Chapter 824: Started Off On The Wrong Foot [Part 2]

The princess then pinched the bridge of her nose, as if trying to hold back a list of expletives she wouldn’t dare to say in a normal setting.

However, being with Alex made her feel things that she had never felt before.

In fact, being with him made her want to take off the mask of the perfect princess and just be the person she had always wanted to be.

From a young age, after her mother disappeared, Aeris did her best to become a perfect role model for her younger siblings.

She wanted them to be proud of her and follow in her footsteps so that everyone would know the quiet strength and grace of the elven royal family.

Perhaps that was also the beginning of her losing what really mattered to her. In order to shoulder the weight of their bloodline, Aeris chose to become perfect.

Not only in appearance, but in actions and manner as well.

She always strove to be the first in everything.

Whether it was studies, physical exams, or taking missions for the academy.

She did them all, and she did them well.

This was why her popularity had reached a great height, making her the perfect girlfriend in everyone’s mind.

Unfortunately, there was one person who didn’t see her the way the other young men in the academy did.

That was also the reason why she grew more curious about Alex and eventually wanted to be close to him.

She could tell that he wasn’t faking the way he interacted with her.

"It’s not like that." Alex tried to deny the princess’s accusation that he was fine with the rumors spreading if it was meant to protect Lapiz instead of Aeris. "I just..."

"You just what?" Aeris arched an eyebrow.

"I just thought that you should have talked to me about it first before you started spreading the rumors," Alex explained. "I would have understood if you told me the truth."

The young lady leaned back on the couch and gave Alex the "Yeah, right!" stare in response, which made the young man avert his gaze.

"Alex, I think we started on the wrong foot," Aeris said in a serious tone. "You know, I haven’t dated anyone in my life. But you went ahead and skipped those steps. You took my first kiss and my innocence in a very unromantic way. You pretty much shattered my dream of marrying a charming prince."

Alex wanted to say that it wasn’t his fault and that he couldn’t control their circumstances back in Hy-Brasil.

But he also understood that he was just making excuses at this point.

The first thing he needed to do was to truly understand his feelings for Aeris.

They were already at the stage where he couldn’t say "Sorry, but it’s not my fault that I *beep* and *beep* you! Also, you looked very satisfied back then too!"

After all, if he really said something like that, there was no doubt that Aeris’ father and mother would hack him to pieces and feed him to the fishes.

"Alex, be honest with me. Do you hate me?" Aeris asked.

"Hate is too strong a word." Alex shook his head. "I don’t hate you."

"So you dislike me?" Aeris pressed for answers.

"I don’t dislike you," Alex answered honestly. "I just don’t like you."

"Doesn’t that mean that you dislike me?"

"No. Not liking you doesn’t mean I dislike you, you know?"

Alex didn’t really dislike Aeris. He just didn’t like her the way her fans liked her.

In short, there was nothing to dislike about her.

Also, her showing these imperfect reactions and expressions proved that they had grown closer to each other.

He didn’t dislike seeing these sides of her that no one else knew about.

"Very well. Let’s try to do this right, then," Aeris said. "Let’s go on a date at the end of the month. You’re not going to refuse, right?"

"A date?" Alex pondered for a bit whether he had made any promises three weeks from now.

"Yes, a date." Aeris narrowed her eyes. "Are you coming or not?"

"I’m coming, of course," Alex answered. "You’re right. We are already engaged, so I should do it right."

"Are you sure?" Aeris suddenly thought of something.

"Yes, I’m sure." Alex nodded. "Let’s go on a date."

This time, it was Aeris’ turn to ponder. She was starting to make plans inside her head, and for some reason, her face reddened while looking at Alex’s face.

"What’s wrong?" Alex noticed that her face was turning red, so he thought Aeris wasn’t feeling well. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Don’t mind me." Aeris did her best to regain her calm. "Then I will let you handle the itinerary. But before that, there is something that I wish to tell you."

"And that is?" Alex asked.

"I want it to be an overnight date," Aeris said with a straight face. However, that didn’t change the fact that her face had grown a shade redder.

"... An overnight date?" This time, Alex came to a realization. "You mean... we’re going to spend the night together?"

Aeris nodded. "Yes. You’ve already done it with Lapiz, right? Also, I will tell you this now so you won’t have any misunderstandings. I am still a maiden."

Now that the beautiful princess had laid out these matters in front of him, Alex could no longer pretend that he wasn’t aware of what this date meant for the two of them.

While he and Aeris had already made love with each other in Hy-Brasil, that wasn’t their real bodies.

That was also the reason why Lapiz was still a maiden when Alex embraced her in his room inside the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Faelarun.

"I understand." Alex nodded seriously after a few minutes. "I will make the preparations for our date."

"Good." Aeris sighed. Fortunately, Alex seemed to genuinely understand what she wanted to say. "I want it to be as romantic as possible."

"Very well," Alex agreed.

He then averted his gaze in an attempt to hide the blush that was now creeping up his face.

Unfortunately, even though the light in the old library was a bit dim, this wasn’t a problem for elves like Aeris.

She was able to see the changes in the young man’s expression. And for some reason, it made her heart... skip a beat.