Chapter 81 - Art of Teasing

Everyone around Princess Bang-Gwi were trying to stifle their laughter after Chuhan Jwi shoved that bread in her mouth. The Princess eventually swallowed the bread and looked at Chuhan Jwi like she was innocent and didn't say anything wrong.

*coughs* "What was that for Jwi!" The Princess exclaimed.

"I did nothing wrong at all, you just looked hungry after talking too much." Chuhan Jwi said with a sweet smile on her face.

Princess Bang-gwi stuck her tongue out at Chuhan Jwi in defiance. The excitement of having the Princess around finally settled down so the people standing around found their own seats in the mess hall. The few other soldiers that were able to sit near the Princess were interested in getting to know her better after seeing how much effort she put into training and wasn't all talk.

Vincent felt a little awkward as he was the only male that had a seat close to the Princess since the female soldiers bullied the male soldiers for the seats near the Princess. The Princess wasn't completely oblivious to this though and felt a little bad for him.

"Hey! Vinnie! Don't you have any friends that you normally sit with?"

Vinnie didn't answer at first as he wasn't sure the Princess was talking to him since he wasn't used to being called Vinnie. "… What? Oh, well, yes of course." Vincent motioned towards a table with 3 soldiers at it and an empty seat.

"We came from the same town in what was once Eastern Europe, can't remember what country it used to be though." Vincent said with a downcast expression.

"What happened that you can't even tell which country your town was formerly part of?" The Princess asked curiously.

Chuhan Jwi actually spoke up first and said "Obviously you didn't pay attention during History lessons…"

Vincent looked at Chuhan Jwi and added "Probably not, but…" Vincent wanted to continue but he knew it was better to not bring it up as it was a difficult subject to explain.

Still, the Princess looked at him with pleading eyes, asking him to explain what she is missing. "I'll tell you about it later, plus I'm sure you want to meet my friends and comrades."

The Princess flashed him a big smile "Yay! Thanks Vinnie!"

Vicent scratched his head in embarassment and added "I don't like it when you call me Vinnie."

The Princess childishly stuck her tongue out at him and said "And I don't like it when you call me Princess."

Xiǎng Pigu was smiling with both of them while watching their exchange, a few of the people around them all started giggling after seeing the Princess act childishly.

Chuhan Jwi was very happy for the Princess, even though it was at a military base, this was the first time she felt that the Princess had made friends that didn't base their friendship on her status as the Princess. Still, she would always be vigilant because if anyone was out to harm the Princess, they would indeed be very patient.

The Princess saw Vincent take a drink and suddenly asked "So Vinnie, what's your favorite type of girl?"

Vincent immediately choked on what he was drinking and almost spit it up causing everyone around them to laugh. "Princess, don't ask that so suddenly! I am not in to girls."

The Princess's, Xiǎng Pigu's, Chuhan Jwi's, and every other female's eyes opened wide as they started picturing the various boys love scenes in their heads.

Vincent quickly started waving his hands while saying "Not like that! I mean I don't have time for girls so I haven't really considered it... but if I had to I'd say I prefer mature women, ummm... what about you Princess?"

"Me? I like girls that are fun and easy to get along with!" the Princess said honestly.

The few guys in the area that heard this and even a few of the girls started to picture the Princess with another girl.

"You know what I mean, Princess." Vincent stated blankly not falling for her teasing this time.

Seeing her attempt to bother Vincent fail, the Princess didn't give up and instead snuggled up to Xiǎng Pigu and said "Why do you think I picked Pi first, she is my type."

Xiǎng Pigu started to get very flustered and her face turned red as she started to stammer "W-W-Wait Princess! I'm honored! W-W-We can't! I mean! I am not ready!"

Seeing Xiǎng Pigu ready to melt, both Vincent and the Princess laughed out loud.

__________

After dinner, Vincent was walking by himself towards his room after walking with the Princess and Xiǎng Pigu back to their rooms. Chuhan Jwi was standing next to the door to his room and nodded slightly when Vincent saluted her.

"Good evening Lady Chuhan, to what do I owe the honor?" Vincent said respectfully.

Chuhan Jwi was nobility so addressing her as Lady Chuhan would be considered appropriate, but it still felt odd to her coming from this boy that was almost a man. She didn't mind it though as Vincent's personality was very straight-forward and he would be most comfortable addressing someone properly.

"Vincent, I was wondering if you had a moment to talk."

"Of course milady!" Vincent hurriedly opened the door to his quarters and welcome Chuhan Jwi inside. Unsurprisingly Vincent's room was very sparse and not decorated except for a single picture of what was probably his family. While it was sparse, the attention to cleanliness was apparent from the well folded sheets on the bed, the floor without a single footprint, and a sink without a speck of dirt or soap scum on it.

Vincent realized though that the average military dorms were not meant to entertain guests since the space was extremely limited and lacked any furniture except for a desk, a chair, and a twin bed. The bathroom was merely a tiny closet with a sink and toilet, showers were communal for the vast majority. The nobility had slightly larger rooms and private full bathrooms so they didn't have to share, the Princess, of course, had the largest room on the entire base, consuming enough space as 5 or 6 regular dorms.

Chuhan Jwi didn't seem too bothered by the cramped space fortunately and just sat down on Vincent's bed after she saw how hard the desk chair was to sit on. She was actually slightly amused at Vincent's pained expression when she considered it could be from either her messing up his bed or the fact that she was the first woman on his bed.

"I'll be quick about this then, Vincent, I'm sure you are uncomfortable with my presence here and we don't want anyone to get any wrong ideas about us since a beautiful woman visiting a man's room usually leads to something else." Chuhan Jwi said with a teasing smile.

"Nonsense milady, you are too ol..." Vincent was about to say she was too old for him, but he felt the room get colder suddenly and then he remembered that she seemed to be very touchy about her age after seeing what she did to the Princess when the Princess teased her about it.

Vincent quickly cleared his throat trying to make it sound like he stumbled the word he meant to say and then continued "too beautiful for someone as lowly as me and I'm sure nobody would come to that conclusion!"

"Good boy" Chuhan Jwi patted his cheek and added "That aside, I appreciate your change of heart about the Princess, she really is a good girl... she doesn't need to know everything about the past either. I would recommend, for both of yours sake, that you choose your words wisely when you talk about what happened 71 years ago during the conquest of Eastern Europe."

Vincent stared at Chuhan Jwi for a moment and then finally said "I honestly respect the Princess, and you do not need to worry, I had no intentions of revealing the nature of her great Grandmother, I am sure this is what you were referring to?"

"Indeed, I am glad to see you are wise for your age Vincent. You'll make a fine man some day!"

Vincent blushed at this and said "Milady, I already consider myself a man."

"Oh? So you think you are already a man then huh?" Chuhan Jwi said teasingly, then she leaned back on his bed in a very seductive pose while unzipping her jumpsuit slightly.

Vincent's face turned bright red and he suddenly shouted "Yes milady! I forgot that I am meeting up with my friend's now milady!" and then he bolted out the door leaving Chuhan Jwi on his bed still.

"Still just a boy" Chuhan Jwi thought to herself as she laughed softly, zipped her jumpsuit all the way back up and returned to the Princess's room.