༺ Engagement Ceremony (3) ༻
When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I saw was Hua Ran staring outside the window.
“Ran… no, it’s Hua huh. What are you doing?”
“…Not coming.”
“What is?”
“The stork… isn’t coming.”
Hua Ran mumbled about some things that didn’t make much sense to me. Maybe there was a legend in the east about storks flying around in the morning or something.
“Stop looking outside the window. Wash yourself and let’s go grab some food. There’s something I need to tell you as well.”
“…”
I wasn’t sure what was going through her head, but in any case, I stood up from the bed to head to the large bathroom.
“Are you not going?”
“…Maybe it got eaten.”
“Which one; you mean the stork?”
“…Nn.”
“You are not going to see any storks near this place. They come out more north of here. I think I heard about there being some habitats of storks near the North Kingdom.”
“…!!”
Hua Ran looked greatly shocked as if that was something she hadn’t been expecting. I wonder why she wanted to see them in the first place.
“Whatever. Let’s go have some food.”
I dragged the disappointed Hua Ran and took her to the bathroom.
………
……
…
“Fake engagement?”
“Shh. It’s a secret so make sure you don’t tell anyone.”
“…Okay.”
That morning, I explained the situation to Hua Ran after she was done washing herself.
“It was just for a little tease but that was very inconsiderate of me. Can you say that to Ran?”
“…”
“I should have been more considerate of her feelings. I’m sorry for making you guys sad.”
Without saying anything, Hua Ran looked at me and raised a fist.
– Bam!
“Ugyak…! That hurts!”
“…”
I, I did do something that deserved a beating but that didn’t feel like the only reason there!
“Eat.”
After saying one word, she started staring at the chopsticks that were placed next to the fried mackerel. She then looked back and forth at the fried mackerel and me.
“…”
“…”
“………”
“………Alright, I’ll get rid of the bones for you.”
After a long silence, I began to debone the fish for her.
– Nom nom.
Like a cat munching on fish, Hua Ran indulged herself in her meal. Around the time she was done with the food, she opened her mouth.
“You… You’re always busy.”
“Hnn? Oh, yeah I am.”
“If something like this happens again… go with me.”
“Huh? Sure. That would be awesome.”
“…Awesome?”
Of course it was. Considering her strength, that was an offer I would welcome with wide open arms.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
I stroked her head. From the faint change in her expression, I could tell that she was in a better mood.
****
I had to find Marie.
Even though I tried asking the maids and butlers of the Arden Family, they didn’t have any clue either so the next one I had to rely on was…
“Woof!”
He was in the backyard of the Arden headquarters.
Wearing a Montijo t-shirt that was worth 2 gold coins and pants that cost 5 gold coins, Doggo was wearing a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses with his legs crossed as he arrogantly greeted me.
“Woof woof!”
“Yeah… I get that you’re busy but…”
He, the fruit of Marie and my blood, had called all the female dogs of the area and were making them lay down on top of a discarded couch and his knees.
Why the heck was this guy so popular?
“Do you know where mommy has gone off to?”
“Woof!”
“Huh? You little brat! Who told you to use such language to your daddy?”
“Woof woof!”
“But I… I wasn’t intending… on making mommy cry but… N, no. That would just be another excuse. Sorry. It is your daddy’s fault.”
I sat down next to him on the couch. The desperate eyes of the female dogs staring at Doggo were extremely burdensome but I somehow made them go down.
– Nghhh nghhh (Mr. Doggo… Do you have no need for me anymore?)
……
Was there something wrong with my ears? Why did I get a feeling that I could hear what these moaning dogs were trying to say?
“Anyway, Doggo. Your daddy has something to talk about with mommy. Can you tell me where she is?”
“Woof!”
Damn it, it wasn’t working.
This guy… he was going to swear at me when he’s grown up at this rate! No wonder they say raising a child gives you nothing in return! He’s only standing on mom’s side!!
“One cow.”
“…Woof?”
“When we go back… I will get you one of the top-notch black cows of the south, delivered straight to you raw.”
“Woof woof woof…!!”
The guy suddenly started to laugh. What was going on? The black cows of the south were his favorite type of meat. There was no way he would—
Thank you very much for using the gold coin storage of the Grand Chapel of Zeon.
…The gold coin storage of the New Faith was like the bank of this world. There was nothing wrong with that but…
Why was this kid more loaded than me?
Wait a second. How did Doggo have enough money to laugh at the building fees of the hotel that I tried my ass off to protect last year?
