Karmagisa: Our Fate Upon The Crown

89 | S2: Fine Wine

<Nagisa>
When it was finally dinner, an escort arrived at our chamber doors and walked us down to where Princess Manami was.
The dining room was slightly bigger than ours and even the one at the palace was immense in its own definition. On the ceiling, there was 5 golden chandeliers with silver flowers hanging like a strip, following the body of the table.

As she was awaiting for our appearance, she lightened up when she saw us. I never seen someone who excited to see us since we've stepped on this land.

"Good evening! You must be hungry correct?" She said while standing up from her seat.

When her sudden burst threw both Karma and I off, the servants that were off to the side whispered amongst themselves. Her expression changed and she laughed awkwardly.

"My apologies." She sat back down once we made it to our seats. "I guess I'm still not used to the proper etiquette after so many years." She pointed out.

"No worries, you're personality is quite unpredictable." Karma commented, "ah, it's not a bad thing. You were timid in the beginning so we didn't expect this." He explained himself.

Manami diverged her gaze and opened her mouth.
"Whenever my mother starts to speak for me I feel like-." She paused and shook her head, "there I go again." She covered her mouth with her hand. "Anyways let's eat shall we?"

She waved her hand and the servants noticed her.
While we waited to be served our dishes, I couldn't sit still on the chairs even if they were cushioned.
My body still is sore from before.

"Are you not comfortable?" She brought up.

"Oh. I'm fine, thank you." My ears burned like cardinals and I took a short breath when Karma grinned quietly on his own.

The dishes were laid down in front of us and they lifted the silver domes from the plate to reveal the food under it. The scent caught us off guard as it seduced our cravings right away. In front of us was a breaded chicken breast with some kind of off-white sauce and next to it a light bed of greens and some plump red tomatoes.

"Our chefs are quite diligent so please don't hesitate. If it's not to your taste, we can always prepare something else."

At the same time, three servers stood beside us and poured white wine into the pearl rimmed glasses. The princess dismissed them and that was when we took our first bite.

With the unfamiliar cooking style, the flavor of the wine and chicken together was oddly satisfying. The unknown sauce was creamy and smooth, dancing across the buds of my tongue.

"I've only heard a bit of Crescent Kingdom's curse, but how does the birth really work?" Manami brought up.

Karma looked over and wiped the side of his mouth with the naked white napkin.

"The birth of the Reincarnated Children are only amongst noble families. So the power is not passed down through the womb of the Kings and Queen but nobles at random. If the Reincarnated end up having children of their own, they are regarded as prince and princesses holding a little more responsibility than nobles but aren't in line for the crown." He explained.

"It was very interesting the first time I heard about it." Manami took a sip of wine when I did the same and smiled graciously. "As for me, I am the only child so I have rights to the throne regardless. However, it's been two centuries since a female has ruled so the citizens are quite restless about it. Even my father.

"Well, then it's a good opportunity to prove how much you can do for them. Gender has no purpose." I commented.

"You're right." Manami gleamed and it wasn't the same at the ones before. It felt like she was about to burst into tears.

"My father passed recently from an illness. My mother is being supportive of course but those hands that helps push me forward are tainted in their own ways." She went on, "so I would like to create a sort of agreement between both kingdoms. While we have the chance to be alone together, my mother won't be able to have her way."

I took a sip.

"Of course. It would be best to keep this as simple as it can be." Karma agreed, "you're a fine lady, I know that you can make your own decisions."

"Yes." Manami responded.

Another one.

"We are known for our manufacturing goods, if we become trade partners, it will surely help the economy. Imports and exports of course. Plus, it's apparent that your garments and accessories are of high quality. They will surely be popular here especially amongst the younger crowd."

The tone of her voice shifted from causal to direct and serious.
The way Manami presented herself was spectacular, like she was meant for this.

The server came by again and filled our glasses and apparently I was the only one to acknowledge them when Karma and Manami were immersed in the conversation.

I held the stem of the wine glass and carefully swished the liquid around. Before I took a sip, taking a minute to appreciate the fragrance was nice too.

I think an hour had past for all of us when the flow of the topic let the time slip by.
All at once, Manami changed the subject matter and geared it directly toward us as individuals.

"Going back to Reincarnated Childrens, is it normal to have two males wed and rule together?" It was clear by her growing shyness and fading voice that she was nervous to talk about it.

"Actually, this is the first occurrence of two males." Karma answered, "a new era is what it's coined as. At first people were confused about it and almost rejected us entirely but we manage to sway their opinions."

"But you can't be loved by everyone isn't that so?" Manami asked.

"You're correct. However, as long as you can stay confident and look ahead, the ones who do admire you will surely celebrate your success." Karma glanced over at me when he said those words.

"I will surely keep that in mind." She nodded her head and looked over at me when I set the glass down after taking another sip. "And another thing."

"Yes?" I responded.

"You must have mistresses right? Hazama mentioned the idea to me before when she found out that you two were both males."

I coughed loudly and I was lucky the wine did not come back up. Karma took it as a joke and chuckled to himself.

"W-What? Did I say something weird?"

"Don't be insulted but yes. Why would we need mistresses?" He raised his brow and leaned in.

Manami fidgeted and inched back in her seat apprehensively.
"I just figured because you guys are both males and all. How do you relieve sexual tensions without a woman?"

We both blankly stared at each other and then looked back over at Manami. Kaede was right about how unnatural it was for two males to be together. Rather, it's more like it never happens right? I bet she would then say that those kind of romances don't exist.

"Relieve sexual tensions you say? Why, Princess you have such erotic thoughts don't you?" Karma teased with her and chuckled, "with each other of course, how else?"

One thing for sure was that both Manami and I had our jaws dropped when we both took in his last word.