Orion was very happy to provide the idea for his and (Y/n)'s first date. He treated her like a princess for obvious reasons, but, in practice, he was still the one being most pampered. Nonetheless, he even saw to it that she was well protected. A great deal of the elite king's guards all rode alongside them as they went into town. Presley orchestrated their movements rigidly, ensuring the royal family's dignity.

And though the older girl wasn't entirely thrilled about having the coral-haired man around, she did very much enjoy using it to her advantage. The man would peek inside of the carriage every now and then, giving a scowl. For the most part, the orange-haired male was already clinging onto her, but she liked to steal a kiss or two just to annoy the knight. It was only right that she punished him. If he hadn't been looking in his master's personal space, he wouldn't have been in a foul mood.

It wasn't all that shocking that people stopped and stared at the carriage. Oddly enough, they never got close nor swarmed them despite their obsession with their monarchs. Instead, some of them chose to bow low to the ground whereas others, mainly children, shouted out for the prince to wave at them. Orion was too shy but he clearly wanted to. Thus, (Y/n) chose to lean out and wave.

People gossiped. They were always gossiping. This time, it was about her in such an intimate pose with the prince. Moreover, some also read into her taking the royal responsibility to greet the people. It was, to them, like she was definitively to be their next queen. Many had mixed feelings, especially since they knew of her background with Haru Akahito. Nonetheless, the children were delighted over this prospect, their eyes sparkling at the sight of the soon-to-be royal.

Valiende was a beautiful city. It really was. Not only were there countless trees and much greenery, but there were canals of water and ponds everywhere. There was even a massive river - one of the largest in the world - that ran through the city. It was there that they exited the carriage. A large, flat boat was waiting for them on the pristine banks. It looked more like a room without walls considering the fact that it had luxurious furniture resting on it, including a rug and curtains.

"My grandmother loved boating," the male giggled, tugging her excitedly to the water, "Her and grandfather would go every Saturday. They never missed a single time. Isn't that sweet?"

The boat was incredibly luxurious. The couches were soft and plush while the decor was unnecessary, but, still, it was nice. As the two sat down, Orion was quick to lay in her lap, only shyly glancing up for permission afterwards. Obviously, she let him stay there, the male giggling. For a while, they didn't do much at all. Rather, as they started floating down the tame river, they glanced out at the scenery.

The outing gave the older girl another glance of how stunning the country was. Even though they were still in the heart of the country's capital, the houses did not detract from the beauty. On the contrary, it seemed their only purpose was to harbor the gorgeous vines and plants that grew off of them. Apparently, it was normal for Vethelan housing to host plants. The buildings were all made of a special material that fostered plant life. It was very important to the Vethelans that they lived with nature; so much so that the palace and most temples were the only building that wasn't made out of the same material.

There was clean air, clean water, and a clean atmosphere everywhere. She took in a deep breath and leaned back, closing her eyes. It was nice to be home. Though she didn't think she would ever want to stay, now she couldn't think of leaving. As she opened her eyes, she glanced in the direction of Syraph, only to be unable to catch a glimpse of it. She was uncertain if that was a good thing or not, considering the mountain still sheltered her despite the bad memories it held. The girl frowned.

"(Y/n)," Orion peeped up, "Actually, I was really excited to go out today."

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to do this every week, just like my grandparents. Don't you think that would be nice?"

"Every week?"

"Mhm. They did it since they started dating, and they did it until the last week of their lives."

"Both of their lives? Did they pass away at the same time?"

"That's right. The same day, even," the orange-haired male blushed, holding onto the girl's hand and bringing it close to his heart, "Grandmother passed away first. She was in a car crash a few years before that but she never really recovered. And grandfather...he followed tradition."

Orion seemed to be in a giggly mood, thinking about it. Though it was odd, considering he was talking about his family's deaths, she wouldn't have known anything about grandparents. Still, he playfully sat up and pushed his forehead onto hers. In return, she demanded a kiss, the boy following her lead and flushing. As they parted, he gave her another bright smile, letting out a satisfied sigh and leaning on her shoulder.

"They loved each other so much that grandfather couldn't go on without her."

"That's sweet. He must have died of heartache."

"Mm? No. Since he was the king consort, he followed her to paradise to be with our eternal flower, Ezdia. I was given the chance to watch. It was so romantic."

A pause.

"You watched your grandfather...kill himself?"

"No! Of course not! I watched him promise his love eternally. On the day grandmother passed away, we held a sacred ceremony. He wore a very, very special outfit and the crown she made just for him. And then he drank the roots of the Ezdan flower while he knelt in front of her. And then he joined her in paradise."

