ONE week had passed since Marialite arrived in Celaeno.
By now, she was starting to get used to daily life in the demon kingdom. At first, the constant nighttime really threw her off, but after about three days of living with the dark, it stopped bothering her. There were numerous glowing orbs illuminating the way wherever she went—even outside the palace—so she never found herself unable to see the world around her.
Not to mention, her plants were growing beautifully. Normal plants wouldn’t grow without sunlight, so usually, whenever she tried to use her powers to grow plants at nighttime or on days with thick clouds, the results were never much good. However, in Celaeno, agriculture and floriculture seemed to be booming despite the lack of sunlight. It wasn’t as though they were importing their produce from other countries, either.
The rebellion forces that tried to kill Sirius were quelled a mere two months after the uprising began. Although Marialite was surprised that the issue was resolved so quickly, she thought it was even more strange that there was no evidence of the capital having been damaged whatsoever. With a displeased look on his face, Raven had suggested that perhaps the uprising was a purposefully orchestrated event.
Either way, Marialite was glad that the conflict was resolved without innocent citizens being caught up in the horrors of war. If they hadn’t found peace, she was sure Sirius would never have considered bringing her to his home.
“Lady Marialite,” Sirius addressed her, facing her with a sincere expression on his face. “I have something very important to talk to you about.”
Although the maids had prepared a glorious spread of tea and cookies, he hadn’t even touched them. He simply stared with an imploring gaze. The maids had long left the room after Sirius told them there was something he needed to discuss with Marialite alone.
The atmosphere in the room dragged a particular memory to the forefront of her mind—the last time she’d ever taken afternoon tea with Rufus.
Will this be the third time?
The thought crossed her mind for a fleeting split second, but for some reason, it immediately floated away from her train of thought like a bubble in mid-air. Probably because there was a soft kindness to Sirius’ tone, despite his stiff manner of speaking.
“Um…well…”
“Yes?” she prompted.
“It feels like my heart’s about to burst,” he admitted, his gaze rich with the fire of passion. He placed a hand on the left side of his chest and clutched it desperately.
“Oh, my…” she gasped.
Has he caught some sort of illness that only affects demons?
Just as Marialite began to worry whether this was really the time for them to be sitting down for afternoon tea, Sirius continued his speech in a proud, confident manner.
“Ever since you came to Celaeno, you’ve only grown more and more lovely by the day. In your presence…my heart just won’t stop pounding.”
“So, if it only happens when I’m around, it’s not some sort of terrible illness, right? Thank goodness…” she sighed with relief.
“For some reason, Raven suspected I had a head injury, so I went to see our physician, but…it seems like there’s nothing wrong with me,” he shrugged. While Marialite began to worry that perhaps there really was something wrong with him, Sirius simply breathed a deep sigh. “Anyway, it’s a fact that you’re even more enchanting than you used to be, Lady Marialite. I also feel as though you smile more at my compliments than you used to.”
“Really?”
“Most definitely! You’re so adorable, I wish I could hold you in my arms forevermore!” he piped up enthusiastically.
“That must be thanks to His Majesty,” she smiled.
“Yes, I th—” he cut himself off, his own smile suddenly freezing. “What?” He couldn’t imagine why on earth his father had anything to do with this. His train of thought came to an abrupt end as confusion took over.
Marialite continued to smile dazedly, completely oblivious to Sirius’ bewilderment.
“He cast a magic spell on me,” she sang.
“…Magic?” he asked tentatively.
“Yes. He did it when I first met him.” She really was grateful to him for that.
As she recalled what happened when she was alone with the emperor, the color of Sirius’ eyes gradually grew deeper and deeper, slowly turning a bright red.
“Sirius? Your eyes are going red…”
“And what sort of spell did he cast on you?” he asked in a cold, glass-like monotone. The tableware in front of them began to clatter as though a strong gust of wind were blowing through the room—but Marialite couldn’t feel anything. The flowers in the vase between them wilted gloomily.
Red sparks flew all around Sirius.
“His Majesty said that it would make me able to truly fall in love with you,” she recalled.
The sparks shooting into the air were like little fireworks, and they were beautiful. Just as she was admiring them, the sparks suddenly spiraled into fireballs the size of fists.
“…His actions will be met with dire consequences,” Sirius growled.
“What do you mean?”
“Listen to me, Lady Marialite!” he pleaded desperately. “I really do wish you’d love me! From the bottom of my heart! However, I cannot stand the thought of someone forcing you to engage in a fabricated romance…!”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” she insisted. The spell Uranometria had cast on her wasn’t as wicked as Sirius believed it to be. “He said, ‘my son loves you with all his heart. This will help you to fully realize that fact.’”
“…That’s all?” Sirius blinked.
“Yes. That’s all,” she promised.
The floating fireballs dissipated into thin air, and his red irises returned to their usual jade-green color.
He was angry for her sake.
When she finally came to that realization, Marialite couldn’t help but give a little laugh. It made her happy.
“I was secretly worried about whether I could ever really see you in a romantic way, but His Majesty saw right through me. He gave me some advice, too. He’s a very kind man.”
“I… Is that so…?” he replied with a relieved sigh.
“You might be disappointed that it wasn’t anything more than that, though,” she commented with an apologetic smile.
“Of course not,” he said with a firm shake of his head. “I’ve long decided to keep on loving and protecting you no matter how you feel about me.”
“…Thank you,” she said softly. “By the way… Once I came to understand that you really do love me, I’ve started to get this fuzzy feeling in my chest a lot more often. I find myself thinking about how happy I am, too, and… Lord Sirius?”
She trailed off when Sirius hid his bashful, timid expression with both of his hands. The small slithers of skin she could see of his ears and neck were flushed deep crimson; he was blushing like a teenage girl in love. Marialite blinked at him in confusion, and she eventually heard a meek, thready voice from behind his hands.
“I’m going to make you the happiest woman in the world…!”