Riesz 4
What the Heck…!
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“JUST the other day, Archmage Viol and Seren were officially married.”
The instant the king’s words sank in, I said the only thing I could think of saying… Which was “Huh?”
…Huh?
…HUUUUUUUUH?!
No, no, no, no, that couldn’t be true. After all, it had only been six months since her engagement with Prince Helios was called off.
That’s what I tried telling myself, but the king didn’t correct himself. On the contrary, he reiterated that their marriage was real and ended his speech with the words, “Good citizens, I call on you to assist me in celebrating the happy couple, and please, enjoy tonight’s feast.”
…This had to be a joke, right?
Despondent, I looked to my brother, standing behind the royal family. He quickly looked away.
I pushed through the crowd surrounding the king and queen dancing their quadrille and approached the royal seats. I was planning on asking what exactly was going on, but…
But when I saw Prince Helios smiling and congratulating Seren and Archmage Viol, all of my gumption drained from me in an instant.
Yes, he was smiling… But I knew how he felt.
Even Prince Helios was offering his blessings to the happy couple while concealing his true, uneasy feelings. His eyes, usually filled with such strength, looked cloudy and sad.
Yes, there was Prince Helios, suppressing his feelings and giving his blessing to them. The king and queen, too, had entreated the crowd to look warmly at the happy couple. But what about me?
Feeling defeated, I went back to my room, collapsed into bed, and buried my face in the pillow.
Oh man, this is the worst.
I’d never imagined that Seren would get married so soon. I’d never imagined the Frosty Archmage, known for being such a terrible communicator, would act so fast.
This was the worst.
The absolute worst.
I was so upset I couldn’t make myself feel sleepy at all. I sat up, thinking I’d pour myself a drink or something.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Someone hammered on my door.
…Uh-oh.
I had a bad feeling, so I pretended not to be home.
I slowly pulled the covers over myself and curled up, holding my breath so as not to make any noise. Sorry, but I’m not in the mood to entertain anyone right now.
Or so I thought.
There was a click, and the door opened.
“Oh… It wasn’t locked after all.”
Darn it! I’m such an idiot!
I’d been so bent out of shape about Seren getting married that I’d forgotten to lock the door, and now someone had just walked in.
“Oh, Riesz! You’re home, after all!”
Just great. Of course, it’s the red-headed idiot who’s barged into my room.
Mashlo strode over to my bed without a shred of decorum, threw off the covers I’d burrowed under, and thrust his face right up next to mine.
“Hey, is it true that Seren’s gotten married?! Can’t be, right? Tell me it’s not true!”
“Get out. I never gave you permission to enter.”
“I’m not leaving until I hear everything. Come on, wake up.”
Wow, what a jerk. He even closed and locked the door behind him.
Guess he’s serious about not leaving until we talk. Boils my blood.
“So, this thing about Seren getting married…”
“It’s true,” I grunted. “You heard it from someone, right, Mashlo? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. She’s married to Archmage Viol. All right? Now, you can get lost.”
“But how…”
“How should I know?” I sighed heavily. “I don’t know how. Or why. But I do know that the king and queen officially blessed the marriage. And even threw a ball in their honor.”
“Why would they do that…?”
“And what’s more, Prince Helios offered his personal congratulations.”
“No way. Why would he do that?!”
I wish he’d stop asking why this, why that! I’d like to know why, too…!
“Well, if Prince Helios has signed off on it, then there’s nothing we can say against it now,” I insisted.
“But he’s ten years older than us. He’s an old man! Seren must have been somehow forced…”
“She was smiling. She looked happy,” I said.
Yes, Seren did look happy. That was what made it even worse.
I sighed and got up. Getting rid of Mashlo seemed like too much effort all of a sudden. I grabbed two glasses and a bottle of the good stuff.
“Drink this. I’m opening a decent bottle today.”
I poured two drinks and mixed them with a little ice and water. Mine was a bit stronger of the two. I chucked it back in one gulp. I wanted to get as drunk as I possibly could.
