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In princess Nene’s mind, her future was planned out. She’d marry her childhood friend and the son of her father’s closest adviser, Rui Kamishiro, and they’d live happily ever after. She hadn’t told anyone of this plan aside from Rui, who’d had it planned with her, but she was optimistic her father would approve. However, on this particular morning her father had requested to meet with her. It was rare of him to do so, as he was always so busy with royal duties, but she was happy nonetheless. Maybe this would be a good opportunity for her to ask for permission to marry Rui. She entered his study, trying to work up the courage to ask. She was a rather shy and reserved royal, it was a mission for her to ask for anything of her own.
“Nene, sit down.” Her father instructed, pointing at the chair opposite his desk. She sat down, being sure to sit up straight so he wouldn’t chastise her for bad posture. She took a breath, trying to find the courage to make her request, before her father cut her off. “An alliance is set to be formed between ourselves and a kingdom across the sea. As part of this alliance, they requested one of their younger sons be betrothed to you. I told them that who you married would be your decision, but it is expected of you to at least meet the prince and see if the two of you connect well enough for a marriage to occur.” Her father explained to her. Nene was unsure what to make of it. He had just said she could marry who she wanted, but she could also tell he was pushing for her to make an effort to want to marry their future allies’ son. That wasn’t what she wanted.
“Do you mean it, father? That I can marry whoever I wish to?” She asked, wanting to be sure she really had heard that right. It would make things so much easier when asking for permission to marry Rui.
“Within reason, of course. I wouldn't hear of you marrying a lowly servant. Now, enough chatter, they should be arriving soon, and it would be polite of us to greet them.”
The next day was when Nene was expected to spend time with the prince. The previous evening, the two royal families had shared a dinner as a way to formally welcome them to the kingdom, and it was decided the two younger royals would spend some alone time together in the library and get the chance to bond and see if a marriage would be likely between the two. Nene was as anxious as she always was whenever she had to engage in her royal duties, but she had a plan in mind. She wouldn’t waste too much of the prince’s time. She’d apologise and say a marriage wouldn’t be possible as her heart already belonged to another. She held her head up high as she entered the library, finding the prince already there.
“Princess Nene, I’m delighted to spend this time with you at last.” Prince Tatsuo greeted her, standing from the table he had seated himself at. She could see a pot of tea had already been set up, along with an assortment of pastries for the two to share. He extended his hand to her, which she politely shook.
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance properly.” She responded, trying to maintain a formal distance between the two. She sat down at the table, opposite where Tatsuo had been seated just moments ago. He picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of tea before taking his seat once again. She just looked down into the cup at the warm steam evaporating from the hot tea, trying to remember how she had decided to turn down his intent to marry her. “I apologise, your highness, but I’m afraid I cannot marry you. My heart already belongs to another.” She told him, lowering her head. She just couldn’t marry him in good faith while her heart was so consumed by Rui.
“Is that so?” She heard a darker tone in his voice, one that made her uncomfortable. She wanted to leave, but royal obligation kept her fixed in her chair. She looked up at him, noticing him fiddling around with his pocket. “I understand your decision, princess, but I would still like to give this gift to you.” He pulled a pendant from his pocket, letting it swing from side to side. The pendant appeared to be some kind of crystal, with little rainbows bouncing around on the inside where the light caught it just right. “Isn’t it pretty?” He asked, keeping it swinging. She couldn’t get a proper look at the design, but she felt herself unable to look away.
“It’s pretty.” She agreed. She felt her body unwillingly relaxing more, watching as the little rainbows inside seemed to start swirling around inside the pendant instead of bouncing around chaotically.
“We should stay for a while, just so it looks like we actually had a discussion.” He suggested. She found herself agreeing with him. It would be better to stay and at least make it look like they had tried to form a relationship rather than her just immediately rejecting him so she could marry Rui. “Stay, and relax.” Her body relaxed further, her eyes remaining fixated on the pendant. Any desire to look away was fading very quickly. “It’s so tiring being a princess, isn’t it?” He asked, standing up and leaning over the table to bring the pendant closer to her eyes.
“Yeah… it’s tiring…” she agreed, not noticing how she was ever so slightly slurring her words. She was falling into a trance, completely unaware of anything happening around her. Just the pendant, and Tatsuo’s voice.
“Being royal is so tiring. It’s okay. Relax here, let yourself rest.” He told her. Her body felt like it was slumping into the chair, and her eyes were struggling to stay open as her eyelids began to get heavy. So heavy. “Close your eyes.” He gave her the command, and very quickly her eyes closed.