"He drank poison."

"No! Ezdan is a sacred flower! The roots symbolize the interconnectedness of life. By drinking a special liquid made from them, he was able to find her in the labyrinth of the afterlife and join her in paradise."

It didn't matter how Orion phrased it. His grandfather killed himself to be with his dead wife. Whether it was out of heartbreak or he was compelled, the fact remained that he committed suicide, and, yet, the orange-haired boy thought of it so sweetly. Even when she looked up to see the servants and guards who had listened in on the conversation, they gave innocent smiles. The only one that seemed to differ was Presley, who was obviously forcing himself to smile. Then a shiver ran down her spine.

"You said it was tradition."

"That's right!" the male blushed, leaning more onto her, "Ezdia and the Sun God loved each other so much that they created Ezdan out of their love. They drank it to swear to each other their eternal love. They're gods, so it only connected them at their souls, but when our human consorts drink Ezdan, because of their impurities, they end up passing away. But it also helps guide them to paradise."

"But - "

"It really is romantic, (Y/n). Every couple in the royal family did this when their time came. Some of them were scared, but we just had to let them know it was painless and blissful. They all drank in the end. And when my mother ascends to paradise, my father will drink Ezdan, too, to prove how much he loves her."

"Cadmus will - "

"That's what makes me so happy. All the nobles thought Ezdia abandoned me to die, so no one wanted to marry me. Grandmother tried and tried to have an arranged marriage for me, but not a single person wanted me. But then you came! I was so afraid I would have to die alone. But now we'll get married and you'll be my queen consort. We'll have a long and happy life and have children and then, when I die, you'll drink Ezdan and come with me to paradise!"

The older girl stumbled out of the couch, wide eyes fixated on the very serious prince in front of her. He gave a strange look to her, asking purely if she was alright. However, she could only flinch away from him when he tried to check on her. What? So, if he died, she was expected to drink poison to follow him? That was insane. After everything she had done to preserve her pathetic life, she was going to be forced to give it up? No.

"Are you boat sick, (Y/n)?" Orion panicked, "I-I can help! I'm sure we have medicine, so - "

"No! No, I'm fine. Fine, see?" the girl grinned nervously, pointing to her smile.

"Oh, I'm glad. I was really worried for a second!" A pause as the male gave an unnerving chuckle. "I'm really happy I could tell you about this. Actually, I wasn't supposed to tell you until we got married, but...well, I just wanted you to be as excited as me! You are excited, right? I can't tell 'cuz you're being quiet."

"No, I just have questions. I mean, if I die first, do you do the same thing?"

"What are you talking about? I'm Ezdia's descendant, silly. Ezdan wouldn't do anything to me since I'm a god."

"Oh. That's fascinating."

"Your highness," the coral-haired knight stepped up, giving a concerned expression, "You're coming on a bit strong. I think you should ease back on - "

"Oh!" Orion beamed, hugging the knight happily, "According to tradition, our playmates come with us, too. But Ezdan is only for lovers, so, instead, he'll perform the giving ceremony. In gratitude for his life, he'll give it back to the royal family. And, to reward his loyalty, he gets to come with me to paradise."

Presley shivered. First it would be his eyes. As he was given the gift of sight from his goddess, he will return it by gouging them out with his own hands. Then it would be his ears. Since he was given the gift of hearing from the goddess, he will return it by stabbing knives into both ears. After, it would be his nose. Because he was given the gift of smell from the goddess, he will return it by lacerating the organ from his body. And then it would his tongue. Due to the fact he was given the gift of taste from the goddess, he will return it by slicing out the lump of flesh. Finally, it would be his hands. So too was he given the gift of touch from the goddess, and so too will he return it as his hands will be cleaved from his body.

The playmate was granted this majestic blessing; the most honorable death. His final giving would be to return the gift of life to the goddess, of which he would pay with his blood. In the first place, in order to become the playmate of the prince, he drank his blood. Thus, it was a small price to pay. Every single playmate did the same, even if they were on poor terms with the prince they served. But Presley was different. In the history of Vethela, he was the only one to have drunk the blood of two princes.

"Why?" (Y/n) eked out, trying to maintain a neutral tone.

"Because he belongs to me. Just like Akari belongs to Rei and Keane belongs to Ichiro. 'Course Keane hates Ichi and Ichi hates Keane, but...he's still Ichi's."

