...but they all went rushing past her. The ladies of the village quickly formed a circle around Zeke and Alphonse.
“My, my, would you look at that! Who are these dashing gentlemen?”
“Take a look at his broad chest! Now that’s a real man!”
“He’s so tall! He has black hair! He looks kind of scary! Ohh, how wonderful! Can I give you a hug?”
Alphonse, who was also a handsome young man, was receiving his fair share of attention, but it was Zeke that drew most of the eyes there. The women of the village had gathered around him like butterflies around a flower.
As for Zeke, he was blinking in complete disbelief. It was clear to Cecily that this situation was overwhelming him, but he greeted the group properly, as the polite captain of the Celestial Knight Brigade ought to.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I am Cecily’s boyfriend. My name is Zeke Stein.”
“Zeeekey!” the group said in unison. An excited cheer rang through the crowd, almost stifling his last words. Cecily had never seen these women, most of whom were close to her mother’s age, squeal like young girls before.
“Even your name is dashing. A perfect gentleman.”
“I can’t believe you snatched up such a hunk out there! You go, Cecily!”
“I know, Zekey—why not give a new woman a try? Pick me!”
“You can come back to mine. I’ll keep it a secret from my husband...how about it?”
“Whoa, whoa, hold it!” Cecily said angrily. She wanted to stop everyone from flirting with Zeke left, right, and center, and puffed up with anger as she batted away the kisses that were blown Zeke’s way from all directions. “Stop touching Zeke without permission! His broad chest and chiseled abs belong to me!”
Cecily was so stressed out that she began spouting embarrassing things that she would never have had the courage to say normally. Watching his lover with caring eyes, Zeke spoke up in a loud voice that cut across the crowd.
“I’m sorry, ladies. I have devoted my whole life to Cecily alone.”
The whole crowd went silent with surprise.
“And I must tell you that every inch of my body belongs to Cecily.”
Squeals of excitement worked their way through the crowd as Zeke said these words with a hand on his chest and a smile upon his face. Some even fainted on the spot.
Cecily bumped her way through the crowd of witches who had managed to avoid fainting.
“He really is head over heels for you, Cecily.”
“It pains me to say this, but I’ve no chance of swaying his mind. My best wishes to you.”
Cecily flushed with embarrassment at the comments her acquaintances made as she made her way to Zeke.
“Cut that out already!” Cecily said, but the other witches merely cackled with amusement at the youngsters they enjoyed teasing.
A little distance away, the children of the village were crowding around Maria. They were excited by the sight of Charlotte, who was still being held by Maria.
“Wow, you’re so pretty and your hair’s so fluffy. You look like a princess!”
“You’re so beautiful! You’re like a dolly!”
Charlotte was bright red at all this attention.
“Well, yes, I am a pr—” she began to say, but then bit her tongue. While on this journey, they had to hide Charlotte’s name and status. It was far too dangerous for anyone to find out she was a princess.
“A pr...?”
“A pr...oud young noblewoman. My name is Lottie. This is my maid, Maria. The captain’s loins and Alphonse’s loins are my loyal knights. And Cecily is my friend!”
“Huh? Loyns...?” The girls all gave Charlotte looks of confusion.
“Nice to meetcha all! Keep Lady Lottie here company, okay?” Alphonse said with a wave, now that he was free from the twittering women. Some of the girls by Maria found themselves flushing at his gentle smile, their earlier confusion disappearing.
“You’re kinda cool, Alphonse,” one of the girls said.
“You think? Aha ha, well, thank ya!” Alphonse said, still smiling.
But Charlotte found herself pouting.
“Playing with a little girl’s heart like that... You really are the worst.”
“What’s wrong, Lady Ch— Lady Lottie? Jealous, perhaps?”
“Jealous?! Not in a million yea—”
However, Charlotte’s tirade was interrupted by a frantic yell.
“Cecilyyyyy!”
A man’s voice rang across the gathered crowd. Everyone turned to the source of the noise, and their eyes fell upon a short, portly middle-aged man dressed in an off-white suit. He had flaxen hair and black eyes, and his chubby features made him seem younger than he truly was. Sweat was streaming down his forehead and cheeks as he wheezed at the edge of the crowd.
“Dad!” Cecily called out.
“My little Cecily!”
No one dared to interrupt this reunion of father and daughter, and they parted the crowd with smiles on their faces. Cecily’s father, Sewell, dashed with heavy steps through the gap in the crowd at top speed. He embraced his daughter, drawing the petite Cecily into his large body.
“You came home! Ohh, welcome back. You must’ve had it hard, being all alone!”
“It’s okay, dad. I had Rolo with me.”
“Of course, of course,” Sewell said, nodding. He sniffled, trying to stop his nose running from all of his overflowing emotions.
“Please, use this if you’d like,” Zeke said, presenting a handkerchief to Sewell, as natural as can be.
Zeke’s kindness is as wonderful as ever!
Cecily’s heart was sent aflutter, but Sewell hesitated. His nose was dry again.
“And...who might you be?”
“My name is Zeke.”
Charlotte and the rest of the group introduced themselves in turn. Sewell nodded politely to each of them, but his gaze kept returning to Zeke. Perhaps his paternal instincts had cottoned on to Zeke’s identity already.
“Um, listen, dad...”
Cecily wasn’t sure what to say next. Meanwhile, Sewell let out an awkward cough.
“If you have something you wish to tell me, let’s head home and do so there. I imagine everyone’s tired, after all. I’ll prepare tea.”
Maria smiled apologetically at Sewell.
“Thank you for concern; however, it appears that Lady Lottie is rather taken with the village. I would be grateful if you would allow her to wander around and learn more about this place.”
Sewell gave a big nod of affirmation.
“Yes, please do so. Although we are a simple run-of-the-mill village. Could I get a helping hand to show them around?”
“Me, me, me!” came a chorus of voices from amongst Alphonse’s fans.
“I wanna play with Lottie!” came a cry from the children.
As the crowd chattered among themselves, Charlotte leaned up and whispered into Cecily’s ear.
“Call for me if anything happens, okay?”
“Of course, Lady Char— Lottie.”
“Not ‘Charlottie’—just Lottie!”
“Yes, Lady Lottie!”
“Good. Okay, I’ll see you later, then,” Charlotte said, as she headed off with Maria and Alphonse. Soon the only ones left were Cecily, Zeke, and Sewell.
This is it.
Cecily’s reason for coming home wasn’t to see her acquaintances. Her and Zeke’s number one reason for coming back was to get Sewell’s blessing for their relationship so that they could begin preparations for their wedding.
I want to marry Zeke!
However, things weren’t as simple as Cecily’s strong desire to get married. She had been content with just being with Zeke, but when she had seen the women tittering over him, this had reaffirmed something in her mind: Zeke was gallant—with his slicked-back black hair, his sharp hazel eyes, his tall nose, his thin lips, his muscular body, and his tall figure. Yes, he was undeniably handsome. Zeke himself might not have been aware of it, but he was popular with women whether he liked it or not.
Not only that, but although he seemed like a coolheaded character, he was gentle and kind, always willing to look out for others. The gap between his appearance and his behavior made him even more charming—he truly was the perfect guy.