JUST as Sirius claimed, his rapid growth soon came to a stop. Now, he spent his days helping Marialite in all sorts of ways. He assisted her when she went to sell her produce in town and accompanied her on their regular shopping trip with no complaints. He was a huge help.
Even when he was still small, he’d helped out as much as he could. In fact, it was probably more than he should have done. Back then, he tried to carry baskets that were heavier than his own body weight, and Marialite was always worried he’d get abducted by some ill-natured stranger when he was out in public.
Since Sirius started helping out, Marialite had a feeling her number of female customers had increased. Sirius wasn’t all too sociable when it came to people other than Marialite, though; he was cold when they spoke to him, and he always swiftly turned down women’s advances, no matter how beautiful they were. Even so, that was part of why they liked him, apparently. There were also others that came not only to see Sirius, but Marialite, too.
“I wonder why they bother with me when you’re right there,” she commented casually one day. They were out in the garden, picking apples for the apple pie that Marialite planned to make for their afternoon snack.
“What makes you say that?” Sirius blinked.
“Well, I’m…me,” she replied with a chuckle.
While the man helping her was young, gorgeous, and fit, she was pushing thirty. She couldn’t help but feel remarkably plain next to Sirius.
“I thought people would find it weird to ask a man out when his mother’s standing next to him,” she wondered.
“Those ladies don’t seem to think you’re my mother, though,” Sirius replied with a frown.
“Maybe they think we’re siblings, then.”
Now that the age gap between them had become much smaller, that made more sense. Not that they looked anything alike…
“In that case, maybe they have a thing for that. Maybe they…” he trailed off. “No. You know what? Never mind.”
He shook his head and instead walked over to an apple tree. With one light touch of his palm to the trunk, a shiny round fruit tumbled down from the branches. As it fell, he moved his fingers again, and the apple floated through the air before landing in Marialite’s palm.
Looking on in astonishment, a huge smile lit up her face.
“Sirius! I never knew you had holy powers, too.”
“No, these aren’t holy powers—it’s sorcery. Saints find their power if God decides to bless them with it. In the demon clan, though, anyone can use magic,” Sirius replied with an awkward smile.
“Wait…” Marialite hesitated. “Does that mean you’re a demon…?”
Demons were a completely different race from monsters, humans, or halflings.
For one thing, their level of knowledge and magic was far superior. They had enough power to take over the world, if they felt like it. Marialite had even heard that a particularly strong demon could overthrow a country on their own.
“He’s even more powerful than I thought. Wow…” she murmured to herself as they walked back into the house. Sirius froze in absolute shock.
“…Don’t you fear me?” he asked in a muted tone.
“No? Why would I?”
“I’m a demon. In general, humans fear us.”
“Does that matter? You’ve never done anything to hurt either me or the townspeople. You’re a very kind and considerate young man—demon or not.”
There was absolutely no reason to be scared of Sirius. Marialite would proudly say that without a second thought.
Sirius remained in thoughtful silence for a few moments before giving a small sigh.
“…I never did tell you about why I was in your house that day, did I?”
“Nope. But, if you’d rather not talk about it, then please don’t force yourself t—”
“It’s all right. I want to tell you more about my life,” he insisted. “…Recently, there has been a power struggle among us demons. Unfortunately, I got caught up in that. The enemy forces killed my entire family, and I almost met my end…but I managed to escape the palace. I ran and ran with my pursuers not far behind, until I eventually arrived in this town.”
“That must’ve been terrible for you…” she remarked sorrowfully.
There was a particular word in his story that made her raise an eyebrow, but she was far more concerned by how much pain he must’ve been through.
He must’ve been awfully lonely.
When she remembered what he used to be like half a year ago, tears began to form in her pale blue eyes. Sirius watched in shock as tears tumbled down her cheeks, and she moved forward to wrap him up in a tight embrace.
“M-Marialite? Um, what’re you doi—?”
“I can’t help it. You had it so tough…” she said tearfully.
“I’m sorry, but I’d really appreciate it if you took a step back,” he suggested in a strained voice.
“What? Oh, whoops. I wasn’t thinking. Did I squeeze you too tight?” she worried.
“Not in the slightest. In fact, I’d love it if you squeezed me even tighter! I just wasn’t mentally prepared…” he chuckled awkwardly.
That time, there was no mistaking it.
Marialite definitely saw his irises darken into a deep crimson. She knew because she blinked several times, only to be met with that same scarlet gaze. She was absolutely transfixed by it.
“I don’t mean to alarm you, but your eyes have gone red. Is that bad? Is it a sign of sickness?”
“…Listen to me, Lady Marialite,” he said seriously, ignoring her questions. He drew closer and closer to her—so close, that she thought he might kiss her. She automatically backed away, but he caught her hands and pulled her close again.
“You’ve always doted on me as though I were your son or a brother. However, I don’t feel the same way. Ever since the day I met you, I’ve always—”
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
“Oh, we have a guest!” Marialite exclaimed, shaken.
Just as Sirius began to whisper in a low, smooth tone, the sound of someone knocking at the front door sent them flying apart. Marialite rushed to answer it, but Sirius followed right on her heel.
“Sirius? What is it?”
“I’ll go,” he said firmly.
“Why? Were you expecting someone?” she asked, before suddenly freezing in her tracks. “Oh no! I forgot about the apple pie. I need to make a start on it if we are serving guests…”
“Don’t worry about that. He isn’t worthy of even one bite of your apple pie, Lady Marialite.”
With that bitter comment, Sirius proceeded to open the door. On the other side, Marialite saw a boy with black hair and a heartbreaking look of exhaustion on his face.
“F-Finally… Lord Sirius… I’ve found you,” he panted.
“Raven. Why are you here?” Sirius scowled.
“Why am I h—…?! You’re so rude!” the boy, Raven, scoffed in disbelief. “Obviously, I’m here to take you back! Why else?! Do you have any idea…how much I’ve been through…to…”
He couldn’t quite finish his sentence before his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed onto the floor right in front of them.
GRRRRRG.
His stomach emitted an extraordinarily loud gurgle. He was fast asleep, but began to grumble and mumble wearily—and Marialite definitely caught the word “hungry.”
Sirius swiftly reached down and hooked his arms under Raven’s body before easily hauling him up. He carried him over to the sofa and carefully laid him there.
Without another moment’s hesitation, Marialite began drafting up a meal plan in her head.