“S, son…? Can you give your daddy some pocket money…?”
“Kukwekwekwekwek…!”
****
Despite being mocked and looked down on a whole lot, in the end, Doggo told me where Marie was.
“Senior.”
“…”
She was in one of the guest rooms located in a corner of the Arden household. Because it was supposed to be inhabited, even the windows were closed and the only source of light inside the room where Marie was was the light coming in from the door I slid open.
“You’re here,” she said.
“What are you doing here?”
“Nothing much.”
“Like, about the thing yesterday…”
It was then. Marie took large steps towards me before lifting her head.
“Senior?”
Her red eyes had a sharp glimmer. Just from looking at her eyes, I could tell that she was thirsty and she pounced at me before I could even do anything.
Pakk! Her fangs dug deep into my collarbone. She had been doing this so much that it wouldn’t have been strange for me to have gotten a scar there, but there were no problems thanks to my regeneration ability.
– Gulp…!
In times like this, Marie was almost like a baby. Desperately, she would cling onto my neck refusing to let her lips fall apart. Although I was supporting her by the back so that she wouldn’t fall back, she was so indulged in sucking my blood that she didn’t even need that extra support.
“Haa… Haa…”
After drinking my blood without any rest, she started gasping for breath. She tended to be overly excited in times like this so I settled her down while tapping her on her back.
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
“…Un.”
I stepped back and laid myself down on the bed behind me as Marie started pressing down on me from above. It was a similar posture to what happened with Ran yesterday but… the density and stickiness of the air inside the room were incomparably different.
“Delicious.”
She dug deeper and deeper into me. Our hearts aligned as the sound of her thumping heartbeat reached all the way to my ears.
After craving blood for who knows how long, she parted her fangs and licked my neck to clean up the blood before raising her head back up.
Her hair slid down and tickled my lips.
“Korin. Can I have a bit more? I was… hungry for a long time.”
It had been about a month. Ever since we parted, Marie must have been relying only on blood packs, and because it was rare to see her being this dependent, I couldn’t turn her down.
Considering all the help she had given me, turning her down wasn’t an option.
“Sure.”
Like a baby, she once again dug into my chest. Her sharp fangs pierced through my skin once again, not allowing them the time to regenerate back up.
………
……
…
Because of her long starvation, she ended up sucking his blood too much. There were a myriad of emotions on her face as she gazed down at Korin who was sleeping on the bed due to nausea.
His blood that she finally got to taste after a long separation was sweet and captivating.
His wide shoulders and resilient muscles; tall collarbones, tough traps, and chest muscles. The tasteful blood flowing down her throat past her tongue as well as the remainder next to his collarbones…
Everything. Everything; every single one of them is mine. Those are mine and mine alone and no one else will be able to reach them.
The mere thought of having these stolen by someone else made her furious. The Dunareff princess, who was kinder and nicer than anyone else, couldn’t stop her killing intent from rising up.
The fact that Korin didn’t choose her was a very depressing and sad event, but she still had to wish for their happiness.
After all, she wanted him to be happy. She wanted him to have a happy ending after living a joyous life with his loved ones.
“You see, Korin… I can wait.”
100 years.
That wasn’t going to be that long for her anymore. As long as she could obtain everything that belonged to him after waiting for that long…
‘It’ll be my win.’
So what if her precious treasure would get touched by someone else? After a short time, it would be sent back to her, never leaving the treasury ever again.
That was why everything was fine. She could wait, but… And yet…
“Uhk… Huhuk…!”
Even so, she didn’t like it. She hated the idea of having him stolen away for even a second. She became greedy, hoping he would stay with her from the start to the end.
“He’s mine… he’s mine…”
Why did I have to watch him form a bond with someone else? How was I supposed to wait 100 years by myself?
The girl turned teary. She couldn’t stop her tears from falling down her cheeks.
The first loss of her life was extremely bitter and spicy.
“…Senior?”
That was when some thick fingers went past her eyes.
“Why… are you crying?”
As if he was still half-sleepy, Korin couldn’t continue his words properly but Marie could still tell that he was greatly concerned about her.
“Come here and lie down.”
Tap tap.
Korin invited her down while tapping on the bed. His actions had a magic charm to them or something; as if being absorbed into the bed, she laid herself down and rested her head on his arm.
“Are you okay now?”
“Un… Sorry.”
“Who made my little Senior cry?”
