The argument and bickering between the two of them became increasingly intense and heated, creating a small commotion amidst the re-registration process.
Realizing that the argument between Kylen and Ziona was getting increasingly out of control and starting to attract negative attention from the host academy delegation, Arvin finally took the initiative to step in.
The blue-haired youth stepped forward. Without saying anything, he reached out his hand, touched the top of Kylen's head, and stroked the bluish-white hair of the prince with a very gentle and soothing movement.
"Enough... calm down. Don't make too much of a fuss over trivial things like this in public." Arvin said with his deep and affectionate baritone voice.
Receiving the sudden gentle touch and stroke on his head, Kylen's initially explosive emotions were instantly extinguished as if drenched in ice water.
"Y-Yes... I'm sorry..." Kylen squeaked softly, somehow automatically lowering his face and suddenly feeling regret for his actions that caused a commotion.
The prince fell silent for a moment, enjoying the comfortable sensation of the caress on his head. His mind was blank. However, a few seconds later, his common sense returned. He looked up, wanting to see the face of the person who had just calmed and stroked his head so gently.
Upon seeing Arvin's flat face staring at him, the prince was shocked half to death.
Slap!
Kylen took a step back and immediately swatted Arvin's hand quite hard until it came off his head.
"W-What are you doing?!" Kylen exclaimed in panic, his heartbeat racing wildly again. "Why did you stroke my head like that in public?! You are truly impolite to touch a prince's head!"
"Why? Weren't you looking like you really enjoyed it and felt comfortable having your head petted by me just now?" Arvin chimed in quickly, the corners of his lips lifting slightly, intentionally teasing the flustered prince.
"Very comfortable..." Kylen answered reflexively without thinking.
But a second later, he realized again what he had just said. His eyes widened, and he immediately denied it in panic. "N-No! I mean it wasn't comfortable at all! You are very annoying! Don't you ever dare touch my head again! So impolite! I will kill you in the arena later!"
Kylen's face was now perfectly red like a ripe tomato. He was panting heavily after venting his misdirected frustration.
Seeing Kylen's reaction, everyone around them, both from the Astoria delegation and the Flamort delegation, could only smile faintly and shake their heads. They all now fully realized that Prince Kylen indeed had an attraction and feelings for Arvin, but his princely ego was too big that he couldn't be honest with his own feelings.
Arvin merely shrugged his shoulders casually in response to the prince's empty threat, then turned around and walked back to join his spouses' group.
....
....
A while later, the re-registration and participant validation process for the Astoria and Flamort academies was completed by the committee. Dean Saires then ordered their procession to go back out of the Victoriaz academy building toward the square where their carriages were parked.
But, as they walked side-by-side in the vast square, their steps halted. They crossed paths with another large delegation that had just arrived: the official delegation from the Marland Kingdom.
The delegation from the Marland academy stopped walking, and one of them, a youth in luxurious clothes who looked like the group leader, accidentally spotted the three ice crystals emblem on the robes worn by Arvin and his four spouses in the front row of the Astoria academy delegation.
"Well... well... well..." the youth from Marland said in a mocking tone, folding his arms across his chest. He looked condescendingly at the Astoria group. "The academy procession from the Astoria Kingdom is very crowded this year. Did you send a lot of people here just to be cheerleaders because the descendants of the Vedegra family are participating in this annual tournament? How pathetic."
Hearing the open insult directed at the Astoria academy and his savior's family, Kylen's emotions ignited again. Disregarding his status as an outsider, he stepped forward passing the ranks of Astoria students.
"Who are you to dare speak like that?!" Kylen suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the youth's face. "What is the meaning of those garbage words of yours?!"
Spontaneously, all the students from the Astoria academy and the teachers were shocked to see Kylen, who was incidentally a prince from the Flamort Kingdom and not from their academy, stepping to the very front instead to refute the insult from the Marland Kingdom delegation. The four companions of the prince were also shocked to see their team leader's reckless action.
The youth from the Marland Kingdom lowered his hands, staring sharply at Kylen.
"Who am I, you say?" the youth repeated with an arrogant smile, lifting his chin high. "Open your ears wide. I am Raven Trazzardius Lierde Marland, the third prince of the Marland Kingdom!"
Hearing that name and title, instead of being intimidated, Kylen actually laughed.
"Hahaha!" Kylen laughed quite loudly, underestimating the third prince's title. He then puffed out his chest and returned Raven's gaze no less arrogantly. "If so, let me introduce myself, I am Kylenciel Carventias Alua Flamort, the fifth prince of the Flamort Kingdom!"
Hearing Kylen's full name and identity, Raven's facial expression instantly changed. He was quite surprised to find out that the person confronting him was a prince from the Flamort Kingdom, yet was in the middle of the academy procession from the Astoria Kingdom.
What is actually going on here? Raven thought, his mind suddenly struck with confusion seeing the absurd sight in front of him. Since when did the Astoria Kingdom and the Flamort Kingdom become so close that they travel and defend each other? As far as I know, their border regions are still tense and minor clashes frequently occur, just like us with Astoria.
Raven's eyes narrowed, staring at Kylen and Arvin alternately.
Have the two kingdoms resolved their conflict and formed a secret alliance? Raven thought warily. Or... is this foolish prince in front of me the one who knows nothing about the conflicts and his own kingdom's diplomatic relations with the Astoria Kingdom?