“Did you seriously spy on me?”
Once Halphas left, it was finally just Redian and me. Now, it was my turn.
“What are you doing right now?”
“…”
“Do we have some sort of relationship?”
It was absurd to think I was the one being accused, but what choice did I have? There was no other way.
“Are we engaged or married? I don’t understand why you make such a fuss every time.”
Redian had been expressionless until now, but as I spoke, I saw his eyes slowly crumbling, and it felt oddly satisfying.
“How could you say that…?”
Yes, those reddened, twisted eyes fit the word ‘strange’ perfectly. I almost wanted to keep watching that expression a little longer.
“I need to go up now. I don’t feel like eating anything in this mood.”
“Master…”
But again, I had no choice but to turn away coldly.
* * *
“Is everyone ready?”
I hurriedly ran up to the deck where the accommodations were. As soon as I arrived, I saw exactly what I had envisioned.
This is it. A heart made of rose petals was glowing with the light of candles.
“Is Halphas alright?”
“He’s fine.”
The devils who had spent the whole afternoon decorating with flowers asked.
“Fortunately, he wasn’t thrown into the sea.”
In fact, I had already set up a protective barrier, so no matter what Redian did, Halphas would have been safe. However, I had checked the windows repeatedly just in case he was thrown out.
It almost turned into a horror story.
Yes, all of this was just groundwork. Proposals and surprise events are inseparable pairs after all.
“The candles will burn out at this rate.”
But,
“Why isn’t the lord coming?”
That’s strange.
Rere, who usually followed me immediately, was nowhere to be seen, even after a long time.
At this crucial moment, the main character was missing.
“No, Milord!”
Then, Ipos shouted towards something beyond the window.
I turned to look. What on earth is going on?
The man standing on the bow was definitely Redian.
“Rere!”
“…”
The waves were crashing violently against the bow. Redian, standing amidst the waves, looked extremely precarious.
This is crazy!
A melodrama suddenly turned into a survival story in an instant like this.
Why had the calm sea suddenly become so rough? And what was he doing up there?
“H-How…”
“Move aside.”
I pushed the devils aside and headed towards the bow.
“Rere! Aren’t you coming down?”
This wasn’t the scene I had imagined. I was supposed to tearfully present the bouquet of roses and gifts when Redian followed me, but…
Ack! It’s cold! The closer I got to him, the more the water sprayed my face like rain.
Can’t we have a normal proposal at least once? Others manage to be romantic just fine, so why is ours always so chaotic?
“The wind is so strong. What are you doing up there? Don’t you know how dangerous it is?”
“…”
“Aren’t you coming down right now?”
Finally, Redian looked down at me. His blue eyes were emotionless.
“It’s not something you should worry about, Master.”
Oh gosh, look at this.
“We’re nothing to each other anyway.”
“Ha, really…”
Pulling him down by force was impossible from the start.
“How arrogant.”
It was time to use the ring disguised as a restraint. I had been so close to him all this time that I thought I’d never need it again.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, the ship shook violently, and I saw a flash of light.
“Ah, sorry.”
I felt something solid supporting me tightly.
“It’s been a while since I used the restraint, so it feels awkward.”
It seemed I had fumbled with the ring, causing the ship to shake and me to stumble. At that moment, Redian had been summoned just in time to catch me.
“Right. We’re nothing to each other, so it doesn’t matter if you fall into the sea or not.”
“…”
It was actually better this way. Thanks to that, the distance between us became very close.
“But from now on, it does matter.” I reached out, pretending to brush back his hair. And then…
“…Ah.”
With a click, Redian’s earlobe turned red where I pierced it.
“It’s a gift, Rere.”
But it couldn’t compare to the deep crimson glow of the soul stone swaying beneath it.
“You know that mixing pieces of each other’s soul means we can never part, even after thousands of years.”
The gift I prepared for today was this. The color of our combined soul fragments was beautiful and unique. If love in this world resembled a red heart, then our love was like shackles on the heart.
“Marry me.”
Well, that made it even more special.
A cool breeze blew. Under the moonlit sea, Redian’s eyes looked at me. And the special and peculiar token of love sparkling from his ear.
“If you don’t like it, take that earring off and throw it into the sea.”
Redian looked at me with an unreadable expression and then smiled.
“Do you know how much effort I and your subordinates put into preparing this gift? There’s even a heart made of rose petals up there.”
His smile made all my tension melt away.
“You ruined it all.”
“Congratulations!”
“Wooooo!”
Cheers erupted from the quarters, where everyone had been watching. Fireworks began to light up the night sky. But,
“If they’re going to be clueless, just shut their mouth…”
I was the only one who could hear Redian quite muttering to them.
“Master, it’s very late.”
But it didn’t matter. Because his smile when he turned back to me was the same as always. No matter what face he wore away from me, it didn’t matter. He was always so lovely when he was with me.
“Please finish your confession somewhere only I can hear.”
The view changed in an instant, and the noise faded away. Instead,
“So I can give you my answer.”
With a click, the door locked, revealing a cozy bed.
“Wait.”
What happened next is beyond explanation.
“You’re the one that is clueless. Why blame your subordinates?” I asked, pushing Redian away as he kissed my neck.
In the end, this event was prepared by his subordinates and me. So, I was the one deceiving, and Redian was the one being deceived, but why…
“Well, I wonder who the real clueless one is.”
I didn’t have time to answer.
“Don’t close your eyes, Nia.”
Redian’s earring swayed, blurring my vision with the image of a rose engraved that night…
“I can’t see your face.”
It was redder than anything else.
* * *
No matter how much time passed or how many seasons changed, Redian’s mornings were always the same.
“It’s raining today, Nia.”
He would open the curtains and whisper the day’s weather into the ear of the sleeping Siani.
“It’s the weather we love.”
Siani preferred gentle drizzles over heavy showers and cool breezes over the heat of a clear sky.
“It’s like the day you came to save me.”
Then he would gaze at her sleeping face for a long time. To confirm that the person beside him was not a dream.
And he knew why Siani loved days like this.
“Hello? You’re Redian, right?”
That day, too, it rained a refreshing drizzle. The flower that bloomed in his barren land was because of her. The rain that marked the end of an endless winter and the start of early spring was because of her.
Redian’s presence was entirely because of Siani.
“When the rain stops, let’s go for a walk, Master.”
But then,
“Rere, forget the walk. I’ve felt off since yesterday.” Siani mumbled, frowning like she was complaining.
“You haven’t eaten anything since last night.”
“Exactly. Why do I keep feeling like this lately?”
Redian looked down at her with concern. Yet, even at that moment, he couldn’t help but find her slightly swollen eyes adorable.
“Shall I check it personally?”
“…What?”
“I’m the only one who can touch your stomach, Master.”
“Forget it. You wouldn’t just check my stomach, would you?” Siani glared at him, slightly opening her eyes. “Do you think I don’t know you?”
“What do you mean…?”
Siani burst into laughter as if she couldn’t win against him.
As expected, it was just another morning like any other.
“Come here. Help me up.” She reached out to the already awake Redian.
“Why do you keep getting cuter?”
“Don’t tease me.”
As he kissed her forehead, the mirror beside the bed reflected their image.
“Sometimes, I wish you were small enough to fit in my hand.”
“Why?”
“So I could swallow you and carry you around.”
The soul stone in Redian’s ear still gleamed with a dark red hue. The mix of Siani’s and Redian’s eyes was neither too bright nor too dark. It was a color that transcended time, resembling their eternal love.
“…You’re really crazy.”
“Have you just realized now?”
“No, I knew from the start.”
All of this was destined from the beginning. We called it ‘fate.’
The end of Epilogue.
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