Haru glared at the android in front of him. Sona was standing there with a stupid look on his face as he blocked the brunette from moving out of his room. Even if the male attempted to go around him, the android would move, prompting the brunette to develop a very irritable mood. Though, when he wasn't in such a mood was beyond anyone. There was always some part of him that was angry at the world around him. That day, however, it started with Sona trying to keep him in his room.

At that point, it was past ten in the morning, so Sona should have been with (Y/n), protecting her. That was the entire reason he was made, after all. Yet there he was, wordlessly blocking his creator as if he had any right to do so. For a moment, Haru thought his battery had run out, but that wouldn't have been possible. Even if Vethela prided itself on limiting its use of electricity, they still allotted more than enough for Sona to be fully charged every single morning. So, once again, the brunette wondered why the android was there in the first place, and, especially, why he was smiling like an idiot.

"It's such a mundane day," the teal-haired male chuckled, motioning to the window that had blackout curtains hanging up as per the brunette's insistence, "Shouldn't you get some more rest?"

"(Y/n) says I sleep 'too much'. Besides, I'm up now, so it doesn't matter. I'll just go see her."

"I've always wanted to learn how to play video games. Will you teach me?"

"No."

"But I admire how amazing you are at - "

The brunette ignored him, refusing to listen to his small talk. It wasn't something Haru was ever good at, and he didn't really enjoy it all that much either unless it was with his family. As such, he didn't want to be subjected to it in the comfort of his own home. And though the embassy was not his home, and, actually, the property of Vethela, if he was in it and slept in it, he classified it as his home.

"I've got a virus!" Sona exclaimed, walking quickly to keep up with the other male.

"No, you don't."

"I'm overheating!"

"No, you're not."

"I'm sad!"

"I don't care."

There was nothing the teal-haired male could say that would ever make Haru care enough to stop himself from seeing his future wife. And, unfortunately, despite Sona's best efforts, he wasn't great at coming up with lies. Or, perhaps Haru was just extra sensitive when it came to hearing them, a discerning ear allowing him to dismiss such trite. Either way, the android sulked, knowing he had failed in his mission and winced at the thought that he was about to hear the brunette start screaming.

And, as he had predicted, the male began yelling the moment he saw the elaborate lineup of people. Everyone was dressed to the nines, wearing the pristine castle uniform of Valiende, a small orchid-shaped broach on their upper right chest. That all but confirmed they were the servants of Orion Trewin, the orchid his symbol within the palace. That alone made Haru clench his fists and start screaming, telling everyone to get away from the embassy. And though they gave uneasy looks to one another, they remained, because, contrary to how it was in Echal, Haru was not the supreme power in Vethela.

The brunette, in his confusion and anger, moved to quickly wrap his arms around (Y/n)'s, possessively tugging her to him. He wanted to show the strangers that she was his and that they shouldn't bother. It was no use though. Even as he darted his eyes up pathetically, begging for her to be on his side, she was just as speechless. Half of her wanted to run away and hide, but there was no running from biology. She knew he would be back sooner or later, the image of a certain man flashing in her mind.

In his frustration and fear, Haru darted his attention back to the servants. There were a lot of them, and all of them carried something - expensive somethings. Normally, he wouldn't have been threatened by things that could be bought with money. He came from money, so it wasn't an obstacle to getting gold or gems or whatever. However, the gifts that were presented weren't expensive in the traditional sense. They were priceless because they belonged to the royal family, things with history.

One person held a painting. However, it wasn't any old painting. It was one that Haru recognized to have been painted by a great talent from the previous generation. It depicted the sight of a silvery flower, one that Sona stared at curiously. Though it wasn't necessarily a treasure, it certainly wasn't something anyone could ever buy with money. That was why the brunette glared at it, just as he did with the other gifts.

Another one was a medallion. It had the same flower engraved on its precious metal surface, along with an inscription of a language Sona also could not decipher. However, based on his understanding, it must have been the royal dialect, one that only children of the blood could learn as well as a handful of high-ranking individuals. He began to twitch. The teal-haired male wanted so badly to know what the language was like. How to speak it, how to read it, how to read it, etc. It was all so tempting, but he knew he would never have access to such information.

Then there were typical jewels, Kazuya sneering at the sight of them. He knew where they had come from and it wasn't a pleasant sight to see them flaunted about. Haru didn't like them for another reason. It didn't matter if it was plastic that was put in the royal family's hands. The value of that plastic would shoot up a hundred times the price. For gems, however, because they were so prized by the royal family, they didn't give them away so easily. If you were given one by the royal family, it was a sign that you were close with them or beloved by them.

One of the knights stepped forward in front of the servants, giving a bow. From the way he was dressed as well as the ornate sword at his hip, it was evident he was a royal guard. His ranking was enough to let anyone know that the gifts were sincere. The only reason the prince wasn't there in person was probably because he was too ill to even stand, let alone make his way across Valiende to the embassies.

"Will you reconsider, Miss Shiratori?" the man questioned, peeking up at the girl in hopes of a positive answer, "His highness wishes very much to reward you for helping him. If you were to - "

"I'll still decline," (Y/n) responded bluntly, placing her free hand on her hip.

The servants looked at one another again, confused. It was obvious why. After all, no one in Vethela would ever turn down the gratitude of a royal. Their royals were nearly deities, the descendants of a nature god, Ezdia. Turning down a gift was poor manners, almost as if one rejected the premise of the deity. However, unfortunately, the younger girl absolutely didn't believe in it. That means she didn't believe in the demi-god-like status the royal family enjoyed, and even if other foreigners thought the same, no one ever said it aloud. That was probably why they were startled and at a loss for what to do.

"As I've said," the knight started up again, getting just a bit more irritated, "these gifts are not an obligation. It is only a show of appreciation for your kindness."

