A/N: updating once a week, guys...unless I might surprise you one day with three chapters😋! please vote, comment, follow, like, subscribe and whatnot! Sorry again for the lateness— darn you, exams! Okay, let's get them to finally see each other again.

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The princess did not exactly need a break from the war. She hopped out of bed the day after the battle, pushed her Miraculous into her earlobes and immediately told Tikki all about her fight on the field.

Marinette had explained how restricting her armour felt so she had stripped most of the metal off before the second wave, which she did not regret because she was able to fight better. She also explained how she had saved the life of Prince Adrien, the future heir to the Agreste Kingdom.

The Kwami perked up at the boy's name: Adrien Agreste. Tikki listened to every word the princess said, reacting at just the right moment. The excitement overwhelmed the Kwami, but in a good way— she would never have expected Marinette to adapt to her powers so quickly.

Marinette told Alya the same thing, the poor nursemaid gasping in horror at the story of how she had gotten the gaping wound on her chest. Marinette felt her scar nonchalantly, impressed at how fast it was healing. If she had not been Ladybug, the deepness of the cut would have caused her to die of an infection. Even the herbalist and physician of the kingdom commented on how fast it was healing, considering she had only gotten it that day.

"I honestly cannot believe that you fought on the front lines!" Alya screeched, "You could have died! And I didn't even give you a proper goodbye!"

Marinette gave her a guilty smile and replied, "I apologize, dear friend, I did not want you to worry."

Alya sighed, holding her hand to her heart, "It's alright, Marinette, I'm just so happy that you are well now. In fact, you barely needed a rest! I had expected you to sleep for a whole three days after a rough day like that."

The princess shrugged before a loud knock came from the door. She ordered the source to enter, not surprised to see the face of her cousin.

"I assume you are too tired for training this morning?" Louis asked, poking his head out from the door in fear of accidentally seeing her get dressed.

"Wide awake, actually," Marinette replied, standing up from her bed in her night gown, "I'll be ready in a moment, Cousin."

"Really?" Louis said, eyes widening, "Honestly, you inspire me, Marinette. Goodness, I would've been sleeping if I were you."

"Why aren't you?"

The soldier shook his head, "You are more important than sleep."

Alya let out a loving 'aww' while the princess rolled her eyes, standing up from her bed. Marinette assured her cousin that she would join him in training after she got dressed into the proper attire. The soldier bowed respectfully, closing the door behind him.

As Louis walked to the training room, he passed the great hall where he paused abruptly at the words 'war', 'money' and 'disaster'. The knight decided to investigate, hiding behind a large, marble pillar before listening intently to the discussion.

The Royal Chamberlain and the Constable were conversing with King Thomas about expenses of the kingdom due to the war. The king sat proudly on his throne, looking down at the worried sheep before him. They were explaining how, since the Agreste kingdom did not share the riches that were gained from the battlefield, the revenue of the castle— and the entire country of Gollieb— was decreasing gradually.

"We cannot afford to be in debt towards any other kingdoms, my lord," the Constable spoke, looking at the ground, ashamed, "and herbalist all around the country are raising their charges to heal soldiers' wounds..."

"And worst of all," the Chamberlain added, "there are rumours going around the village about a new, red heroine named Ladybug."

Louis resisted the urge to gasp. This Ladybug didn't have to do with anything related to Chat Noir did she? The guards had always been concerned whether or not they should expect a vigilante who used 'dark magic' like Chat Noir in the Dupain Kingdom.

They had not been afraid of the rumors— that there will be some resistance in sectors of the Gollieb country— at the time, because the citizens were more worried about the war. Now that the battle was over, a possible war between the kingdom and it's own people, was brewing.

However, a part of Louis had hope. Ladybug: a form of good luck, especially if one landed on you. Completely opposite to a black cat, right? Since this ladybug landed in their country, does that not mean that good fortune would fall upon the Dupain Kingdom, unlike that of the Agreste's?

Before the discussion could be dealt with in more detail, a messenger knocked loudly on the tall door. The king gave permission for him to enter and ordered, "Make it quick. We don't have time for this."

"I'm sorry to interfere, Your Majesty," the messenger apologised.

Louis surreptitiously stole a glance to the side of the pillar he was hiding behind to see the messenger holding a silver letter embroidered in a purplish wax, which looked quite familiar to him... Of course, the Agreste Kingdom! But what would they possibly be sending letters for?

"They have replied to my request?" King Thomas asked the messenger, raising his chin.

"Y-yes, Your Amazingness," the man stammered, "a group of people from the Agreste Kingdom will be visiting G-Gollieb country as an act of peace and acceptance to, uhm, make the alliance official. Your Majesty."

The king roared, "That's not what I need from the Agreste family!"