Rui was waiting with his father, along with royals from both sides of the budding alliance waiting for any decision. Even one that would have the two spending longer together before a final decision on marriage. He was optimistic Nene would reject the prince, and the two of them could eventually be wed. Instead, he was met with a very uncomfortable sight as the two entered the large meeting room. Nene was holding on to his arm, smiling very happily at him with a very strange look in her eyes that concerned him greatly. She almost looked like she loved him. Almost. Not to mention, she was wearing a rather unique looking crystal pendant around her neck now.
“Father, I wish to marry Prince Tatsuo as soon as possible.” She told him, sounding rather happy. He couldn’t hear any doubt, which saddened him given a conversation they had shared the night before. She’d told him about the planned alliance, and how she had to meet the prince and spend time in his company, but she had said that she’d never marry him. She had wanted Rui’s hand not long ago. Despite that, she sounded off. He couldn’t figure out why at all. The discussion for the upcoming marriage gave Rui the perfect cover to his own growing sadness and an opportunity to leave the room and take himself for a walk to clear his head. He wanted to marry Nene, he had his hopes up only for things to end like this? It didn’t make sense at all.
Not even a week had passed, and the wedding day was set. In just a few days, he would lose the girl he loved. He hadn’t even seen her since she declared her desire to marry Prince Tatsuo. Now here he was, walking down a castle hallway when the two crossed paths. She was walking as if she didn’t see him there. Before the proposal, she’d always make time to talk to him.
“Your highness.” He stopped her, wanting to speak to her. This was the first chance he had, and he wasn’t going to waste it. Nene stopped walking, looking up at him. “Do you really wish to marry the Prince?” He asked the question that had been driving him insane.
“I do.” She confirmed. Despite her only saying two incredibly short words, he could hear something in her voice just just sounded… off. He didn’t like it, but he hated the fact she wanted to marry someone else even more.
“But what about us? What about our promise? What about-“ he cut off when the door opened, and out came Prince Tatsuo. Nene was immediately at his side, her arms wrapped around one of his and a dreamy smile on her face. Rui was weirded out, as that wasn’t like Nene at all.
“Is everything alright out here, princess?” He asked, ignoring Rui entirely. Rui was very focused on him, however. He seemed almost unbothered by Nene, and how affectionate she was being with him.
“It is now, my love.” She responded in a dreamy voice that matched her expression. Her hand moved down to hold his, but he took a bit of time to hold her hand back. Rui was starting to get suspicious, but couldn’t put his finger on why.
“We have royal business to attend to, so we should go.” He told her quite bluntly, leading her away. Nene didn’t even say goodbye to him as she left, following Tatsuo around like a lost puppy. It was sickening to the heartbroken boy. He didn’t know what was going on, and had nobody to turn to. He’d never felt so alone.
The wedding was approaching way too fast for his liking, and soon it was the night before the big day. Rui was just passing through the hallway outside the guest rooms when he heard a voice coming from Prince Tatsuo’s room that stopped him in his tracks.
“It’s going to hurt me so much watching you wait for another bride at the end of the aisle.” A woman’s voice could be heard. Rui vaguely recognised it as a noblewoman from Prince Tatsuo’s kingdom, who had arrived to be a guest at the royal wedding. Rui hid in the hallway, eavesdropping on their conversation.
“I know, my darling, but it’s just for now. Things will be better once I’m king.” Tatsuo promised the woman. His words made Rui worry. The only way for Tatsuo to become king if the wedding went ahead was for both Nene and her father to die.
“How do you know things will go according to plan?” The lady asked one of the many questions spiralling around in Rui’s mind. This plan should be going wrong right now with Nene rejecting him, but so far it hasn't.
“The biggest obstacle was the princess initially rejecting me, but let’s just say I got her under my complete control. She’ll never object to me and my wants now.” Rui felt his blood turn to ice. Does he have something on her, that’s coercing her to act the way she is? Or is there another reason? So many thoughts on what could be happening spiralled around in his head, and he didn’t like it.
“I hope you’re right…” The girl didn’t seem completely convinced, but Rui was. He knew he had to find someone to help free Nene from whatever Prince Tatsuo had over her, before it was too late. Luckily, he knew just where to look.
The sky was still pretty dark, but Rui didn’t have time to wait until morning. The wedding was set to happen before noon, and he couldn’t wait and risk missing the opportunity. He had come to a village within the kingdom, but outside of the city where Nene’s father’s castle stood. He found a house rumoured to be owned by a witch, banging on the door. He didn’t care if it disrupted the witch’s sleep, this was more important. Eventually, a short, white haired girl answered the door, looking extremely tired.
