THE palace officials and maids were very grateful to Marialite; a single sentence from her had been far more successful at getting Sirius out of his office than all of their efforts combined.
However, no one could say that he looked entirely pleased about the fact.
His smile was mixed with discomfort. Raven, who’d been standing with him just a moment ago, was staring at the saint as though he was looking at some strange, unidentifiable creature.
No one could blame him, though; before, no matter how much Sirius turned his charm on, Marialite would only give him a casual, sweet smile. However, at that moment, she was genuinely flattered, with a pink flush dusting her skin. Sirius convinced himself he must have been dreaming, while Raven wondered if it was even the real Marialite.
“Lady Marialite…” Sirius hedged. “Did something happen?”
“Like what?” she blinked.
“…No, it’s nothing,” he chuckled awkwardly.
“Oh?” she questioned with a tilt of her head.
Sirius automatically averted his gaze. Somehow, her mannerisms were even more charming than usual. Just looking at her made him imagine flower petals fluttering through the air around her, and he was doing his utmost to keep his flustered emotions in check. He tried not to let it show, but he feared he might stop breathing with how adorable she was. All he wanted was to pepper her pale skin with kisses and press his face up against her round, unbelievably smooth cheeks.
Meanwhile, the maids—who didn’t yet know what Marialite was usually like—gazed fondly upon the romantic scene. When they stepped into her room, the scent of sweet, freshly baked cookies and aromatic black tea wafted into their nostrils. Several of the maids were preparing plates and cups for their little tea party.
If he were to be pedantic, Sirius would have much rather had some cookies baked by Marialite herself, but there was no chance in hell the staff would let her do any work so soon after arriving at the palace. And besides—the maids looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
“It looks like everyone’s more than happy to do this for you,” Marialite commented with a smile.
It was only then that Sirius realized he’d probably never participated in a tea party at the palace before. For one thing, he had no interest in such functions, and he assumed that the maids would be thankful not to have to do so much work. Apparently, that was a misconception on his part.
“Well, it’s fun to make food and drink for someone you care about. You want them to enjoy it, and you do everything you can to make that happen,” Marialite assured him.
“…Really?” he said, a hint of surprise to his tone.
“I know because that’s how I used to feel,” she sighed wistfully, staring up at the ceiling as though recalling a particular memory.
I wonder… Who’s she thinking about?
Perhaps she was remembering Sirius when he was younger, or perhaps the prince that cast her away, or maybe even the man she was first supposed to be wed to.
Other than the distant look in her pale blue eyes as they lingered on her steaming cup of tea, he had no idea what she was thinking.
Of course, he was particularly fond of her smile, but there was another sort of strange beauty to her when she was lost in thought like this.
She looks almost…transparent, somehow. As though her consciousness has wandered away.
Even without the color of love clouding his vision, there was no denying that Marialite was beautiful.
“I was thinking of learning how to bake and brew tea one day,” he told her.
“Really?” she asked, her eyebrows shooting up.
“Definitely! It would be wonderful if you could teach m—” he trailed off, stopping himself before he got too carried away. It was possible that would be too much for her at the moment. Naturally, he wanted to shower her with love and affection, but it was probably for the best not to force it on her. “No, I mean…the delicacies the maids prepare would both taste and look better than anything I could come up with, so it doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” she shook her head. Her doll-like expression finally relaxed into a loose smile. “Anything you make would be delicious, I’m sure. It would look great, too.”
It was the smile that Sirius loved oh-so dearly. However, it was slightly different from usual; it was sweet, and she looked happy from the very bottom of her heart. He’d never seen her smile like that before.
“I mean, you can do anything, Lord Sirius,” she beamed. Her face was the very picture of a young woman in love.
Sirius’ face, meanwhile, was deadly serious; his grip clenched around his teacup, and within moments, it burst into shards. The china fragments clattered around him, and the tea inside slopped onto his clothes.
“Your Highness!” a maid called out frantically. “Are you all right?!”
“L-Lady Marialite…” he croaked. “There’s something I need to ask…”
“Your Highness!” the maid called again, her tone firmer this time. “Your own health is the most important matter at this moment in time! You can talk to Lady Marialite afterwards!”
With the freshly brewed tea all over his thighs, Sirius leaned forward to clutch Marialite’s hand. He understood why the maids were in such a panic, but there was no way a demon would suffer burns from such an insignificant accident. In fact, even if he did burn himself, he couldn’t care less at that moment.
There was something he had to ask right this second.
“What sort of cakes do you like?”
“Hmm… Fruit cakes, I suppose. With lots and lots of fruit,” she nodded. “Oh, by the way, you should take your clothes off as soon as possible.”
“It’s far too early for that!” Sirius yelped, a deep red rushing across both cheeks. “I’m glad you’re interested, though!”
“Huh? Your burn will get worse if you don’t, so earlier is actually better…” she argued. There was a confused lilt to her brow as she tilted her head to one side.
✦ ✦ ✦
AFTER their little tea party, Sirius decided to head straight to the palace library to rummage for every single book about baking he could lay his hands on.
“I kinda don’t wanna ask, but…what’re you actually looking for?” Raven approached him hesitantly.
“How to make a wedding cake with lots of fruit. Why do you ask?” he swiftly replied.
“You look tired…” he chuckled awkwardly, a pitying look on his face. “I think you should head to bed soon.”
Sirius couldn’t understand why he was looking at him with such pitying eyes.