Akagami no Shirayukihime - Chapter 20

Before I begin, I see advertisements of the release of Seishun Kouryakuhon volume 2! w00t!

I just realized that if you exclude Obi in the list of dudes having a crush on Shirayuki, she's in the middle of a love triangle. And both of them are even of royal status!
Though of course, because this ain't your typical shoujo series, it's not your usual love triangle either: she's in a canon relationship with one of them, and the other is actually trying to avoid her because he's very obedient to his promise to the official boyfriend. And ironically, in this chapter, she's currently spending time with the one who's quite scared to be seen together with her. And no, she's not flirting around. Haha, phew.

The red-haired beauty leaves Clarines.
Haruka came along with the departees, to do a crash course on etiquette.
Before leaving, Shirayuki takes something from Zen with a promise to return it.
The three had set off for Tanburn.

The first prince warns the second prince of the lady's change when she returns.
The second prince's escorts worry if things might become troublesome later.

The travel to the capital took days.
When they finally arrived at the castle, Prince Raji greeted them with a smile.
But he finally revealed how he really felt when they were left alone.

He invited her as his way of thanking her.
However he doesn't know if he has any right to spend more time with her because of the incident.
But Shirayuki gave him a second chance.

Prince Zen makes himself busy on investigating about the boy.
While the boy.... decides to go to Tanburn.

[ PRINCE RAJI APPRECIATION CORNER ]
Raji may have been such an idiotic jerk in the first chapter, but his recent appearances had made him soooooooooooooooooooooooo lovable.


Some things to appreciate/compliement/like/love about Raji (at least to me):

1. HE IS FUNNY (part 1)
There's something wrong if Raji is acting like a refined and behaved Prince. LOLz
2. HE IS FUNNY (part 2)
Like Zen, he is rich in amusing expressions in different emotions. LOLz
3. HE IS FUNNY (part 3)
He's the comedic type of tsundere. He so wants her to come but he's in despair when she did. Yeah, tsunderes are complicated.
4. HE IS ABUSABLE (part 1)
It's fun to make him appear like an idiot or troubled. His servant is doing a good job.
5. HE IS ABUSABLE (part 2)
His servant speaks up for him. For some reason, it makes Raji look shameful, and it's funny.
6. HE IS TOTALLY CUTE
And his mole's sexy. 'nuff said. Fufu.
7. HE KEEPS PROMISES SERIOUSLY
He swore, and never broke it until Zen and Shirayuki themselves let him do so.
8. HE HAS A SENSE OF GRATITUDE
He invited an "ordinary" girl to an exclusive party just to thank her for the medical treatment.
9. HE IS AFRAID OF ZEN
For certain he wouldn't be able to relax at all if the official boyfriend's around. Fufu.
10. HE IS STILL IN LOVE WITH SHIRAYUKI
It's not as obvious as Zen, but still obvious. For certain it's not only because of her rarity anymore. Any guy who likes Shirayuki has taste. Hehe.

I LOVE PRINCE RAJI!!!!!!!!! xD

I really doubt he'll do any harm to Shirayuki this time. He's now more respectful towards her.... and is even slightly scared of her, haha! So if something bad happens during Shirayuki's stay, I doubt it'll be Raji's fault.

Mitsuhide's hinting the possibility of something weird to happen in the future though. I think if something does happen, whether bad or not, the mysterious boy might have something to do with it:

He's going to return to Tanburn! I'm curious on what will happen when he and Shirayuki finally meet ^^ Please don't stay mysterious for too long! It's killing me xD

Oh yeah, the other person that Mitsuhide's concerned about is Obi:

It's giving us a hint that Obi might also be in love with Shirayuki. Well, with his look upon seeing his present still on Shirayuki's hair, it could be interpreted as such (even if it wasn't a blush). My guess is that it's new to him for someone to use treasure his present. He doesn't know though that Shirayuki's main reason for wearing it more often is because Zen said it looks nice on her. Ehehe.

But it honestly doesn't matter whether Obi has romantic feelings for Shirayuki or not, because as I've been fangurling about for so many times (I would love to mention it again): he's still more of a Zen x Shirayuki shipper than a Shirayuki suitor, haha!

- He didn't tell Shirayuki the reason why he was chosen to escort her. He respects if Zen doesn't want to tell her, or not tell her yet.
- He doesn't like forcing her to be by her side (He's hoping for her not to mind him accompanying her). He has no plans in doing so without Zen's permission either (I don't think it'll bother him at all if he lost in the duel)
- He tells her that Zen was the one who wants to accompany her the most. He emphasizes that Zen is still the one who values her the most.
- He doesn't say that he just wants to protect Shirayuki. He said that if Zen couldn't protect her, he'll do it in his place.
- He is disappointed when his master fails in following his love advices. I'm sorry Obi, Zen's an idiot. LOLz

Seriously, no matter how I look at it, he loves Zen and Shirayuki almost equally. He treats them like his best friends even (He calls his mistress cute very casually; and he scolds his master casually too, LOLz) but also their loyal servant (in everything~).

No, Mitsuhide. I don't think he's the type of guy to talk about his feelings. It might no longer be necessary because it's already too obvious in his actions. Teehee. But it'd still be nice to hear about it though (for confirmation). Hopefully that'll come soon~

Now about other characters in the chapter:

(squee~ brotherly moment~ Well, sort of)

:: IZANA :: He is the sadistic type of older brother because he finds pleasure in teasing Zen and also in seeing his miserable face. LOLz And about what he told to Zen.... it's so vague. He's knows something.... whatever it is... hopefully it gets revealed soon!!!! So many mystery on a fairy tale series, ahaha!
:: HARUKA :: It's amusing that the person who was once very against Shirayuki is now helping her out. Fortunately, he still spoils Zen and Zen could still handle him. Haha!
:: KIKI :: What she has been saying might really be foreshadowing. Though I'm very curious on what could possible halt Shirayuki's return.
:: MITSUHIDE :: Telling his master to rest... daaaw. Haha! And it looks like he has become pretty close to Obi~
:: MIHAYA :: What the hell happened to him?! =_= Hopefully he'll have a bigger role on the next chapter. This chapter seems to be more on Raji (among the non-main characters)

And of course......



HELLO MY DEAR FAVORITE!!!! OF COURSE I'M STILL MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOU xD LOLz!

I thought Shirayuki would only be out for two weeks.... but if you count the travel time, it turns out that she'll take a month! So yes, unlike other boyfriends, Zen can survive without being super close to the leading lady for a month. And no, he'll be busy with something useful (going "workaholic" mode even) instead of going emo or sulking about being separated from her for quite some time. He even had a happy face when they parted, unlike what Izana had anticipated.

Why can't other shoujo bishies be like Zen? Hehehehhehe......

And the most romantic moment they had in this chapter is when Shirayuki asked for something that belongs to Zen. It's her way of promising that they'll definitely be seeing each other again. Zen's smile.... daaaawww~

*sniff* Yeah, I'm crying once again.... from too much happiness. No other shoujo manga had been this wonderful in every single chapter for me. Hehe.