Most of the time whenever Kouen got to work in his study he was able to focus on this and nothing else. These past couple of weeks, however, have been different. While he was able to finish all the work given to him, his mind would be preoccupied throughout the day with thoughts of you. 

Fortunately, the only who would be able to tell was Judar. Even though it was a nuisance whenever he decided to tease him about him it. At that, Kouen sighed and leaned back into his chair. From there, he decided to get out of his study and get some fresh air. 

Once Kouen got outside he caught sight of you sparing with Hakuei. Just like when you were sparing with him,  you were wearing his tunic along with an orange sash around your waist. He had to admit he really did enjoy watching you wearing his shirt. It gave him a sense of satisfaction. 

The moment ended up being ruined once Judar chimed in from behind him. 

"Hey, goat man, pink rukh are swarmin' around you."

Kouen grumbled under his breath and tried to ignore him until Judar began playfully swatting his hand by his ear. "You can stop now," he said sternly. 

Judar rolled his eyes, "not my fault all these rukhs won't leave you alone," he shot back before floating in front of his face, "do yourself a favor and tell her already."

Kouen didn't bother responding and just walked right back into his study. 

When he left Judar huffed and rolled his eyes. He turned to look at you with a frown, "I don't see it," he said simply.

*~*~*

Sparing with Hakuei was a lot more fun than you realized. At some point, Hakuryuu joined in. You two fought each other with wooden swords and you pretended to die as he stabbed you. He had kneeled down by your body and cried, it made you feel a tad guilty despite how funny it was. 

As of now, you were back in your dress and taking the time to stroll through the palace. It was almost kind of sad that there wasn't much else for you to do. It also made sense, however, considering most women didn't do much in your old home either. You were just a lucky exception. 

"Hey."

You flinched in surprise and turned to see Judar floating nearby. You rolled your eyes and continued walking, ignoring him. Unfortunately, he didn't leave and just followed you while poking the top of your head. 

After about a minute of him being a nuisance, you turned to him, angry. "What could you possibly want now?" You spat out. 

"I want you to talk to goat man," he stated. 

You rose a brow and crossed your arms, "why? He's just fine without me," you shrugged and walked past him. 

Judar didn't let you get very far and quickly got in your way again. "Because seeing all those pink rukh around him is starting to annoy me," he said while crossing his own arms. 

"So?"

Judar rolled his eyes and tapped your forehead, "are you dumb? Do you have any what pink rukh mean?" He asked harshly. 

"Obviously not."

Judar looked at you with an expression that made you feel dumber than you actually are. But instead of actually explaining what it is, he just kept staring. You crossed your arms and frowned, "okay, can you just explain what it is?" You asked impatiently. He continued to stare at you for just a couple of more seconds and then sighed. 

"Pink rukh means admiration and whenever Kouen is around you, they're always swarming around him," he explained, "it's super annoying." To make his point, he swatted his hand away. You didn't really know if he was shooing a real one or just trying to emphasize his point. 

At that, your face erupted into a small blush and you waved your own hand around. "Y... You're being silly. He never did love me and he never will," you said while rolling your eyes, "if you'll excuse me I have better things to do than waste my time on this."

Before Judar could say anything else, you quickly walked off. Besides, manipulating you like this would be beneficial to the people here. You were done falling victim to their words. You nodded to yourself with a frown, determined. 

During your walk, you felt someone bump into your shoulder. You flinched lightly and turned to whoever it was. Your eyes then widened when you recognized Empress Gyokuen. Immediately, you bowed to her with your hands in your sleeves. "I apologize, Empress Gyokuen, I must've been distracted," you said with your head facing the floor. 

You heard a small giggle and felt a hand on your head. "Keep spacing out like that and soon Kouen will slip from your grasp," she said while rubbing the top of your head with her thumb. 

As soon as she said that your head shot up and she retracted her hand with widened eyes. Your expression was clearly confused as you stared at her. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" You asked with narrowed eyes.

Gyokuen's shocked look changed to one of mischief. Her sleeves were raised to her lips as if she was trying to cover her obvious smirk. "Keep a close eye on him or...-" She stepped closer to you- "someone might just snatch him away," she whispered into your ear. 

You let in a breath before speaking, "is that a threat, Empress?" You questioned. 

From the corner of your eye, you noticed Gyokuen blink a couple of times. You had no idea if it was your imagination or not, but you could've sworn they turned to a different color for a split second. "Just a warning," she simply said before walking away. 

You turned to where she walked, her grace and tranquility not wavering for even a second. Meanwhile, you almost felt as if you could barely breathe. How could just one second in that proximity already make you feel so claustrophobic? You shook it off and continued walking. 