The sudden outburst made them all step back, including Louis who returned to his hiding position. The king continued, "How dare they send a handful of their parasites to our living land! We saved them all in the second wave of the battle, being supported by both the Lavillant and Kubdel Kingdoms. They started the war centuries ago, took our money, made my daughter fight for the life of their prince!"

King Thomas stood up from his seat and stormed down the set of stairs leading to the messenger. The Royal Constable cowered behind the Chamberlain in fear of being near the king— his height was like that of an ant compared to the king— and watched as the silver letter had been snatched from the messenger's hand roughly.

Louis forced himself not to look back out of curiosity because he was afraid that his uncle might look at him and soon plan something to make sure he would never speak of the news he had just heard to anyone, especially Marinette.

The messenger wanted to faint, but the paleness of his face showed that he was too afraid to even breathe or move a single muscle in his body. King Thomas made his way back to his throne and tore open the letter. He skimmed through the paragraphs for a moment until he narrowed his eyes.

"... The prince shall be joining the group..." he read aloud, slowly looking up to the three men in front of him, gears turning in his head.

The prince who told their kingdom that he would only fight on the condition that he would control the battle strategies and take all the riches from the battle to his own country. The prince who made the Dupain Kingdom come to the predicament they were in now.

"What are you thinking, Your Highness?" the Chancellor asked, having the only courage to ask a question.

King Thomas surprisingly did not tear the paper like they had expect he would. Instead, he folded the letter in a square before answering, "If we are stuck in a situation where we are losing less money than necessary, there's only one way to gain it back."

He rubbed his temples, anger slowly subsiding, "The source. If, somehow, we are able to convince Adrien Agreste to retract his contract with us about the riches from the battle..."

"And what if he refuses, Your Majesty?" the Constable asked, daring to be as brave as his acquaintance.

"Then we have no choice but to make an alliance with the Kurtzberg Kingdom... And accept Prince Nathaniel's proposal to my daughter."

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Three days later, Prince Adrien took a carriage to the Dupain Kingdom. He had been forced to go, especially since his mother was bound to the idea of him having a 'proper woman' in his company. The prince rolled his eyes at his mother's childishness.

Only one group of soldiers would be accompanying him on the journey because their kingdom wanted to show the Dupains that they truly trusted their new allies and would not need any unnecessary troops marching into the Dupain Kingdom to declare peace. Adrien and Nino were the only occupants in the carriage, however, that which the six soldiers riding on surrounding horseback, accepted the duty of protecting.

The carriage stopped abruptly before the wall that separated the Agreste and Dupain Kingdoms. Thin, rusted bars stared back at them challengingly, as if the iron of it's barrier was stronger than the iron of a sword forged for battle. Nino Lahiffe, having the responsibility of the Royal Advisor, got out of the carriage to converse with another soldier guarding the entrance.

Lahiffe had been Adrien's guide and Adviser ever since the first war. He had privileges of a worthy traveller and knew the different cultures and landscapes of the whole of Paris like the back of his hand, so Adrien's parents assigned him to help armies with territory strategies whenever they traveled across borders.

Nino had also accompanied Adrien when they had visited the Bourgeois Kingdom. Adrien respected the guide greatly after he had ordered his carriage driver to make it the top priority for the prince to get out of the Bourgeois Kingdom as quickly and as inauspiciously as possible. Ever since that day, Nino Lahiffe had remained as Adrien's chancellor.

The prince— although he would never admit it aloud— honestly enjoyed Nino's company on long journeys. He was the only person who could get away in disagreeing with him without receiving a stinging glower or a thorough punch to the face.

After Nino convinced the guard to allow their carriage to cross, the gates of the brick wall opened. Nobody from the Agreste Kingdom dared to even think about entering Gollieb country because they knew that, if they tried to cross the wall, Watchmen would feel threatened and a series of arrows would be sure to kill them. However, now that they were allies, there was technically no reason for the wall to stay standing anymore.

Adrien realized at that moment that they were probably the first carriage to cross the border in decades! The carriage passed through the open gate onto the streets of a simple and comforting village. A group of Dupain civilians stared as they entered, surprised at the sudden visit. Some children were flabbergasted at the fact that the gate could actually open.

There had been no reports to the public of his presence, Adrien realised. No messengers or harkers declared the announcement of his visit on behalf of the Dupain kingdom. He felt almost offended at the civilians' surprise. There were no roars of celebration or applause of thanks in becoming allies with them.

The prince hid his face in the carriage so that the crowd would not immediately spread the news about their past enemy entering the country. Although Adrien should not have cared whether or not his presence was known, he still disliked the thought of the Dupain people staring at him as if he were something other than an ally.

