Maria got up from her laughing fit, still brightly smiling at him.

"Thank you for that. You don’t have to make me breakfast, but the thought alone was very sweet. I really appreciate it. Let’s find something in town for us to snack on!"

"Did you talk with Lidia yet?"

Lidia was sitting nearby, watching the two of them intently. Jacob couldn’t help but feel she was mostly staring at him, as if warning him to try something.

"I talked with her a bit already. She knows the basics of everything. Funny enough, it seems like we didn’t even need to do anything to convince them of such a crazy plan! I guess that’s my mom for you."

Lidia’s face suddenly grew extremely happy, and she started smiling from ear to ear. For the first time since she adopted Maria, she called her mom. As if almost completely forgetting Jacob’s existence, Lidia ran over and gave Maria a big bear hug. Surprisingly, Maria happened to be one of the only few people who could withstand the devastating strength of her hug.

"I love my daughter so much! Isn’t she just wonderful Jacob?! Look at her! TELL HER SHE’S WONDERFUL!"

"Of course, she’s very wonderful. I’m very grateful for her."

Lidia suddenly looked at Jacob with surprise.

"Huh. Maybe you aren’t that bad after all."

Maria slowly broke free from Lidia’s grasp. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Thank you, but I think we need to discuss this a bit further. What happens after we defeat Jacob’s dad? Will Jacob just become the new king?"

Jacob explained to them his idea about the council he wanted to have. Maria was fascinated hearing Jacob talk.

"Wow, that sounds like a great idea! We can get many more perspectives on certain issues we need to face before coming to a decision!"

"Interesting. I think we should still keep watch on your uncle, Jacob. I don’t know how much I can trust him yet."

Jacob thought to himself for a moment.

"At this point, I almost have to trust what he says is true. I know he doesn’t like my father, but he hasn’t lied to me a single time yet. Everything he’s told me about my dad has ended up being true. I have no reason to doubt his word."

"And if he’s lying, we’ll just jumped him!"

Lidia started to smile after saying this as if that would be an extremely easy task.

"Well, I believe that’s all we had for discussions today. Maria, would you care to join me for some fun around the kingdom?"

Maria looked at Jacob, her emerald-eyes sparkling.

"Absolutely!"

Lidia stood up from her chair and dragged Jacob by his collar quickly to another room.

"H-Hey! Where are you taking me?! Maria, help!"

Maria simply just stared at the two of them confused. After Lidia let go of him, she got close to Jacob’s face. Her brown eyes looked serious as they she stared into his soul.

"Listen here, Jacob. You will have Maria back to this place no later than nighttime’s arrival, safe and sound. Not a single scratch on her flawless skin. And if I find out you’re messing around with another shoemaker, your ass will be mine. Do I make myself clear?"

"Uh... yes ma’am. Wait, what do you mean by a shoemaker?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Now go and have fun...but not too much fun, or I’ll find out and you will pay."

Jacob stared at her blankly for a few moments before nodding his head.

"Good. We’ll be right there Maria! I just needed to give Jacob a small little talking to, that’s all hehe."

Jacob walked with Maria outside of the Rose Clan dormitories. Before the door closed, Lidia reminded Jacob one last time.

"Remember, before nightfall or you know what will happen to you."

Her eye twitched a little bit after those last words. Jacob and Maria just stared at each other and shrugged.

They started walking down the steps into the kingdom. As they walked, Jacob started thinking of places they could visit. When he was training, there were many spots that he saw in the kingdom that piqued his interest. The first one he wanted to try was a small concert hall. Jacob knew very little about instruments, but he would always see how busy the hall was, so he knew it had to be good.

Grabbing hold of Maria’s hand, he started guiding her through a crowd of people. Maria’s heart began to race when he held on to her, but she was more than willing to let him guide her.

"Where are we going, Jacob?"

"I saw this music performance I thought we could check out. Do you know anything about instruments?"

"Hm... I just know that they make beautiful sounds sometimes."

"Then it seems we are both in for a surprise."

As Jacob sat in line holding Maria’s hand, passerby started staring at the two of them.

"...This can’t be! The prince has a girlfriend! Everyone, quickly spread the word!"

"I knew they were dating! I never see those two apart!"

"Oh my gosh, he’s taking her to a music performance! How cute!"

"The prince definitely doesn’t get his romantic side from his father, that’s for sure."

Jacob wasn’t bothered the slightest bit the remarks of those around him. He simply loved having Maria by his side, enjoying the day with her. He thought that she would let go of his hand hearing the whispers from the crowd, but she ended up holding his hand tighter. He looked at her, gazing into her gorgeous jade eyes. This was the happiest he had felt in a long time.

As they filed more people into the performance hall, Jacob and Maria were given exclusive seats towards the front, even though Jacob begged the worker in charge that he didn’t need to give him such kind treatment. Eventually, Jacob gave in and followed him to the front. When they took their seats, they still refused to let each other’s hands go. There were no words needed between them, just a simple understanding of the enjoyment they shared being with each other.

More and more musicians piled on to a small stage. Some instruments were small enough to fit in their hands while others were large and made of a strange metal that Jacob didn’t recognize. As the performance begun, the music begun with a soothing melody. The sounds felt like a lullaby as they entered Jacob’s ears.

Eventually, the performance turned into something much more energetic. It reminded him of a thunderstorm with soft rain as the sounds fell on the crowd, but lightning would strike when the instruments blared.

By the end of the performance, Jacob was left with a sense of melancholy. He was so moved that small tears filled the corner of his eyes. He looked over to Maria to see if she felt something similar. She held a similar expression with streams of tears running down her soft cheeks.

"This performance was beautiful. It felt like the music was telling me a lovely story."

"I agree. I’ve never heard something so beautiful in my life. To think that we are only scratching the surface of what this kingdom has to show us. It just makes me regret the things I’ve done."

Maria held his other hand and looked at him, her face suddenly turning a bit more serious.

"You are not that person anymore. We are both new people. There’s no reason to look back, so let’s just keep moving forward. Together."

Jacob felt infinitely better. They both stood up and walked out of the hall to continue their lovely day.