Will you be my Princess?

Chapter 19: Dinner with the Valentinos

"We overheard you both talking outside, so we wanted to let you both in..." she looked at the two of them, "I wasn't interrupting anything was I?"

"N-No!" They both said quickly.

"W-We were just talking about how much sleep is good for your body!" Lyrica came up with an excuse.

"Y-Yea! She was giving me tips about sleep and how to fall asleep. You know the usual stuff." He nodded his head nervously to his mother.

"I see...Well come in." She smiled softly to them and led them to the table.

Lyrica sat next to Peter and noticed he was trying to hold in his laughter. She leaned over to him to ask why he was laughing.

"You okay?"

"We heard you guys..." He whispered back to her.

Thats when her face flushed red and she covered it with her hands, "I thought you could barely hear us." She whispered.

"Ahem." Cassien adjusted his voice to get Lyrica's attention. It worked and she was looking right back him. His eyes pointed towards his father as he was trying to signal her that she needed to greet him.

"A-ah!" Lyrica got up from her chair and she did a ninety degree bow towards the Emperor, "Glory to the Valentino Empire your greatness!"

Cassien face palmed and didn't even want to look at her because of her embarrassed he was for Lyrica. Peter was hiding his laughter even harder that his face turned completely red.

"Be at peace." The Emperor chuckled a little bit because of how clumsy Lyrica was during her greeting.

Lyrica quickly sat down stiffened up and looked over at Cassien who seemed a bit ashamed at her greeting. She whispered to Peter again.

"Did I do bad...?" She asked him.

"No you were perfect." He answered back. He was just happy that Cassien was all embarrassed because of her, "But it should've been your majesty."

"Oh..." she suddenly realized her mistake.

Just then to break the awkwardness at the table, the food finally arrived. The chef came in with a dish of Paella for each of them at the table. Lyrica's mouth was watering just looking at it and she wanted to eat it right away. But, she remembered during one of her etiquette lessons with Jeremiah she had to wait until the Emperor took the first bite of his food to continue eating. She waited patiently like a child until she saw the Emperor take the first bite.

"So Lyrica." The Emperor spoke to her and she looked back at him, "How has your stay in Valentino been?"

She looked at him and noticed he was taking a bite of the Paella yet, which shattered her expectations. But, she carried on the conversation, "It's been great. I've learned a lot about Valentino, a lot." She emphasized due to all the hours she spent just learning about one family.

"I see that is good to know." He nodded his head and he finally took the first bite of the Paella, "We're glad to have you back here, I'm sure the House of Castillo is also happy."

Lyrica noticed everyone started to eat and she was happy to take a bite of the Paella. It had a nice kick of spice to it and the seafood on top of it tasted amazing.

"From what I remember you are in your final year of high school at the States?" The Empress asked, "You are also a...What do you call it again, badminton member?"

"Ah yes." Lyrica nodded her head, "I've played badminton since I was in middle school, so around sixth grade. I've been playing ever since. I'm also preparing for my last year of high school as well. The four years really flew by fast."