"DID YOU CHEAT?"...

"does it look like I did?", aisa scoffed.

     "nevertheless, it's truly a feat to be able to get chosen as first pick unanimously", hironobu smiled, trying to ease the tension between his older sister and brother.

     "maybe it's because sister aisa showed them what she could do at night, ya know?", rishi chimed in, causing the knights to all choke on air.

     "rishi!! don't say that!", hirotada reprimanded.

     "why not?? it's a good thing! sister aisa's the strongest during the nig—"

     the second prince covered rishi's mouth, as she childishly licked his palm, causing him to gag.

     "you're disgusting!"

     "I'm not a mirror, for your information", rishi combated.

     "you—"

     "rishi, tada, quit bickering and sit back down", akishino stated.

     "and aisa, hurry up and make a decision".

the blonde princess sighed, as she displayed a small pout.

     "I'm so honored that you all wish to serve me, however, now's not the time. and as for my decision..."

     hayama thickly swallowed his saliva, as his anxiousness puddled in his stomach.

     mibuchi and kiyoshi seemed to both have a gut feeling that they wouldn't be chosen, as nebuya secretly prayed that aisa would pick him.

     after all, his type was a dominant woman, and aisa had fit the description all too well.

     "hanamiya", aisa called out, waving for him to near her.

     all of aisa's siblings nearly slipped out of their seats.

     "HANAMIYA?!", hirotada shouted.

     "SISTER AISA, ARE YOU SURE?!", rishi questioned.

     "ehhh, really? I heard he's meaner than kuro-chin's boiled eggs", murasakibara commented, causing aoimine and kise to snort.

     "why's everyone so surprised? I like hanamiya", aisa smiled.

     meanwhile hanamiya kneeled before aisa, also planting a kiss on the back of her hand, he had slyly sent akashi a smirk.

     "he's mean!!", rishi stated.

     "he called me ugly!", she whined.

     "and he tripped the maid, causing her to drop the plate of drinks, while nobu and I were heading towards the library!", hirotada exposed.

     "I heard that he even dared to indirectly insult brother aki's stern expressions", hironobu whispered.

     "oh? is that true, hanamiya?", aisa asked, casting her gaze down towards the still kneeling knight.

the dark-haired man's expression held no remorse nor embarrassment.

"well, I had to make sure that your highness was the only one that wanted me", hanamiya smoothly lied.

"and I hope that your highness isn't planning on retracting her decision. after all, I'd be very hurt if you did that", the captain of kirisaki daiichi mumbled, feigning dejection.

"like hell you will, nanodayo", midorima muttered with a scoff.

the past five days being stuck with hanamiya was almost like hell. not only were his insults unbearable, but the amount of disrespect he held towards each and every one of the royals was despicable.

yet for some reason, he seemed to behave better when in the presence of aisa.

"of course not! you're my first pick for a reason", aisa lightly chuckled, as rishi and hirotada wondered if their sister has finally gone mad.

"well whatever! you're just sabotaging your own chances of being the next head of the kitani empire", hirotada shrugged.

"oh, I don't think so", aisa confidently replied, the tip of her fingers tickling hanamiya's jawline.

"there's a reason each and every single one of them are nicknamed the uncrowned generals. however, that's enough about my supposed horrid decision. the rest is up to you guys. I'll be leaving first", aisa stated, excusing herself, as akashi and hanamiya followed.

as the three reached aisa's personal little garden, she had grabbed a wooden box from her usual white table that was filled with snacks, assam tea, and a stack of novels.

sitting on her personalized bed swing that was decorated with light golden silk sheets and matching pillows, she had commanded for her new pet—knights to kneel before her.

     "I have actually prepared something for you both", aisa stated, as she carefully opened the rectangular box.

     hanamiya raised a brow, as akashi's interest also perked.

     aisa then brought out two black velvet chokers, holding one in each hand, as they both had a ruby pendant dangling from the center.

the blonde princess then dangled the two chokers in front of akashi and hanamiya.

"wear these at all times to show that you both belong to me. if you can't do it, then go back to the main room. I'll gladly switch either of you out", aisa seriously stated.

hanamiya's eyes ever so slightly squinted in hesitation, as he watched akashi swallow his pride and calmly take the choker from aisa's right hand.

"thank you for the gift, your highness", akashi stated, fixing the collar-like necklace around his neck.

"didn't you say that you only wished to serve me, hanamiya? now's your chance to show off that you're mine and mine only", aisa fake smiled, even going as far as to helping the dark-haired man put his on.

a lump of doubt was stuck in hanamiya's throat, as he wondered whether this was actually a good idea or not.

perhaps he had miscalculated the true nature of the first princess, although a part of him felt a spark of excitement ignite.

"now would you look at that!", aisa laughed, straightening her posture, as her hands each cupped one side of the men's faces.

