The Return Of The Exiled Villain

The princess merely glanced at Vessa before looking back at Gray.

”So basically, you’re still curious about me?” asked Gray, raising an eyebrow.

”I am evaluating something... There is a difference, even if you enjoy pretending there is not,” she rolled her eyes.

”That is a very royal way of saying curious,” Gray said.

Her eyes narrowed.

”Do not make me reconsider. I can still walk the other way and leave you with your noodles.”

Gray laughed.

”All right. I will behave until the food arrives. After that, I make no promises.”

Vessa looked between them, late to the important part.

”Wait. You two fought? Actually fought?”

The princess nodded.

”We did. In Vhar’Zul... and this guy lasted longer than he should have.”

Vessa looked at Gray.

”You fought her? When? How are you walking around talking about restaurants after that?”

”A while ago,” Gray said.

Vessa stared at him, then at the princess, then back at Gray.

”Wait... how? She is a Monarch. You do not look like someone who should walk away from that.”

Riven’s expression changed too.

”You fought a Monarch? And then you sat in a wagon for three weeks acting like the most interesting thing about you was that you would not let Vessa touch your horns?”

Gray shrugged.

”It was not a serious fight...”

The princess immediately corrected him cause even though she had her pride, she didn’t like people lying about stuff that actually happened.

”It was serious since I even opened a Domain. You put me in a chokehold. Do not reduce it because your... companions are listening.”

Gray looked at her.

”You did try to kill me. I remember that part clearly.”

”And you put me in a chokehold,” she said.

”I remember that part clearly too.”

”You refused to yield.”

”You did not either. That is why it ended the way it did.”

Vessa stared at both of them.

”You are both insane. I invited two insane people to dinner, and I am still hungry, which means I am also insane.”

Riven nodded.

”For once, I agree with her. Please do not continue this conversation until we are sitting down.”

The princess turned toward the road.

”Are we eating, or are we going to stand here talking until the sun disappears? I accepted. That should be enough to start walking.”

Vessa immediately pointed down the street.

”We are eating. Come on before I say something else, and Riven dies in public.”

Gray laughed, and the group started moving.

The three guards followed several steps behind the princess, close enough to act and far enough not to join the talk.

After a few minutes, Vessa leaned toward Gray and whispered.

”How are you so calm? I feel like my hands do not belong to me. She is walking with us. Her guards are walking with us. This is not a normal first day in the capital.”

”About what?” Gray asked.

”The street? The restaurant? Or the fact that she can hear you?”

”Everything,” Vessa whispered, then lowered her voice even further and failed.

”She is the Crimson Moon Princess. She is a Monarch! Her guards are probably Great Rulers or even Overlords! And you are walking beside her like the two of you are returning from a casual lunch!”

Gray glanced at her.

”Should I start trembling? I can, if that would make you feel better. It would look strange.”

Vessa covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

”No. Please do not. I would not survive that either.”

”Then I am doing fine.”

The princess spoke without turning around.

”You two are louder than you think. If you are going to whisper about me, at least commit to the volume.”

Vessa immediately straightened.

”Sorry, Your Highness. I was not trying to be rude. I am just not used to this.”

”I did not say you needed to apologize,” the princess said.

”I said I could hear you.”

”Oh.”

They kept walking.

Vessa waited a few steps, then smiled toward Gray anyway.

”She is scary. Not in a story way. In a she-can-hear-me-from-there way.”

”I have noticed,” Gray said.

The princess looked over her shoulder.

”I heard that too.”

Vessa’s face went red.

”I did not mean it badly. I meant you are intimidating. That is different... sort of?”

”You said I was scary.”

”Because you are! Your guards are behind us, your name empties a street, and you just accepted dinner like it was nothing. What else am I supposed to call that?”

Riven’s eyes closed.

”Why would you admit that? You could have said impressive. You could have said nothing. You chose this.”

The princess stared at Vessa for a moment, then gave the faintest smile.

”I will accept that answer. Fear is honest. Flattery usually is not.”

Vessa blinked.

”Did you just smile? I saw it. Do not tell me I imagined that.”

”No.”

”You did.”

”You imagined it.”

”I definitely saw it. Riven, tell me you saw it.”

”Then perhaps you should visit a healer,” the princess said. ”If you start seeing expressions that are not there, the capital will eat you alive.”

Vessa laughed in relief.

”You are funnier than people say. They never mention that part, as they only mention your strength and other... baseless rumours.”

The princess’s expression became cold again.

”I do not care what people say about me. If I did, I would spend my life answering tavern talk.”

Gray glanced at her.

”That is not entirely true. You corrected the stories when Vessa listed them. A person who does not care at all would have let her keep talking.”

Her eyes turned toward him.

