The Arrow of Destiny Cuts Through the Night

#56

The engagement ceremony proceeded smoothly in the family’s outdoor banquet hall. Finally, only the last part of the ceremony, the ring exchange, remained.

Kain’s gaze fell on the box in Jersian’s hand. Two rings were neatly placed inside. Jersian took out one of them and spoke.

“Kain.”

“Yes.”

At Jersian’s call, Kain slowly extended his left hand. The ring slid onto his finger. Jersian, with a serious expression, placed the engagement ring on Kain’s finger.

“I like it.”

Kain whispered, looking down at the thin ring that fit perfectly on his finger. It wasn’t the shape of the ring or the sparkling jewel in the center that he liked. It was because he could feel Jersian’s determination in that single ring.

“I’ll cherish it.”

“…Alright.”

Jersian answered in a quiet voice. It was an engagement ceremony forced by the Marchioness’s orders. However, Kain Starchis, standing right in front of him in a snow-white formal uniform, was smiling brightly like a child who had received a gift. Jersian, who had accepted this engagement solely for his own benefit, felt a twinge of conscience.

Merheim, who was assisting with the ceremony right beside them, informed in a small voice.

“Kain, it’s your turn to give the ring.”

“Right.”

Immediately, Kain’s slender fingers reached for the remaining ring in the box. He lifted the thin metal, took Jersian’s hand, and slowly slid the ring on.

Thinking about it now, this ring seemed to have the same meaning for humans as the mark did for elves. If so, he could feel… how important this engagement ceremony was.

“…”

Kain looked down at the ring he had just put on with a solemn face. It was the same shape as the one Jersian had put on him moments ago.

The priest who was present as a witness to the engagement confirmed this and declared with a benevolent smile.

“Mr. Jersian Gerold, Mr. Kain Starchis. With this, your engagement has been established. I bless you and hope that your love for each other will deepen even more in the future.”

As the priest finished speaking, all the people seated in the outdoor banquet hall applauded.

Thunderous applause and cheers followed, and on cue, the orchestra began to play.

Words wishing for happy days ahead for the young couple were exchanged as Jersian and Kain came down from the platform. Except for the imperial family members seated near Marchioness Elmerila in the front row. Kemirun Del Claude, sitting right next to Marchioness Elmerila, opened his mouth.

“Marchioness.”

He only moved his mouth while keeping his gaze fixed on the ceremony in front. It was quiet enough that others couldn’t hear, but Elmerila next to him immediately heard and responded.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

She too didn’t turn her head to the side, so to anyone watching, it would look like she was intently observing the engagement ceremony. A cold cruelty settled in Kemirun’s blue eyes. The arrogant, hound-like gaze of Jersian Gerold that he had seen earlier was still very much alive. He had clearly thought the boy would curl his tail and slink away.

“The letter, we need to properly verify if he really confirmed it. I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling about letting it go like this.”

The Marchioness’s gaze briefly touched Kemirun’s face upon hearing his words, then immediately returned to the front.

“…I will verify it.”

With those words, the conversation ended.

Kemirun maintained his seat without applauding once, looking completely uninterested, and left the venue with his entourage as soon as the ceremony ended.

“You two look so good together.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

While responding to the guests, Jersian glanced at the cloaks bearing the imperial mark. So things have gone exactly as you wanted, what will you do now? Jersian raised one corner of his mouth askew in an area not visible to other guests.

* * *

“Now that you two are engaged, you can use these adjacent rooms.”

“…Adjacent rooms?”

Kain muttered with a disgusted face. He had moved rooms several times since coming here. And now he had to move once more. Although he didn’t have to move the luggage himself, it was still bothersome. However, the servant misinterpreted Kain’s question and continued to ramble with a flustered expression.

“Ah, of course you might want to use the same room… but young master Jersian is not of age yet, and according to imperial law, you two shouldn’t use the same room-“

Jersian, who had walked over and overheard the conversation between the two, interrupted with a smirk.

“That’s enough. There’s no need to explain in such detail.”

“Ah, young master Jersian.”

