“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s only mating, after all.”
Don’t call it mating! Honestly, I deserved a medal for managing not to show any of this on my face.
“Well, I suppose it would be embarrassing to have anyone find out you were thinking about mating in the middle of a public ceremony.”
Are you doing this just to mess with me? You are, aren’t you? Siegfried’s right here, and you’re talking so only I can hear you.
“Talking with a god is a privilege reserved for saints. You should feel honored.”
“Privilege, my foot! You’re forcing it on me!”
“Kreis? Is something wrong?” Siegfried gave me a worried look, and I quickly brushed it aside with a smile.
“N-No, it’s nothing.”
The ceremony was in full swing. Today I was officially presented to the world as a saint, so all eyes were on me.
I’d certainly never imagined things would turn out this way. Just remembering how careless I’d been a few days ago made me want to bury my face in my hands.
Countless eyes were fixed on us. Two thrones sat on the balcony of the royal palace. Normally, they were meant for the king and queen, but now Siegfried and I were seated side by side. Siegfried had somehow persuaded the nobility to approve a marriage between us to ensure the saint would remain under this kingdom’s protection. So here we were, at a ceremony that served both as my debut as a saint and as the announcement of our engagement.
Once we said it was all to secure the saint, the fact that we were both men didn’t seem to matter much to people. Although I had a feeling it might eventually cause problems down the line... But I’d worry about that if the time came.
“Good for you. Wasn’t it your dream to stand by Siegfried’s side?”
Sure, that’s true. I dreamed of standing by his side as his subject. But I never thought this would happen.
“Siegfried looked so happy when you agreed, you know.”
He’d asked me, “Will you spend your life with me?” and I told him I would. But that had been in the middle of, ahem, bedroom activities, and honestly I hadn’t been in the right state of mind to make such an important decision. Plus, he’d never once used the word “marriage.”
“You really are twisted. What bedroom activities could possibly make it so you can’t think straight?”
“Shut up!”
The words slipped out before I could stop them. I clamped a hand over my mouth, but Siegfried had already heard me.
“Hey,” he scolded, sounding slightly exasperated. “Are you having another conversation without me? Professor, I’ve asked you many times before to stop monopolizing Kreis,” he said.
“Kreis said he doesn’t actually want to marry you.”
“What?!”
“Shh! Don’t shout!” I hissed.
The people below stared up in shock when the king suddenly leaped to his feet. Siegfried cleared his throat and waved to them with a smile. “My apologies. Please continue.”
Then he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “You don’t want to marry me?”
“I never said that. I just didn’t expect all this to happen.” I gestured to the elaborate ceremony playing out in front of us.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’d rather make this as grand as possible so the whole world knows you belong to me.”
“Please, Siegfried, I’m begging you... Don’t do that.”
“Exactly. You’re already spent to exhaustion every night thanks to Siegfried. Even now you can barely stand.”
“Professor!” I shouted.
“See? There you go again, having your own private conversation.”
I was relieved that Siegfried couldn’t hear Professor’s commentary, but then Siegfried turned a heavy, lingering stare at me, which was almost worse.
“Prepare yourself for tonight.”
“You mean prepare myself again,” I said.
If the people watching us ever found out what sort of conversation we were having in the middle of such an important ceremony, Siegfried could say goodbye to his title of “devoted king.”
“By the way, I heard you granted permission for Gilles and Claude to marry, even though they’re in prison,” I said.
“Eh, it was just a gesture to mark the arrival of a saint in this kingdom, so I allowed it.”
“Two men in a prison cell is allowed?”
“I thought it would be better for you that way.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, I attached conditions to their marriage. Gilles was expelled from the Louboutin family, and Claude had already been stripped of his royal status. So if they still choose to marry each other now that they’re both commoners, who am I to stop them?”
So even with everything taken away from them, they’d still chosen marriage. It was hard to believe that about Gilles, but perhaps the two of them were compatible after all.
“Once Gilles became a commoner, whatever punishment he might face later won’t touch you. So their marriage was worth it in that respect.”
“Siegfried’s turning into such a naughty boy. I can’t believe I once considered him a candidate to be the next god.”
The next god... If he hadn’t met me, maybe that would’ve been his future. I wasn’t sure if this life really was the best path for Siegfried when I thought about it like that.
But for me, this was the happiest ending I could imagine.
I was the one who’d changed my fate. Or maybe it had been inevitable ever since the moment Professor heard my final wish at the brink of death?
“No, that’s not it at all.”
“What?”
“I forgot to mention something. When I first said there was someone whose wish I wanted to grant, I wasn’t talking about you.”
“Huh?”
“What is it, Kreis?” Siegfried asked.
“It wasn’t my power that brought you back from the dead the first time—it was Siegfried’s. When you died then, he used every last drop of mana to defy it. He couldn’t accept a world without you. So the wish I granted then was his, not yours. It was a desperate wish to stay by your side forever, even if it cost him everything.”
“What? What?!”
“Kreis, what is wrong?! Professor, did you say something ridiculous to him again?”
“You mean it wasn’t me? I thought all this time it was my wish for revenge that brought me back, but it wasn’t?!”
“Calm down, Kreis. What happened? Professor, are you responsible for this?”
“It’s not me! It was Siegfried!”
Professor dodged as Siegfried tried to grab him, and he hopped right over the balcony railing.
“Professor?!” We both leaned over the edge to look for him, and the crowd below erupted into cheers.
“Long live the king!”
“Thank you for saving us, Saint!”
The crowd was so loud. I hastily put a smile on my face and Siegfried looked down at Professor.
“Such a bad boy,” Siegfried scolded with a laugh.
“You don’t need to worry about a god like me! Come back in a few thousand years and try again!” Professor drifted down to where the group of children waited.
“Father!”
“Papa!”
Theodore, Lucas, and Karina waved up to us next to them.
Siegfried and I exchanged a look and couldn’t help but laugh. Then we both lifted our hands to wave to everyone below. From now on, it was our job to protect their happiness.
“And, of course, to protect our own happiness too,” Siegfried added.
“Wait, hold on... Can you hear what I’m thinking?!”
“He he. It’s me! Hello!”
“Professor!”
“Can you make it so we can hear each other via telepathy all the time?” Siegfried asked.
“No way! Do not do that!” I protested.
I knew the commotion and chaos had just begun, and there were probably hardships waiting for us in the future.
But it would be all right, as long as we were together.