FAR from the capital, in a near-empty plot of land, there stood one large building.
It was the Divine Beast Conservation Facility, run by Prince Leonis himself. The entrance was forged by a large iron gate that was several feet long, and there was a handful of guards keeping a watchful eye on it at any given time.
The main purpose of the facility was to treat wounded divine beasts. The staff employed by the facility desperately tried to give them the treatment they needed inside their cages, but it proved to be a very difficult job. Birds with rainbow wings squawked and cawed in a panic, and wolves with thick, fiery red fur snarled and snapped. Squirrels with gemstones embedded in their foreheads chirped and scratched at the walls to try and escape.
“Wowee,” Raven sighed. “They’re full of energy today.”
“They probably think we want to hurt them. I can understand that feeling of anger and fear very well,” Leonis said with a forced smile. “Thank you, Raven. You’ve helped me out a lot since becoming my attendant. It’s thanks to your help that we secured the saint’s cooperation, too.”
“Ah, she’s a soft touch. Just like Prince Sirius,” he grinned. “Besides, you’re paying me handsomely for this. Of course I’m gonna get the job done properly.”
“People don’t usually admit that outright, you know,” Leonis raised an eyebrow.
“Welp. Does that really matter?” Raven shrugged, a wide smile on his lips. “I bet Prince Sirius has already overheard all the rumors that I left him for all your promises of money and honor. I’ll do anything to make sure you get your right to the throne back.”
Leonis hummed, stroking his chin in thought. “The throne isn’t all I want from my little brother,” he added. “I want that saint, too.”
“You want Marialite?” Raven blinked. “Well, I guess being a saint is an attractive quality in and of itself, but I thought you weren’t really into carefree, happy-go-lucky women like her.”
“Hmm, you’re not wrong,” he admitted. “But with her on my side, I’ll be able to bring the paradise I envision to fruition,” he murmured in a voice low enough for only Raven to hear, a smirk tugging at his thin lips.
✦ ✦ ✦
“LORD Sirius? Lots of the fruit for the divine beasts have ripened now, so could you maybe give these to Raven?” Marialite asked, using both of her arms to clutch a huge basket loaded with fruit to her chest. It was like a mini mountain made of fruit, and Sirius’ conscience couldn’t bear to watch her carry it any longer. He decided to at least take it off her hands.
“This is extraordinarily heavy,” he commented. “You carried this all the way here?”
“Huh? You’re making it out to be a bigger deal than it actually is,” she laughed. “Of course, I couldn’t carry all of it, so I’ve left some back at the orchard.”
In order to accommodate the sheer number of trees Raven had asked her to cultivate, Marialite ended up growing them a short distance away from her garden. As it was an urgent request, she’d used her holy powers to immediately speed up the growing process before picking the fruit. Albeit begrudgingly, Cornelia did help her with the process; thanks to that, procuring the fruit had gone very smoothly.
Marialite was just as light-hearted about the situation as she always was, but Sirius’ expression soon clouded over.
“Lady Marialite…” he sighed. “I already thought you were extremely kind when you decided to befriend Cornelia, but please know you don’t have to abide by the requests of that traitor.”
Most likely, he was referring to Raven.
“If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll try to keep a distance from him in the future.”
“No, no. I won’t force you to do anything because of me,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean… What could I really ask? He did once risk his life for my sake, and he was there for me when we fled our enemies.”
“Yeah…” Marialite smiled sadly, sensing just how much Sirius still trusted Raven deep down. Trying to avoid her probing gaze, Sirius dropped his head down to stare at the fruit.
“Besides, Leonis far surpasses me. Even my father had been putting off dealing with the dwindling divine beast population. But, Leonis? He’s concentrating all his time and effort into solving the problem.”
“People often say that you can judge someone’s heart by their treatment of animals, don’t they?” Marialite remarked.
“…Indeed. When I was young, he often read books detailing divine beasts aloud to me. I didn’t truly understand at the time, though,” he murmured softly, reminiscing upon his childhood. When Marialite looked at his smile, she didn’t see him as the future emperor, but just a regular man.
“I hope you can make up with your brother one day,” she said, matching his soft tone.
“Make up with him?” Sirius echoed, thinking on it. “If the title of emperor went to him, I’m sure he would accept it in the blink of an eye… No, never mind! Forget I said that. I’m sorry,” he said in a fluster. Marialite looked at him curiously.
“What are you so panicked about?” she asked.
“Well, I brought you here intending to make you my empress. However, if I can no longer become emperor…”
“Then we can go back to selling fruit and flowers, just like we used to,” she beamed.
“R-Really…?” he replied, his eyes shimmering with hope.
“I don’t see why n— Oh. But if you don’t become emperor, that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to leave the palace. It might be difficult to make things exactly how they used to be,” she mused.
“In all honesty… I dream of a life where I am with you. It doesn’t matter where or how. I’ll be happy if we’re simply together,” Sirius said with a bashful smile, thinking back on the simple life they had once led together.