The servant immediately stopped speaking when Jersian arrived and bowed deeply. Kain’s face, standing in front of him, was still full of question marks. He had been listening intently as the servant was explaining in detail, but suddenly Jersian interrupted, so he couldn’t hear properly.

“I still don’t fully understand what it means. What exactly does the imperial law say that makes it not allowed?”

When Kain asked again, the servant who had bowed his head glanced at his real master, Jersian Gerold, standing right beside him. Having just been told that there was no need to explain in detail, he was checking if it was really okay to explain again. Jersian shook his head at the servant as if to say it was fine and said,

“You may go.”

“Yes, young master.”

The servant diligently followed Jersian’s order. As Kain watched his back quickly disappear, Jersian said,

“Are you that curious? The others in the mansion are just worried that you might lay hands on me, a minor.”

“Lay hands?”

Kain tilted his head slightly. He was weak with these idioms that humans often used. He had literally ‘laid hands’ on Jersian quite often until now. He didn’t understand why others would worry about that. If it was against the law here, he should have listened to a proper explanation and refrained from it. But that too had come to nothing because Jersian had stopped him earlier.

“…Is it not allowed to lay hands?”

Thinking back, there had been countless times when he had grabbed or touched Jersian without permission. When he looked anxious, or when he was flustered. He even pulled him onto his lap in the carriage when he was hesitating.

Jersian’s eyes, facing Kain, widened slightly. They were bright red like a rabbit’s. If Jersian had platinum blonde hair like mine, he would look exactly like a rabbit. Kain thought something that he should never let Jersian know.

“W-…we should use words properly. Others might misunderstand.”

Jersian stumbled over his words, looking quite flustered, unlike his usual self.

“When we say ‘lay hands’, it means… lovers spending the night together.”

“The night?”

Kain raised an eyebrow. There was a slight discrepancy in Jersian’s explanation.

“Didn’t we spend the night together before?”

“What?”

Jersian frowned, startled.

“I mean the day we had dinner together before.”

“Ah…”

Only after hearing Kain’s additional explanation did Jersian’s furrowed brow slowly relax. Then he checked if there was anyone else around. Fortunately, it seemed no one had overheard this strange conversation. Kain’s face remained calm despite making such a shocking statement.

“…That was really spending the night and… we didn’t do anything else. No, I mean-“

“Ah.”

An exclamation of understanding flowed from between Kain’s lips. Then he said with a peculiar smile,

“…You mean breeding behavior. I understand now.”

Then, as if flustered, he rubbed his forehead with his finger and continued.

“Young master Jersian is still a young partner who hasn’t received the revelation, so that’s natural. Besides…”

Jersian’s eyes caught Kain’s pointed ears as he paused mid-sentence. They seemed to droop slightly, as if their angle changed according to their owner’s mood.

“Elves can’t engage in breeding behavior with anyone other than their destined partner anyway. It would be like betraying the other’s will.”

“Well, it’s the same for humans.”

Jersian inwardly sneered as he explained this. The fact that his own mother had broken that obvious rule came to mind. He deliberately buried that fact in his mind and then pointed to the door of Kain’s room, which was right next door.

“Anyway, do you understand now why we need to use separate rooms?”

“Yes, young master Jersian.”

After hearing Kain nod and answer, Jersian pondered for a moment and said,

“And.”

Ahem, Jersian cleared his throat once after stopping mid-sentence, then opened his mouth again.

“And from now on, just call me Jersian. It doesn’t make sense to call me ‘young master’ when we’re engaged.”

Oh, Kain Starchis said, visibly pleased.

“Yes, I like that.”

“…It also means you can stop being so formal. It didn’t suit you anyway.”

Jersian grumbled. It would look strange to others if only one side was formal when they were engaged… Jersian thought as he looked down at the ground. Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, he even tapped the heel of his shoe against the floor a few times.

He was sincere in saying that formality didn’t suit the cold-faced elf. Jersian felt the same way during today’s engagement ceremony. The fact that Kain Starchis looked best when he was confident to the point of appearing proud and arrogant, just like when they first met.

Kain slowly smiled and looked down at his partner as if he found him cute.

“I’m grateful if you allow it.”

His way of speaking immediately returned to how it was when they first met.