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Roy looked at himself in the mirror.
It was... strange seeing “himself” in the mirror.
Well, it 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 him. It was how the people of Pherae saw him as; the Young Lion, the one who defeated Zephiel with a single swipe of the legendary Binding Blade, standing over his corpse with a triumphant smile as the war was over.
That wasn’t him.
That wasn’t him.
That wasn’t him...
But Roy wanted that to be him... but he wasn’t...
In reality, he dropped the Binding Blade on the floor and started to cry. He was a sobbing mess, blood on his arms and red hair far from neat...
It wasn’t a pretty sight.
Roy sighed and looked away from the polished iron; the desk next to it was filled to the brim with the make up the stylists used on him a few minutes prior-
𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬
𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬
𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬
“Come in, Wolt,” Roy hastily said, already not liking how firm the 3 familiar knocks were.
The door creaked open and a yellowish-green head of hair popped in.
“Ah, Lord Roy. Is everything alright?” Wolt asked, pleasant smile on his face.
“Everything is going as well as it could,” Roy responded, “Is there anything you need?”
Wolt shook his head, “No, Lord Roy, I was just checking up on you. Mind if I come in?”
“I already told you, Wolt, yes you can. Did you not hear?” Roy asked, mildly annoyed.
“I was double-checking,” the sniper responded, stepping inside the small preparation room, “One can never be too sure.”
"𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦," Roy retorted, “Is there anything else you want me to know? One can never be too sure.”
Wolt wanted to give a witty comeback, but he stood there with his mouth agape as his own words were used against him.
He shook his head, “No, Lord Roy. I was just checking up on you. I got a little worried since you haven’t shown yourself since midday.”
Roy paused for a few seconds, quietly staring at Wolt. He wasn’t expecting that kind of response.
“Why the concern?” The swordsman inquired, “Do you not trust me to protect myself?”
“What?!” Wolt semi-yelled, quickly backpedaling, “No! Of course not, Lord Roy! It’s just that I...”
“You 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?” Roy asked, slowly making his way towards Wolt, squinting, “What has gotten you so worried over me, of all people?”
“You’re the next Marquess Pherae, Lord Roy. Your safety is important!” Wolt exclaimed frantically, slightly flustered, “We can’t lose you ri-“
Roy quickly cut Wolt off, signaling him to stop, “No, I asked why 𝘺𝘰𝘶 are worried about 𝘮𝘦. Marcus told me earlier that my safety was important. Those are 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴."
Wolt was silent, stunned at Roy’s detective work.
“Fine... don’t speak,” Roy lamented, saddened, “I can’t force things out of you. That would be cruel of me.”
Roy paced the room, arms behind his back.
𝘵𝘢𝘱
𝘵𝘢𝘱
𝘵𝘢𝘱
𝘵𝘢𝘱
𝘵𝘢𝘱
𝘵𝘢𝘱
𝘵𝘢𝘱
𝘵𝘢𝘱...
Roy sighed yet again, and looked at Wolt, a miserable expression on his face.
“Hey, Wolt... close the door and lock it, will you?” Roy requested, already regretting speaking the words.
“Of course, Lord Roy.”
A long 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘬𝘬𝘬𝘬 could be heard, followed by the sound of the door closing.
𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬.
“Sorry for being a little harsh earlier,” Roy apologized, “I went a little out of line for what you want... I know how you want things to be, Wolt.”
“Lord Roy, there is nothing to apologize for; it was only banter-“
“𝘕𝘰,” Roy insisted, “You 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 to be professional, and I should also remain that way too...”
There was something about Roy’s tone that got Wolt’s attention... but he couldn’t figure what it was...
“What do 𝘺𝘰𝘶 want, Lord Roy?” Wolt asked.
Roy looked over at Wolt, a genuine look of concern on his former friend’s face.
“I... well... do you really want to know everything?” Roy asked back, starting to regret everything.
“Of course, Lord Roy. Why do ask?”
“What I’m about to say is about to change 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, whether we like it or not,” Roy emphasized, flustered, “It’s not something easy to say at all... are you sure you want to know?”
Wolt nodded, a little alarmed by Roy’s warning, but he was curious.
“How do I put this into words...” Roy whispered, hand on his chin.
“Look... Wolt... ever since the start of the war I’ve realized something. Nothing stays the same,” Roy started, walking towards Wolt, “I... I am terrified of change... but that’s the only way to move forward.”
“You changed the way our friendship was, and... and I protested against it,” he continued, now in front of the sniper, “I wanted things to go back to the way they were, but we can never go back...
“... You being so far away made me realize how much you really meant to me.”
There was a pause.
“What do you mean, Lord Roy...?” Wolt asked, voice shaking a little.
“Wolt, I want to move forward,” Roy stated, “We can’t go back to how things were before, but we can try out something else...”
Roy grabbed Wolt’s hands and looked up to finally meet the sniper’s gaze.
“Wolt... I want us to be more than just friends.”
The swordsman felt his face and ears burn in embarrassment at his own words.
Wolt stared, stunned.
“I... I don’t think I’m fit to be a Marquess... much less alone,” he quietly explained, “I’ve always wanted you by my side as an advisor... but I... I’ve dreamt of you being more than just that...”
“I am scared, Wolt... and you don’t have to do this or feel obligated to...” Roy continued, “It’d be fine by me if you want to keep things the way they are right now, or if you want to leave now that you know how I feel.”
“Roy... I... really don’t know what to say...” Wolt trailed, also flustered, “I... am truly speechless...”
The redhead was... disappointed in those words. He shouldn’t have expected anything to come out of-
“I-I mean that in a good way!” Wolt quickly followed up with, a little louder than intended, “You have a way with words, Roy...”
Now Roy was confused.
“I wanted to become you vassal to stay close to you, Roy...” Wolt quietly admitted, “I was also scared things would change once you started to take over your father’s duties. I thought you would grow distant and forget about me.”
“After we both started doing our duties 3 years ago, I caught myself starting to think of you more often... a lot more often about the smallest of things,” the sniper continued, “At first I chalked it up as me starting to think more highly of you and made up excuses, but deep down I knew it was because I fell in love with you...”
“... hearing you say that you felt the same way evoked this this feeling of intense happiness that I haven’t felt in a while...”
Shortly after saying that, Wolt pulled Roy into a hug.
“You’ll be a great Marquess,” he whispered in Roy’s ear, “I know you will.”
“Are... are you sure...?” Roy shakily asked, tightening his grip on Wolt.
“Of course I am. I believe in you.”
“... Will you never leave me...?”
“Even if the entire world turns against the both of us.”
Wolt pulled away from the hug, kissed Roy on the cheek, and finally asked, “Are you ready to go to the ceremony now?”
“I am,” Roy responded with an embarrassed smile, “Shall we go?”
The sniper nodded.
And so, the pair went to the ceremony.
•—•—•—•—•—•
Even when the continent of Elibe was united under the same banner, thousands of years after Roy’s rule, the inhabitants always remembered the best ruler of the land of Pherae, and his closeness to his beloved vassal.