On their way to the embassy, the translator that acted as their guide began to tell stories and fun facts about the palace to entertain them. She enthused about buildings that had been gifted to the previous royals, including Princess Verona's greenhouse and Prince Ichiro's butterfly garden. However, despite the amount of information she possessed about them, it was clear she had never been in either. They were probably only allowed to be entered by close friends or allies of the royal.

As they rode to the embassy on the far right of the imperial city, behind a wall to separate them from the palace, they passed a labyrinth. As the younger girl stared at it, she couldn't quite tell how large it was or what was inside. All she could see was a tall green hedge, obscuring her view for more than five minutes. Somehow though, she felt very calm near it, almost lulled into sleep.

"What's inside?" she questioned, the translator taken aback for a second, "Is it just a maze?"

"There are a few things inside, but the most popular destination is the center of the maze. There, you will find a pond that is very special to the royal family. The entire maze is actually a garden that is over five hundred years old."

"A vegetable garden or...?"

"Primarily, flowers are grown inside, but there is a section with fresh fruits and vegetables. They are cared for very well."

The younger girl looked over at the maze, giving a longing hum. She had been taken to Vethela once before, but it was not by choice. Either way, it was the only country in the world that was so connected to nature. Everywhere one looked, there were plants of all kinds, and animals were much more friendly. She bet it was even possible for bears to just come up to people on the street. It excited her.

"There is one thing," the translator suddenly perked up, giving a sorry expression, "Like most things at the palace, the maze has restricted access as well. Unless it is for a special event, only official Vethelan nobles with the rank of Count or higher may enter."

Haru crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the woman relentlessly. After getting her all excited about the maze, she went and told her she couldn't enter. Becoming increasingly irritated, the brunette wondered why Vethelans angered him so much. The only one he could stand was his friend, the fourth prince, and that was primarily because he made him laugh. Yet all others he had encountered never failed to piss him off with their stupid rules and their stupid hierarchy. It wasn't even about money, just about who pushed you out of their vagina.

"Get out," he grumbled.

"Get...out?" she repeated, looking out of the window of the moving carriage, "I'm supposed to assist you in - "

"Don't need you," a tiny pause. "Don't like you."

"If I've done something to - "

Without letting the woman speak, the brunette promptly pushed open the opposite door. He didn't even ask for the vehicle to be stopped. Rather, he just sat back down and pointed outside. And though the woman, at first, paused in order to get her thoughts together, he became impatient. It wasn't long before he pushed her lightly out of the carriage and slammed the door. He spared no glance to the woman as she tripped onto the grassy lawn. His father closed his eyes tightly, letting a strained groan escape his throat. That would have made for a wonderful impression.

Haru, on the other hand, simply flopped over onto the (h/c) haired girl's lap and sighed contentedly. She smirked. There was nothing he did better than defending her, whether she liked it or not. Fortunately, most of the time, she was extremely pleased to have him do such things. After all, he had something she valued greatly but could not quite emulate; loyalty. That was the reason she loved him dearly. He would do anything for her. Smiling, she began absent-mindedly drawing circles on his arm, wondering how to encourage his behavior in the right way.

Soon enough, they ended up at the embassy, Sona escaping from the carriage he was riding in to open the door for them. He didn't even ask about the absence of their former translator, just smiled like he always did. It made the girl wonder how exactly he could stay the same in every situation. She figured, even if the world was burning, he would have that same face and the same composure.

The moment they exited the vehicle, Bastien immediately became enamored with the horses. His father gave him a moment to pet them, the brunette giggling at how soft they were, but, soon enough, they were heading inside the embassy. To its credit, despite it being separated from the main palace grounds, it was still a beautiful building. Whether that was because the country was well known for bragging about its wealth and artistic genius or because they wanted to keep good relationships with other nations was anyone's guess. Though, if Haru had a say in it, it would most definitely be the former. Their pride was like no other.

The style of the building was mostly historical, containing elements of brick and stone more than metal and glass. It looked like it could have been an extension of the palace as a whole, but it did have small elements outside that appeared more Echali in appearance. For instance, there was more of a child–friendly atmosphere, including a playground in the front. Vethela was more focused on a mature tone, so seeing them realize that ambassadors and political figures would most definitely have children with them was a nice touch.

"Welcome, Mr. President," a light black-haired man stepped forward, dressed to impress.

"Welcome!" the man's child parroted, giving a confident wave to the familiar face.

