33 Chapter 33 - food fight!

"Mallory eat this! It's the tastiest snack from Brennus!" My mouth was once again stuffed with another delicious snack that made my insides drool. The person responsible, Luka had said those same words about twenty other dishes and still assumed I could eat more.

He wasn't wrong.

And while he looked for more food, I caught a glimpse of the man of the party and caught him glaring at the boy who continuously fed me. I flinched at the ferocity of the glare and as he noticed this his gaze softened, until Luka felt his gaze and gasped in delight.

"Oh! That's your father! I should introduce myself since I'll be joining the family soon!" He grinned at me with such innocence that I could only give an awkward smile back.

Like hell you are kid!

I felt Edmund frown, alongside Lance who had joined us were we sat. Victor and Jirael were both forced to accompany their mother's and they begrudgingly agreed.

"Who is this brat?", Edmund scowled as he took a bite of a biscuit.

"I wish I didn't know", Lance replied.

At least they were finally getting along?…

"Open wide Mallory! This ones going to melt if you don't quickly eat it!"

I already knew well that there was no rejecting Luka. I had tried that and all that happened was him continuously rejecting my rejection until I just shut up and ate the food. I opened my mouth, but the food never entered.

A hand gripped Luka's hand from moving an inch. It seems like Edmund had really lost his temper judging by that throbbing vein.

The air around him chilled so much that even Luka's natural air-headed attitude was fazed. His black brows were knit it confusion and weariness.

"Do you take the princess for a joke? You can't just feed the princess like that!" He shouted at the boy who just smirked in return.

"It doesn't matter since we're engaged anyway. A few years from now and we'll be feeding each other all the time", he smiled mischievously and I almost blanked out for a moment. Was this… really a child?

Edmund barked a laugh.

"That's rich since last I heard I was the one that was marrying her! That's right! You better stop feeding my future wife!" He argued back without a shred of embarrassment.

My face heated up a bit. This was getting kind of embarrassing, wasn't it?

"Ha! I'm a Prince. I've got a land of mysteries and riches! Let's be honest. I've won from day one", Luka held his head up high pridefully.

Edmund pursed his lips and for a moment I thought- no, I hoped he'd given up. But he broke into a smirk.

"Well, I've known the princess for longer than you have. So she must like me better", his face actually became a bit flushed when he said that and he glanced at me. Expecting for me to back him up.

Please. I know this is some silly kid competition, but please don't force me to be a criminal. Somebody help me!

"That's not true, Mallory?" Luka's red eyes looked at me like a heartbroken puppy while Edmunds who had really just wanted to shut Luka up had his head high up with a confident grin.

Before I could think to answer, someone else joined the conversation.

"Well that's not true at all, Young ones", I flinched at the voice that spoke.

Mother stood behind me with her fan hiding a satisfied smile. She seemed to have a strange glint in her eyes and when her eyes met my own I gulped.

She can't hurt you. She can't hurt you.

Edmund tensed at her presence as well. He threw me a worried glance which I returned with a wry smile.

Ugh.., why now!

"Mother", I greeted her weakly.

Luka took initiative immediately, "Mother? Then you must be Lady Jean. Please to meet you, I'm the Brennus' crown Prince Luka", he introduced himself perfectly.

"My my, a Prince huh… it seems my daughter has been busy" she seemed to have meant to tease me, but it sounded closer to a taunt.

"What did you mean by what you said?" Edmund snapped at her.

"How rude… I was just about to say it", she shut her fan with a slap and revealed a grinning face, a sharp nailed hand gripped my face and she observed it through laughing eyes, "my daughter is already becoming an object for politics it seems. At this rate, you might get to have a pick at whoever you want, that is if your lucky. In reality, my little daughter will marry whoever Archie deems as the best connection".

"That's right children", another voice interrupted and this time it was mother's face that soured.

The empress stood beside her, she had such an overwhelming presence that it almost seemed like mother wasn't there, until you squinted hard at least.

"The princess, will marry the best connection that supports the royal family. The final decision will go by my son, the "crown" prince", her emphasis on crown was very much purposeful as she shot mother a pristine smile.

Mother returned the smile, although her eye did twitch.

"That's right. Although the future isn't definite now", mother snarked back.

"How unfortunate. A mother who can't decide who her dear daughter marries", the empress continued.

Mother had just laughed at her words.

"I couldn't care less if she were found dead in a ditch", and with the clap of her heels following her she walked off.

The empress clicked her tongue at her and turned to me in fake pity, "my~ even your mother doesn't care for you. How unfortunate you are little one", she cooed at me like I was still a child.

I really couldn't careless at mother's words or hers, instead I opted to giving her a smile and laughed like I understood not a single word. This, surprisingly, did irk her and she did drop the act for a second to say.

"I do hope she does find someone so irritating in a ditch, alive or dead. It would be a most entertaining sight", and then she smiled and walked off.

Every child near me looked to be in shock, the only one who couldn't care less was myself who just frown at the empress. Was I that much of a threat to her attention? If that were true I might die by her hands before the heroine could even start her story…

A hand grasped my own, tightly and angrily.

"Those women should all die!" Luka glared after them with so much animosity I jumped. He truly looked angry, "you would never receive such treatment in Brennus. You'd be treated like a true princess- no a queen! To think the Empire is so unworthy of you makes me so angry!"

"Luka… thank you", I couldn't help but feel touched at his words. But then I noticed someone was missing, "where's Edmund?" I said and swung my head around just in time to see the empress trip over her feet.

She gave an undignified cry as she fell over basically nothing. It was hilarious. People came to help, but they also slipped on the marble floor and just toppled over her. Men, women, and all of them screaming bloody murder as they slid across the floor.

Seemed like a servant must've dropped some oil or the like.

While I laughed at the sight along with everyone who wasn't falling over, I noticed Edmund slip in the seat next to me with a satisfied smile.

"Where did you go?" I asked him with a giggle to which he shrugged with a grin and replied.

"Bathroom break".

Something about his smile made me want to question him, but the sight in-front of us kept getting more entertaining as servants walked by and then food went flying into a noble woman's hair. Then there was more shouts and screams.

And I couldn't get enough of it.