APPARENTLY, news of Sirius’ return had spread throughout the entire country; as soon as the carriage passed into the imperial capital, throngs of demons crowded the streets to welcome their prince back.
“Prince Sirius has returned!”
“Everyone, get the flowers ready!”
“Wow! Your Highness, you’ve grown so much!”
“Hey! Don’t go pointing your fingers at the carriage!”
“Oh, my…! His Highness is so handsome…”
Even though it was “nighttime,” the capital was very much alive.
Everywhere Marialite looked, the air was filled with the same glowing orbs Sirius had cast earlier. Men stood on the roofs of the surrounding houses and emptied bucketfuls of flower petals over the carriage as it approached, vivid colors dancing through the air.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar sounded from overhead, and Marialite poked her head out the window to look up. When she did, she saw the starless night sky glittering with multicolored fireworks. They were popular back at home, but she’d never seen them on this scale before. Reds, blues, greens, yellows, purples, whites… A shimmering spectrum of colors shot into the sky before bursting into the largest explosion of light she’d ever seen.
And still, the people’s cheers were loud enough to drown out the noise.
“It’s just like a festival,” she marveled.
“Well, it is one,” Raven pointed out. “They’re celebrating the prince’s return and the fact that the Rebellion didn’t manage to kill him.”
“Even though I asked His Majesty for a modest welcome…” Sirius sighed. Apparently, the actual object of all the festivities wasn’t all too enthralled. He stared down at his feet, his body stiff and rigid. “When they go all-out like this, I don’t know how to react.”
“Umm,” Raven interjected, clearing his throat. “It sounds like you’re not the only one they’re celebrating.”
Cheers resounded from outside the carriage—but a large number of them were dedicated to Marialite, not Sirius.
“Welcome, Saint!”
“We heard you saved Prince Sirius!”
“I wonder if that beautiful woman is Saint Marialite…!”
“She looks so elegant!”
“Look, Mommy! Saint Marialite just smiled at us!”
Many people, both young and old, were excitedly discussing her visit to the kingdom. Marialite had never experienced anything like this before; she could do little but stare in wonder at the dazzling scene before her eyes. That was partly because she’d never been in front of such a large crowd of people before, though.
As the carriage slowly rolled through the streets, a huge castle eventually emerged in the distance up ahead. At first, it was difficult to even see, but if Marialite strained her eyes, she could just about make out the outline of all the buildings.
“Wow… It’s painted totally black.”
“Indeed,” Sirius nodded. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but…it really is dark, isn’t it?” The light of the fireworks illuminated the facade of the castle, making it barely visible in contrast to the equally shadowy skyline. “The palace was built to commemorate the founding of the kingdom, but it’s said it was designed that way so that it’s camouflaged from enemy view.”
“Oh—that’s a clever idea. I just assumed that the designer’s favorite color was black,” she laughed.
“If they built it based purely on their own tastes, I’m sure the level of criticism would be staggering…” Sirius chuckled alongside her, before taking a furtive glance out the window and lowering his voice. “By the way, I have a favor to ask before we exit the carriage.”
Marialite stared at him with curious eyes, waiting.
“Try not to get separated from me. No matter what.”
“I understand. If I got lost in a completely new country, it’d be quite the ordeal.”
“That’s not what I mean…” he murmured in reply, but since she’d already agreed to stick with him, he didn’t bother explaining what he did mean. Raven, on the other hand, glanced outside the window with a frown on his face, apparently understanding the gravity of Sirius’ request.
With the once-peaceful atmosphere inside the carriage growing ever so slightly frostier, they finally pulled up outside the main gates of the palace.
The road leading up to the palace doors was lined with soldiers wearing large, heavy armor. Trying to brighten up the solemn atmosphere, Raven leaped to his feet.
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks and all that,” he muttered jokingly before climbing out of the carriage door. Sirius soon followed him, then turned around to hold a helping hand out to Marialite.
“Here, Lady Marialite. Please hold onto me as you climb down.”
“Are you sure that’s all right?”
“Of course! I’ve dreamt about this scenario for a long time!” he insisted with a huge grin, and Marialite couldn’t possibly find it in her to refuse.
She slipped her hand into his, and as soon as she nimbly jumped down, he wrapped his arms around her to steady her.
Then, in that same moment, a deafening roar erupted right behind her.
“Oh no! The carriage…” she gasped.
The carriage that the three of them had been occupying mere seconds ago had been blown to smithereens. The debris was whipped up into a pillar of fire, but strangely enough, none of the sparks or splinters of wood reached her skin. That was when she noticed a thin, scarlet membrane encasing both her and Sirius, protecting them. Somehow, he must’ve quickly cast some sort of protective magic within those few, vital split seconds.
“Lady Marialite, are you hurt?” he asked, his tone heavy with concern.
“I’m all right, but what about the horses…?” she worried, nibbling her bottom lip.
“Rest assured; they seem to have teleported to a safe place.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she sighed with relief.
“Marialite?” Raven called out, a shaky laugh in his voice. “Aren’t you a little too calm for someone who almost got blown up?”
She had no chance to reply before a storm of colossal, sharp icicles came raining down from the sky, aiming towards Raven.
“Raven, duck!” Sirius barked.
“Wha—? O-Okay!” he panicked, quickly doing as Sirius said. Once he crouched down, a huge wall of fire spread over the top of his head, intercepting the icicles. They burst into steam the moment they touched the fiery shield and immediately evaporated. There wasn’t even a single drop of water left behind.
Unfortunately, the licks of flames also scorched the top of Raven’s hair.
“Yaowch! That’s hot!” he yelped.
“Oh, don’t make such a fuss. It’ll grow back,” Sirius rolled his eyes.
“What do you mean, ‘grow back’?! How much hair have I lost?!” he cried, fiercely patting at the top of his head to find out. In reality, only a little had burned off, and he was in no danger of exposing any bald patches.
“Thank you so much for saving us, Lord Sirius,” Marialite smiled fondly.
“Well, I’m the cause of it, after all. What sort of a demon would I be if I just left you to take the hit?” he uttered sincerely. “Raven’s lucky I didn’t, though,” he tacked on in a murmur.
“You can let me go now. I’m all right,” she assured him.
A strangely long silence fell as a look of deep thought crossed Sirius’ face.
“…There might be more attacks, so let’s stay like this a little longer,” he eventually concluded. Marialite could feel his heartbeat racing and heard his breathing grow a little ragged; perhaps he was feeling shaken from the sudden catastrophe.
“As always, your magic is something to behold, Sirius. And, my—how you’ve grown.”
An unfamiliar voice rang out, their manner of speech old-fashioned and gentle.
Marialite turned to see a man standing atop the ash-covered splinters of the wreckage, smiling kindly. Judging by his appearance, he must’ve been around her age. He had pale blonde hair with a shine like moonlight and blue eyes reminiscent of the bottom of a tranquil lake.
Then, on top of it all, his head was adorned with golden, sparkling horns.
“I wanted to ascertain whether you were out of practice. I slipped out of the palace unnoticed, you see.”
“Even so, I don’t think that’s any excuse to go to such lengths just to test me. You almost hurt Lady Marialite,” Sirius objected in disgust, pulling her even closer.
However, everyone else was already on their knees, bowing their heads to the mystery man.
“Oh…” Marialite gasped in disbelief. “Are you…the emperor of this land?”
“Why, of course. Do you want a prize for your powers of deduction? How about some candy? Or— No, never mind. Let us begin with an introduction,” he announced, cutting himself off. “My name is Uranometria Celaeno. I am the one who bears the distinguished title of emperor in this land,” the demon emperor said, giving the two of them a relaxed wave.