No one had any idea about the newfound feelings that were emerging in the young Brodie girl's heart.

The Royal siblings continued to talk until a servant came over to remind Prince Fritzen that it was his swordsmanship practice time.

Fritzen smiled and patted his sister's head who was pouting that he had to leave now.

"You should rest well too. Tomorrow would be a busy day for you." He reminded her as he rose from his seat.

The meaning of his words was clear to everyone present there.

He wanted the outsiders to leave as they had already spent enough time with his sister and she needed rest to be refreshed and ready for tomorrow's big day.

His vague and euphemistic words had reached the girls' ears causing them to bow their heads.

Princess Felicia pouted further at his rude behavior which did not matter to the Young Prince.

"Rest well." He repeated and then left the pavilion.

He had said his piece and what she did now was her decision.

'I know he cares for me but he did not have to insult my friends!' Princess Felicia frowned and felt aggrieved at what he had said to his friends.

Glennise could discern the wronged expression on her friend's face and decided to step up before things escalated.

"Princess, we understand why the Prince wants us to leave so please do not be angry." She comforted the blonde-haired Royalty while defending Fritzen at the same time.

She then turned her stern eyes towards Rika who nodded immediately, indicating that she felt the same way.

"Princess has spent the entire day with us so the Prince is worried that you might tire yourself out." Rika added her piece and was relieved when she saw Glennise's smile in approval of her words.

The Brodie girl had no idea why she did not take offense to the Prince's crude words, instead, she had even spoken in his favor just now.

Princess Felicia was not comforted by their words but at the same time, she did not want to disregard the concern her brother had shown towards her.

"Brother shouldn't be troubled about this. We had fun all day so how would I be tired?" She mumbled and looked at her friends to gauge their reaction.

Relief filled her chest when she noticed that they did not appear to be offended or mad at her.

Glennise had an understanding smile on her face while Rika grinned to show that she was alright.

"It is getting late and we still have to prepare our gifts for your birthday, Princess." The girl with auburn hair informed and glanced at her friend.

Rika nodded her head in immediate agreement and widened her eyes as though she had forgotten all about the present.

"You do not have to worry about presents." Felicia chuckled when she saw Rika's cute expressions of sudden realization.

"No no, Princess! I have the present but I haven't wrapped it yet!" The Marquess' daughter corrected the misunderstanding that her actions had created.

This caused the two other girls to have a good laugh while watching Rika panicking at such a small issue.

"You have all evening and tomorrow's morning to finish that." Glennise shook her head at this clumsy girl who was now their friend as well.

Rika scratched her cheek in embarrassment as she had truly panicked for this.

Glennise then turned towards the Princess and smiled when she saw that Felicia had forgotten about Fritzen's comment and was smiling widely.

'As long as she is happy again.' She remarked and stepped closer to the Princess.

"We shall return for today, Princess. We all need to rest and prepare for your big day tomorrow." She suggested in accordance to what the Prince had said earlier.

It would soon be evening and what the Prince had said made sense to her.

Princess Felicia did not try to dissuade them and nodded, accepting their words.

"We shall meet tomorrow then." She proposed and received eager nods as it was something they would never miss.

After coming to a consensus about what to do next, the girls left the Rose Palace while the Princess returned to her room.

However, she was still mad at her brother for speaking in that way regarding her friends.

'I won't talk to him tomorrow!' She harrumphed as she entered her room.

___

On the far end of the Rosenhyde Royal Palace grounds was the residence of a certain mysterious Prince.

Two young boys were standing against each other with swords held in their hands.

"You should not have said that." The bigger boy rebuked the one smaller in size and leaped forward.

The sword came flashing before the smaller boy's eyes and before he knew it, his hands raised to hold his sword up as he defended the attack.

"But she needs her rest, Uncle! You know how exhausted she gets." He grumbled and jumped away to create distance between them.

An old woman stood at the sidelines and watched the two boys swinging their swords at each other.

There was both pride and worry in her eyes as she observed them moving to and fro as they attacked and defended the onslaughts from the other person.

The only sound that could be heard now was the clashing sounds of the metallic swords which met every time they moved.

This continued for a few more minutes before their match came to an end.

"You need to keep your eyes open for your opponent's weaknesses while you defend yourself from their attacks." The bigger boy educated his opponent who was panting to catch his breath.

The match ended with the younger boy's sword falling to the ground which meant that he had lost on account of being disarmed by his opponent.

"You still are too hasty, trying to land a blow without biding your time." He continued to enlighten him where he had gone wrong.

The two boys had similar hair colors and the only difference was the eye colors which varied widely.

The younger boy who had been defeated had bright blue eyes while the winner of this match had a vibrant emerald color over his irises.

"Prince Draco and Prince Fritzen have improved a lot over the years." A woman's voice rang out, bringing them out of their thoughts.

The lady who stood at the side had now appeared before them and smiled at them.

The two young Princes of the Kingdom smiled back at the kind woman who had been watching their match all along.

"Thank you, Governess Bloom." Prince Fritzen accepted the praise from the old lady with a wide smile.

Governess Bloom, the lady in charge of the upbringing of the future Grand Duke, Prince Draco bowed her head that she could receive thanks from a member of the Royal bloodline.

This lady had taken care of both the King and his little brother from the days of her youth and hence was respected by everyone in the Palace.

Her eyes fell on the two boys who were closer in age but were of different generations.

The young uncle Draco patted his nephew's head who had just picked up the sword which he had dropped during their sparring match.

"I'm not a child, Uncle!" Fritzen grumbled yet his embarrassed smile indicated that he enjoyed this rare gesture of affection that he was receiving.

Draco in response, chuckled, causing his lips to turn upwards which in return made two tiny dents appear on his cheeks.

'Such beautiful dimples but no one has ever seen them because he rarely smiles in such an unrestrained manner.' Governess Bloom remarked as she was well aware of the kind of person this young boy was.

Secretive, mysterious, and elusive.

These would be the words that people of this Kingdom would use to describe the King's younger brother.

However, the ones closest to him knew that this was just a ruse, his attempt to remain in the shadows and away from the public's eyes and their scrutiny.

She knew that he must have his reasons for choosing to remain away from the eyes of the nobles and no matter what it was, she was willing to support him and stand by his side.

The Prince who was the subject of her thoughts looked up when he felt her constant gaze fixed on his face.

A subtle smile escaped his lips as though he knew that this lady was loyal to him and only had his best intentions in her mind.

'Yuliza, your son has your eyes when he smiles.' Governess Bloom recalled the pretty face of her cousin who died soon after giving birth to this young boy as she smiled back at him.