Misunderstandings

Julian woke up without Romeo around him. This made him panic as he remembered everything in his dream. The chaotic state of the throne room, the dead bodies, and the bloodied sword that Romeo was holding. Everything was all coming back to him.

"No," Julian whispered. He tried covering his head as tight as he could, trying to get rid of the memory. "Please, stop!"

"Baby," a soft yet deep voice whispered right beside him. "Baby, calm down."

Without hesitation, Julian sprung from his bed and into the man's arms. "Romeo, I'm so scared."

"Shh," Romeo tried to calm Julian down. He was gently caressing the prince's back, letting Julian sob in his chest. "It was all a dream. That person in the black cloak must've messed with our minds. There's no other explanation."

"Really?" Julian asked. "A-Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," Romeo whispered. "I love you."

Julian blushed after it dawned him that their position wasn't appropriate. He was sitting on Romeo's lap while his head was buried on the larger man's chest. "I-I…"

When Julian was about to pull away, Romeo pulled him back. "Please, let's stay like this until you're calmed down."

Julian scoffed and conjured a black mist around them. "I am pretty calm, thank you very much."

The black mist was a muscle calming spell that allows Julian to subdue his target. This seemed to be less effective on Romeo, because while the others would instantly drop to the ground, Romeo only loosened his grip on him.

When Julian finally broke free from the man's grasp, he calmed down and cleared his throat. He knew his entire head was red from the heat that was coming out of his cheeks, but he pretended that nothing happened. "Y-You're here."

"I got permission from King Belmont and Queen Diana," Romeo replied. "They said that it was only natural for us to see each other often. And I agree, don't you think?"

"Nothing is set in stone," Julian said. "And my parents are such traitors. They keep making me date people. I hate dating people. It's suffocating."

Before Julian could even think of his words, they already came out. His eyes widened and he immediately spun to where Romeo was. The man was already standing, head bowed down in shame.

"Am I…" Romeo trailed off, trying to gather the courage to say the words. "Am I suffocating you?"

"No, your majesty, it's not like that," Julian tried to reason, but Romeo was already on his way to the door. "Please, I–"

"I will keep my distance from now on," Romeo said. It looked like all the life in his eyes had vanished, like his body was only a shell without a trace of his soul. "I'll see you when our parents wants us to meet."

The door was closed gently, but right on Julian's face. He too was also frozen in shock. He didn't expect for things to come out that way. Words that he didn't mean, and excuses that he didn't think through.

The prince fell back to his bed. "What the hell just happened?"

–

"Finally, it's the time to pick the contestants for the upcoming Solar Festival," Cynthia announced. "For the group battle royale, our representative will be the Godless Ripple, they are composed with Princess Gill, Lord Lee, Lord Damian, and Count Alvian."

The class clapped as Gill and her team stood in front of the class. They were going to be the ones who will join the group battle royale, which is a competition where they would fight with other teams from other classes in a staged stadium.

To balance out the power that the seniors have, they will wear limiters just so their power levels would mach the first years. The academy thinks that this was a great way to challenge both the seniors and juniors.

It was a challenge for the seniors because they would be fighting without their full potential. They will adjust to the newly changed damage output or area of effect they have. For the juniors on the other hand, they will fight agaisnt magic users who have longer periods of training than they had.

Even when the seniors wore limiters, they were still experienced in this field, so this was still a hindrance for the juniors.

Cynthia announced the other participants for other contests. There were mile racing, boat driving, and many different more that would showcase the ability of the students to improvise and think outside the box.

"You know," Gill said as she sat back on her chair. "You could be the participant for the Solar King."

"What?" Julian asked. "No way."

"Yes way," Lee butted in. Cynthia left the class with one more event still blank. The competition for the Solar King and Queen.

It was basically a beauty pageant. Although a slight twist because the students were required to perform their magic as their talent, but basically, it was a beauty pageant.

"I'm not good with standing in front of a crowd," Julian said while scratching his nape to hide his embarrassment. "I don't know how to do it."

"Nevermind," a female voice spoke behind Gill. She was a beautiful girl with long curly blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes. "I got the Solar Queen role and my partner is going to be Clyde."

"Princess Sandy," Gill smiled fakely. "Why are you interrupting our conversation? You're not part of it."

"True," Lee added, smirking and shaking his head. "There are only three of us, not four."

This made Sandy scoff. "Whatever. I'm just telling you that it's too late for you to enter. We will go and win the crown, okay? Okay. Nice."

The girl left, leaving the three friends stare at her while he returned to her chair. When she felt their intense gazes, she looked at them and smiled, then rolled her eyes.

"Princess Sandy of Orion," Lee said. "Massive beauty, but massive b*tch vibes. I hate her."

"Same," Gill said, raising her hand as if she was preaching. "Same, brother. I hate her with all of my existence too."

"I don't know," Allen said. "Maybe she's just sad."

"And you're too kind," Gill said. She wrapped her arm around Julian's neck and playfully cracked it. "Take this!"

"No!" Julian laughed loudly. "Lee, help!"

"Okay, I'm coming!" Lee yelled. He ran up to Julian and instead of helping the poor prince, Lee tickled his sides, making Julian laugh and snort uncontrollably.

"Stop!" Julian cried as he laughed. "Please, no! Gill, stop! Lee!"

The door was slammed open, silencing everyone. Right on the doorway were Romeo and Gabriel, both panting as they entered the room and went straight to Julian's direction.

"Oh, hello," Gill grinned. "What is King Romeo doing here? And brother, why are you here?"

"I heard someone asking for help," Romeo said. He was yet to make eye contact with Romeo. When their eyes would almost meet, he would avoid it.

"Me too," Gabriel said. "But now that's everything is okay, I'll leave."

The two of them walked out of the classroom, leaving everyone inside in a state of shock. Julian sighed and laid his head on his desk. "Romeo must surely hate me."