Though she would have liked to note that Orion's obsession with Viasti came out of nowhere, it was anything but. From the very beginning, he had only seen the world through his goddess. He was the Oracle's son, the descendant of their premiere goddess, and had the love and adoration of all of his people. Why wouldn't he have believed it? She thought it would be fine. After all, he was obedient enough and eager to please, but his common sense was not the same as hers. Their kind never was very good at "common sense".

"(Y/n)," Orion blushed, shyly darting his eyes back over to the couch, "Can we start cuddling again? If you'd like, we can play some games, but...I have to uphold my end of the deal, right?"

"No, thank you."

"But you said you wanted to go on a date."

"Yeah, and it was fun; just - I think we should go back to the palace now."

"Hm? How come? I thought we would enjoy our date a little longer."

"Yeah, I would, I just...I have to talk to Haru about something."

"You...broke up with Mister Haru. You're my lover now. We made a deal, remember? You don't need to talk to him."

"Well, I just have to talk to him about my things. I accidentally left my favorite - "

"Ah! That's no problem! Faunus can grab everything for you. No need to talk to him."

"S-Sure! That would be nice. But I also have to talk to Kazuya about the whole war-on-Umayena thing. It's important, so we should go back right now."

"Kazuya...?"

Orion narrowed his eyes, displeased with the mention of the man. He knew it wasn't a romantic attraction she had for the man or anything. Rather, it was obvious she thought of him as a father figure. But it still rubbed him the wrong way. She was still attached to the father of her ex-lover, more than she was to his own father. The prince wanted her to be that way with his father instead. After all, she was the one that brought them together, so it was only right they be a family together. And, yet, the brown-haired man was upshowing Cadmus.

All of a sudden, a large splash came from the water, to which the older girl immediately ran. She was perhaps not as surprised as someone else might have been, especially since she recalled a conversation with Orion the previous day. The girl had only been teasing him lovingly but he must not have understood it in the end since Atlas now lay in the river, flailing in pain. And though everyone moved to the side of the boat he had fallen from, not a single one made any attempts to rescue him.

On a hunch, she decided to look closer at the servant's skin, only to note the strange discoloration. He had been poisoned. And judging from the fact that no one made any attempt to save him and Orion merely clung to her in an emotion he tried to pass off as fear, the prince ordered it. He felt threatened, she supposed, and decided it was better to remove the possibility of her being stolen away from him than to risk the minimal chance. Normally, she would have been delighted to see his progress in his dedication for her. But Orion was not like the others.

It was there that she realized it. One of the reasons she had passed over the prince before was because he was physically weak. He wouldn't have been able to protect himself let alone fight for what she wanted. And yet, she neglected his sway over people. He had an entire nation of pawns ready to die for him, commit murder, arson, vandalism, assault, etc. just because he shed a tear or flashed a smile. He didn't have to lift a finger to get things his way. This was the proof.

As Atlas began drowning to death, she watched, eyes glossed over and body stiff. Orion had taken the opportunity to cling on to her, weeping that he was frightened. Of course, that was a lie since he kept his eyes open, watching to make sure everything was going as he wanted. Presley, too, did what he could to keep everyone in line. Though there were some that seemed like they wanted to risk jumping in to save the poor soul, one stern look from the captain of the guard or one teary glance from the prince was all it took to change their mind. If it was like that, she was in danger, too.

"You know," she paused, biting down on her lip, "with everything going on right now, I thought you would need as much help as you can get. Politics is messy, but, luckily, for you, I've got lots of connections. Won't you let me help you?"

The prince flushed at the thought that she wanted to help him. And while he didn't want the date to cut short, he did understand it was best to get the matters of Umayena and Echal out of the way. The first country was obnoxious now that (Y/n) noted her clear dislike of it, and the second, should things be resolved, would have their ambassadors leave. That meant Haru and Kazuya would go far, far away forever. And then they could have all the dates they could possibly want.

"Of course," he smiled, adjusting his facial expression when he remembered Atlas was supposed to be tragically dying.

No one made any mention of Atlas before they set off. In fact, his floating body remained in the river as he finally went limp. No one bothered to collect him either. It would likely sit there until the corpse bloated and maggots came to eat him from the inside-out. And he would be easily forgotten, too. Moreover, before anyone would know it, he would be replaced. She had to be careful the same wouldn't happen to her.

Orion, on the other hand, attempted to act as though he had lost someone close to him while also trying to distance the issue. Clearly, he had never intended for his servant to fall into the water but to die quietly on the other side of the boat. He was just happy (Y/n) wasn't questioning it and (Y/n) was just happy he wasn't questioning why that was. Luckily, Orion was not very smart; something she could use to her advantage.