"Ehh?!"

Haru was shouting in both mind and in reality.

She was just proposed to by her own brother and Kai had used this moment to sneak away.

Ah, maybe it was just a misunderstanding.

"Uhh, umm... Your highness, what do you mean by that...?"

"I have fallen in love with you, Takamiya Haruka! Please become my bride and be the queen of Alteria and rule it in the future with me, your future husband!"

It wasn't a misunderstanding at all! What do I do!?

"Y-your highness, what about the political affairs if you were to marry a commoner?"

"I'll deal with all of them!"

"W-what if fath- your father were to disagree?"

"Then I'll force him to!"

He's serious! How do I get out of this mess?!

Haru was screaming in her mind. There were several ways to get out of her problem but it all involved dragging other people in. Her current number one choice was to fake that Kai was her lover- no, that wouldn't work against the crown prince, she had to say Kai was her fiancé but that would cause even more problems in the future.

She needed a method that would remove the trouble in one go. If she were to disagree, there would be nothing but troubles for her unless she were to reveal her own identity but that would cause problems for her brother. 'A future king proposing to his own sister despite being given the chance to choose others', would certainly ruin his reputation.

In this world, siblings marrying each other was rare but possible. There were several cases like a bloodline wanting to stay pure or tradition but if it wasn't forced by certain circumstances, marriage upon siblings was looked down upon but most churches allow it. Marriage among relatives like cousins, second-cousins, and distant relatives was common but normal marriage between two people not related by blood was the most common.

I have to keep this situation a secret!

Was the only way that Haru would be able to get out of this situation without worrying about the aftermath.

"Y-your highness, can we please put this talk at a later date? People may pass here and see this situation!"

"I don't care if they see! I want you to know how much I love you!"

Haru couldn't help but wryly laugh with a tear on the corner of her eye.

"It's fine. I made sure that nobody will come near here so deal with this situation."

Good job, Kai! But... please help me get out of this situation!

In the end, Haru couldn't take the pressure of Kazuki's gaze and ran away.

When Kai saw that, he was about to give pursuit but then a hand firmly grasped his shoulder.

This is bad...

Just as Kai feared, behind him was the crown prince, Kazuki.

Is he going to scout me again?

"...It's you, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

Kai was confused, he only said one ambiguous sentence before ceasing to talk altogether.

"...You're the reason, aren't you?"

And after a few seconds, another ambiguous sentence.

"I'm the reason for what exactly?"

"You're the reason she rejected me, aren't you?"

This is bad, very bad.

"You're making a mistake, it's true that we're friends but we aren't close enough to establish a relationship nor will there ever be one in the future."

For now, I have to calm him down.

"Satou Kenji, was it?"

"Yes..."

"Satou Kenji, I hereby challenge you to a duel for the hand of Takamiya Haruka!"

And there goes my chance. If he challenges me to a duel, I have no choice but to accept because as a member of the royal family, his words must be upheld. But...

"I refuse."

"Wha-?!"

With Kai's words, he turned around and left; leaving behind a speechless Kazuki.

A duel given by a noble could be rejected at the price of losing honor but a duel by given by the royal family must not be rejected- but there is an exception. In this kingdom, duels are fair. The first reason, wagers and participants from both sides aren't equal or in agreement but this is ruled out by the royal family. The second reason, the reason for the duel is unjust or wrong.

Since he's challenging me for Haru's hand, then that means I can immediately use the second reason to deny him. I am not in a relationship with Haru and the person in question wouldn't agree to the duel. Although he should stay behind and explain, it wouldn't do any good unless Haru was present.

That's why, Kai's goal right now was to find Haru and confront Kazuki in a secluded area so nobody would know about the duel and the proposal.

[Soul Call], with that technique Kai was able to find Haru easily and swiftly.

"And?"

Kai was rubbing his temples with his hand in front of his face.

"...What?"

Haru was sitting with folded legs underneath her thighs while resting, the so-called 'seiza'.

(A/N: 'Seiza', the formal Japanese way of sitting.)

"Why the heck did you hide yourself inside a cleaning closet? Not the girl's bathroom or dressing room. And what's more, you locked yourself inside? Are you a kid?"

Haru took critical damage from the barrage of questions that also served as an insult to her.

"I-I didn't know that the closet locked automatically!"

Kai sighed while shaking his head.

"Anyway, you got me into this mess and you're going to help me get out."

"What is it...?"

"The crown prince just challenged me to a duel."

Haru stood up as fast as she could and held Kai's shoulders.

"A-a-a-a duel?! What do you mean?! Did you provoke big brother?!"

Haru was shaking Kai repeatedly. Right now, they were both heading towards the opposite way of hiding their identity.

"No, don't worry. There's still a way to get out of this mess. Also, stop shaking me!"

Kai landed a karate chop on Haru's head.

"Auuu..."

Haru held her head that was hit.

"How will we do it...?"

Haru cautiously asked, she didn't want to get hit again. Kai was holding back but even with his normal physical strength, he could crush a person's head with a single hand effortlessly. If Kai were to use his full strength along with [Body Enhancement], even Haru didn't know his limits.

"By establishing our true relationship in front of him. And in the worst case, beat him in a duel away from everyone's eyes. But still..."

Kai was trying hard to not laugh but his mouth was slowly curving upwards and he was having trouble talking straight.

"T-the look on your brother's face when he finds out that he confessed to his own sister that he swore to never lay a hand on, I wonder how he would react?"

