I wasn’t the only one to be shocked by what she said.
“What!?” Sir Celes’s face went white as a sheet. And for some reason, Eric and Lord Reynard shot up to hold Sir Celes back, too.
His Majesty spoke up immediately, “Don’t worry! I refused them all! You can still marry Lucia, so calm down!”
“...Thank you.”
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief as Sir Celes nodded. What happened?
“We’ve done all of the preparations for your wedding dress so you can get married ASAP. We’ve got lots of designs drawn up, and the fabric, and clear schedules!”
“A dress...” I repeated.
Miss Maria looked at me worriedly. “What, you weren’t planning on having a ceremony!?”
“No, since Sir Celes is a Knight Captain, I thought we’d have a little something, but...”
“So you’re saying you don’t want a big one? You’re so reserved! Ed’s covering the bill, so you should go crazy with your choices!”
“No, that’s...” I shook my head at her. Unsure of how to respond, I looked at Sir Celes and asked, “Do... Do you want a ceremony?”
“Hmm, I was thinking we might have to do something before we eloped, but I’m not sure.”
The talk we’d had on our way to Arldat ran through my head.
“What? What are you talking about?” Miss Maria asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“If you mean this, I’ve been keeping it safe,” Sir Agliardi said from farther in the room, taking Sir Celes’s emblem from his pocket. He tried to hand it back to Sir Celes, but was refused.
“Lucia and I were talking on our way back, but I’m going to quit the Knights.”
“What?” Sir Agliardi’s eyes widened.
“Huh!?” His Majesty lost his words.
“W-Wait, Sir Celestino!?” Lord Reynard panicked.
“What’re you saying, Captain!?” Eric asked.
“Celes, what are you talking about? You can’t go into marriage unemployed! How are you going to support Lucia!?” Miss Maria moved closer and started grabbing at Sir Celes’s collar.
Sir Gaius stepped in between them and said, “Wait, wait, calm down for a sec. Don’t criticize their decision.”
Since we’d gotten his advice during our trip back, he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
“And your reasoning is...” Sir Agliardi asked, a pensive look on his face.
“I can’t protect the person I want to protect most as a knight. A knight protects their country — but there’s someone I care about more than my country. If I can’t protect her, I don’t need to be a knight.” Sir Celes answered his question clearly, taking my hand. “If me continuing as a knight is going to be a burden to her, then we’re going to either return to her hometown, or live somewhere far away.”
I looked up at him with mixed feelings. I’d told him over and over that he didn’t have to quit the knights for me, but honestly, it still made me happy to hear.
I was weak for losing to my fear of being alone, and counting on him saying he’d protect me. Our country needed “the Dragonslayer” in the Knights. I didn’t want to make such an important member leave just because of my selfishness. Still, I wasn’t sure whether I should accept his strength in saying he’d be with me, or if I should support him as a knight.
“I see.” King Edoardo accepted Sir Celes’s decision immediately.
“Your Majesty!?”
Holding up a hand to quiet the Commander, His Majesty walked up to Sir Celes and me.
“Honestly, I had guessed that you’d quit the Knights.” We both went silent at his quiet voice, listening. “While you were searching for Lucia, we’ve done a lot of talking. This country is centered too much on my power as King. Maria has brought up that there’s nothing to hold me back if I make any mistakes. After speaking with her and Fernando, we’re going to assemble a parliament.”
With a strong glint in his eyes, and a smile on his face, His Majesty continued:
“There were many people who could have stopped my father in regards to you and Maria. Me as the Crown Prince, Fernando as the Knight Commander, the Academy Headmaster... Not a single one of us protested. We all thought he wouldn’t listen, that we would be acting beyond our positions — that we should take care of ourselves. We need someone whose job is to stop another tragedy from happening, but having someone powerful enough to stop the King would end in unnecessary conflict. So instead, we’ll give the authority to an organization instead of a single person.”
“Well, even with a parliament, one bad apple may spoil the bunch. But having a parliament is better than having nothing,” Miss Maria added.
The rest of us were shocked at the direction our country was headed in. Having lived in another world, Miss Maria knew another way of life, where the King wasn’t the most important — where their word wasn’t law.
“It won’t be made only of royalty and nobles. The citizens are the ones who know their lives best. We’ll start with me as the King, the Knights, the Academy, each lord and association, and representatives from each town. We’ll assemble and decide things from there.”
“And the scholars from the Tower of Learning are here too, so there’s lots to learn.”
After His Majesty told us about his future plans, he suddenly turned and looked straight at Sir Celes and I. “Celestino, have you already decided on what you’ll do after you leave the Knights? You said that you’d move far away, but have you thought of where to go?”
“No... We’ve only just had the idea. First, we were going to go to Hasawes to see Lucia’s parents, and then return to Mist for a time, but other than that...”
“I see. In that case, I had a few territories of my own as the Crown Prince. I’ll give you two the one you like best, so why not settle down there? It would serve as your reward, and would allow me to try to repay Lucia. A territory could never be enough to repay her, but it’s all I could think of.”
Sir Celes and I looked at each other after hearing His Majesty’s offer. What should we do? His offer is just too much!
“Why not just take it?” Miss Maria popped in, encouraging me.
“Yeah. It’s really not anywhere near enough to cover what you’ve done, Lucia. Oh, the Sacred Maiden too,” chimed in Eric as well.
“That’s right! Instead of me, Miss Maria should...” I started, before Miss Maria silenced me with a soft smile.
“I’m fine. I’ve already got so much from you, Lucia.”
“Miss Maria...”
“I’m glad I came to this world. I was careless at first, but I’m glad I got to work hard with you. I was able to see that I could do something for someone else’s sake, and I learned that I could care for someone without expecting anything in return. If I’m everyone’s Sacred Maiden, then you’re mine. You were the one that saved me.”
She paused, touching the stones around her neck.
“...I told you I was going home, right? Now that I know you’re okay, I’ll return home for a bit. I’ll get everything done that needs doing, and then I’ll come back. Ed said he’d wait for me, and I want to study before I return, so I can help even a little bit more. I thought being the Queen would be a pain, but I won’t run. I’ll definitely come back once I can do more.”
“I’ll be waiting... waiting for your return, Miss Maria.”
“Yeah. I’ll be back in a few years, so you’d better!”