His ever-watching eyes wandered with precision through the lavishly decorated ballroom, unknowingly searching for a particular figure amongst the crowd that seemed to grow bigger every minute.
'... She's late.' He couldn't help but wonder what was so important that she dared to keep him waiting like how a pet dog would for its owner. 'How bold for a human to keep me waiting like this.'
Occasionally, when he finds a silhouette similar to the one from his memory, his efforts to approach it would be rudely interrupted by a new group of ostentatiously dressed nobles coming over to offer insincere greetings and hollow praises that he had long grown tired of hearing.
On the surface, the emperor easily managed to maintain a small, strained smile every time he had to stand there, and act interested.
But deep down, his patience was quickly thinning.
'My ears are about to fall off.' He thought to himself, feeling his mask beginning to slip. 'What makes him think that I'm interested in whatever nonsense he's spewing?'
Unlike his usual self, his thoughts were preoccupied with the argument he had with Kaari moments before stepping onto the stage to give his speech, along with the strange heaviness pressing on his chest.
Thankfully, even though he was irritated, he managed to handle it effortlessly, as he's always done.
However, it would be a blatantly untrue if he were to claim that her behavior throughout the entire event didn't annoy him.
Sure, even though he was often called clueless, it didn't take a genius to see that his words had obviously upset Kaari.
As much as he wanted to simply chat with Kaari right there and then, he made sure to honor his promise by trying to speak with her out of the public eye.
However, each time their eyes would meet, Kaari would quickly glance away, pretending not to notice.
The princess went as far as to deliberately placing herself in the middle of the busiest sections, just so Lex couldn't pull her into a secluded corner and compel her to talk to him.
It was a subtle but deliberate way to make sure Lex never got the chance to approach her without violating their temporary promise and potentially making matters worse.
And by God, were her plan unfolding exactly as she had intended.
"Allow me to excuse myself." Lex declared out of the blue, seemingly having enough of wasting his time dwelling with a crowd of individuals that he couldn't care less about. "I'm afraid I have some unfinished business I must attend to immediately but please, feel free to enjoy the rest of the evening."
Just as he was halfway past the ballroom, Lex happened to bump into Rowen, who had clearly been having a wonderful time celebrating the coming of spring with the rest of the Circle.
"Lex, what perfect timing!" Rowen exclaimed excitedly before embracing the unimpressed emperor into a hug. "Arius has been searching for you all night! Apparently, you have yet to meet the headmaster."
"I doubt the geezer would want to talk to a Roseabelle during such a joyous event." Lex muttered with an irritated frown, but he made no move to stop Rowen from hugging him.
"Well, I can't blame you for avoiding the old man." Rowen said understandably, nodding his head. "He... certainly has a way with his words."
"However, I must say I'm surprised to see you all alone." Rowen confessed as he looked around the perimeter for someone. "I was assuming you would've been in the company of the human princess, considering how close you've become throughout the years."
"..."
It took Rowen longer than most to catch on to Lex's darkened expression after hearing the statement he carelessly made, and when he finally did, the Kaxarene scrambled to lift the mood.
"Oh, I seemed to have struck a nerve with that, didn't I?" Rowen asked with a regretful wince. "My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty."
"Let me guess, it was Amrit that told you?"
"He was just... surprised you allowed her to talk to you like that." Rowen tried to explain, hoping that it would ease the tension. "Then he said something about how depressed you were the entire time when she started ignoring you like the plague-"
"I think it would be wise of you to move aside now, Rowen." The emperor rudely interrupted Rowen's rambling, his mood quickly worsening with every word. "I'm not feeling up to dealing with your antics right now."
"This is why you never raise your voice at ladies, Your Majesty." A knowing smile spread across Rowen's face when he realized he had hit the mark perfectly. "It doesn't matter if they're a Roseabelle, Kaxarene or even a human, a woman should be treated delicately, and I learned that the hardway."
