"I believe I'm expected, Lady Vossberg."
Seeing Lucien arrive, Selene stood up, pinched the hems of her dress, lifted it, and gracefully bowed, "Good evening, Your Highness."
Her voice was pleasant to the ears, like a melody from a cuckoo as she delicately lifted her eyes, with a small, teasing smile.
"Good evening to you as well, m'lady."
Lucien's voice was smooth as he stepped into the Moonlight Pavilion, gently lifting her hands and kissing the back of them. "You look absolutely stunning tonight, Lady Vossberg."
After that, he picked up a glass of wine graciously from the table full of snacks and beverages, and spoke, "Shall we?" offering her to sit down.
He sat on the opposite side of the table, and for a moment, Selene was stunned, but soon, she recovered and fiddled.
Lucien knew the reason why she acted like this.
If the old Lucien's dossier was even slightly accurate, she expected him to be a lot worse, a lot… erratic and active.
As they sat down, a light melody of the violin floated in the background, neither of them knowing where it came from.
"You also look magnificent, Your Highness."
"Just call me 'Lucien', Miss Vossberg. Titles don't feel grounded in personal spaces." He suggested, feeling a sense of alienation in this conversation.
Selena nodded, "Same here, Lucien. Just call me Selene, we are betrothed, after all."
Silence.
Lucien didn't expect her to be this bold.
He can tell that neither of them wanted this marriage, but he didn't expect her to be so nonchalant about it.
Selene chuckled, her smile getting prettier, "Are you that infatuated with my beauty, Lucien?"
She picked up a grape from the golden porcelain bowl in front of her and ate it nimbly, clearly trying to tease Lucien.
Hearing that, a chuckle escaped Lucien's aloof face as well, "I was just admiring your boldness and your sense of humor, Selene. I am glad."
"I heard you are quite a… lady charmer, Prince, but why do you sound so reserved here?"
'Bold!' Lucien noted in his mind.
One would not casually mention such things in front of a Prince, but Selene did.
"Not the same Casanova fool you were expecting, Miss Selene?" He doubled down, not having an answer for her question.
How would he even tell her that he had absolutely zero female interaction in his previous life, unlike the old Lucien?
Selena was flustered, but quick to collect herself. "Casenova is such an ugly word for you, Lucien. But you are right. I wasn't expecting you to behave like this."
Taking another sip of the wine, Lucien replied, "Yeah, some things happened yesterday that might have brought a change in me."
"Does that have to do with the palace being in a frenzy and tight-lipped yesterday, Prince?" She recalled the secret mobilization of many high-ranking figures of yesterday, which even her mother refused to disclose to her.
"You can say that."
Another sip.
"You are fine, though, right?" She asked, lifting a wine cup for herself and taking a sip.
Lucien paused.
Reincarnation, new memories, blood in his mouth, bruises all over his body, bullet wound in his ribcage, flames burning his skin, blackness, Arenox, and much more flashed through his eyes in a split second.
"Mostly. Physically, yes. The rest would be catching up soon." He said, his voice sounding a bit detached.
She didn't pry.
She could tell that he had been through something.
"I assume Lady Renata must be thrilled about this arrangement?" He shifted the spotlight to her, changing the topic.
"Thrilled enough to parade me like a prized stallion." Selene gave him a soft yet bitter smile.
Lucien put down his empty vial of wine on the table and popped a grape in his mouth. "You don't want this either, do you?"
"Want it, huh?" Her tone echoed, her voice dry, "I would say I accepted it. I know what I am born into, after all."
'She doesn't really care if this goes either way.' Lucien concluded, feeling a bit of pity for her.
He looked her in the eyes and saw himself being reflected in them.
Two political pawns dressed in royalty.
"I see." He finally said it after a pause.
A few servers appeared quietly, replacing the bowls of fruits, refreshments, and beverages with silver cutlery and dishes shimmering with steam and spices.
They soon left just as quietly as they arrived.
"You know, on the 9th of July, my birthday banquet will be hosted. My face would be public, I would undergo awakening, our betrothal would be announced, and I would turn 18."
Selene nodded, already knowing this stuff from the dossiers. "I do know about that, Prince Lucien, what about it?"
Lucien lifted his cutlery and sank his knife into the steak. "Do you want to witness something interesting on that day?"
Selene, who was also about to lift her cutlery, paused. "Interesting?" She smirked.
"How flashy are we talking about?" Her voice had an underlying tone of curiosity and mischief.
"How about 'messing up the entire day' level of plan?" He slowly put a piece of juicy, tender meat in his mouth.
She was silent for a few seconds, chewing on her food with Lucien.
As if she thought of something really funny, she laughed out a bit and spoke, "I don't know about other girls, but you certainly do know how to charm me, Prince Lucien."
"Heh! I am honored, Miss Selene," He accepted the compliment smoothly.
"I also have some plans in the Academy, Prince Lucien. Let's give them a show they would never forget."
"In that case, I'd support you as much as you want, Miss Selene." Lucien chuckled, already expecting such a response from her.
He was planning to make his plans official beforehand, but talking to Selene and seeing how they both were being used in this political marriage, he wanted to pay them back.
His face would be on national television, and nobles from all over the world would fly over to see him.
The face of his startled father and other nobles already made him eager for the day.
After that, they changed the topic to something lighthearted, asking about each other and hobbies, even though they already knew those details through the dossiers.
The dinner date went smoothly, and by the time they stood up to leave, their faces had fooled everybody.
But their chemistry wasn't a romantic one, but rather… A shared defiance under politics.