”What makes you say that? Are you evaluating me now?”

”Because you corrected the stories. You did not have to, but chose to,” Gray winked at her.

Silence followed for a few steps.

The princess looked forward, completely ignoring his wink.

”You notice too much. It is irritating.”

Gray smiled.

”So I have been told. Usually by people who wanted a shorter answer.”

Vessa groaned.

”Do not start with that again. I sat through three weeks of that voice... I do not need it during dinner, too.”

A few minutes later, the group reached the Bloodmoon Table.

The restaurant stood at the corner of a wide commercial street, three stories tall, with dark stone walls and crimson lanterns hanging from the roof.

The moment the group approached, an employee stepped outside and started to speak.

”Your Highness, we are honored. If you had sent word, we would have prepared...”

The princess raised one hand.

”No announcement. I am here to eat, not to empty the street.”

The employee immediately bowed.

”Understood. I will keep it quiet.”

Vessa whispered toward Gray.

”See? That is what I mean. She is not even trying, and people are already rearranging their whole night.”

Gray looked at her.

”I think that is the point of being a princess. The city moves first and asks later.”

Riven nodded at those words.

”Usually. Which is why I wanted to eat somewhere she would never walk into. That plan is dead.”

They entered.

The inside of the restaurant was packed; every table was occupied. The smell of grilled meat and spices hit Gray at once.

Vessa’s eyes lit up.

”See? I told you this place was good. You can smell it from the door. That is how you know they are not hiding the food under decoration.”

She stepped forward, and a waiter approached.

”Welcome. How many guests are in your party, and do you have a...”

Then he noticed the princess, and his entire expression changed in an instant.

”Your Highness.”

The restaurant suddenly became quiet as everyone turned at the sound of the address.

The owner appeared from behind the counter almost instantly, wiping his hands on a cloth he no longer needed.

”Your Highness, it is an honor. We were not informed that you would be visiting. Please, allow us to make this right immediately.”

The princess looked at him calmly.

”I do not require a special announcement. I require a table and food that matches the price you charge.”

The owner bowed.

”Of course. Of course. Please, we have our finest private room prepared. It will only take a moment.”

Vessa blinked.

”Private room? We were going to sit downstairs like normal people. That was the whole point.”

The owner smiled nervously.

”The eastern royal suite, Your Highness. It is already being cleared.”

Gray raised an eyebrow.

”Royal suite? For roasted ribs and noodles?”

The princess nodded.

”We will use it. I am not eating in a room full of people who have already stopped chewing to stare.”

Vessa opened her mouth.

”Wait, are there not reservations? Someone else was probably sitting there first.”

The owner was already turning around.

”Every reservation will be moved to another room immediately. We will prepare the best table, the finest ingredients, and our highest-grade wine. Please do not concern yourselves with the previous arrangement.”

Riven stood completely still.

Vessa stared at the owner, then at the princess, then back at the owner. She leaned toward Gray.

”Did she just take somebody else’s room? That person is going to come upstairs and find out a princess stole their dinner.”

Gray sighed.

”Apparently. I would not want to be the one they send to explain it.”

The princess heard him.

”Would you prefer the ordinary dining hall? We can sit down there and let the whole restaurant listen to Vessa ask me about bloodlines.”

Gray looked at the packed room, then at the faces still turned toward them.

”No. The suite is fine.”

”Then there is no issue.”

”She really is a princess. I knew that. I am only now understanding what it means in a restaurant.” Vessa quietly whispered.

Riven nodded.

”Now you understand. This is why I told you not to invite her like she was another traveler.”

They were led upstairs.

The private room was enormous.

The chairs alone looked more expensive than the room Gray had rented during the past two weeks.

Vessa slowly sat down.

”I do not think I have ever eaten in a room like this. I am afraid to put my elbows on the table.”

Riven carefully sat beside her.

”Neither have I. If I break something, do not wait for me. Just leave the city.”

The princess took the seat at the head of the table without asking. Gray sat across from her. The waiter stood nearby, waiting.

The princess looked toward him.

”Bring everything the restaurant considers its finest. Do not ask us to choose from a list meant to impress first-time visitors. If it is actually good, put it on the table.”

The waiter immediately bowed.

”Of course, Your Highness. I will have the kitchen begin at once.”

Vessa’s eyes widened.

”Wait, everything? That is an actual threat to the kitchen!”

The princess nodded.

”Yes. Enough that nobody here spends the meal staring at an empty plate and thinking of better questions.”

”How much food does that include?” Vessa asked.

”Enough,” the princess said.

”If it is too much, you will live.”

Vessa looked at Gray, causing Gray to look back at her. Riven slowly lowered his head, already mourning the bill he was not going to be allowed to see.