeased.

I looked at him silently then turned to the ceiling.

"Worse case scenario, is that they objectify," I said, putting a blanket on.

"Like, women? They do that quite often," Minoru sneered.

"There's more than women to objectification. It means they see everything as either an item to use or an item they can't use. Nothing in between, they only see themselves and their things," I explained.

"Are you sure you're not a licensed professional?" he asked jokingly.

"And Masaro. The youngest?" I asked with a yawn.

Harry is actually older than Masaro. Isabella, the third consort, Harry's mother, was verbally abused by her grandparents for having a miscarriage and not giving birth to at least one heir.

Her parents died at a young age and she was raised by her power hungry grandparents who pushed her into getting pregnant again, causing her to hate Masaro...

But she doesn't have a problem using him to please her grandparents, and often verbally abuses him as well...

"Masaro... Is quite the unfortunate child... His words are sharp, he knows exactly where it hurts, and he enjoys the pain of others," Minoru looked out the window in dismay.

"At first, I thought his mother was fine. But, I could never undo the damage done to her by her grandparents... He's 12,turning 13 near the end of the week," Minoru sighed.

"Roots run deep. And you're being held back by the thickest, venomous, rose vines, I don't see how you could've helped," I said dismissively.

"Roots, huh? I wish they'd rot..." Minoru glared.

"I'll help you in any way I can. I hope you get what you wish for," I said tiredly.

"Thank you, princess. I'll do my best to clean up next time you visit," he smiled then left.

-------------------

The Slade family were gathered in the dining room, quietly eating.

"The Sterling family will be here for a week," Minoru said plainly.

The three princesses kept quiet in the presence of their father.

"What are they here for, father?" Osamu asked curiously.

"Why do you think they're here? You are the future king right? Take a guess," Minoru said coldly.

Osamu froze at his father's cold words and blank stare.

"For a trade agreement perhaps?" Kiyoshi replied with a smile as Minoru went back to his food.

"Correct, Kiyoshi," he said plainly.

Osamu glared at Kiyoshi who just smiled and ate.

Aina nudged Kazuki slightly, starting the show.

"The Princess is quite the beauty," Kazuki smiled.

"She is quite. I heard she is well versed in business, she even trained her knights, and to top it all off, she's defeated her own father in combat," Minoru praised with a small smile.

"Women shouldn't even be doing such dirty things! Fighting, business, and knights-- I'm getting goosebumps just thinking of the inelegance!" Murasaki shivered.

The three princesses nodded in agreement.

"She's even so vulgar!" the Princess in pink huffed.

"At least she's capable of more than spending money, Suzume," Ken glared.

Suzume could only grit her teeth. She can't go against her older brother after all.

"It's an overestimation, calling a woman capable. Just a few days ago she was attacked by some magicless drunk right?" Osamu sneered.

Minoru was suddenly triggered by his son's words. The Princess was almost killed and almost became a demon vessel, who was incapable?

But it's not like he could show it. Not in the open.

"She's capable. More capable than any woman I've encountered anyway. If one of you could make her agree to marry you, then maybe I'd consider giving up the crown," Minoru sneered tauntingly.

And everyone went silent. The consorts saw a chance to make their son take the crown, and the princes looked on in intrest.

"Look at you. Now I have your attention, you think you can do it? She's rejected a prince before, none of you have a chance," he laughed darkly.

"Well, even without the crown, I'd be willing to capture such a beauty for myself," Kazuki smiled, signaling the start of the competition.

Osamu glared and immediately thought of Snow as a target.

Kiyoshi had another pawn to play with.

Akihiko wanted Snow to make Ken and Kazuki jealous.

And Masaro hated Snow, knowing he would be pushed into this...

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°and cut!°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°