Into The World of Royalties | Stray Kids

S2: 13: Dinner

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Seohyun asked as she tries straightening her dress.

Chan squeezes her hand and smile. He stared into her eyes and nodded. She nodded to herself multiple times. She felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest.

She was going to join Chan for a dinner with the royal family in the dining room. This would be the first time she meet all of them. She's been practising what to say, how to act, how to eat properly and how to smile properly.

"Let's go" Chan whispered as he lets go of her hand gently.

Seohyun nodded after exhaling. Chan pushed the large doors, revealing the royal family talking to each other. The room grew quiet when they heard the door being open.

Chan glanced at her with a smile and gestured for them to start walking. Seohyun walked stiffly towards the dining table. All eyes were on the new stranger in a light blue dress with a stiff smile. She also bowed stiffly towards them.

"Interesting fellow" The Queen whispered to her family members.

Seohyun saw a familiar face sitting with the royal family, Lady Eunji. She felt a bit relax seeing someone she know even though they weren't on good terms.

Chan gestured her to sat next to Lady Eunji. Lady Eunji scoffed when Seohyun sat next to her. Seohyun who was still anxious didn't hear or notice the displeasure Lady Eunji was showing. Her eyes were on the royal family members across the table.

The king was at the end of the table and usually, the rest of the family members will sit on the left and right sides but since they are guests tonight, they sat together on the right side of the table.

Once Chan seated himself, the maids and butlers started to do their work. They bring out dishes from the kitchen and put them in front of them. Then they opened the lid, revealing a freshly cooked lamb steak.

Seohyun was awed at the food in front of her. It was beautifully made. She stared at the steak, felt bad for she was going to eat a masterpiece. If only her phone has juice in it, she could take a picture of it but then again she still can't expose the identity of her world.

"Is there something wrong with the food?" A gentle voice asked.

Seohyun look up to see the Queen was looking at her in curiosity.

"Nothing is wrong, your highness. It is just the food is breathtakingly beautiful. It is a shame this lovely steak would end up being eaten" she said as she glance back at the steak.

The Queen chuckled a little. Chan on the other hand chokes a bit because he was going to laugh. He clears his throat a couple of times and covers his mouth with a napkin.

The Queen was giving a comfortable atmosphere in the room. Elegant but seemed to have joy in teasing people. She also gave a charming smile as well as a beautiful face.

"I think the food is normal though," The princess said while staring at the steak in front of her.

Seohyun face turned red as she just realized what she just said. Lady Eunji was scoffing at her silliness.

"Please remind yourself she comes from a low-class family," the King said as he glared at Seohyun.

Seohyun instantly became speechless. The warning the king gave echoes in her thoughts.

"Still it's interesting how you end up here. If the Queen of Seortell recommended you to pursue your research here despite knowing our rules, you must be a big deal, aren't you?" The Queen asked as she raised her eyebrow.

Seohyun stared at the Queen with wide eyes. She gave a half-hearted smile.

"Tell me about your research so far. I'm quite a big fan of the dark forest" The Queen smiled gently at her.

Seohyun wracked her brain to answer the Queen's question. She tried to remember what she had read in the library.

"Spider cats are real" she blurted out all of a sudden.

The Queen looked confused.

"Of course they are real. They're just rare and hard to find" The Queen said in dissatisfaction.

"But I actually have witnessed one, your highness. I even interacted with him" Seohyun replied

Everyone at the table turned their attention from the food to Seohyun. They all stared at her with curiosity in their eyes. The Queen's eyes sparkled in excitement.

"The other day, I had gone on.... an expedition with my fellow researchers into the dark forest. We stumbled upon the rare Spider cat. He was large and looked frightening but he was actually a sweetheart and have quite a peculiar sense of humour" Seohyun started to tell her experiences with small white lies in it.

"From what I found, the spider cat could interact with us and speak our language. Though, only if the spider is comfortable and trusts the person. Also, they-" Seohyun was cut off

"Did you...talk to him?" The Queen asked excitedly.

Seohyun smiled and nodded. The family members gasped. The Princess and the youngest prince were whispering to each other. The king looked at her differently now. His cold gaze has changed. Maybe a hint of respect?

"Do continue" the Queen ushered her.

Seohyun smiled happily seeing she is slowly being accepted. She continued telling her experiences with the spider cat, the humongous vein monster and the trip to the cat kingdom.

As she was telling her story, Chan sighed in relief seeing Seohyun looked more relax and comfortable.

Meanwhile, another soul was not happy with how the situation is going. She clenched her fork and knife.

______________________

After dessert, dinner was officially over. As everyone gets up to retreat to their respective activities, Chan suddenly clears his throat out loud. Everyone looked at him. He stands up.

"I wanted to clarify some misunderstandings. Everyone in this room including the maids and butlers please pay attention to what I wanted to say" Chan declared.

"Firstly, please stop spreading false news about my engagement being broken off because of Miss Seohyun. It was my decision to broke it off. The decision was solely made for the benefit of Lady Eunji and myself. Both of us still have a long way to go and settling down is still far in the future in my plan" He started.

"Second, stop spreading any other rumours about Lady Eunji. As I said, it was my decision. If you have someone you wanted to blame for, then blame me not Lady Eunji"

"Finally, I would declare right here, right now, once I reign the kingdom of Christark, the law for prohibiting lower-class women to receive an education will be instantly lifted. Everyone, no matter what gender or class they are, shall receive equal education"

Everyone in the room gasped in surprise. Chan said without an ounce of fear even after the king gave his deadly glare to him.

Chan hinted at Seohyun with his eyes to get out with him. Seohyun quickly bowed and left with Chan.

Once they were outside, Chan let out a deep sigh. He breathe in deeply as if he wasn't breathing earlier. He turned to look at Seohyun who was watching him silently.

"We did well" he gave a big smile

Seohyun cracked a smile.

"Ahhh what a relief," she said happily.

They both chuckled together as they walked together.