“I’m looking for a witch.” Rui told her. The girl gave an exasperated sigh, not looking up at Rui as she spoke.
“He lives next door. Look, he’s even right outside.” She told him, pointing to the house next door. Rui looked over, noticing a blonde haired boy dressed in a bright outfit outside the house next door, gathering fallen leaves from the garden. He looked over, waving enthusiastically at them.
“Are you sure?” Rui was dubious. The man next door was about as far from a witch as he could imagine. The girl here looked far more witchy. Not in a bad way, just more like a pretty version of a stereotypical witch.
“I’m sure.” She told him, going back inside and closing the door. It sounded like this wasn’t the first time she’d had a conversation like this with anyone. Rui decided to approach this supposed witch, not knowing where else to turn. He didn’t have a lot of time left before he would lose Nene forever.
“Are you the witch?”
“Absolutely I am! My name is Tsukasa Tenma!” He declared loudly, laughing as he spoke. He was wide awake and in high spirits at this time of the morning. “Don’t worry too much about mistaking my neighbour for a witch, it happens at least thrice a day. I really should get a sign put up letting people know I’m the witch, if only so they stop bothering Kanade so much.” He told him, looking over at Kanade’s house. Rui glanced over too, understanding how easy it truly was to mix them up and go to her house looking for a witch. He had even done it himself. “Anyway, what brings you here?” He asked, getting Rui focused on his reason for being here.
“Something’s wrong with the girl I love. We were discussing marriage, but now she’s to be wed to someone else and now has no problem with it, even in private. Something’s wrong, and I need your help to find out what.” Rui explained as best he could. He didn’t really know the full circumstances to verbalise them. Luckily, Tsukasa seemed to understand what he was getting at.
“Of course, come in!” He told him, opening the front door and guiding him inside. Rui didn’t waste any time entering the cottage.
Rui entered the cottage, looking around. It was bright, and well organised. He was expecting a lot more clutter. Tsukasa put the leaves he had gathered into a box, before walking over to a cauldron set up in the corner.
“What’s the name of the girl you love?” He asked, taking a stick from the shelf behind him and putting one end into the cauldron while keeping a firm hold on the other end. Rui took a few hesitant steps over to the cauldron, unsure if that was what he was meant to do.
“Princess Nene…” he admitted, feeling warmth in his heart at even the mention of her. The witch nodded his head once, keeping his gaze fixated down on the cauldron.
“And who is the suitor you claim has stolen her from you?”
“Prince Tatsuo.” The warmth in his heart disappeared quickly now he had thought of someone that wasn’t Nene. If anything, he left a bad taste in Rui’s mouth. Tsukasa nodded his head once, his expression changed as he started to swirl the stick around in the cauldron while speaking in a language Rui didn’t understand. It didn’t take long for an image to appear in the cauldron, which he watched very carefully.
“Stay, and relax.” He heard Tatsuo’s voice telling Nene. The scene was them in the library, likely the day they met. He immediately noticed Tatsuo was swinging a pendant of some sort in front of her eyes. Rui realised what was going on immediately. “It’s so tiring being a princess, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… it’s tiring…” Nene agreed tiredly, her head starting to sway ever so slightly from side to side in time with the pendant. Rui just had to watch helplessly as Nene fell into a trance, a faint holographic halo forming around her head and over her eyes.
“Being royal is so tiring. It’s okay. Relax here, let yourself rest.” Tatsuo told her, a small smirk beginning to form on his face. Nene’s body slowly slumped back into the chair, looking as if it had become like a heavy rag doll’s body. Her eyes were getting droopy, as if she was having a hard time keeping them open. Rui wanted to shout out to her to wake up and snap out of it, but he knew there was nothing he could do. They were watching a scene that had already happened in the past. “Close your eyes.” That was all it took for Nene’s eyes to close, and the halo around her head to become stronger. It must be a sign that she’s under a spell. Despite her eyes being closed and unable to see it, Tatsuo kept the pendant swinging from side to side. “Listen to me, Nene. You are in love with me. You want to marry me as soon as possible. We talked, and realised we were a perfect match. You love me, and only me.” Tatsuo told her, his voice far more firm and authoritative that it was while he was luring Nene into a trance. Rui hated it. He hated it more than he could describe. “Now, tell me who you want to marry.” He ordered quite bluntly.
