She was there to fulfill her duty—that was all. It was nothing worthy of praise.
…That was what she’d always been told back at the palace, anyway.
Raven, though, claimed that the exact opposite was true.
“I heard a rumor about a saint in this country working really hard to increase the amount of fertile land and greenery over the past few years, but…that was you, right? Just tossing a saint aside once they’re done with their powers is like picking a fight with God!” Raven said, shaking his head in frustration.
“Not if I get to them first…” Sirius threatened in a low growl, his anger still ablaze. “The nerve! I simply cannot understand why they would cast aside such a beautiful, loving woman such as yourself. And for such a self-serving reason! Those people are probably why you have such a distorted view of your own experiences.”
“It doesn’t feel at all distorted to me, though… Have I lost sight of the situation?” Marialite began to wonder.
“…To be frank, yes. Very much so.”
“Oh dear…”
“Uh-oh. I’m starting to worry this saint’s a lost cause!” Raven said, his eyes glazing over as he devoured the remainder of his now-cold steak in one mouthful. He chomped away eagerly and gulped it down before continuing. “How about you come back with us, Marialite?”
“What do you mean?” she blinked.
“I’m officially inviting you to our home country. Not because you’re a saint or anything; as Lord Sirius’ savior, you’ll be very welcome at the palace. Plus, you can live your days in luxury! We can provide anything you’d ever want!” Raven suggested excitably.
“But, what if I don’t want luxury?” she mused. She was entirely content with her current daily life, and she had no desire to be worshiped or treated as royalty. Raven was only trying to be nice, so she felt bad refusing him, but his proposal wasn’t appealing to her at all.
Sirius turned to his servant and peered into his eyes searchingly.
“Does that mean…the civil war’s over?” he asked, his voice slightly shaky.
“Do you really think I’d be so casual about inviting her if it wasn’t?” Raven huffed. “Yup, it’s over! My familiar told me the news. We successfully managed to subdue the rebel forces, and all the ringleaders are due to be executed. It sounds like His Majesty is eagerly awaiting your return, Lord Sirius.”
“All right,” Sirius nodded before turning to Marialite, his eyes trained solely on her. “Lady Marialite—I don’t believe you can ever be truly happy in this country. Won’t you come back to my homeland with me?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure what to say. Of course, I wish I could stay with you longer, Sirius. You’re a lovely young man. But…”
She smiled brightly, and gently reached to stroke his hair. However, before her fingertips met his silvery locks, Sirius grabbed hold of her hand. He tenderly brought it down, then pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
“I’m not as lovely as you think I am. I only act that way for you, and you alone…because I love you. From the bottom of my heart.”
Marialite froze, her eyes wide as she stared blankly at him. A bitter smile tugged at Sirius’ lips.
“I knew it. You had no idea…” he chuckled sadly. “If you’d realized, I expect you would’ve been less touchy-feely with me.”
“I… I’m sorry…?” she stuttered unsurely.
“No, don’t apologize,” he shook his head. “I’m the one who went and fell in love with you—it’s completely my own fault. In fact, it’s shameful. You were just doing your best to take care of me while I had ulterior motives.”
“Wait, Sirius—please don’t look so sad. I don’t think it’s shameful at all,” Marialite said with pleading eyes. Sirius returned her gaze in surprise, his jade-green irises shining with a sudden hope.
“What? You…don’t think it’s weird?” he blinked.
“Of course not. I’m really happy you feel that way.”
“But…” His brow furrowed. “Do you understand that I absolutely intend on making you my wife?”
“Huh?”
Now, it was Marialite’s turn to blink vacantly.
As soon as Sirius saw that expression on her face, he realized that she thought he was professing a deep, platonic affection. The glimmer of hope in his eyes instantly vanished.
“But…surely we’re too far apart in age for that,” Marialite pointed out. Rather than how either of them felt, that was the first problem that occurred to her. Age was the reason her engagement broke down, after all. Worst of all, it was something Marialite could never fix, no matter how hard she tried.
Even if Sirius had no problem with it right now, it was possible that one day, he would grow tired of her and lose whatever feelings he had for her.
“I think you’re probably just mistaking platonic love for romantic love, no?” she said gently. “Once you snap out of it, you’ll only regret choosing me.”
This was for both of their sakes. It was best to correct him now, before his love turned to resentment.
She smiled slightly as she tried to shake her hand free from Sirius’. However, he managed to keep a tight enough grip to hold her in place, but not tight enough to hurt her.
“Lady Marialite… From my point of view, our ages make no difference,” he said seriously.
“I’m not sure that’s true…”
“Oh…” His eyes suddenly turned sad. “Could it be that you have a distaste for older men?”
“What?”
Something wasn’t right here.
With confusion clear on her face, Marialite turned the question back on him.
“Why would that matter?”
“I must’ve forgotten to mention it,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ll be turning eighty years old this year.”
“You’ll… What…?” She frowned, her head spinning.
Sirius had lived more than twice as long as her.
As she stood there, speechless, Raven awkwardly cleared his throat.
“It varies from person to person, but in general, demons have a very long lifespan. I might look young to you, but I’m over fifty years old,” Raven explained. “I actually grew faster than Lord Sirius. My voice broke first, too.”
Sirius’ eyes narrowed slightly at that last part. “Is that really something worth boasting about?” he grumbled.
“Well, when I’m up against a big, tough guy like you, I gotta take all the wins I can get,” he grinned.
“…Anyway, Lady Marialite,” Sirius began, brushing Raven off completely. “Now that your concerns have been addressed, there’s something I’d like to make very clear.” He cleared his throat and spoke in the clearest voice he could muster. “I do not care what age you are, nor—”
“He won’t go for you if you look too young, though,” Raven piped up.
“Raven. Shut up. Please.”
“Gotcha.”
Sirius rolled his eyes and looked back to Marialite before continuing. “Nor do I care whether you’re a saint, or simply a normal woman. Do you understand?”
His voice was soft and warm. Marialite nodded slowly. The things he was saying had a dreamlike quality to them; after all she’d been through, could she really believe him? It was all she ever wanted to hear, but now that it was really happening, she wasn’t sure what to do. Not once had Rufus said anything like that to her—not even as flattery. Something warm and fuzzy spread through the inside of her chest as she listened to him.
“…I love you. I love you so much. For you, I’d burn this godforsaken country to the ground. Just say the word.”
“Oh, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” she tried to deter him.
“Are you sure? But, if you have any lingering feelings for that awful prince, I won’t hesitate to obliterate him,” he declared with a sly smirk.
Raven paled as he looked on from the side, realizing the full extent of Sirius’ possessive nature.
“It was going so well up until that point,” Raven said in a strained voice. “Why’d you have to make that last part so scary?”
“Scary? How so?” Sirius snarled.
“What do you mean ‘how’?! Saying you’ll destroy her ex-fiancé along with her homeland isn’t a comforting thing to hear! You’re a tyrant! I mean, look at her, she’s terrif— Eek?!”
Raven let out a small yelp when he glanced over at Marialite.
In the aftermath of Sirius’ fiercely (and perhaps violently) passionate confession, Marialite was rooted to the spot, and her pale blue eyes were swimming with huge tears.