By the time, their attendants found their ways to them, the duo were already engaged in conversation with Urien or at least Khayri was freely conversing as usual.

  Mirek approached the group upon seeing his cousin and the princess. He was not familiar with Khayri and greeted him formally.

  “Come now, any good relation of this here stuffy old man is a friend of mine,” insisted the prince while waving hand with a grin. Urien was clearly unimpressed with the new title and Kamaria could only lower her gaze with a slight smile.

  “This delightful little fairy next to me is my precious twin sister. Anyone who wants to be acquainted must go through me for the approval process.”

  “Stop it,” Kamaria murmured while delivering a subtle pinch.

  If she didn’t know better, she could swear that her brother was trying to auction her off to the next best marriage candidate. A rather insensitive remark considering that Urien was standing next to them.

  The playful introduction made Urien’s eyes linger on Kamaria just a bit longer. Apart from her debut, he had never seen her in such an exquisite style. It was not too elaborate but it somehow exuded a charm that made it hard not to notice her.

  The lifelike silk flowers and jewelled pins woven into her hair were different to the headpieces she occasionally wore. When he tried to look away, the hanging earrings sparkled from her head movement, complimenting her gentle smile which was not covered by a veil for a change.

  Even the golden embroidery adorning her takchita[1] was intricate as the striking pink-jewelled necklace sitting on her collar.

  His attention was brought back to the moment by a smiling Mirek. He glanced at the amusing dynamic duo in turns as he adjusted his spectacles.

  “I never had a chance to congratulate the princess on her Academy admission,” he said with a polite bow.

  “Is there a speciality the Princess had in mind?”

  Kamaria was momentarily surprised to be directly addressed her but she considered his question before answering.

  Truthfully, she had not really thought further than the admission exams. Part of the reason for writing them was merely out of boredom and one of the others was to reinforce the idea of a noble being well educated.

  It would fade into the background eventually if she let it, but she at least had the option of having bragging rights. After all, she had been so kindly reminded that as a princess, she didn’t need to have a career.

  It was often made to seem as if education was more of a novelty than a necessity for women. A lady didn’t need to be a scholar or official, only sufficiently versed in literature and poetry to hold a polite conversation in public. Nothing too serious and absolutely nothing political of course.

  “Honestly I haven’t even thought about it carefully,” answered Kamaria.

  “Aren’t you already interested in the medical field like Consort Mother? I think that would work well for you,” suddenly said her brother.

  Her mother had spoken about the Academy for a while, but she didn’t know whether she would take the medical route if she did attend.

  Yet the administration of being a government official or judicial officer didn’t seem appealing to her, and her skills were too basic in any of the arts to make it a career.

  “Just because your judicial studies are killing you, now everyone else must die a scholarly death as well. The princess doesn’t need to be over working herself with boring books or a mentor who’ll drag her to different places for months on end. Even I get tired of it sometimes,” jokingly commented Urien.

  “Imagine if your spouse had to face blood and disease the entire day. I would never want my spouse to worry about anything. It would enough for one of us to have career and take care of each other.”

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  Mirek opened his mouth about to answer but caught Kamaria’s slight smile and swallowed his words. This was clearly not something that needed his opinion and would be left to the two people involved. He just couldn’t understand why his cousin was taking such a stance.

  Maybe he really thought she was too fragile and wanted to take care of her which was admirable in its own way. But Urien himself should have considered how hard he had worked for his qualifications.

  It would have to be the same for Kamaria if not more since she was a bit younger. So why would anyone torture themselves with all that studying and then just be happy just sitting at home afterward to smile through socials?

  Although his sister was smiling, Khayri could feel the grip on his arm slightly tighten as the conversation continued.

  “Personally, I wouldn’t mind a partner who’s a physician. That way I can have…special treatment,” he said with a sly smile.

  Luckily the guests were out of earshot as the present company could hardly contain their smiles. Khayri found himself getting punched on his other arm.

  “What nonsense are you saying in front of a lady?” asked Urien.

  “Ow, it was still funny though, look she’s also entertained.”

  “From now she’ll need to wear ear plugs to keep her innocence from getting corrupted by you.”

  “What i-” started Khayri but before he could finish there was a pinch from Kamaria’s side as she smiled at him. Was this a conspiracy? He considered them his favourite people and yet they all enjoyed torturing him.

  Kamaria knew that he was about to say something else that was inappropriate, so it was just better to pluck the problem at the root.

  “I barely ever listen to him anyway. I feel sorrier for Nima who is with him the entire day, but I think he’s learnt to filter most of what this one says,” said Kamaria with a little sneer and the others laughed.

  A small distance away, someone observing the party folded her arms as she narrowed her eyes.

  “What do you think they’re talking about over there?” Thyra asked as she continued watching them.

  Yrsa turned also turned to look at them and scoffed.

  “How would I know?” she replied, unimpressed.

  From their observation Kamaria hadn’t spoken much but when she did, she must have said something very amusing since they all laughed.

  Their mother rolled her eyes and leaned closer to them before speaking.

  “Don’t mind her shameless clinging to that useless boy. It’s not as if he can even introduce her to anyone of real value,” she said.

  The twins exchanged glances. They couldn’t disagree since Khayri’s reputation did not really inspire much confidence but they couldn’t help but feel some annoyance to his neglect of social obligations.

  He was supposed to be the hosting, meetings with guests and networking which would give them an opportunity to naturally meet people. Instead he was busy having a grand old time in the corner with the only friend in the entire empire who tolerated him.

  With the glaring contrast in Khayri’s and Urien’s achievements and personalities, they wondered how the two even stayed friends.

  Meanwhile Lady Fara was making sure that Princess Ruwa was properly acquainted with everyone seamlessly weaving her into conversations with the highest-ranking guests.

  She would definitely not give them a second glance, not when these connections were meticulously chosen for her daughter not only by her but also with the help of her family.

  Then they saw a palace maid approaching Lili and speaking to her in hushed tones on the side. The two were in discussion for a few moments before the girl left. Lili’s neutral expression did not change afterward but she tactfully walked up to Kamaria.

  Leaning close, she murmured something in a low voice before they nodded at each other.

  “If the gentlemen would excuse me, I’m sure I’ve been hindering the conversation. You can converse freely when I take my leave.”

  “Nooo, you are the spice in my life. Don’t leave me,” dramatically pleaded Khayri.

  Kamaria rolled her eyes.

  “Don’t pretend as if you care about me, you’re just using me to try and avoid talking to people.”

  Nima chuckled and then looked away as if he had not made a sound. Kamaria was still smiling as she unlinked her arm from her brother’s.

  As she walked past Mirek, she nodded slightly and he nodded back with the same measured polite smile but something in the exchange struck a quiet chord for him.

  He slightly turned in the direction of her retreating figure with a thoughtful glance but he didn’t linger for long and turned back to the present company. However, his subtle pause was not unnoticed and each person in his company had their own thoughts.

  [1] takchita – a type of intricate dress outfit worn at celebrations and weddings