“Prince Tatsuo.” Nene told him without hesitation, her voice slurred. She must be deep under his spell now. The halo around her eyes was so strong now he couldn’t see her closed eyes at all. Prince Tatsuo smirked, stopping the pendant from swinging. Instead, he put it around her neck, keeping ahold of it as he spoke.
“Good. Keep this pendant on you all the time. It was given to you by your betrothed, and it’s now very precious to you. Do NOT let it get broken.”
“So… Nene’s been hypnotised by him…” Rui said as the vision faded from the cauldron. He had to admit hypnotism was on his list of suspicions, but for it to be confirmed really hurt. At least now he had a bit more understanding. “That explains why he said he got her under his complete control…” Rui thought out loud, his eyes still fixated on the cauldron. Even though the vision was gone, he couldn’t bring himself to look away.
“What else did Prince Tatsuo say to you?” Tsukasa asked. He sounded almost a little too interested, like he had knowledge of something related to this that Rui didn’t know yet.
“He hasn’t said a word to me about this. I overheard him speaking to a woman who he sounded quite affectionate with. He told her he would be king, and the woman mentioned he had a plan that likely involved marrying Princess Nene.” Rui told him. He got an ominous feeling now he had said all of that out loud. It was like it had all hit him, that something much more serious was going on that he didn’t know about. Tsukasa looked mad.
“The only way for him to become king is for the current royal family to be wiped out. Not even marrying Princess Nene would make him king when the time comes for her to become queen. He must know that, but if he has a plan then he must’ve thought of a way around that…” he looked like he was thinking about something, before being hit with a realisation. Rui already knew he wasn’t going to like whatever came next. “That must be why he came to me for that pendant. The little shit…!” He stormed over to a large bookcase of sorts that housed many bottles and boxes. He grabbed an assortment and came back, throwing various ingredients in the cauldron. Rui could only watch in complete silence as he then dragged over a bucket of water and dumped it in. He lit a fire under the cauldron, before starting to stir the mixture and recite more words Rui didn’t understand. He guessed it was a spell of sorts. He watched as the liquid began to change colours, finally settling on a royal purple.
“What is that?” Rui asked, confused. Tsukasa went over to a box and opened it, coming back with a small bottle.
“A truth potion.” He said nonchalantly, holding the bottle in the liquid. He watched as the royal purple rushed into the bottle, leaving the water crystal clear. “I want you to find a way to slip this to the prince and have him reveal his entire plan. He doesn’t have good intentions.”
“How am I supposed to save Nene with this?” Rui asked dubiously, taking the potion. It clearly wasn’t for Nene, so what could it do to save her? “Not only that, but it seems like you care for her somewhat. Why is that?” That was another question on his mind. The way Tsukasa had gotten angry about what Rui had told him, plus wanting to find out what the plan was told him as such.
“Many years ago, the king and queen sought out my father for a fertility spell or potion or really anything to help them conceive. Of course, he helped them, and the result was the princess. My father instilled a great deal of pride in that matter, it’s like she’s a distant member of our own family.” Tsukasa explained. Rui lowered his head slightly, understanding what he meant. It seemed like they both cared about her in their own ways. “Now, go back and stop the royal wedding. I’m sure you know what to do to save her.”
Rui’s heart was hammering away in his chest as he made it to the church where the wedding ceremony was to be held. He could see from the time displayed on the clock tower that the wedding had already started. He didn’t hesitate, bursting through the church doors ready to save the love of his life.
“Stop the wedding! Stop it at once!” He shouted, running down the aisle. Immediately, there was a mess of chatter from the guests, but he didn’t care. Prince Tatsuo turned to look at him angrily, while Nene looked sad and confused.
“Mr Kamishiro, what on earth are you doing?” The king demanded an answer, rising from his seat. Rui was a little intimidated, but told himself to shake it off. Saving Nene was his priority, and the king would thank him later.
“Prince Tatsuo has put Princess Nene under hypnosis, and is using that to make her want to marry him.” Rui declared, earning more loud chatter from the guests. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Prince Tatsuo scoffed, looking down at him.
“That’s preposterous! I’ve hypnotised the princess to make her love me? What funny jokes you make!” He laughed loudly, but Rui could tell it was forced. Like he was trying to cover for the fact he had been caught. Rui didn’t know what to do now. All he knew was that he had to break the spell, and fast. Only thing was, the witch never told him how to. He just said that he would know what to do. He thought back, remembering something very important. “Keep this pendant on you all the time.” “Do NOT let it get broken.” He realised then what he had to do.