"If it were for my kindness, surely his royal highness wouldn't burden someone he just met with a swarm of expensive things. And when you're delivering it to a foreign embassy...would you not agree it feels like more of a bribe?"

"His highness would never - "

"I couldn't comment on that. What I can comment on as a delegate of the embassy and a personal guest of President Akahito is that Echal will not accept any gifts."

"...This is not a gift for the ambassadors of Echal. It is specifically for - "

"The most impressionable member? Or perhaps the one with the least amount of resources?"

"...Please don't read too much into this."

The (h/c) haired girl didn't expect the servants to leave anytime soon. They had been there for half an hour already, making the same arguments about why she should take the gifts. It was clear she was not getting through to them, just making them resent her for her disrespect. She had half the mind to take the gifts and throw them in one of the ponds before their eyes. But that would only have blown up in Kazuya's face, giving a reason for his request to be rejected. Or, at least, it would have given a justifiable reason. She still fully expected them to deny the request anyway, whether she was involved or not.

"May I be the first to ask why his highness would show such generosity to my future daughter-in-law?" Kazuya asked, attempting to be polite but receiving a silent scowl from the knight regardless, "I realize she can be kind, but she's not quite used to such extravagance yet."

"Then, may I ask what you mean?"

"She's just recently joined the Akahito family, so she's not comfortable with showy displays of...gratitude. So the amount of gifts as well as the precious history of them is quite a burden to her. I believe she would be more comfortable with a simple letter of appreciation from his royal highness."

"I...shall convey that to his highness, but if you could, please accept these gifts in the meantime, Miss Shiratori."

"No."

"...The reason?"

"I don't need them. I won't take your garbage. You can leave now."

(Y/n) turned around, intent on moving inside. She fully planned on staying inside the embassy where they couldn't reach her. They could stay outside the entire day for all she cared. If they didn't want to listen to her, she wouldn't waste her breath. Haru seemed to agree with the sentiment, urging her to go back inside where only he could smother her with gifts and affection. However, before she was able to, she watched as Celith Viro moved onto the scene, running despite the heavy garments he wore.

Upon seeing her distaste for the gifts, he put his finger to his lip. He looked like he didn't understand, but, in the end, he helped her get rid of the men. First directing his attention to the knight, he pushed and pushed on him, the man confused about what to do. No one was supposed to touch the boy, especially since he was a major figure of the Sun God Sect. That was what made the knight back away, apologizing to the white-haired boy. The (h/c) haired girl twitched at that. Of course, she was ignored, but once someone else stepped in...Really, it was the story of her life.

Celith continued shooing the servants away, but by the time they realized what he was doing, despite his lack of words, it was too late. Understanding that there was nothing they could do but report back to Presley, they finally left. Still, Haru wasn't any less threatened, (Y/n) wasn't any less pissed, and Kazuya wasn't any less worried. That left Celith, the boy running back to the girl and giving a bright smile. He wanted praise.

"I guess there's no point in being mad at you for helping," she sighed, attempting to pat him on the head.

That being said, the boy dodged her touch, shivering. He then presented his own gift, holding up a caged butterfly. She stared at it for a while, motionless. In fact, the amount of time she spent staring at it must have made those around her uncomfortable. Haru nudged her, just to make sure she was alive. That was when she snapped back to reality, giving a shaky glance to the butterfly and then to the cage.

"This is for me?"

"Mm! Aura...Aureolin."

"Would you mind not calling me that? Just call me...Call me...What should you call me? What could you pronounce?"

Celith tilted his head, trying to think of what he could say. Obviously, he was not well-versed in Athainian as a language. It was easier for him to understand Vethelan, but, even then, he couldn't speak it. Rather, though he could get a little out of the royal dialect, it still wasn't notable enough to hold a conversation. After moving to Athainian, he began to hum, not really knowing many words. When he got something, joyfully, he exclaimed to her.

"Berry!"

"Well, I guess that works. Call me that."

He nodded eagerly before moving again to give her the butterfly. Hesitantly, she accepted it, but, as soon as it was in her possession, she opened the door to the cage. The small thing tried to fly away, overjoyed to be released. Yet its fate was far from such tranquility. Immediately, out of fear that she didn't like his gift, Celith moved to grab the thing out of the sky, crushing it in his desperation. He then attempted to give it to her again, but she backed away out of fear, her back stinging in pain.

As he presented the butterfly again, opening his closed fist, the sight of it made her want to throw up. It was twitching, in its final moments of life. Having been touched by the male, its right wing had been fully ripped off, the girl looking down to see ants picking it up - likely to eat. Its other wing was attached, but only the rim of the wing could be said to be in shape. The colorful pigments that filled it had been rubbed off on the white-haired boy's skin, just a small flake of it actually attached to its body. Its abdomen had been crushed, a viscous yellowish-green seeping from its body. Before she knew it, the thing had stopped twitching.

A feeling of complete fear welled up in her chest. It wasn't because she feared the white-haired boy being able to kill her. Instead, memories flooded into her head before seeping into her heart, the organ constricting in terror. She keeled over and began to throw up, attempting to do anything to get rid of the feeling. However, like a sword over her head, it persisted, afflicting her to no end. Even as Sona tried to help her, it was no use, the attack more than just physical or mental.

Celith was confused at this, taking a few steps back before a look of contrition appeared on his facial features. He looked down at the butterfly to the (h/c) haired girl, but it was no use. He didn't understand. It should have been a nice gift, yet, instead, she had rejected it. Shivering, he started to cry, running away as fast as he could. He had been rejected. And as per the tradition, he had no right to stay in her presence. A full week passed before he was able to try again, the boy doing everything he could to present himself again.3