Kazuya shook hands with the man in front of him, catching up after many years of not seeing one another. From what the younger girl had gathered, they had been classmates in their university, some form of a persisting friend. The mood was amiable, and Bastien got along well with the ambassador's daughter, too, both running off to the playground. It seemed like they had immediately confirmed the other as their best friend. If only she could make friends like that. Then again, it was probably for the best.

The interior of the embassy was more focused on the architecture of Echal. There was their flag, of course, but more so, there was a family-oriented design, in which the living room was the biggest. Similarly, the iconic use of rounded furniture was present. The younger girl didn't quite understand the fascination with spherical objects in Echal, but it was everywhere. In the living room, in the kitchen, and even in the beams used in arches within the home. Oddly enough, the shape was beginning to be known as home to her, despite her previous origin.

People came in and out, loading up the luggage everyone had brought with them. Due to Haru's insistence, all of his bags were carried by Sona alone. He probably only trusted himself to touch his things, but since, as an Akahito, there was no way he was going to do menial work, Sona was the best choice, as his own creation. In the meantime, everyone sat down in the living room, the girl claiming an entire sofa for herself before the brunette was able to sit with her. He frowned. She smiled. It was their thing.

"They treat you well here," the ambassador, Amand, hummed, motioning to the luxurious decorations brought from their country, "It's even more comfortable than back home, and they pay for everything."

"Well, they have quite the purse. Every single Vethelan citizen is their own personal bank, really. I wish I could say the same," Kazuya chuckled sarcastically, "but I'm only allowed to use one percent of my wealth to meddle in political affairs."

"That's still more than I'll ever make in seventeen lifetimes, Mr. President."

"In any case, I'd like to hear your recent observations. Any big changes in Vethela?"

For the most part, the man answered negatively. Vethela still ran the same and there were few changes in the economy, aside from the typical fluctuations common of any country's economy. However, from what (Y/n) heard, there was a new addition to the sun sect, a prominent part of the country's religion. There were rumors in the palace that he was going to be the next Oracle, the official leader of the religion.

Though there was much debate about that, it was not something to be talked about carelessly. It could come off as blasphemy, after all, and that was something Kazuya wanted to avoid at all costs. The most effective way to piss off Vethela was to mess with their religion, and though it sounded simple, it was quite complicated, in fact. As such, the topic was brought up and dismissed all within half a minute, the men turning, instead, to topics such as the nobility, a far less touchy subject, ironic as it was.

"There have been successions in the Count families of - "

Bored, the girl zoned out, turning her attention to the brunette at her feet. She smiled and began to play with his hair, amused at the reaction he first had. He must have thought someone else was trying to touch him, getting easily offended by it, but once he turned over to see who it was, he froze. Reconsidering, he leaned into her touch, fine with being treated like a cat, of sorts. He even moved to the side for her to touch the side of him that was really craving attention.

"There's always going to be changes in the nobility," Kazuya mumbled, looking through the reports the ambassador had compiled for him, "Let's talk about something more fun. Look! This is the young lady I was telling you about! Miss Shiratori!"

The man paused, observing the younger girl with great interest, prompting her face to go red. She knew exactly why he was so curious. Kazuya had gone off bragging about her again. He was a man that loved his family and, whenever he got the chance, he would go into tangents about them. It seemed that, despite her uncertain role with the Akahito family, he still valued her enough to talk about her. Haru was pleased though, so it wasn't all bad.

"She's much younger than what I was led to believe, and she can make Haru bow?"

Both the brown-haired man and her immediately placed their faces in their hands, hiding themselves with embarrassment. Of course, it was expected that eventually, the news about the brunette refusing to bow to the regent would get out. Rumors like that spread like wildfire, and concerning the blasphemy of standing in the face of a Vethelan royal, it was bound to be exaggerated like crazy. Still, it was far too soon than either of them wanted to deal with.

"She didn't make me bow," Haru argued, crossing his arms over his chest, "No one can make me do anything."

"Wanna bet?" his counterpart chuckled, holding up her tablet.

Furrowing his brows, the male pouted. He likely promised himself that he wouldn't be tricked, but it never really mattered. In the end, as he noted the countless ideas for dates she had planned for them (if he was good), he caved. Shoving her feet off the other end of the couch, he opted to sit there, remaining as obedient as he could be. The (h/c) haired girl smirked, presenting the arrogant animal she had tamed. The ambassador clapped and laughed alongside Kazuya.

