The entire hall was speechless for a very long moment. 

King Hugo was the first to find his voice. "Does she mean to walk in here and undermine thousand of years of tradition?!" he snarled. "Just as expected from someone from Astora -- she thinks she can simply walk in here and change things to fit her personal beliefs alone! Who said anything about Lamont being a disgrace?" He turned his attention to his surviving son. "You've been telling her things, haven't you."

Lamont gaped in shock before he recovered, glaring back at his father with anger. "I've told her nothing!" he barked. "We barely met! She came barging into the library thinking she could command me; she came to her own conclusions! Why would I admit to my future wife of my follies!"

It scared Lamont to realize how intuitive Kiara was. It was true -- he had a falling out with his father for several years over disagreements with lifestyle. To Lamont, Hugo truly did think him a disgrace. Was their animosity towards each other so transparent?

"I think this is good," Queen Alexis stated, looking bemused. "If the princess is this passionate about someone she barely knows, imagine how fit she would be by Lamont's side once she gets to know our country."

"Get to know?" King Hugo said in furious disbelief. "She'll use Lamont to destroy Berinike as we know it! Give her a decade and she'll have this place covered in trees and frills and shiny things. The arts don't protect people from dying. There'll be no stopping Callum from preying on us."

"Astora hasn't fallen to Callum thus far, has it?"

"No, but..."

Lamont ignored his parents as they launched into argument. Instead, he rose to his feet and moved briskly towards the door. It was true, Kiara had so far demonstrated herself to be rude and commanding, qualities he didn't care for. However, no one else had ever stood up for him the way she had, not even his mother. He couldn't understand why. He was the enemy, the weakling, and they had just met. There was absolutely no reason for Kiara to get so upset. He had to find out what was going on.

Furthermore, something his father had said earlier had struck a chord. Was king Hugo truly worried about his safety? All this time, Lamont had assumed the king's love was all for his brothers. Perhaps he had been wrong. In that case, maybe it wouldn't hurt to make the attempt to see things a little more his way. Perhaps Kiara would be the best one to talk to regarding such matters.

So he burst through the doors, hoping to catch up to the princess. "Kiara, wait!"