You ever get called the wrong name and just stand there thinking, Who the hell do you think I am?
Yeah. That was exactly what was happening to Prince Gabrielle right now.
"Wait a minute," Gabrielle said, brows furrowing as he stared Yuki down. "Why do you keep calling me Taiyo? My name is Prince Gabrielle."
Yuki's stomach dropped.
Oh crap. Did I just—?!
Yep. She absolutely did.
"Uhh…" She scrambled. "I-I meant it like a nickname! You know, Taiyo—sun, right? Because you... you shine or whatever?"
Gabrielle blinked slowly. His expression screamed:
That's the worst lie I've ever heard.
Just as his mouth opened to question it further, a voice cut through the tension like a blade:
"Yo. Is there a problem here?"
Everyone turned.
Alepou strolled in—cape fluttering behind her, boots crunching the dirt, arms casually resting behind her head. But the glint in her eyes?
That wasn't casual at all.
She'd just gotten the old geezer patched up by a healer. But now her instincts were screaming, and the prince? He was setting off all her red flags. Especially the way his eyes kept flicking—too long—between her and Yuki.
Without breaking stride, Alepou grabbed Gabrielle by the collar and yanked him in so close their foreheads nearly touched.
"Listen, Your Highness," she growled low, "If you're trying anything weird with Yuki—if you so much as breathe funny—I'll make sure you forget how to breathe altogether."
Gabrielle stiffened like he'd been hit by a lightning spell.
Yuki, still glaring from behind, crossed her arms.
"Yeah, Taiyo—or Gabrielle, or Sunbeam, or whatever—you don't just get to act like some budget perv in a takoyaki stall."
"I wasn't doing anything!" Gabrielle squeaked, voice an octave too high. His eyes darted between them like he was watching a boss fight unfold in real life.
Alepou wasn't convinced.
She leaned in closer and smirked.
"You sure? 'Cause it kinda looked like you were staring at Yuki's boobs."
The air snapped. Takoyaki sizzled in the background like drums of judgment.
"Wait—WHAT?!" Yuki recoiled, pointing at him dramatically.
"You were ogling me?! And now you're staring at her too?!"
Gabrielle's soul visibly left his body.
"NO! NO! I WAS—I WAS JUST—IT'S A—APPRAISAL THING—"
"Appraising our BOOBS?!" Yuki shouted.
"No no no no no—STATS! STATS!! I was appraising your STATS!!"
Alepou let go of his collar with a disgusted scoff.
"Well, those weren't the stats you were caught staring at, jackass."
Gabrielle slumped in defeat, face redder than a sunburned tomato. "I swear it wasn't like that…" he mumbled.
Yuki leaned in with a warning smile. "You better pray I don't report this to the Guild. Sexual harassment gets you insta-banned and cursed."
Alepou cracked her knuckles. "And if the Guild doesn't get you, I will."
Gabrielle threw his hands up in surrender. "Alright! Alright! I'll behave! Just—please—can we eat in peace?!"
A moment of tense silence passed.
Then Yuki and Alepou exchanged a look. Yuki sighed and shrugged.
"Fine. But you're on ultra-thin, frostbitten ice."
"That's being generous," Alepou muttered.
The girls returned to their seats, resuming their takoyaki session like it was just another Tuesday. Gabrielle, meanwhile, quietly retreated to a corner of shame, every move haunted by the memory of being roasted harder than the octopus balls on the grill.
---
Lesson of the Day:
Gabrielle got mistaken for someone else.
Yuki might be hiding more than just an identity.
Alepou? Definitely not someone you wanna tick off.
And most importantly… never use Appraisal without consent.
To be continued…