'Mother, Father, Aria,' I prayed silently, hands clasped as if it might spare me. 'Forgive your unfilial son for whatever chaos I'm dragging home with me. May I find a way to repent someday.'
Why was I offering up apologies? Because, as fate would have it, I was trapped in a self-driving luxury car with not one, not two, not three, but four high-born ladies. These weren't just any nobility - three princesses and the daughter of Marquis Springshaper were casually seated around me as if this were a normal school trip rather than what it actually was: a calculated invasion of my private life.
The true mystery was how Cecilia had managed to convince her father so easily. I'd have expected more resistance to an impromptu holiday visit involving not just herself, but two other princesses and a marquis's daughter. Instead, Emperor Quinn had simply nodded, muttered something along the lines of "Take the necessary precautions," and here we were.