“Oya? Then I’m sure it won’t be a problem if I try to prove it, no? After all, if you haven’t hypnotised the princess then you don’t have anything to worry about.” He suggested, watching how his laughter immediately stopped and his expression twitched slightly. He ignored him, instead turning his attention to Nene. She looked beautiful in her wedding dress, but his eyes focused in on the pendant. He gently took off the necklace, much to Nene’s surprise.
“Rui? What are you doing with that?” She asked, reaching out to take it back only for him to pull it away. He smiled sadly at her, before turning away. I’m sorry, Princess, but it’s for your own good. He threw the necklace to the ground, before stamping on it. The pendant was shattered, and he heard a cry of pain from Nene. He turned back, quickly catching her before she hit the floor. There was an uproar from the guests, but all he could think about was Nene. He lowered her to the floor, as she opened her eyes to look at him.
“Rui… What's going on…? I fell asleep… and…” She looked and sounded dazed. She raised her hand to her head, looking at the pure white glove on her hand with some surprise. Her eyes wandered down to the pure white wedding dress she was wearing, looking like she was trying to process what had happened. “… are we getting married… like we planned…?” He smiled sadly, pulling her a little closer for a moment.
“I’m afraid not. I’ll explain soon.” He reassured her. He looked up, seeing Prince Tatsuo being held back by two of Nene’s family guards. It seemed like he had tried and failed to escape. The king looked irate, the queen looked distraught, and the parents of Prince Tatsuo looked humiliated.
“I think we need to have a private discussion over the events that have just happened.” Nene’s father commanded. Prince Tatsuo’s parents looked too embarrassed to argue.
Back at the castle, a private meeting was to happen to discuss what had happened at the wedding. Only Nene, Prince Tatsuo, their parents and Rui were to be present, and the only reason Rui was allowed in was because he was the one to uncover the truth about Nene being hypnotised. Rui had volunteered himself to get some tea for everyone, and at present was downstairs in the kitchen preparing the tea. In his pocket was the truth potion from Tsukasa. Rui poured the tea into fancy teacups before taking out the potion. He didn’t hesitate to pour it into one of the cups. The tea inside sparkled for about a minute, before settling down. For a moment, he panicked that the sparkles would give it away. Luckily, they faded, and each of the teacups had a slightly different ornate pattern so he would remember which one was the one for Prince Tatsuo. He put them on a tray, putting a separate tea pot, a little jug of milk and a small bowl filled with sugar cubes on the tray too in case anyone wanted more before heading up to the meeting.
“I apologise for my tardiness, I wanted to make enough tea for everyone to have enough as we don’t know how long this meeting will last for.” Rui said as he placed the tray on the table the others were sitting around, starting to hand out the teacups. He made sure to give the prince the tainted one before taking his place beside Nene. She had changed from her wedding dress to another dress, and she looked more alert and awake than she had when he first set her free from Prince Tatsuo’s control. Rui quietly observed as he took a pretty big gulp of his tea, looking rather nervous.
“So, Mr Kamishiro, how did you find out Princess Nene had been hypnotised by our son?” Prince Tatsuo’s father started the conversation. He felt a little uncomfortable being questioned by Tatsuo’s father of all people at the table. It would’ve been easier for him if it had been Nene’s father.
“I overheard a conversation between Prince Tatsuo and a woman.” Rui told them the story of what he overheard, and how he had sought out the witch who showed him the truth. He made sure to tell them that he didn’t know what his full plan was.
“What was this plan of yours?” Nene’s father asked. Rui could tell he was trying to mask his anger and remain professional. He couldn’t imagine it was easy after learning a plan existed to essentially overthrow you. The prince smirked, leaning back in his seat.
“I was going to marry Princess Nene, and have you taken care of. Once she was queen, I’d have her enact a law to pass the throne to me upon her death. After that, all I had to do was hypnotise her to kill herself.” He explained rather proudly. Rui watched as the smirk dropped from his face as he realised exactly what he had said. He couldn’t even make a sound to defend himself before someone else spoke.
“Why would you do something so horrible?” Nene’s mother asked, sounding distraught. Rui could only imagine how it would feel to hear a plot to kill both your husband and daughter just so someone could steal from her. Nene herself seemed quite anxious, especially as she had shuffled herself closer to Rui. She must be really hurting right now too.
