Chapter 21 - A Party Of Few

Laina looked from side to side. There was no one else but them. Confused as to what was going on, Laina could not help but ask.

"Your Majesty, I thought you said this was a dinner party?" she asked politely.

Dante nodded, "It is a party, for just the two of us. I hope you don't mind, but I never liked large parties."

Without a long dining table as the centerpiece of the dining hall, the smaller table that was put in place felt weirdly out of place. It was placed in the middle of the room with two matching carved wood chairs with cushion seating.

Dante walked over to Laina's side and pulled out the chair for her. She whispered a word of thanks and sat down at the table. Marius quietly disappeared to the side to ensure the food was served in a timely fashion.

The Dragon King himself took his own seat and clapped his hands. Immediately, two servers entered the hall with silver trays in their hands. Following closely behind them was a butler.

"Good Evening, your Majesty, your highness," the butler greeted both of them politely before continuing, "We will now begin our nine-course meal with the hors d'oeuvres. Tonight, we have toasted bruschetta with fresh salsa."

The servers placed the plate of hors d'oeuvres before each of them.

"Please enjoy."

With that, the servers and butler bowed respectfully before scurrying off back to the kitchen. Laina could feel her stomach rumbling. She realized it seems she had not eaten anything for quite some time.

The food in front of her was making her hungry. Laina carefully picked up the bruschetta and brought it into her mouth. The crunch of the toasted bread was a pleasant surprise for the princess.

Despite the simple ingredients, the dish was executed perfectly. Seeing Laina eating happily brought a smile to Dante's face.

"How is it?" he could not help but ask. He would do anything to hear her voice one more time.

"It's really good," Laina said with her mouth full of bruschetta.

She covered her mouth with her hand as she spoke, knowing full well it was rude to speak with her mouth full. But she did not want to remain silent either, afraid that it would give the King a wrong idea.

Just as she swallowed the bread, a butler came over to them with a servant pushing a cart. On the cart, was a selection of drinks. Laina was impressed by the selection presented to them. There were many different types of liquor on display. When she saw her favorite one, Laina did a double-take on it.

She bit her lip, not wanting to look too eager.

"Princess Laina, do you have something you would like to drink?" Dante asked.

She wanted nothing more than to say yes and pick the one she was eyeing on. But Laina decided to play it cool.

"I don't have a preference, you decide," she replied.

Dante smiled. He picked the ruby hibiscus wine. Marius, who was looking from the side, chuckled to himself.

-Looks like he's pulling out all the stops.- Marius said to himself.

Laina looked at him with a look of confusion as she finished the bruschetta. Was it just a lucky guess on his part? Or does he know more than she thinks he does? The butler poured the wine into each of their glasses.

Seeing as they had finished their first course, he cleared their plates and left with the servant with the trolley. Dante lifted his wine glass and so did Laina.

"Cheers."

"Cheers."

The sound of their wine glasses clinking one another echoed throughout the hall. Hearing the echo, Laina could not help but laugh. The hall was so huge and had so much empty space that it easily echoed sounds.

Seeing Laina laugh made Dante laugh a little too.

The next course of their meal was soup. Each of them was served a bowl of lobster bisque soup.

"So, King Dante, you mentioned that you did not like large parties. Was that right?"

"It is." he replied before taking a sip of the wine.

"Well, then why were you there at the Masquerade Ball in the Everfree Nation?" Laina asked out of curiosity.

A mischievous smirk appeared upon his face as Dante placed both his elbows on the table and interlocked his hands together.

"To put it simply, I was there to meet new people, make alliances, that sort of thing. Meeting you there was… not in the plans,"

Laina blushed a little upon hearing his reply, although she was not sure why. For the next few minutes, she concentrated on eating her soup. Its savory flavors were welcomed after the sweetness of the tomatoes from the bruschetta.

The soup was not only wonderfully seasoned, but it was also not overly creamy, as some lobster bisques tend to be. In fact, it was a little light, making room for the other eight dishes.

"What about you? Why did you attend the Masquerade Ball? Are you looking for a match perhaps?" Dante asked Laina while looking at her straight in the eyes.

Laina wanted to avoid his eye contact immediately. But she found herself helplessly looking back at him. She fumbled, trying to formulate her reply. The crown princess could not understand why she was always so flustered in front of him.

Her heart rate increased, her cheeks were hot. What were these feelings?

"As the Crown Princess of Kinshearth, my coronation is in… about... two years. My subjects would prefer for me to have a King by my side when I take the throne officially."

"I see… So you're looking for a suitable husband, yes?" he asked.

She cleared her throat as she replied, "Yes, that's right."

Before any one of them could say anything else, the next course was being served. It was an appetizer. For the appetizer, they had a small cheese and parma ham platter. Their platter each had three types of cheese, some olives, crackers, honeycomb, and two slices of parma ham.

"What are the cheeses?" Laina asked the butler.

"Today, we have a selection of brie, truffle-infused cheddar, and smoked gouda."

Laina thanked the butler before she began to dig into her cheese platter. She carefully picked up a round cracker, put some gooey brie cheese on it, and topped it off with some parma ham. Laina placed her concoction straight into her mouth.

The texture of the creamy brie contrasts with the crunch of the cracker. Flavours-wise, the saltiness of the parma ham paired well with the cheese.

It tasted like Heaven in a bite.