"... I was simply warning her." Lex tried to excuse his behavior even if he knew that he had gone a bit too far. "If I was even just a moment too late, she would've been killed."
Rowen nodded compassionately at Lex's excuse, feeling a deep sympathy for the once-mighty emperor's current state.
"Why don't we go on a walk, Lex?" Rowen offered out of the blue, taking Lex by surprise at the sudden invitation. "I know it's not my place to tell you anything, but I can't seem to just sit back and watch you struggle."
"I... appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Lex ultimately chose to decline as he was in no mood to engage in small talk. "The very last thing I want to do right now is having to talk to someone."
"Of course... Well, I suppose you'll have some fun with Arius then." Rowen responded before he confidently motioned behind the emperor, and as Lex turned to look, he saw the cursed minister standing right there, frantically scanning the crowd for him. "Like I said, he's been searching for you all night, and I don't think he has anything nice to say to you, Your Majesty."
"... You know what?" Lex quickly spun around to face Rowen again, casually slinging an arm over the Kaxarene's shoulder.
And before Rowen could utter another word, they began to walk towards the exit, away from where the minister stood.
"A walk doesn't sound half bad after all."
=================
Despite the initial hesitation, Lex was pleasantly surprised by the cool spiring breeze that greeted them once they were finally out of the ballroom.
He took a moment to feel the cooling air kiss his skin, hoping that it would clear his mind from all the thoughts that ran through his head.
"It's rather odd, isn't it?" Rowen brought up a peculiar question, his gaze fixed ahead with a faint smile playing on his lips. "How the humans always act so friendly towards one another."
"What else would you expect from creatures as sly as snakes?" Lex scoffed, folding his hands in front of his chest.
"In the end, it was their sweet words that helped them rise through the ranks and allowed them to stand on equal footing with immortals like us."
"I don't think that is the only reason they choose to act this way... I think it makes more sense once you look at it from their perspective."
Lex glanced over curiously after Rowen shared his opinion, but he remained silent until the Kaxarene decided to speak again.
"For one, they're mortal. Pitiful creatures under the mercy of Death himself, unable to choose the fate they wish to fulfill, or how long they're allowed to stay. With a curse like that, parting from a loved one with hurtful words would only leave regret in their final moments, don't you think?"
"I like to believe that's the reason they speak so... captivatingly. Because unlike us immortals, they don't have the luxury of being the eternal like us." Rowen spoke with empathy, and Lex took a moment to let his words sink in, truly grasping their meaning. "The princess is not as callous as we are, and I'm pretty sure she was hurt by how you conveyed your worries, hence the current situation."
"I went over there because I was worried, shouldn't that be enough to have convinced her from the beginning?" Lex fought back to justify his actions, firmly convinced that he wasn't in the wrong. "How dense must she be that I'm required to tell her every single-"
"You hurried to her side the moment you realized she was in danger, yet speaking the truth feels like a much greater challenge?" Rowen raised an eyebrow at Lex's flawed logic. "Then you felt the need to insult her when you clearly didn't mean what you said? Does that make any sense to you, Your Majesty?"
Rowen had braced himself for yet another argument, but the unexpected silence that followed was all he needed to know he'd finally broken through Lex's stubbornness.
"It doesn't take much to see that you consider her more than just prey, so if you truly wish to get closer, you need to change for the better."
Just as Rowen was gearing up to give Lex his ultimate lesson on charming Kaari, their chat was abruptly interrupted by the sound of soft footsteps approaching from directly ahead.
It was none other than Kaari herself, and based on the direction she was headed, Lex was almost certain that she was walking toward the royal gardens—a place she had quickly grown to love after they had one of their lessons there.
"Well, speak of the devil." Rowen chuckled before he pushed Lex to go after her. "Quickly, apprehend her before she ultimately decides to be done with you forever-"
Rowen barely got the words out before Lex darted off after the oblivious human, leaving Rowen to watch like a proud father, completely oblivious to the stranger quietly observing the scene unfold before slipping away into the palace's shadows.