"Amazing. How times do change," he asserted, raising a glass to the girl's abilities, "I remember just a few years ago when you had the gall - on live television - to claim no one in the world could match your intellect."

"It wasn't the first time either," the girl added.

"It won't be the last," Kazuya chuckled, rolling his eyes playfully.

At the expense of the brunette, the others began recalling all of the things he had done. He had gotten away with all of it solely because he was the child of the wealthiest family in the world. Though he had a sour look on his face, displeased with being talked about by a man he didn't know, a man he did know, and a girl that was supposed to take his side, he didn't throw a fit. Instead, he sat still as though he were dead, occasionally twitching, perhaps wanting to punch one of them for their discussion.

The next few hours proceeded as such. The three of them would continue poking fun at Haru's immaturity and self-confidence before they went to check on their luggage. To the girl's surprise, there were more than enough rooms to house all of them, but, of course, the brunette had instructed Sona to move her luggage into his room. She didn't say anything about it. Or, at least, she didn't yet say anything about it. He still did deserve some kind of reward for defending her, so there wasn't that much harm in letting him have a sleepover. She would just make sure that he would be explaining it to Bastien.

Before long, the (h/c) haired girl got bored, choosing to move outside the embassy to explore, as was common for her ever-curious mind. Along the way, making sure to sneak away from Sona, she began to note all of the plants. Though their former guide had told them all about the rare flora they possessed, just saying it didn't do it justice. There were flowers she hadn't ever heard of before just littered about like they were common. A large part of her wanted to take some of them with her. After all, she didn't know if she would ever see them again. Yet, she also knew that nature was sacred to Vethelans, and she wasn't yet aware of the extent of it.

Making a note in her mind to come back to them, she wandered a little further. She passed a large greenhouse filled with butterflies. Locked. As she went more down the neatly created stone trail, she found a small pond. For a moment, she paused, turning away. However, the shiny sight persisted, causing her to look back into the water. There were, in fact, gems in the water, just laying there. She gave a confused expression, debating whether or not she could get away with stealing one or two.

A quack snapped her out of her greedy thoughts, prompting her to chuckle and look up for the sight of the animal that made the noise. For a split second, she saw the flicker of white, but it wasn't a feather, as one might have expected. For a moment, its length was reminiscent of hair, the ends of which were a very light orange. However, before she could ascertain that it wasn't, in fact, a duck, goose, or swan, she was suddenly tackled to the ground.

It was not a small shove. She was practically slammed to the ground as if someone was trying to kill her. Her heart began to beat quickly, the girl jumping to her feet to find she was bleeding. An unsettling feeling washed over her as she opened her eyes, scanning the area for the bastard that pushed her. However, she saw no one. There wasn't even a scuffle, indicating someone running away. Instead, she began to shiver, rubbing her arms up and down to combat the strange coldness that was not native to Vethela. Then she heard a voice that made her knees weak.

"Stay away," it whispered near her ear, a freezing cold wind rushing over the right side of her face.

Jumping back, she turned to look who had said that, but no one was there. Instead, in the distance, she heard another quack, a strange saddened tone within the almost human-like voice. Looking back and forth, she failed to find any indication of life, including any frogs in the pond or bugs in the grass. With an urgent need to flee, she began to bolt away, her retreating form being watched from a window far above her.

"I had hoped to avoid that," a feminine voice sighed, "You were supposed to avoid that."

The Akahito's former translator trembled behind the royal in front of her. She bowed low, showing proper heed to the descendent of Ezdia, the eternal flower, but it didn't matter. The woman was unimpressed by the translator's ability to follow directions. Of course, the princess didn't expect much, but she had expected a bit more time. Unfortunately, that was never the case. No matter what she did, time would come crashing down the tracks. It didn't matter what it hit. It would keep going.

"I apologize, your highness. I had tried - "

"As have I. I have tried and I have tried, again and again, and then once more. It doesn't ever seem to work."

"You must keep trying!"

"I will. I have never been one to give up. You know that well. But, this time, it is not my actions that will make or break him."

The woman frowned at the retreating (h/c) haired girl. The matter wasn't in her hands anymore. In any future that she had seen, there was only one kind of happiness that lasted until her son's dying breath. More than that, he would live, and that was all she wanted for him, however selfish it might have been. She knew what was yet to come, and she dreaded it, but it was inherently necessary.

"She seems to like gems. I figured as much. Give her some, won't you?"

"Yes, but - "

"And keep her safe. Don't let her go below the castle. And keep her away from the maze."

As if that was possible.