“Because I want to be king.” He proclaimed, sounding quite arrogant when he spoke. Even so, Rui could see the dread in his eyes. He didn’t want to keep speaking, and yet he did. “As one of the younger brothers, I never stood a chance of becoming king of my own kingdom. When the possibility of marrying the next in line for another kingdom’s throne came about, I practically jumped at the opportunity, and that’s how I formed my plan alongside Lady Hikari, who I would marry once I was king at last.” The full plot spilled out, and everyone was stunned until silence for a good minute. Prince Tatsuo broke the silence by trying to backtrack and apologise, but that clearly wasn’t working in his favour. The truth was out, and could never be taken back.
The discussions lasted the best part of two hours, discussing what would happen with their budding alliance now, and how Prince Tatsuo would be punished for his scheme. When all was said and done, Rui was tired, but he could tell Nene next to him was even more exhausted. Today had been a huge day for her. Starting the day about to marry a man she had been hypnotised to love, only to be suddenly snapped back to reality, getting no rest between then and now. Still, the conversation didn’t seem to be completely over. While things were winding down, it seemed like the king wished to speak to him.
“Mr Kamishiro. This kingdom owes you a great deal of gratitude, as do I personally. Whatever you wish, if I can do so then I will, as a thank you.” The king told him, sounding quite emotional and almost a little choked up. Rui looked at Nene, who was standing beside her father, and he knew exactly what he wanted.
“Then, could I request your daughter’s hand in marriage?” He bravely asked. The king seemed very taken aback, which he expected, but he could just see the light in Nene’s eyes get brighter. She looked up at her father, who in turn turned his head to look at her.
“Is this something you wish for, Nene? I’ll only approve of Mr Kamishiro’s request if you personally want it.” He told her, gently taking her hand. For a king who ruled over the kingdom with his strength and logic, it was blatantly clear he held a very soft spot for his only daughter and heir. Even the blind could see that.
“I do, Father.” Nene told him, her smile so bright and happy. It made Rui smile, too. He expected that to be it, but Nene surprised them both by continuing to speak. “We’ve been discussing this ever since we were children. That day you called me to your office about Prince Tatsuo, I was going to ask you then if I could be married to Rui. I really want this, father.” Rui couldn’t be more proud of her.
“Then, I grant my blessing.” The king turned back to Rui, guiding Nene’s hand over to him. Rui took her hand, gently pulling her to his side. He kept her hand gently in his, in both shock and delight over how things had turned out. His eyes wandered to his side to look at his best friend, or rather, fiancée now. That would definitely take some getting used to. Nene was looking up at him too, and their eyes met for a moment before she looked away. He could see the blush on her pretty face. “Unfortunately, we may have to wait a while for this wedding to happen due to the events of earlier today, but I trust that won’t be a problem this time, right Nene?” The king asked, regaining his attention. He was a little saddened that he couldn’t marry her as soon as he would’ve liked, but he understood why.
“It’s no problem, father. When I was to be wed to Prince Tatsuo, I was under his spell and his control, and he obviously wanted the wedding to happen as soon as possible. With Rui, I’d wait a thousand years if it meant I would get to marry my true love.” Nene told him, holding on to Rui’s hand a little tighter. She hadn’t let go the entire time. He echoed her sentiments, he could wait forever to marry her so long as he got to spend that forever with her.
“You won’t have to wait that long, Nene. Now, please excuse me. I have royal duties to attend to regarding this mess. You two can take a rest for now, I’ll call for you if I need either of you at any point.” The king excused himself, leaving the room. Rui turned back to Nene, who had decided to pull him towards the balcony where they could have some privacy. He didn’t hesitate to follow.
This had been a very intense day for Nene. Her morning started under Tatsuo’s hypnosis, excited to be marrying him only for Rui to very suddenly set her free and expose him for who he really was. Now, she was set to marry him in the near future. It was a lot to process, and she needed some fresh air but didn’t want him to leave her alone. There was quiet between the two, which she appreciated. He just seemed to understand what she needed, making her love him just a little more.
“So… it’s really happening…” she finally spoke, turning to Rui. Her fiancé. It felt surreal to her. “We’re going to get married…” She was still processing that. It just made her giddy and excited.
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“This isn’t how we imagined it, but I get to marry you which is what’s important to me.” Rui told her. It was different to how it was with Tatsuo, but it was better. To him, what was most important was his way to the throne, while to Rui she was most important. She took a small step closer to him, and he almost immediately put his arms around her in a gentle hug. She really needed that.
“I love you.” The words just came out, but she meant every word. She loved him, and now she could freely say it. Nothing felt better than knowing she could spend forever with him. “The whole time I was under hypnosis, I felt like I was sleeping, but it’s only when you woke me that my dreams came true.”