     "you two look like such good boys", she praised.

     hanamiya nearly choked on his saliva, as he felt a shiver slither down his spine. akashi maintained his usual stoic face, but deep inside, he was burning with ignominy.

     'I will make her and father pay once this is all over', he internally swore to himself.

     "SISTER AISA!!"

     aisa hastily released both of her knights, as she displayed her usual cheerful smile.

     "rishi! what brings you here? don't you have morning classes?", aisa asked, as akashi and hanamiya slowly rose from their kneeling position.

     "it's only etiquette class that I'm missing! and plus, mura said that he wanted to come eat some of your snacks", rishi explained.

     "murasakibara and hayama, why don't you both go help yourselves over there? and rishi, you know that brother aki's going to reprimand you for missing class again", aisa stated.

     "he won't do anything. he'll just talk my ears off for a few hours and then let me go once I start tearing up in front of him", rishi shrugged.

"smart", aisa chuckled, ruffling her sister's hair.

"anyways, I heard—"

"OI, MURASAKIBARA! YOU'RE GETTING FOOD ALL OVER YOUR FACE AND HAIR! HOW DOES SOMEONE EVEN EAT THAT MESSILY?!", hayama yelled in disbelief.

     "did I ask?", murasakibara huffed, as his eyes had made contact with aisa's for a split second, before he snapped his head back around.

     aisa raised a brow in confusion until she saw a hair tie around the purple-haired male's wrist, causing her to snicker.

     "sister aisa, what's so funny?", rishi asked, scratching her head, as she watched aisa approach murasakibara, almost scaring him with her silent footsteps.

     "murasakibara, may I borrow your hair tie please?", aisa softly asked.

"mhm".

as aisa pulled murasakibara's hair back, hayama dropped his croissant in shock, to which akashi was fuming even more.

'dear kurieitā, does this woman just openly flirt with anyone and everyone?'

"there! now you won't have to worry about getting your hair even grimier. after all, it'd be a shame to dirty such beautiful hair", aisa smiled, causing murasakibara to only nod in agreement.

     hayama watched the whole interaction happen as he snorted at the purple-haired knight's slight awestruck expression.

     though the blonde knight then flinched, as he felt a menacing aura radiating off his captain; who was glaring at murasakibara and aisa.

     "and you too, hayama. although you claim that murasakibara eats messily, I certainly can't tell if you're any better than him", aisa teased, taking a napkin and wiping the corners of hayama's mouth, as that action had caused him to paralyze.

     part of him was happy that a pretty lady was taking care of him, but another part of him could feel akashi's stare blazing into his skull and threatening to crush it.

     "t-t-thanks", hayama stuttered out, as he just pretended that he couldn't see akashi's bloody red eyes.

     "of course", aisa replied, as she grabbed a book that was suitable for children, just in case rishi was interested in joining her.

"can I read with you?", rishi asked, flopping onto the bed swing, as aisa obviously agreed.

"only if you read it out loud though", aisa stated, as this was a way of getting her younger sister to improve on her literacy skills.

"ugh! but I like listening to you read", the brown-haired girl pouted.

"how about this, we'll switch off every chapter. I'll go first", aisa said, as she flipped open to the prologue.

rishi excitedly snuggled against aisa, as the woman elegantly read to her younger sister, who wasn't the only person enjoying the story.

hayama — who was almost never quiet — and murasakibara had tuned in, as akashi and hanamiya experienced flashbacks of reading this novel as a young child.

"...as she had set out to go seek for her biological parents, lilth's dog — benny — followed along, wagging his tag in the process".

"why would she bring her dog though? wouldn't that be a hin...hindrance to her?", rishi interrupted.

"and did I use that word correctly?", she excitedly asked.

"you did", aisa proudly confirmed. "and who knows? perhaps it's because benny makes a good companion".

"I see...well then, please continue", rishi politely stated.

as the two switched off on who read out loud, morning had finally came to an end, bringing them to lunch time.

"sister aisa, we're here to escort you to lunch", hironobu bowed, as hirotada was still catching his breath.

"oh? what's the occasion?", aisa asked, tilting her head to the side, as rishi hopped off the comfortable swing.

the blonde princess had then noticed that her youngest brothers had chosen mibuchi and nebuya as their personal knights, which meant that akishino was left with kiyoshi.

"nothing really, it's just that father, mother naora, and mother mitsuyo will be present", hironobu answered.

"so something special is happening", aisa mused, standing up, as she had promptly shut the book.

"do you think it's going to be another trial?! we haven't had one of those in a while!!", rishi exclaimed.

"I sure hope so! I've been training hard for this past month!", hirotada proclaimed.

aisa just half-shrugged.

"we'll see once we get there. after all, nothing good ever comes out of full family meals", aisa said, muttering the last part beneath her breath.

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EVIL
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