Along the way you found yourself running into Hakuei and Hakuryuu. During your time with the two of them, you had felt they were beginning to warm up to you (especially Hakuryuu). "Hello, Hakuei, Hakuryuu," you greeted, "how have you been?"

Hakuei smiled at you, "well. I had just finished teaching Hakuryuu some recipes," she said, her face beaming with pride. 

Your brows were raised in interest, "oh really?" You said, "and how did it...?" You question trailed off as you caught sight of Hakuryuu's pale face. You didn't fully understand but you got half the picture. It was a rude assumption, but it fit. 

Hakuei is a terrible cook. 

Hakuei's head then tilted to the side, wondering if you were gonna finish your question. You covered your pause with a small cough into your sleeve, "how did it go?" You hesitantly asked. 

Hakuei's face then glowed with even more pride, if that was even possible. "I think it went very well, Hakuryuu is learning fast," she said, casting a small smile to Hakuryuu behind her. It almost made you feel bad for even suggesting she was a horrid cook. 

"That's great," you replied, "where are you off to now?" 

"I was just going to go train with Hakuryuu for a bit," she answered, "would you like to join us?" 

It felt nice being invited by Hakuei and seeing Hakuryuu's hopeful expression. Unfortunately, your mind was too preoccupied with what had happened with Gyokuen just a couple of seconds ago. There was a sinking feeling in your gut when you thought of Kouen near her. You ignored it for now. 

"Sorry, but I can't. I'm a little preoccupied right now," you explained. Hakuei nodded in understanding and walked off with Hakuryuu trailing behind her. Before they got too far you called out to them again. 

"You wouldn't happen to know where Kouen is, would you?" You asked. 

The two thought for a moment until Hakuryuu, surprisingly, answered you. "He was in his study the last I saw him," he answered. You gave him a quick thank you and nodded. Soon enough, you were standing outside of his study trying to find the courage to knock. Your hand was even hovering over the door. 

Before your knuckles could even brush the surface of the door, it swung open. Your eyes widened to see Gyokuen standing there, looking pleased with herself. You narrowed your eyes at her as she walked past you without even acknowledging you. You, unfortunately, allowed your eyes to follow her as she walked. 

It wasn't until someone's voice chimed in that you finally broke out of your small trance. 

"Are you done staring?" 

You flinched and looked up at Kouen. You then quickly looked back down to hide the blush forming on your cheeks. "I am now," you replied with a small cough. You heard him walk away from you and back to his desk. 

After another beat of silence, Kouen spoke again. "Are you going to come in?" He asked. 

You quickly nodded and walked inside. "So, what was Gyokuen doing in here?" You asked nonchalantly. You didn't even look Kouen in the eyes as you asked. 

You took a quick glance at Kouen and watched as he froze for a moment before answering. "Nothing important to worry about," he simply said. You nodded at him and walked closer to his desk.

"Why do you ask?" He questioned. 

You continued staring to the ground. "No reason, I was just curious," you shrugged. 

Then, out of nowhere, you felt a hand wrap around your waist and your own hands hit a broad chest. "Oh, really?" He whispered, "why is that?" 

Your gaze shifted from his eyes to the ground. If you weren't blushing before then you definitely were now. You felt one of his hands leave your waist and grab onto your chin. Kouen tilted your head to meet his eyes. You felt yourself freeze as his eyes burned into yours. 

"Don't tell me," he said, "are you jealous?"

You clenched your hand into his sleeve and could barely bring yourself to speak. "Shut up," you whispered, looking over his shoulder to avoid his eyes. Just like the other times, you noticed a little pink butterfly until it disappeared as quickly as it came. Then, you suddenly remembered what Judar said.

"Pink rukh means admiration and whenever Kouen is around you, they're always swarming around him."

You bit your lip as you thought about it and then looked up into his eyes again. It sounded cheesy in your head, but his eyes burned into yours and you couldn't look away. Then Gyokuen's words entered your head again. 

"Keep a close eye on him or... Someone might just snatch him away."

You frowned at her words inside your head and then your hands were on his neck with your thumb stroking his cheek. After continuing to stare at him for an eternity, you finally placed your lips against his. 

Kouen's hand left your chin and returned back to your waist. Your hands then made their way to his hair. His hands gripped your waist tightly as he pulled your closer to him. The motion caused a small moan to come from you which allowed his tongue to enter your mouth. 

His hand left your waist and then went to your shoulder. You felt his hand slowly slide your dress off. His lips then left yours and began to place tender kisses across your exposed shoulder. Before his lips got too far you slowly pushed him away. 

"Sorry," he whispered.

You shook your head and gave his lips a small peck, "it's okay," you responded by grabbing his hand and cradling it to your chest.