I got a carriage ready.
Just as Luke had suggested, I picked out a box carriage, but one much larger than he’d recommended. It was a four-seat carriage pulled by four white horses.
I made an appointment. Knowing Aisha, she probably wanted to have the time to say her goodbyes to all the people she worked with.
When Aisha finished work, she usually walked back to her lodgings from the castle. She went home with the maids she’d gotten close to. The castle wasn’t particularly far from where she lived, and the Noble District was safe, but I couldn’t help but worry when I heard she went home on foot. I’d basically be waiting to surprise her on the way home, and if I could do it so easily, so could anyone else.
The only people who could park a carriage at the castle were those who’d gotten permission, so I wanted to believe that area was safe. And I didn’t plan on blocking the road or anything. The carriage was just a means of going home.
A carriage wasn’t the only thing I readied for that day. I had a bouquet of flowers. I went back home and picked some from the flower bed in the garden—the very same flowers Aisha herself grew and loved. I also got some flowers from Byt, our baby treant. I bundled everything together, then took a sniff. They smelled like our garden.
She might’ve gotten mad at me for taking them without permission, but it wasn’t as though I took all the flowers! I did my part helping to tend to them, so surely this bunch could be forgiven. If nothing else, it felt like Byt and Grandma Zenith had given me permission. When I told her I wanted to take some flowers, Zenith actually handed me some herself.
I got my outfit from a clothing store our family frequented in Ranoa. Father was a regular there and I’d tagged along with him before, but this was the first time I voiced my own desires, picked out an outfit, and bought it for myself. The store clerk and my father said I looked good, but when I saw myself in the mirror, I felt like the clothes were wearing me.
Maybe it was because I was so used to looking at Red Mama, but I thought I looked better in my Sword God Style attire.
It was almost time to meet up, so I descended from the carriage to wait for Aisha.
The back entrance of the castle was so large that it almost didn’t feel right calling it that, and there were a great deal of people going home via carriage or horse. Of course, that was the case. Most of those working at the castle were either nobility or people of similar status. Even the maids were low-level noblewomen working as servants. While the soldiers might have been commoners, they had to be people with clear-cut backgrounds. All of those people glanced at me as they passed by, wondering what I was up to.
There were a handful of girls around my age. As soon as they saw me, they looked like they realized something and quickly left. I even heard people whispering. The girls thought they were being quiet, but I could tell they were speaking in high-pitched tones.
Nobody actually stepped forward to ask me what I was doing there, but I suppose the fact that I was all dressed up and holding a bouquet made it obvious.
Perhaps I’d messed up.
I hadn’t given it much thought until then, but what if Aisha turned me down?
Nobody was laughing at my expense, but I couldn’t help but feel as though I’d screwed up with my choice of attire. Clothing styles and trends differed between the Asura Kingdom and Ranoa, and I felt like I stood out. I was the only one dressed like I was off to a party.
Aisha was pragmatic and down to earth. Rather than all this pomp and circumstance, maybe she would have preferred if I visited her at her lodgings normally instead.
Or maybe I should’ve gone grander. Maybe I should have thrown an actual party? No, no. There was no way that was the answer.
I anxiously waited, and eventually, I saw a single woman emerge from the castle. She had her shoulder-length hair up, and the hair ornament I’d given her long ago swayed with her movement. She was wearing a dress. A crimson one. There was no way she’d been working dressed like that. Was she off to a party?
I wasn’t dense enough to actually think that. Aisha had gotten dressed up for me. Just as I’d gotten dressed up for her, she did for me. Once I realized that, my heart started racing. There was no way Aisha was going to turn me down. I was certain she’d been waiting for this moment, just as I had, this whole time. Waiting for me to grow into a man and return for her.
Of course, I didn’t think all she’d done was wait. From what Sir Luke told us, Aisha was a little different from who she used to be.
Like before, she was incredibly talented and the kind of person you’d want to hire in a heartbeat. But she was now adored by everyone around her, not feared. I had to treat her with a level of importance that would satisfy the people around us.
I mean, even if she had changed, there were probably still people who hated her. It wasn’t as though everyone in the world loved her. But given what I’d heard, she must have made incredible progress to have garnered such a positive reputation.
She’d worked hard to become a more complete person so she could be with me. Probably.
No, I’m sure of it.
Aisha stopped in front of me. “Heya. You’ve gotten big.”
It really had been so long since I last saw her. In the past few years, I’d seen all kinds of women. I couldn’t help but look at women with big breasts, after all. On an instinctive level, I’d wanted to touch them or even take them in my arms.
“It’s only been a few years, but I barely recognized you. Wowee… I thought I stayed in love with you this whole time, but I guess this is what it feels like to fall in love all over again.”
As I gazed at Aisha, I had a thought.
“Um? Heeey, Arus? You okay?”
She was the only woman I loved.
“Um, um, um. Wait, are you actually here waiting for someone else?” Aisha was joking, but I heard a bit of sadness in her voice.
That was when I finally opened my mouth to speak. I took a knee, held the bouquet in my hands toward her, and looked into her eyes.
“I love you. Will you marry me?”
For a few seconds, Aisha’s mouth opened and closed. But then she took a deep breath, straightened her back, and took the flowers from me.
“It would be my pleasure.”
So, Aisha and I got married.