THE next few days were a brief period of respite from Cornelia and her antics. However, on the fifth day after her last visit, a letter from Lord Elestial detailing the particulars of the duel arrived at the palace.
It had shaken the residents of the palace to their very core.
“Ugh… I get the feeling that this was the worst possible outcome,” Raven commented awkwardly after he finished reading the entire letter, his face drooping dejectedly. Sirius had already inspected its contents before him, and his face was such a terrible sight that Raven didn’t even want to chance looking at him again.
It was evident that Cornelia’s sole intention was to make an enemy of Sirius. Within the lengthy, self-assured letter, there were two important developments that bothered him. Firstly—although it was to be expected—Cornelia still refused to authorize the marriage between Prince Sirius and Saint Marialite. But, now, she wished to make a servant of Marialite once their engagement was over.
“What are you gonna do, Lord Sirius?” Raven asked, nibbling at his lower lip.
“I will destroy her.”
Secondly, rather than Marialite, Cornelia had officially nominated Sirius as her opponent.
✦ ✦ ✦
EVERYONE had been waiting for Cornelia to declare a Duel of Maidens. The idea that she might employ Marialite as her servant if she won wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility, either. It was just like Cornelia to subject a woman to slavery until the day she died, just to rub her victory in her face.
However, no one could have foreseen her choosing Sirius as her opponent instead. Nevertheless, Sirius had immediately accepted her challenge.
“How did this come to pass?” the emperor lamented, shaking his head.
“That’s what I wanna know,” Raven agreed, a frown on his face.
Besides, it was Uranometria’s fault for never trying to oppose Cornelia’s appointment as a Goddess of Judgment in the first place. But when Raven faced the emperor with resentment in his gaze, all he got in return was a cheerful smile.
“I was under the impression that Marialite may be able to do something for the troubled young lady, considering that she is such a gifted saint,” Uranometria explained. “Lady Cornelia has always forced her way through life by pushing others to submit to her and proceeding to use them however she wishes. As Marialite does not fear such threats, I’m confident that she is somewhat of a natural enemy to Cornelia.”
“That’s true, but…well…”
Since Cornelia was the type of person who thrived off of getting a rise out of others, she did not deal well with people who weren’t affected by or afraid of her verbal abuse. So much so, that she called off the duel between her and Marialite.
But now, for some reason, she’s just targeting Sirius instead.
“Do not fret, my boy. Sirius said he would find a quick solution, after all,” Uranometria nodded.
“He said he’d destroy her,” Raven corrected. “His reputation would suffer if he, as the crown prince, seriously injured a noblewoman.”
“Rest assured, I have also given thought to that matter. I have decided to implement a certain rule instead of letting this duel with my son go ahead,” he grinned as though he were eagerly anticipating whatever idea he had brewing.
Don’t tell me he was aiming for this since the beginning…
Raven quickly shook his head, dispelling his suspicion as best as he could. No matter how pleased Uranometria looked, that had to be overthinking things.
“Okay, so what is this, uh…rule?”
“You’ll simply have to wait and see,” he grinned. “I am doing my best to ensure both parties will go unscathed as a result.”
“I sure hope it turns out like that…” Raven sighed.
Sirius was utterly terrified by the prospect of Marialite being taken away from them. All Raven could do was hope that this new rule would be enough to quell the murderous anger emanating from the prince ever since he read that letter.
✦ ✦ ✦
THE day of the duel finally arrived.
It was early morning, and Marialite was out on her daily run. Sweat dripped down her temples as she jogged along, one of Raven’s crows following not far behind. However, they both suddenly came to a stop when Marialite stood still to take in the scenery around her.
“There’s a strange feeling in the air today, don’t you think?” she hummed.
That morning, the maids had brought her breakfast, and they’d exchanged trifling small talk and jokes just as usual. Even so, she got the sense that under the surface, they were extremely restless.
Not to mention, Sirius always came to greet her every morning, but today, he never did. She hadn’t even seen him around the palace. Usually, he carefully planned his timing so as to not disturb her morning routine, but he’d never been completely absent before.
“I wonder what’s happened?” she mused to herself.
She’d still heard nothing about the duel that Cornelia challenged her to. When she asked, Sirius had claimed that she wouldn’t be needed for the duel anymore, but she kept her training up just in case the formal letter showed up. Thanks to that, she was a lot lighter on her toes than she used to be, and she barely ever got out of breath anymore.
Maybe the letter already came. Sirius might’ve already gone to Cornelia’s estate to try and change her mind.
If her theory was correct, she had to stop him somehow. In Marialite’s mind, this duel was something that she, and she alone, had to overcome. It felt like she had been handed an opportunity to prove her worth.
However, she was still forbidden from leaving the palace by herself.
What should I do?
Despite her worries, once she finished her run, she headed to the land where the old storehouse used to be with a watering can in hand. The topazios knights welcomed her by waving their leafy hands.
When she came to water the original plant yesterday, she noticed that another flower had sprouted alongside it. It looked almost exactly the same as the first one, apart from this time, its petals were blue. The new one also took on the appearance of a knight, but carried a spear rather than a sword. More flowers meant that she would have to go back to draw water more often, but in all honesty, she was glad for the exercise.
Apparently, it took a month for topazios plants to properly embed their roots in the soil. After that, she would be able to nurture all kinds of different plants. Until then, she had to give the two she already had a lot of love and attention. In a way, she felt a motherly responsibility for them.
Dreaming about her future plans for the garden, her train of thought was suddenly interrupted when the tips of her toes came up against something hard.
“Hm? What’s this?”
There was something buried between the two flowers. When she bent down and scooped the earth away with her hands, an emerald-green object came into view. It seemed rather large and looked like it would take a lot of effort to dig up.
Perhaps it’s part of the topazios?
She stared unblinkingly at the bizarre mass amongst the dirt, when someone suddenly called out to her.
“Lady Marialite. Are you out here?!” a cold, monotonous voice shouted.
She turned around to see a woman with brown hair standing there. Her dress was covered in mud, and her hair was so long that it was difficult to see her face.
“I think it best that you make your way to see Prince Sirius. Immediately.”