“No, no, Nana,” said Tessa. “That is not romantic, this is very dangerous and very bad behavior, Cessi!”

“I’m t-telling you we d-didn’t d-do anything!” protested Cessilia.

“You better not! I don’t want to have to explain that to those crazy, overprotective brothers of yours... Let alone your father!”

“I’m an adult n-now! P-plus it’s n-not like you c-can lecture me! Even if I d-did something, th-there’s nothing wrong with th-that!”

Tessandra rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

“I agree that the King gets brownie points for not touching you when you were injured. And I get that there is something between you, I’m not that blind. ...But he is still the King, with a major anger management issue and about a dozen harpies, all lurking around trying to get their claws into him! What if they find out that you’re his new mistress? We already almost died last night, Cessi!”

“T-Tessa, I c-can’t just b-back off and p-push him away b-because of th-those women. I d-don’t want t-to. Ashen and I t-talked a lot last n-night, and we c-cleared some th-things up.”

“Oh yeah, like the fact that he kept a woman, who just happens to resemble you, by his side?”

Cessilia glared back, annoyed to be reminded of Jisel. That was one topic both she and Ashen had avoided, and for good reason. From what they had heard and seen the previous night, she had understood those two had something more complex going on than a simple sexual relationship. Someone as cunning as Jisel probably didn’t really stay around with no prospect of becoming queen without expecting anything else in return...

“See?” said Tessandra. “You haven’t solved everything yet, so don’t trust that guy too soon, Cessilia. I know you’re an adult, and I can’t keep you from sleeping with guys either, but I want to warn you about sleeping with guys who will turn out to be douches.”

“I kn-know Ashen...”

“Are you sure about that? Because all I’ve seen so far is a self-centered King who can only make one facial expression, and it’s not an inviting one!”

Cessilia sighed and crossed her arms without responding. She didn’t like when Tessandra acted like this, lecturing her like an older sister. Next to them, Nana looked uneasy, nervously peeling off her bun’s layers while glancing back and forth between the two of them, before settling her gaze on Tessandra.

“Lady Tessa... D-do you mean you have experience with boys...?”

“I do,” said Tessa with a smile. “Not just with boys, actually. I mean, I was probably an early bloomer, mostly to piss off my mom... Not that I wouldn’t have done it either way though. Women in our family educate us pretty early on, but I just had to be the rebellious one of the bunch, I guess!”

“Oh my...”

“...You’ve n-never had a b-boyfriend, Nana?” asked Cessilia.

“No! I mean... I have had a couple of crushes, but I’m known as a boring dork... Besides, all my sisters and cousins are prettier than me, so I feel like I’m better off reading books and dreaming about romance than getting my hopes up in real life...”

“Th-that’s not t-true, you’re really p-pretty!” protested Cessilia.

“It’s nice of you, Lady Cessi,” blushed Nana, “but I’ve decided I should be patient and wait for someone who will really like me rather than be too hopeful... I’m fine marrying a nice man, really!”

“I’m s-sure you will find the b-best partner.”

“Me too! I mean, I will completely support your secret romance story!”

The two of them smiled at each other, feeling like they were allies in love, and could understand each other’s feelings well in this moment. Tessandra chuckled.

“You two are so cute,” she said. “So innocent too. Not that I wish you to have any bad experiences!”

While she spoke, all three girls became aware of Sabael, who had been staring at Tessandra for a while now with a puzzled, complex expression. Tessandra blushed a bit, brushing her hair back playfully.

“What is it? Dazzled by me?” she chuckled.

“You... have experience with boys?” he asked.

His tone and frown sent a cold chill across the table. Cessilia and Nana exchanged a look, a bit worried all of a sudden.

“Sab,” muttered Nana. “You...”

“Is there a problem with that?” retorted Tessandra, suddenly defensive. “Did you expect me to be a virgin? Are you disappointed?”

“...And with girls too?”

Cessilia felt a bit worried for her cousin. She could see Tessandra’s expression slowly sinking, and she very visibly tightened her fist on the table. From Sabael’s shocked expression and the silent anger rising, this was not going to end well... Next to her, Nana looked just as worried, and desperate to de-escalate the situation between them.

“S-Sabael, don’t be like this... Lady Tessa and Cessilia are from a different culture, of course they have different experiences...”

“If you have a problem with me not being a virgin and also being attracted to girls, you can say it right here and now, Sab,” snapped Tessa. “I’m not going to apologize or feel sorry for my past. That’s what it is and I am not changing it!”

The Royal Guard remained mute, staring at her with a stunned expression. It would probably have been less awkward if they actually began to fight, but because he wasn’t saying anything, both Cessilia and Naptunie had no idea what to do. They could tell Tessandra was furious, and that closed fist was not a good sign, either, but she was also waiting for him to speak his mind. Despite her temper, Cessilia knew her cousin wouldn’t be the one to get physical unless the situation really called for it...

“Sorry,” suddenly said Sabael, standing up from his chair. “I... I think I need to be alone for a while.”

Without adding a word, he quickly left their group and walked away, not even glancing back once. Tessandra, who had obviously been prepared for a proper dispute, turned to the other two.

“...What the heck was that?!”

Both Cessilia and Nana were equally at a loss as well. Nana looked the most surprised and worried, shaking her head.

“I really don’t know,” she muttered. “I’ve never seen Sab react like that or look so upset...”

“...Is it really because I’m not a virgin?” Tessandra frowned. “It can’t be, right? He must have had a few girlfriends, no? At least one or two...?”

She turned to Naptunie, who was slowly shaking her head, looking almost sorry.

“I don’t think so,” she mumbled. “Not that I know of...”

“Are you kidding?” exclaimed Tessa. “With those looks of his?”

“I d-definitely thought he was p-popular as well,” muttered Cessilia.

“Oh, he is! But I’ve never seen him interested in other girls before. I know of at least four or five of my sisters’ and cousins’ friends that he rejected completely... Lady Tessandra is the first one I have ever seen him close with!”

“I did have to force my way in a bit...” scoffed Tessandra.

“Sab focused a lot on becoming a soldier and Royal Guard,” said Nana. “He really spent all his time training for the past few years, even now...”

“You tend to be a bit... very single-hobby-focused in your family, don’t you?” sighed Tessa. “...Do you think that’s what this is about, then? Because I’m not inexperienced? Or because I’ve been with girls? ...Or both?”

“I really don’t know... I mean, we do have a... uh... traditional view of relationships in our family, but it’s not that shocking either if people have relationships before marriage...”