Paulina, the Queen Consort, pulled away from Adrien. Her lips pouted cutely in a way that showed she wasn’t truly angry. "You act as though there is something wrong with showing such physical interactions among family." She then turned back to Adrien. "And I guess you are now part of the family seeing as you are the one my son has chosen."

Adrien felt his heart twist at hearing her words. It seemed as if Mikyle’s mother was willing to accept him even if she didn’t approve of him.

"Mother." Mikyle’s words were surprisingly sharp and he even scooted a step closer to Mikyle.

"Paulina, dear. Your words are being taken the wrong way," chided the Queen Regent.

The Queen Consort gasped and a hand flew to her mouth. "I didn’t mean it that way, I promise," she apologized to Adrien. "I’m still just surprised that Kyle had decided to be in a relationship. I was afraid he would decide to live alone for the rest of his life. He is stubborn like that."

The Queen Consort’s words pulled laughter out of both the Queen Regent and Lianna.

"He is quite stubborn," Lianna commented, her lips quivering as her laughter died down.

"He is," agreed the Queen Regent. "But what is so surprising about this relationship? Adrien dear is as adorable as a kitten, so of course Mikyle would be interested in him."

Adrien felt himself flush with embarrassment. He hadn’t expected to hear a conversation quite like this, nor for him to be the center of that conversation. And he especially hadn’t expected to be called cute or adorable in such a short span of time by anyone other than Mikyle.

"Now, now," Mikyle chuckled, his expression showing just how amusing he found their current situation, "you are embarrassing my little kitten."

"Mikyle!" Adrien hissed automatically when he heard the way Mikyle had called him. This reaction caused everyone in the room to burst into another round of laughter.

Queen Paulina placed one hand on Adrien’s free hand and placed her other hand on his shoulder in a way that showed familiarity. She then guided him to the table. "You’ll have to become used to this if you wish to fit in with our family. Sarina and Kyle have a way of embarrassing one in their own unique way."

"Why must you say it that way? We are simply teasing him good-naturedly," the Queen Regent defended herself with a smile.

"Hmm. She’s correct. We are merely showing our love."

Adrien found himself holding back a blush when he heard Mikyle’s words. He knew very well just how far Mikyle could take his teasing.

Mikyle and the Queen Regent joined them at the table. Mikyle naturally slid into the empty seat beside Adrien, earning a smirk from Queen Sarina.

"Is that a gift for us?" Queen Sarina asked, pointing her fan at the box of sweets that Adrien had set down on the table.

He had been unsure of how to give them the gifts and was happy when the Queen Regent brought it up first. "They are. It’s not much, but I had been told that it’s something that all three of you enjoy."

"Well, go on. Open it and show us what you brought."

Adrien was momentarily taken aback by the Queen Regent. Something about the way she spoke somehow seemed different, or at least, more carefree than how the other women spoke. Not that Adrien had interacted with many noble women in the short time he had been in this world.

He mentally shook away his concerns and stood up. After opening the box, he carefully took out the cakes from within.

"Oh, I thought I had recognized that packaging," commented the Queen Regent.

The Queen Consort tapped the tips of her fingertips together once, her expression morphing into one of giddy excitement. "Ooh! How marvelous. We so do enjoy cakes such as these."

A servant, who seamlessly blended into the background, stepped forward. "Allow me." She then took the cakes and plated them neatly on the porcelain plates that had already been placed on the table.

After each of the sweet treats were plated, the servant placed the plated cakes in the center of the table where everyone could easily reach them. "Would you like some tea?" She asked after standing up straight with her hands folded in front of her.

"Yes. Most of these cakes are chocolate based, so maybe a rose tea."

The Queen Consort nodded along to the Queen Regent’s suggestion. "That sounds lovely." She then turned her large blue eyes onto the three younger ones with them. "How does that sound?"

"I happen to enjoy that kind of tea," commented Lianna.

"Is rose tea any good?" Adrien couldn’t help but asked. His experience in drinking tea was limited to the kind with subtle flavors such as chamomile and orange tea.

"It might be a bit strong for you," Mikyle commented, already knowing Adrien’s preferences. Without looking at the servant, he spoke. "Prepare a second tea that’s light yet flavourful. One that is citrus or something similar should work. Will that do?."

"Yea‐yes." For some reason, Adrien felt weird on the inside when he saw how Mikyle treated the servant. It wasn’t a bad kind of weird like he thought it would be since his soul came from modern-day South Korea, but a strange kind of weird that made his stomach quiver. Okay, so he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt, all he knew was that the indifferent but dominant side that Mikyle showed set something off in him.

The servant gave a quick nod of her head before rushing off, disappearing from their view completely. That sudden rush of movement snapped Adrien out of his thoughts, allowing him to refocus on the conversation before him.

"May I ask how you first met? Kyle has been withholding the details from us." The Queen Consort released a heavy sigh as she brought a hand up to her face, her expression naturally looking somewhat pitiful.

"Ha!" The Queen Regent had an indignant look on her face as she slapped her fan across the table. "Withholding? It’s more like he absolutely refused to share anything. We only found out that he was romantically interested in someone through Lia, and that was only after I had come across them by chance."

"Oh." The small exclamation left him before he could stop, and unfortunately, all eyes turned to him. Crap. Now they’re expecting me to say something. I only made that noise because the Queen Regent confirmed my earlier suspicion of when I suspected her of being at the theater while under a guise.

"Hmm? You seem as if you’ve come to some kind of realization," observed the Queen Regent.

Mikyle’s hand brushed against his underneath the table. "What is it, Kitten?"

Adrien fought the blush that wanted to rise when he heard the fondness in Mikyle’s voice. He really wished Mikyle would stop it with the pet names while they were in front of his family because Adrien swore that he saw both the Queen Regent and Lianna smirk every time Mikyle called out to him.

"It-it’s nothing. I just realized that I saw someone who looks exactly like the Queen Regent during our trip to the theater."

A small smile softened Mikyle’s expression. "She was there. Though her hair was dyed a different color."

A bright smile lit up the Queen Regent’s face and her golden eyes sparkled like burnt amber. "I never imagined that I would run into our second child who was out on a secret date while I was sneaking out of the palace for the day. It was quite the site to behold."

"It wasn’t a secret date," Mikyle clarified, "it was an open and honest date."

"One in which you didn’t inform us of."

The Queen Consort placed a hand on her face once again as she peered back and forth between the two. "Oh, now. Must you do this in front of poor Adrien?"