[BL]The Hero and his Party Won't Let Me Go-Chapter 143: Ch : The Preperations

The start of the day was an awkward one for Shuu. Emperor Kaiden was busy with his duties, and the kids were playing. That meant that Shuu had some free time.

But before he could wonder how to spend it, Lady Canarie and Princess Danielle found him to ask for his opinion about the next tea party.

Their sudden presence startled Shuu, and he felt uncomfortable. But still, he was not in a position to push them away (or he did not feel like he was).

So he followed the pair to the preparation room where various catalogues were being kept for the purpose of preparing for the tea party. But his posture remained rigid, and he kept looking at the pair in front of him with vigilant eyes.

’Well, this is rather awkward. Is there any way for me to get out of this situation without drawing attention to myself?’

Shuu put the cup of tea down as he looked at the happy pair in front of him.

Princess Danielle’s sharp gaze looked over at him, but it did not stay on him for much longer. She quickly turned to look at her cousin, who was looking at the food catalogue.

Lady Canarie’s dedication to her work was commendable, but her choices were... lacking. Even Shuu, who did not have a fine eye for such things, could tell that she was not good at choosing them.

"How about... this one? The red is a little bold, but it will stand out on the dining tables. It will also match my dress for the tea party. What do you think, ex-companion Shuu? Don’t you agree with me?"

Canarie turned the catalogue toward Shuu to get his opinion, and he suddenly felt stuck.

’Should I tell her that her choice sucks? Would that make Lady Canarie unhappy? Maybe it would be better to keep my words to myself...’

Shuu’s feelings were conflicted, so he kept his mouth shut.

Luckily for Lady Canarie, Princess Danielle cared enough for her to stop her before she made a fool out of herself.

Sigh

"Canarie, have I not told you enough times not to go for such bold colors? This is supposed to be a formal tea party, so we need to go with something soft. How about we choose something else?"

Princess Danielle subtly tried to help Canarie, but Canarie only frowned.

She had grown up sheltered, and no one had ever talked to her in riddles. No one had ever asked her to change her choice either. So she was a little startled.

"Huh-! But I like red. What is wrong with it? It’s a lovely color, like Emperor Kaiden’s eyes, and we shoul-"

"If you are going to choose based on me, then go with gold instead. Shuu’s eyes are much more beautiful compared to mine, and I would rather see them instead of my own."

Emperor Kaiden entered the room, and the guards bowed to him. His presence startled the three sitting in the middle, and Lady Canarie immediately got up to give a bow to him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"E-Emperor Kaiden, it’s an honor... Are you here to meet me?"

There was not much hope in Canarie’s voice, and the onlookers felt bad for her. They looked at her, then at the Emperor, and then back with silent interest.

But Emperor Kaiden ignored her and sat beside Shuu. He did not even tell Canarie that she could relax before Shuu felt an arm sneaking around him.

Emperor Kaiden rested his face in the crook of Shuu’s shoulder before he let out a relieved sigh.

"Finally, I can breathe easier. The day felt so stuffy, and all I wanted was to run here to you. I did well, right, Shuu? Can you praise me a little bit?"

Emperor Kaiden asked, ignoring everything else around him (even Lady Canarie’s desperate glare), and he looked up at Shuu from his position.

Shuu gently patted the Emperor’s head affectionately, almost as if he were some kind of dog, and Emperor Kaiden leaned into that touch even more.

"You did a good job... but you did not cause trouble for Nero and the others, right?"

Shuu asked in a teasing voice.

Before Kaiden could whine that it was not the case, Lady Canarie smacked her hands on the table loudly.

Her eyes looked desperate, and they were swollen with tears when she looked at the pair in front of her.

"I... don’t talk to Emperor Kaiden like that. You have no idea how hard he works. You should be grateful-"

Lady Canarie’s mouth suddenly refused to move, and when she looked in front of herself, all she saw was darkness. Her whole body felt heavy and light at the same time, and it was beginning to hurt-

"Emperor Kaiden, that’s enough. Lady Canarie is just a clueless girl who does not know better. Please, forgive her this time. Shuu, you also think it is an overreaction, right?"

Danielle’s voice sounded like it was coming from across the water. Canarie wanted to reach out and tell her to take it easy...

But it was so difficult, and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and hope to never open them again...

’I want to look at Emperor Kaiden’s face-’

Canarie looked up and immediately wished she had not. Emperor Kaiden had his arms wrapped around Shuu, but his eyes were focused on Canarie.

But they were not the same soft eyes she yearned for. And the pressure she was under made her knees buckle.

At this rate, she was going to die for sure, and then-

"Kaiden, we should get going. The kids must be waiting for us to come back. I promised them I would play with them."

Shuu’s voice cut through the tension in the air, and Canarie suddenly felt like she could breathe again.

Her eyes looked at Shuu with shock and tension, and as she took a deep breath, she could not help but feel a little bitter about all this.

Unfortunately for her, Emperor Kaiden did not even pay her any attention as he left, and even when she wanted to reach for him, he did not seem to want to be touched by her.