Wallowing in disbelief, denial, or something like that, Mashlo was still bleating away. “It’s not true; it’s just not true,” he muttered, sipping at his drink.
“Down it. It’ll help you forget.” I sloshed more alcohol into his still-almost-full glass.
Mashlo sniffed, then knocked his drink back just as I’d done.
“That’s right, drink up, drink up.”
I poured myself another. Yeah, I was pretty upset, too.
“Yeah, let’s drink until the sun comes up. The academy is closed tomorrow anyway.”
“Right, right.”
“Prince Helios doesn’t even talk to me anymore,” Mashlo lamented. “My parents are furious with me, I could get axed from the salon at any moment… Seren’s married… Ah, man. I want to forget my entire life.”
Most of that’s your own damn fault, I thought. But I decided not to say anything about it.
“Drink up. I wouldn’t blame you.”
“That’d be a first.”
After that, we drank ourselves silly. At first, I’d wanted to get rid of him, but thinking about it, I doubted I’d be able to sleep anyway. And I didn’t want to stay up alone all night, agonizing.
Normally, I couldn’t stomach Mashlo’s presence, but today, it seemed better to be in his company than my own. I even got out some tasty snacks I don’t usually offer guests. I guess the events of the day really did a number on me.
After we’d made our way through most of the bottle, Mashlo was properly drunk. He began whining and complaining even more.
“Damn it all to heck! Why did it have to turn out like this? Just when it was looking like she was a free agent!”
Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.
But wow… Mashlo was still clinging on to a shred of hope, then? He never learns. But his endless positivity… That was a good quality, one I’d like to emulate.
To begin with, Seren doesn’t seem to like Mashlo. And her father, Duke Qumildy, and the royals all seem to share a distaste for him as well. I seriously doubt he’d have been able to make a comeback from such a disadvantaged position.
“You’re done for as far as she’s concerned anyway. Your social stock was in the toilet,” I said.
“Shut up, I know that. But it just doesn’t make sense for her to get married so suddenly.”
Seriously. I didn’t expect it to happen out of the blue like this, either.
“Darn it! Seren! I love yooou!”
You dolt. I’m the one who’s always loved her the most.
“…”
“Hmm? What?”
I realized that Mashlo was staring at me, a gormless look on his face.
“Why are you crying?” he asked.
“What?” I touched my cheek… And my fingers came away wet.
Pathetic.
Seren’s marriage shocked me so much that I started crying without even realizing it.
“I… I loved Seren, too,” I admitted.
“Huh?! This is the first time you’ve mentioned it!”
“What was the point of saying it? Seren was engaged to Prince Helios.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Unlike you, I’m mentally normal.” I snorted and took another glug of my drink. “She always works hard… She’s tough on herself but kind to others… Always smiling sweetly… Saying adorable things like how she dreamed about flying. I mean, anyone would fall in love with a girl like that, right?”
Since we’re the same age, I feel like I know Seren better than anyone else at the salon. She and I have always been peers…
“Having her snatched away by some random guy… It’s frustrating. Obviously.”
“Riesz.”
Hahaha, Mashlo looked like he had no idea what to do or say to me. I must really be a mess if I’ve got this socially ignorant guy in a flap over my precious feelings.
“But you know…”
“Y-Yeah?”
“Seren… She looked… happy.”
Mashlo’s brows shot up when I half-whispered that.
“Wow, you’re saying that for real?”
“Dancing, talking… She looked radiantly happy, yes, but it was more than that… The way they were with one another… It just seemed… effortless.”
I’d been scowling at the pair of them the whole time. It was horrible to witness.
The mood between them. Calm, secure, filled with quiet trust. I felt like a complete idiot for having such dark feelings. Even now, the casual glances and little smiles they exchanged are burned into my mind.
Just remembering it made my chest ache.
“I’ve never seen a more beautiful smile from her…” I gulped down another full glass of booze. “There’s no way I could interfere with something like that.”
“…”
I no longer cared about Mashlo’s disgruntled face or the tears that threatened to spill forth from my eyes.
Tonight, I was gonna drink myself to sleep. I mean, what else was there left to do?