As we walked back hand-in-hand, everyone else was still where we left them. I tried to let go once I noticed, but Sir Celes kept squeezing my hand. Wait, they can all see!
“Oh, you’re finished talking?” Even though he usually didn’t join these kinds of conversations, Sir Agliardi grinned at us. His Highness was smiling behind him, too. Ahh, this is too embarrassing!
“Thanks.” Still on guard, Sir Celes answered him curtly. I wondered if he would be insulted if I thought he was as cute as an angry kitten?
“Lucia, did he do anything to you!?”
“Eh, do anything?”
Miss Maria jumped from her spot beside His Highness as soon as she saw me. She patted me down, checking that I was alright. Sir Celes gave her a sour look at how seriously she was checking.
“Sacred Maiden, who do you take me for?” Sir Celes griped.
“Hm? Someone who’s normally a super loser, but who turns into a lecher when he goes berserk.”
“Ugh...” He grimaced at her immediate answer. She really doesn’t pull her punches, even against a handsome guy.
“What’s this?” While checking me over, Miss Maria stopped to touch the bracelet on my wrist, interested. It was embarrassing how she brought everyone’s attention to it. “Huh, a present? Just a bracelet, though? Wow, he really is a loser, huh.”
“Kyukyu!” While Miss Maria tilted her head, Shiro made his way to me over our linked arms. It had been a while since he came to me, since he was so clingy with Miss Maria.
As he settled on my shoulder, he looked at my bracelet, too. So even he’s interested... I didn’t know what to do with myself while they all stared at it like that. It was embarrassing.
“So he finally did it. Took him long enough,” Sir Agliardi said.
His Highness followed up with, “Congratulations.”
“Thank you...”
I blushed at the both of them. Since I wasn’t used to being the center of attention, I didn’t know how to respond. All I could do was squeeze out my thanks.
“What do you mean? Wait, do you mean he proposed? But this is a bracelet. Don’t you usually do it with a ring?”
Sir Agliardi explained for Miss Maria, “In this world, you give a silver bracelet when proposing. You don’t give other accessories.”
Hearing that, she looked back at my bracelet, surprised. “So you do it with bracelets!? Wow, so that’s why you two knew as soon as you saw it. But this isn’t silver, it’s wood.”
“I’m going to get her a proper one once we get back to Arldat.”
“Oh. But congrats, Lucia! I’m shocked. We’re the same age, and you’re already engaged.”
“Aren’t you going to be engaged to His Highness?” I said.
Miss Maria clung to me again, and gave me a blank look back, before nodding a moment later. “Ah, that’s right. I forgot.”
“You forgot... Wait, Maria, come here,” the prince called to her, flustered by her indifferent reply.
“Later, okay?”
I was shocked at how dry it was, compared to how clingy and close they’d been before. What happened?
“I’m just realizing how little men matter when you’re emotionally fulfilled... But I’ll be lonely when you get married!” After brushing off the prince, she glared at Sir Celes. “I don’t wanna give you to Celes. And you, you’d better treat her right, okay!? I won’t forgive you if you make her cry! I’ll do whatever it takes to destroy you if you do!”
“I’m not going to let her cry. She’s more important to me than anything!”
I was happy that Miss Maria treasured me so much, but I didn’t know how to respond because I felt so bad for His Highness. Please, stop giving me that look, Your Highness!
“You really like teasing me, don’t you, Maria?” His Majesty added.
“You’re the one who said you liked it when I teased you, Ed. I’m just doing what you asked.”
“Please keep your lover’s spats to when you’re alone, Your Highness. And Sacred Maiden, please don’t stir him up like this. I have to deal with it later,” said Sir Agliardi, trying to calm the situation down.
Seeming unhappy with the responses she got, Miss Maria replied, “I don’t know what’ll bother him until I do it. And right now, I’m too deep into our womanly friendship to care. Romance is fine, but friends are better! So Celes, give her back.”
“Kyukyu~!”
“No. I’m not giving her to anyone, even you, Sacred Maiden,” Sir Celes replied.
“Celestino, you and Lucia should get going. I want to talk to Maria a bit more about the party.”
“Oh, that’s right, we were lost. We’ll get them even angrier if we split up, so she can’t go with Celes!”
The fact that I was sandwiched between Miss Maria and Sir Celes as they fought over me, with His Highness giving me a cold look from behind while Sir Agliardi tried to calm him down, just made me want to run from reality for a bit. What’s with this predicament!?
Oh, but I’ve seen this exact same scene before. Jeanne and Joanne reenacted something like it from a play where two men fought over the protagonist like this. But I never thought I’d be the one fought over.
At a loss, I just stared up at the sky as they pulled at me from either side. The weather was beautiful. I wish I could do the laundry right now!