Matthew beamed, though with his attitude, the princess probably would have gone with them even if she had said no. He beckoned one of the palace butlers, issuing his orders to help with the luggage, before beckoning both his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law to follow him.
"Wonderful! Come on then, this way! I'll give you a brief tour about the palace, Jules can give you a more detailed one later." he babbled, ignoring Jules' sigh of having his brother plan out his actions for him.

Jules couldn't help but fidget with the cravat around his neck; he wanted nothing more than to rip the damn thing off so he could have a decent chestful of air. But he could not, for one, it would look distasteful, and it might offend Matthew, who routinely wore them. So, all he could do was sit and suffer in the stuffy atmosphere and hope he didn't look as blue in the face as he felt.

As the pair of them trailed behind Matthew, the older prince moving farther and farther off, talking incessantly to nobody who was listening. Jules glanced over in surprise at the princess's questions, quickly looking away and taking up an interest in the floor tiles as he struggled to speak.
"A-Ah! I-It wasn't really, I've made the trip several times before. A-Actually, I returned home several days ago. Trust me, i-its not your fault." he stammered over his words, trying to reassure her. Was she concerned about him? If so, then he didn't have the heart to tell her he wasn't actually sick, and it was just one of Matthew's lies.
He tried to think of a way to continue the conversation, damn it, talking to girls was so hard! Did he talk about Brynmor? But then he might seem ignorant. What about her dress or hair? No, then it would look like he was just superficial! Dammit, he hardly knew the girl well enough to ask her anything!
"Um, s-so... D-Do you know much about Circassia? I enjoy it very much. It's very far south of here, near the desert lands on the Sapphire Sea. It's a trading nation, and because of that, it's extremely wealthy. They also have alchemy there, though their style is very different. Their alchemists are called Djinni, after the mythical spirits, and their practice is called Rukh. A lot of they alchemy involves glass, they are quite skilled in crafting it." he explained, finding the fluidity in his voice once he began talking about something he was passionate about.

"Oh yawn." interrupted Matthew, who had somehow managed to get behind them, resting his arm on Jules' shoulder. "Come on, Jules, you're boring the poor girl. Nobody want to talk about the dull lives of foreigners when there is so much to talk about Lutetia! You know, we are among the finest textile producers in the world! Even the mysterious Kou who hid the secret of silk from the world for nearly a thousand years buy our cloth, in great demand too. On top of that, our large territory gives us a variety of climates, and the rich soil allows for several types of crops to be grown at once! Not to mention our taste in music, dancing, art, wine, and women." he added, winking at Alicia. Jules smiled weakly at his brother, laughing nervously.
"U-Um, brother, I-I think that you're being a little too... biased?" he offered, Matthew turning to him and puffing out his cheeks in a childish pout.
"Why's that? Jules, are you telling me you don't think our beloved country is as wonderful as I do? That's treason, you know! I'll make it treason." he grumbled, his mood darkening.

Swiftly intervening, Jules swiftly grabbed his brothers shoulder, smiling as sweetly as he could.
"Not at all, brother dearest. I was just trying to say that, perhaps merely talking would paint an inadequate picture for the princess? What we see with our eyes is in describable even with all the words in the world, you know. Maybe we should let princess Alicia observe and decide for herself? You don't want to spoil all the treasure of our land for her before she even knows her way to her room, now, do you?" he asked, his demeanor changing to pleasant and yet frighteningly sly and clever. At his suggestion, Matthew gasped suddenly, as if he had an epiphany.
"By Jove, you're right! How silly of me! You have to see for yourself! In fact, lets skip the rooms, that can happen later. I want to show you the balcony, from which you can see almost the whole of the city! Well, all of it that isn't behind the castle, that is..." Matthew babbled, Jules toning his voice out as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, returning to his usual quiet self. He now felt very embarrassed at having used [i]that[/i] skill in front of someone else; the skill of Silvertongue. 

Not wanting to make a bad impression, he looked at Alicia nervously, brushing a stray hair out of his face.
"S-Sorry. Matthew is very passionate, don't mind much what he says." he apologized, hurrying after his brother.