"Sadist!"

Haru had been acquainted with Kai long enough to know part of his true nature. Although sometimes, it was just dark humor.

"Wait, is that also part of the reason why big brother hated you so much?!"

With those accusing words, Kai shrugged his shoulders and immediately prepared. He was turning his back on conversations a lot today.

When Kai and Haru got to class, they were scolded for skipping. But Kazuki was somehow excused with the reason that he was going to check up on both of them and a teacher couldn't just scold the crown prince.

Even though the class was near its end, nobody forgot about the incident that Kenji had just made- except Kazuki who was glaring at Kenji like Kenji was his mortal enemy for a different reason. He forgot about recruiting Kenji and was now focused on the duel for Haru.

Of course, nobody else knew about this. That's why Kenji's goal this time is to make sure that Kazuki doesn't challenge him in front of the other students...

Class ended and Kenji took Haru and left the room as fast as he could because he sensed danger from another direction, it was Umi who had stopped her assault for a few days. Her curiosity was now at its peak because of the incident that Kenji had caused. Umi's curiosity was slowly dying down because she had thought of it logically and calmly but now, she couldn't help it anymore.

Now, Kenji was being chased by Umi and Kazuki. Then, he also has to compete in a competition sometime next week although his original goal was already broke because of Erina's magic eye, he still wanted to use the opportunity.

"Ah, Kai- I mean, Kenji I have to talk with you."

Erina stood in front of Kenji and Haru who were running in the hallway.

"Can we talk later? I'm a bit busy right now."

Erina looked behind Kenji and saw Kazuki and Umi running towards them.

"The crown prince and a blue haired girl... are they chasing you?"

"Yes, because of certain circumstances. We'll take our leave now."

With the pace that Kazuki and Umi were going, they'd arrive in a few seconds so Kenji ran as fast as he could while dragging Haru.

"Wai-!"

When they arrived outside, Haru was tired. But unexpectedly, Kazuki and Umi were already there along with Erina.

"Accept my duel!"

"Can I experiment on you?!"

"Will you act for me on my birthday? A bunch of people will propose to me since I'd be an adult so..."

Kenji sighed.

(A/N: What follows next is part of the main story but isn't required to be read so this can be skipped.)

Yesterday, during Kai and Erina's date

"Hmm... Kai- I mean, Kenji told me to pop out and show my figure here then disappear..."

As Erina and Kai met each other at the fountain, the Kai look-alike was putting herself in the corner of Erina's eye but when their eyes met, Erina winked and turned back to Kai.

"...Amazing. To think that she was capable of that..."

For now, I have to contact Kenji and tell him.

The Kai look-alike left the fountain and went into an alley free from people. Her face and body changed and it became that of a blonde woman's. It was the same woman which had talked to Kai in the knight armor and the one that talked to Umi.

"Ah, right. I guess I can't contact him right now. He needs to switch back to Kai. I guess I won't continue with the plan."

The blonde woman had a smirked while licking her lips.

"I wonder what I should do."

The blonde woman hummed as she skipped her steps.

Theater

"So they're seating over there."

The blonde woman held her ticket while looking at Kai and Erina's seat. Her eyes met with Erina's and the latter gave another smile.

So she knows that I was Kai earlier... Is it a magic eye? Or maybe she placed some magic on Kai when they were kids?

The blonde woman placed a finger on her lips in wonder.

Still, this will be quite interesting.

The woman once more had a smirk as she focused her gaze in front.

After the play, the woman walked outside after Kai and Erina. But once she got outside, several people came up to her.

"Hey, lady, want to come with us?"

"We'll show you a really good time."

"There's an inn near here, let's go."

They were inviting her. It wasn't surprising seeing as she was a beauty comparable to Erina, they had different charms. Erina was like an ethereal beauty that shouldn't be soiled by the world. While this woman was a mature beauty with an ample chest, even the ones who don't feel any lust towards women would gain attraction towards her unconsciously.

The air around the woman was different compared to everyone from everyone. Anyone who talked to her would certainly be overwhelmed. But sometimes there were fools like these people who couldn't read the air around her.

"I'm sorry but I already have a lover who satisfies me at night. You men couldn't even hold a candle towards him."

With those words, the woman walked away.

"Haaa?! You bitc-!"

One of the men were about to grab her shoulder but before he could touch her, he was trembling.

The woman turned around with cold eyes.

"I'll kill you if you touch me."

The men that surrounded her before were all trembling in fear. She was emitting pressure naturally, it wasn't her mana or any magic. One of the men couldn't take it anymore and fell down on the floor.

The woman faced forward and walked away; leaving the stunned men.

Cafe

The woman ate a light meal while looking at Kai and Erina converse. And then, Kai's aura changed.

"Ah, finally."

The woman covered her mouth with her hand.

"Kai, that woman had seen through me the moment she saw me."

"I know. I thought it was just her intuition but to think that she had a magic eye."

"Magic eye... So she had such a rare ability... But did she always have that?"

"No, I'm certain that it's not natural but there are no signs of her eye being removed or modified by any tools or other elements. Maybe some sort of magic? But I can tell that it's true."

"Of course you can. That eye of yours is special after all. But I have no such gifts so please fill me in."

"I will."

With that, the blonde woman left the cafe.

This is going to be really interesting.

The blonde woman had a smirk as she disappeared.