After a few minutes of bumpy riding upon brick tracks, the prince glanced out of the carriage to watch as a young girl pointed to a crafted sword through the glass window of a blacksmith's shack, begging her mother to buy it for her so that she could fight in the war just like their princess.

Many civilian woman looked up to Marinette Dupain-Cheng ever since the battle, even woman from the Agreste Kingdom. In fact, Emma could not stop asking Adrien questions about her— questions which he could not answer because he still did not know himself.

"I am guessing that you are in deep thought because of your fascination in visiting this Kingdom, Your Highness," Nino spoke opposite from him, "Or at least I hope so."

'Fascination' was definitely not a term Adrien would use to describe what his deep thoughts were truly about. He grumbled, rubbing the temple of his head, "Hope is weakness, Lahiffe."

"Actually, I beg to differ," Nino backfired, "You had hoped to win your third war and now here you are, stronger than before."

"That was luck, actually," Adrien sighed, "which I rarely have. Besides, I do not show the slightest care when I fight on the battlefield."

"It doesn't mean you don't feel it. It seems to me like you are in your own 'bubble' of denial."

The guide knew nothing of Adrien's thoughts. Fascination and strong were two cases that Adrien would have associated with advanced techniques in fighting and strategic training. Nino tended to use the wrong words at the wrong time. However, that was one of the main reasons the prince tolerated him.

Lahhiffe would use the most colloquial terms in their conversations like 'uncool', 'catty' or even 'bubble' and Adrien would not be able to stop himself from enjoying the incompetence. Never in his life would he dare use the same language style in front of anyone else besides Nino. Maybe that was why Adrien did not find him so insufferable compared to everyone else.

"There it is, Your Highness," Nino said, pointing at a grey-and-white palace which was almost as big as the Agreste palace, "the place you'll be staying for the next few days. Make yourself at home."

* * *

Adrien walked into the Dupain palace with a strange nervousness. The kingdom had a pull on him somehow, drawing him closer. The porter stood at the entrance with a shocked stare. He was not expecting the prince of Agreste Kingdom to arrive so soon.

"Prince Adrien," the porter bowed, "it's an honour to have you visiting us for a few days. We are more than thankful for your presence."

Adrien did not have time to say a single word back as Nino guided him into the Dupain castle. He noticed that his heartbeat kept feeling a bit off once and again, but it was probably because he had realized that some of the Dupain civilians still thought of him as a threat.

"Are you alright, Adrien," Nino asked, placing a calming hand on his shoulder.

Adrien froze at the contact and shook the chancellor's hand away from his body. He sneered, "I'd be fantastic if you kept at a distance."

Nino obliged, immediately tucking his hands behind his back. Adrien glowered at him, mentally trying to decide whether or not he regretted that action, although the prince had made it quite clear from the beginning that he did not like to be touched.

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Marinette gaped at her cousin in shock the second he had told her about the discussion between her father and the Chancellor and Constable of the kingdom. An arranged marriage with Prince Nathaniel? As in the the boy who made a beautiful portrait of her out of rose petals on a table? Marinette knew that he had had a small infatuation with her, but this was going a bit too far.

Marinette was walking to the grand hall, three days after that uncomfortable talk with Louis during their training. She thought best about her situations by just pacing up and down around the castle sometimes.

Besides, she was a role model, not only to women, but of her entire country. It would be as if saying she had betrayed them. Their country did not have enough money so they had to go far enough as to keep an arranged marriage as part of their options in gaining more income. From a warrior to a used tool.

Prince Nathaniel. Marriage proposal. Forced. The princess could not think of anything else besides what restrictions she would have to go through after her so-called wedding. Her father had not even directly spoken to her about it yet!

Louis also mentioned something about Ladybug and a group of Agreste people... Marinette's attention diverted after Ladybug because she was too busy engrossed in her thoughts about her being in an actual, arranged marriage.

The princess was not ready to marry yet. She might have been the appropriate age to do so, but she had never experienced love for a man before... Not in a romantic sense. There was absolutely no way, not in a million years (she vowed upon the stars) that Marinette was ever going to fall in love with a stranger—

"Ooph," she grunted, bumping into a hard surface once she turned a corner in one of the corridors.

Then a male voice spoke, making her freeze in place at the familiarity of his tone, "Will you at least try to watch where you are goin—?"

The princess looked up at him immediately, widening her eyes in surprise at the sight of Prince Adrien himself. He inhaled a sharp breath before and saying, "Princess Marinette... We meet again."

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A/N: looong chapter, I know. I'm honestly thinking of just adding the word count at the bottom. What did you guys think of the chapter?
Nathaniette or nah?
Excited for DJWifi?
Or 'Ugh, just get to the 'real action' already!'?
Let me know in the comments👍 Spots on!