Chapter 527: The Art Of Conversation

A firm believer in returning politeness with politeness, Tina smiled lightly and performed a perfect curtsy despite still wearing armour, "Greetings, Lady Dunne. I am Christina Rockwell, Twelfth Princess of the Rockwell Kingdom."

The Rockwell Kingdom’s Genuis Princess!? Norah Dunne had to work very hard not to show how shocked she was on her face. While everyone called him prince, Landon was technically just a Junior in the royal family as his mother was only a princess, not a queen.

Christina Rockwell, however, was a genuine daughter of a king, and was also famous enough that even Norah had heard of her.

As a Viscount who governed a large town on the border of the Rockwell Kingdom, she made sure to keep abreast of important developments in the neighbouring nation to the west. Christina Rockwell’s genius wasn’t exactly top priority news, but it was certainly a point of interest.

It was said that Christina was the most talented royal in the history of the Rockwell Kingdom, reaching the Core Formation Realm at the mere age of 14, and one of, if not they most beautiful blossoming flower in the South-Central Region.

Seems like, for once, the rumours weren’t exaggerated, Norah thought as she hurriedly composed herself and bowed once more, "Forgive my rudeness, Your Highness Christina."

Christina waved her hand casually, "There’s no need for apologize here, Lady Dunne. In fact, I am only here today as a Captain in the Rockwell Kingdom Army, so there is no need for you to treat me specially."

Meeting eyes with the princess of the enemy nation, Norah saw only sincerity on Christina’s face, prompting her to believe this young girl was either incredibly politically adept, or incredibly humble; quite possibly both.

Either way, Norah knew that she was now under twice as much pressure as before, entertaining two royals from two separate kingdoms; however, she wasn’t afraid, but instead excited.

After all, twice the risk, twice the potential reward!

Just as she was thinking so, Norah heard familiar footsteps behind her and flashed a proud smile, "Allow me to introduce my husband, Kapel, and my youngest son, Jasper."

Turning back, Norah shot her son a sharp look, one that contained the not-so-subtle message of ’behave yourself’, and it was a good thing she did as she could already see the light in Jasper’s eyes growing brighter when he caught sight of Christina.

After another round of introductions, Norah stepped to the side and gestured towards the inside of the Manor, "Where are my manners. Please, come inside. I’ve already instructed the kitchen to begin preparations. In the mean time, we can enjoy a few drinks on the balcony."

Landon, as the de-facto leader of the group, nodded and motioned for the Dunne Family trio to lead the way.

As they walked, Jasper Dunne struck up a conversation with the prince, talking mostly about recent military affairs in Gateway City as well as the increased patrols on the Lorren.

Landon replied only as much as was necessary to be polite as he wasn’t very sociable to begin with. Besides, he had noticed from the start that while this young man was talking to him, his eyes kept wandering to the young woman walking beside them.

Landon didn’t blame Jasper for this, nor did he call out such behaviour because he felt there was no need to. Young men staring at beautiful woman was normal, and as long as Young Master Dunne didn’t cross any lines, Prince Landon wouldn’t say anything.

Besides, Landon figured that even if he did need to intervene, it would only be to save Jasper, not Christina. He couldn’t very well let a young noble from his kingdom get butchered, no matter how much he might deserve it for overestimating himself.

As for the young woman in question, Christina was well aware of Jasper gawking at her, but she really thought nothing of it. People stared at her wherever she went, so this wasn’t anything new.

Norah Dunne, on the other hand, was feeling slightly anxious in her heart when she noticed her son’s behaviour, but she hid it well behind a mask of calm as she chatted with Commander Brock Anders, Lana Gage, and Lani Jess.

Kapel Dunne was also quite engaged in this conversation, though unlike his wife who mainly discussed politics and current events, he was more concerned with business matters. This made sense, though, as he was originally the son of a wealthy businessman.

In other words, he had married into the Dunne Family.

It was an arranged marriage that was deemed mutually beneficial to both sides, but after 40 years of being together, Norah and Kapel had gradually developed a positive relationship. They weren’t madly in love with one another, but they were satisfied with their current lives, which for lower nobles looking to climb the social ladder was better than most.

Arriving at the Manor’s balcony about 10 minutes later, the soldiers from both sides who were there only as escorts stood back and assumed a rigid posture, like statues.

At the same time, 6 officers from the Rockwell Kingdom, and 12 from the Darr Kingdom all took their seats around a pair of large, round tables together with Norah, Kapel, and Jasper.

A small team of maids and servants quickly arrived with trays of fine wines and platters of fruit, reporting that dinner would be served in roughly half-an-hour.

Commander Anders grumbled, Captain Jess bowed politely, and Captain Gage nodded flatly.

The atmosphere was a bit stiff, as one would expect when soldiers from two opposing armies sat together, but after a few glasses of wine, tongues became a bit looser and shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

The Dunne Family was naturally curious what had led to a prince and princess from the Darr and Rockwell Kingdoms traveling together, but both Landon and Christina skillfully side-stepped the question, as did all the other officers present.

Norah got the message loud-and-clear and swiftly changed the topic to lighter matters, such as the new batch of perfumes that her husband had recently acquired on a recent trip to the northern dessert tribes.

Jasper also finally couldn’t hold himself back anymore and tried to chat up Christina. He remained polite, but it was obvious to anyone that he was quite... enthusiastic.

Christina would much rather have preferred heading to the Dunne Family’s kitchen to check out how they were preparing the evening meal; after all, as an aspiring Spirit Chef, she was very interested in the food culture of other nations.

That said, there was no way as a princess and guest of honour she could make such an outrageous request, so she was forced to make small talk with the chatty Jasper.

Fortunately, Christna was adept at the art of deflection, circumlocution, and confusion, so she didn’t have any trouble running verbal circles around the young man.

Landon only said a few words here and there, but given his personality, this was already quite good, so no one made any complaints.

Finally, just as the sun was beginning to set, Head Steward Myles appeared to announce that dinner was ready.