I woke up in the perfumed bed and sighed wearily. I stared blankly at the canopy holding the satin curtains, lifting my arm up and playing around with little wads of fire in the palm of my hand. After my mind became somewhat sober, I rolled off of the bed with some of the blankets still tangled and caught on my leg.

I trudged to the large bathroom attached to the bedroom and spotted the bath filled with hot water. The swirling steam gave the room a surreal and dreamy atmosphere. I drowsily stripped off my clothes and dived into the warm water. The rosewater splashed out of the large tub in small waves.

The warmth enveloped my body, lulling me into a lethargic state. My eyes were half-closed as I struggled to stay awake.

After an indiscernible amount of time, two clear knocks woke me from my half-sleeping stupor. My head which was lolled to the side jerked up hastily and my eyes jumped around the foggy bathroom in confusion. I looked at the lack of coverage on my body and yelped.

"Wait, don't come-" Before I could finish my sentence, I could hear the door swinging open and the steps growing nearer.

"I'm here." A voice said. I paled and immediately flailed around the bath, trying to get out of the tub but continuously slipping. If it's not the maid's voice, is it-

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't come here because I wanted to see you or anything," the prince quickly clarified, his footsteps growing louder as he searched the room.

I eventually succeeded in getting out of the bath and hurriedly looked for a towel in the bathroom. The steps grew closer. I cursed the fact that there were no doors to the bathroom and spotted a towel hanging on the opposing wall of the bathroom.

After fully sobering from sleep, I managed to remember that I could speak. In panic, I screamed, "Wait, I'm not dre-"

The footsteps paused. I looked behind me and saw the prince's blank face. His hands instantly shot up to cover his eyes and he flusteredly denied, "I-I didn't see anything!"

My face was red with anger. "Pervert!" I pointed at him furiously and trudged towards him. "You were trying to peek! I'll set you on fire, I will!" I held my hand up and huffed fiercely.

"Well... well, was it my fault that you never told me you were bathing? I'm innocent!" He shouted defensively with an embarrassed face.

I stomped my foot indignantly. "Lies!"

"I am not!" He threw his hands down vehemently and his eyes immediately widened in panic. He hurriedly turned around and ran towards the other side of the room.

I then remembered that I was still unclothed. I let out a piercing cry and hurriedly wrapped the towel hanging next to me around my waist. "What did you see!"

"I saw nothing, nothing! Accuser!"

At a certain point, the maid who came along with the prince had left, leaving me in a long, subtle silence.

At this point, my face had turned redder than an overripe tomato. All I wanted to do was bury myself back into the water to drown out the humiliation I felt. Twisting my head to face the prince, I saw his face and immediately wanted to cough out blood.

"Why are you blushing, huh? Do you have something to say!"

"It's really small..." he mumbled. My eyes grew wide in outrage.

"Shut up!" I fumed.

----

With both of our faces steaming hot, we looked down at our laps. A four-tiered cake stand sat on top of the glass surface of the tea table. My stomach felt exceedingly empty, but I refused to be the one to make the first move. My stomach emitted a low, long growling sound in protest.

I relented and quickly grabbed one of the scones off the table. I shoved it in my mouth as my face began to get a little redder. My cheeks swelled as I tried to chew it but I stubbornly kept it in my mouth, gulping it down. We both continued to look away and I ended up shoving another whole scone in my mouth. The quiet chewing and unsuccessful swallowing filled the silence of the room.

"Good morning," said the prince, fidgeting with his hands under the glass surface. He cleared his throat and added, "I wanted to inform you that there has been a change of plans."

My vigorous chewing stopped and I paused, then looked up with my bulging cheeks bouncing as my jaw worked. "...Wha?"

"I never did anything, it was my father. Don't look at me like I care about you or anything." He coughed and added, "My father said that he didn't think it was suitable for you to test with the other candidates. Starting today, you will be accompanying me to etiquette lessons."

I choked. My face paled as I tried to swallow the dried crumbs stuck in my throat. With a shaky voice, I asked, "Who... who will be the instructor?"

"Madam Rosé."

"..."