It’s because of you; you’re hurting me like this – Marie couldn’t say that to his face.
She found it disgraceful to rely so much on someone who was about to be engaged very soon.
Korin had a troubled look on his face, seeing that Marie was still looking extremely dejected, and decided to share his honest thoughts despite them being slightly embarrassing to talk about.
“I told you, didn’t I. You are a nice person, Senior. And I want you to be happy.”
“…Why?”
“My arms are short and I can only reach the ones in front of my eyes but… at the very least, I want everyone within my reach to be happy. Because they all have the right to be so.”
“Everyone…”
That was a repeat of what she heard when she asked him why he had saved her, but it sounded slightly different this time.
She noticed that she… was just one person among ‘everyone’ for the hero, Korin Lork.
“I…”
I want to be your one and only special person, and not just a part of everyone though…
Because he was a kind-hearted person who could empathize, be considerate, protect, and help others, Marie Dunareff liked him.
She liked him, adored and loved him, and will continue to even if that love remained going in one direction.
However, she couldn’t stop her tears from falling down. Her sorrow and dejection constantly tried to pour out of her.
“Korinnn…”
In the end, a wave of sorrow left through her neck and started to swirl.
“Ehew… Don’t cry. You’re ruining your beauty.”
“Huguk…! Stop… treating me… like a kid…”
“I’m not. Seriously though… if you’re like this, how are you going to congratulate me during my engagement ceremony?”
Why should I!? Why would I even do that!? I’ll never do it!
It was when Marie was about to pour out her emotions at this clueless boy.
“Well, it’s a fake engagement though.”
“Hunng?”
Her tears came to a sudden stop as she then asked with doubt in her eyes.
“Fake… engagement?”
“Yes. I made a deal with Miss Lunia.”
As if she had been struck by a 100-meter-long chunk of ice, her face went through a rapid change.
“Aiya~. But seriously, as soon as she saw me in the east, she suddenly asked if I wanted to get married. Some family circumstances I guess.”
Now that she finally seemed to be in the mood for a conversation, Korin started rambling on and on.
And the more she listened to his words, the redder her ears turned. Her cheeks which were wet from her tears turned red and steamy.
Everything had been fake, and everything was a prank.
“I, I see! So that’s how it was…!”
Looking back, it really was strange. It had only been one month since Korin had come to the east. How could they fall in love and talk about engagement in just a month?
Even if that was possible, Korin was a very busy person. He had talked to Marie about his enemies who were plotting schemes all around the world regardless of the time.
Marie had personally even volunteered to join his guild of guardians to be his partner, did she not?
So how could such a busy person like Korin Lork volitionally tie himself down to the eastern side of the continent? Just a little bit of thought would have allowed her to notice all the contradictions.
“U, uiikk… Uuiik…!”
Her fists shivered as her mind brought back up all the delusions and vile plans that she had been going through.
Wait for 100 years? Don’t want to get him stolen?
“UGIYAAAKK…!”
Marie flapped her legs and arms on the bed.
“Here’s a blanket. Take a nap; you must be full.”
“Eeek… Eeeeek…!!”
She flailed around while panting for breath while Korin watched over her like an adult looking at an adorable child. After about 10 to 20 minutes, she finally settled back down so he asked her while giving her a tap on the back.
“So… Why was it that you were so sad?”
“It’s… nothing!”
“Well… alright. Let’s just say that then.”
With a mixture of embarrassment and anger, Marie pinched his cheeks while still lying down sideways on the bed.
“Ayayaya…”
“Korin,” she said.
“Yes?”
“Please… don’t lie to me.”
“…”
Korin returned her a serious gaze that contained a bit of guilt, apology and… a firm resolve.
“Alright. I won’t.”
“I… believe everything that you say, Korin. I don’t doubt anything. Even if you say you will multiply gold coins by threefold, I will trust you and I won’t doubt it even if you tell me there will be a meteor strike tomorrow. So…”
Revealing a tip of her complicated emotions, Marie said with teary eyes.
“So please don’t ever lie to me, Korin.”
“Okay. I won’t lie to you even as a joke.”
“Nn. I trust you.”
After wiping off the beads of moisture from her eyes, the girl smiled like a fully-bloomed flower, as if she gained a never-lying lover that will stay with her for the rest of her life.
“No matter what happens… everything will be mine after 100 years.”
“And what do you mean by that?”
“It’s a secret…!”
That was most certainly going to be kept a secret from him for the next 100 years.
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