“Oh, how cute,” Marialite doted. “You were always very cute, though. Don’t get me wrong,” she laughed.
“The legends never recorded such an appearance, but…it’s very possible that this is its original form, before it…” Sirius suddenly trailed off, dropping to his knees where he stood. His limbs were trembling.
“Lord Sirius, are you okay?” Marialite fretted. “You look awfully pale.”
“How shameful…” he groaned. “I’m not yet at my limit, but…I suppose letting myself relax is the same thing as letting myself be weak.”
“It’s not shameful at all,” she countered. “You worked really hard protecting everyone.”
“If it weren’t for you…this Phobos cat and I would be…” he trailed off, his eyes suddenly going wide. “What’s wrong, Lady Marialite?!”
Her eyebrows furrowed, confused. It was only when he traced a finger along her cheek and it came away wet that she realized…
She was crying.
“Are you hurt?! Quick, call for a healer!” he panicked.
“Nope. You and Raven did an excellent job of protecting us, don’t worry. Maybe…it’s because I finally feel safe enough to relax, too. I haven’t been terrified like that in a long time,” she admitted, gripping Sirius’ hand and squeezing as he caressed her cheek. Her ever-present smile faltered, and her slender body began to tremble. “When I thought that you might not make it out of here alive…I was scared stiff.”
“Lady Marialite…”
“Please,” she murmured to herself. “After everything I’ve been through, don’t take this happiness away from me…” She hung her head, her voice hoarse. Sirius slid his injured hands around her back, soothing her.
Sirius always thought that things would be okay no matter what. Marialite had an incredibly strong will; she was strong enough that even if Sirius died, he was sure she would lead the demonic kingdom to prosperity somehow. He was sure that she would find someone else who was kind to her, and eventually find happiness with them.
But he was wrong. Marialite didn’t want to ever have to choose someone other than him.
In which case, he had no choice but to survive—no matter what it took. Both as the future emperor and as a typical, ordinary man. Now, he was determined to see this life through.
✦ ✦ ✦
IT took a few weeks for all the divine beasts to properly calm down.
For one thing, Prince Leonis was imprisoned in the dungeons below the palace, and he was stripped of his title—leaving him as simply Leonis. Uranometria disowned him as soon as he returned to the capital, and he received punishment as any other ordinary citizen would. He managed to escape the death penalty, but using divine beasts to gain power was a very hefty crime indeed, and the price he would pay was just as heavy.
As for the divine beasts who had been affected by Leonis’ misconduct, the innocent ex-employees of the Conservation Facility had been enlisted to care for them as they recovered. In stark contrast to their previous violence, the beasts were now very docile, eating properly and letting the demons treat their injuries. It was as though they could sense that Leonis wouldn’t be around any longer. And, thanks to Marialite, they had plenty of fruit to go around.
As the divine beasts recovered one by one, they released them back into the wild. A large proportion of them even clung to their favorite staff members when it was time to leave, taking a bit of persuading to let go.
“There we go! I’ve finished making that flower crown for you, Snow,” Marialite smiled. It was made from white flowers that she’d grown herself, and when she placed the small crown on the white cat’s head, he mewled happily.
The Phobos cat was a special exception to the conservation program; the danger of it coming across a poacher or other harm in the wild was too great, hence he was now living a comfortable life at Celaeno Palace. Until they managed to find his mother, Marialite was taking on a maternal role. At first, he had joined the other divine beasts being treated by the facility’s ex-employees, but he didn’t like to be apart from Marialite for very long, so she ended up taking care of him full-time.
Marialite couldn’t decide on a name at first, so Sirius ended up giving him one: Snow.
“I can’t hear any voices like I could before, though,” Marialite pondered. Now, all she could hear were Snow’s meows, purrs, and grumpy growls—just like anyone else could.
“Don’t you think it was something to do with your powers?” Cornelia pointed out, gathering up the hair that had accumulated after Snow’s brushing session.
“The story goes that Topazios, the original Jade Saint, possessed the ability to understand animals, too. Perhaps the pressure of the situation led you to use that ability somehow,” she suggested.
“Lady Cornelia…”
“Wh-What?!” she responded in a shrill, defensive tone.
“Raven already told you this a thousand times, but…you can’t keep giving Snow food just because he looks cute,” Marialite giggled.
“I-I know that!” she tutted. “And I already told Raven I won’t do it again!”
Evidently, Snow had also become a source of comfort for Cornelia as she struggled to get used to her life as a maid.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Aaaaaaaaagh!”
A soldier’s scream echoed from outside the palace.
The source of their terror lay in the knight-like topazios flowers. There had been a green orb buried between the two for a while, but all of a sudden, it flew out of the earth. Red veins emerged along the green surface, and it began to pulsate one beat after another…
Almost as if it were alive.