----

I walked towards the ballroom with defeated steps, trailing behind the prince. I thought I was done with etiquette training? What did I do wrong? Why would the King suddenly have a change in attitude? It doesn't make sense... I moped and dragged my feet all the way to the ballroom.

We both pushed open the door with equal reluctance. Madam Rosé stood in the same place she always did, with ominous light shining on her stern face.

"Crown Prince, Young Lord, walk faster." She commanded. Instead of the demon stick, she held a pen and a notebook. She tapped the pen on her palm impatiently.

"As high-ranked aristocrats, it is important for you to perform an instrument to show your adequacy in the arts." She gestured towards a grand piano that seemed to just appear behind her and opened her pursed lips. "Young Lord, you are quite adept in the piano. I trust you've been practicing. Show me a piece in your repertoire."

My heart beat out of my chest, wondering how she'd known. Nevertheless, I swallowed my disturbed shock and hesitantly ambled towards the piano. I sat on the creaky chair and shifted forward. It was true, I was proficient in the piano. However, I owed it purely to the fact that I had played the piano since I was four in my past life.

The music resounded around the venue, like early tremors of an earthquake. I opted to play a romantic piece from Fauré, it was more in line with this world's music thus far. After lifting my hands and taking my foot off the petal, only the chair's creakiness were the things which filled the room. I stood up and walked back towards the two people standing in the center of the ballroom.

"I've never heard of this piece before. Who is it from?" Finally, after a pause, the prince asked curiously.

My composed smile strained. If I told you that it's from another world, would you believe me? I coughed lightly and responded, "An unknown composer from a previous time period. The sheet music was found in the Xenith manor a few years ago in the first library."

He turned away, covering his face. "I like the piece, I'll need to come over to your house sometime so I can see it." The tips of his ears flushed strawberry red. I looked on with wooden eyes and complacently thought, tsundere.

Madam Rosé stayed unnaturally silent. The only thing she did was write frantically on her worn notebook, like an inspired writer at 3:23 a.m. with bloodshot eyes.

There was a moment of silence before the Madam snapped out of her state of fixation. She flipped up her head, with her tight bun bouncing around. Her gaze suddenly lifted, and she fixed me with a steely glint in her eyes. I shivered with a sense of foreboding, feeling that something bad was about to happen.

She snarled guilefully and held her forehead in her hand. "You didn't bow. We're training the presentation of your piece, and yet you forgot to bow?"

"Crown Prince." She said.

"Yes, Madam Rosé." He responded compliantly.

"Carry the Young Lord back to the piano and make him bow. Use your arms to force his back down." She ordered.

What?! I stepped back defensively.

"Y-yes, Madam." The strawberry blush tinting the tip of his ears quickly spread to his cheeks. Why did you agree?! I screeched, but in the end, it was pointless. The prince wrapped his arms around my hips and carried me up by my waist. My legs dangled in the air and my upper body wobbled around.

I caught a glimpse of the tsun-tsun's fluffy golden hair, but I resisted the urge to pet it several times. With his view obstructed, he struggled to move forward, and I could feel his breath tickling my chest.

He set me down on the creaking stool. I hurriedly stood back up and walked to the side of the piano, gripping its side arm. I felt his hands pushing my upper back down and pulling my navel back. I shivered unconsciously, my face growing hot. His hand is too close to...

"More, Crown Prince." Madam Rosé pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"...Yes." The prince's voice trembled. His hand slightly clenched.

I hung my head down and gritted my teeth, "Move your hand up...!" I muttered.

The clenching hand paused for a few seconds. His face was as blank as a canvas before he realized the situation. "Gah-"

"Prince, if you dare move your hand out of pity for him, I'll make the Young Lord do the same thing to you!" Madam Rosé's pen slammed viciously into the pages of the notebook.

The prince's withdrawing hand paused and hurriedly clenched itself back on my body. I shivered and turned to glare at him with an aggrieved gaze.

"Get it off!" I whispered fiercely.

"I can't," he averted his gaze, his hand frozen in place. "I'll get punished if I do."

My eyes widened with shock and fury. "What nonsense—!"