“L-Lady Marialite?! Are you all right?!” Sirius fussed, paling at the fact that he’d just made his beloved cry.
It was only as a result of their reactions that Marialite herself realized she was crying. She gave an embarrassed laugh and started wiping at her wet cheeks.
“How bizarre…” she sniffled. “Why would being so happy make me cry?”
“…A proposal like that made you happy?” Raven heaved in disbelief.
“Did you think I’d be scared?”
“Obviously! I mean…he’s gonna destroy the country depending on how you feel. I’d definitely be scared!” he exclaimed, flailing his arms.
“That just shows how much he loves me, don’t you think? Plus, I raised Sirius for more than half a year. He’s grown to be so kind and caring; he wouldn’t actually do it. Right, Sirius?” she sang.
Sirius said nothing. He had a blank look on his face, and Marialite had no idea what he was thinking. Then, after a long, long moment of silence, he finally answered.
“…Of course not.”
✦ ✦ ✦
WHEN Raven finished eating, he bounced over to the window and threw it wide open (with Marialite’s permission, of course). He looked up to the vast blue sky and took a deep breath before blowing a loud whistle into the open air. Two birds suddenly came flying down from the sky, soon joined by a third one. They acted more like pets than familiars; they obediently swooped down onto his head and shoulders without making any fuss, then affectionately settled down.
“What’s he doing?” Marialite asked Sirius curiously.
“Those crows have a shared consciousness with the ones the emperor keeps back at the palace, so Raven can report to His Majesty through them,” he explained.
“Ooh, that’s handy.”
Plus, the birds were rather cute. While she admired their sweet little faces, she finally broached the subject that had been floating about her mind for a while now.
“So…” she began. “Would I be right in assuming you two are quite a big deal back in your home country?”
“I suppose so,” Sirius shrugged. “But due to that, I was always forced to do a lot of work, even though I was a child. I can’t say it’s enjoyable.”
“You had to work?”
“Yes. Originally, it fell to my older brothers, but several of them abandoned their duties, so…I had to take over.”
“Oh dear,” she said with a small chuckle. However, she noticed a slight inconsistency with her knowledge. “But…wasn’t your entire family killed?”
“Ah, yes. I was referring to the couple who raised me rather than my blood relatives. I believe my brothers are still alive, as far as I know,” he said. Somehow, he sounded detached when he spoke about them.
“Ack, stop right there,” Raven swiftly interrupted. “I forgot to tell you, but…your third eldest brother and fifth eldest brother are dead. Number three fell for a honeytrap, and number five had his wine poisoned.”
That certainly seemed like a huge piece of information to forget.
“I stand corrected,” Sirius cleared his throat. “Two of my brothers were assassinated.”
However, despite the magnitude of what he was saying, he didn’t even twitch. The matter-of-fact way he announced it suggested that even though they were related by blood, Sirius had no feelings of love or attachment towards his brothers. Even so, Marialite’s eyebrows knitted together in sorrow.
“I know you must be feeling terrible right now, but…stay strong, Sirius,” she consoled him.
“Uh. I can’t really remember their names, never mind their faces, but… Yes, it is a tragedy. I’m sure I’ll get over it one day, though,” he replied with a feigned, sad smile.
“He’s bluffing,” Raven clarified. “Those two are honestly better off dead. All they did was embezzle the palace funds for their own selfish desires and debauchery. In fact, I bet there were a lot of people who jumped for joy when they found out they were dead,” Raven spat.
“But, doesn’t it scare you that Sirius might’ve been killed in the same way?”
“Well, yeah. Although, in his case, they tried to kill him because they were worried about what’d happen to them if he was still alive after all that happened. There are quite a few people that don’t want him in power.”
Unknowingly, Raven had dropped a bombshell. Marialite’s eyes grew wide in a shock of realization.
I knew he was one of the higher-ups, but…
“When you say ‘in power,’ do you mean…?” she hinted.
“As emperor? Of course. He’s next in line to the throne,” Raven shrugged.
“Sirius is going to be the emperor…?” she gasped.
“Yup. He overtook his brothers and is now the crown prince.”
It was too much to process all at once. Her smile froze on her face.
I’ve been sheltering royalty all this time…?
The prince in question suddenly stuck his face right in front of hers and peered into her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he worried. “Of course, your face is just as lovely when clouded by unease, but I don’t want you to feel that way.”
“I’m just feeling a little shaken…” she said in a hushed tone. “I had no idea who you truly were.”
“I told you it was a ‘palace’ I escaped from. I thought you might get the picture from that,” he pointed out.
“It did strike me as odd, but I didn’t think you were actually…” she trailed off, still reeling. No wonder he wouldn’t tell her where he came from when they first met.
With this new information in her hands, Sirius’ profession of love suddenly held a whole new weight to it. As she tried to shake the feeling that her life as she knew it was about to change completely, Raven finished giving his report to his familiars and turned back to Sirius.
“Lord Sirius,” he addressed him. “His Majesty has arranged for some troops to escort you back home. He has sent one hundred of his best, hand-picked soldiers, and asks that you wait two days for them to arrive.”
“One hundred soldiers…?” Marialite gulped.
“Did you tell him about Lady Marialite?” Sirius asked, completely unfazed by the news.
“Yup. When I told him what happened, he was worried that Lord Sirius might’ve treated her cruelly,” Raven added with a stifled laugh.
“I wouldn’t do that!” he complained. “Never! Right, Lady Mari—… Lady Marialite…?” He hedged, looking over to see her gentle features set in hard, rigid lines. It was the first time he had ever seen her look so gloomy. The sound of her name dragged her out of her thoughts, but her expression remained grave as she spoke grimly.
“A hundred people will be here…” she croaked. “How am I going to provide refreshments for a hundred people?”
“No, no,” Sirius consoled her. So many revelations had been thrown at her all at once that she was starting to get strange ideas. “You don’t need to do that, I promise. No one’s expecting anything from you. You just take some nice, big, deep breaths.”
“I guess sense really does come with age,” Raven muttered in amusement.