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He cried often, maybe too often.
Perhaps it was his old age that weakened the floodgates or perhaps he’d always been this way. He could hardly remember anymore, having lived such a long and full life. He had more than enough experiences, both good and bad, that brought him to tears when he looked back on his past.
None matched up to the moment when the newest member of their royal family came to him, asking for his blessing. His charge, his child, was getting married…and to one of his students!
As a butler and teacher, he knew he had to contain himself to assist in the wedding arrangements. Vishnal would be no help in the kitchen and would break the plates if he even so much as tried to set the table at the reception; Clorica could handle the kitchen, if only she would wake up and stay awake long enough. But he couldn't rely on a miracle like that for their wedding.
As a father figure and a friend however, he felt an overwhelming urge to bawl his eyes out. How had they grown up so fast?! Where had all the time gone? What if they decided to leave the castle once they were married?
He could still vividly remember when they first arrived, lost and confused. They had no idea where they came from, why they were on the airship they fell out of, nor who they even were! At first, they had to take baby steps in relearning everything, even about themselves. But once they let go of that forgotten past, they florished!
There was no one more reliable, no one as brave, no one as talented as they were. They saved their little town so many times, from saving Lady Ventuswill to bringing down the invading empire, they were a hero!
It wasn't all grand adventures though; they helped Blossom pick up her medication from the clinic when Doug couldn't. They remembered every one of the anniversaries Nancy and Jones celebrated and remembered to congratulate them, regardless of how small the occasion was. When Porcoline ran through their ingredients, they always brought farm fresh produce to the restaurant to make up for it.
They always listened to Xiao Pai brag about her mother and complimented Arthur's glasses (even when no one else saw the difference!) They helped Bado balance his books, sometimes even buying a thing or two to keep him from going to far in the red. They practiced with Forte, investigated with their town’s genius detective, and was the only one to make jokes at Lady Ventuswill’s expense without hesitation.
They were everyone's friend, but also a bit of a menace. He couldn't count how many times Meg stopped them from leaving fish on the ground “to come back to later” because their pockets were full. They never came back for the fish. They never did. He’d slip the pitiful things into the shipping bin out of pity once their highness had gone to sleep for the day.
He couldn't count how many times people came to him with genuine concern in their eyes when they ate food off the ground; even Leon, who enjoyed playing his own form of food roulette, gave them a concerned side eye when they ate a piece of cheese they found lying along the road. He himself watched in horror as they once ate an entire raw egg, shell and all, in one bite.
Though their heart was clearly set on one person, they were also a bit of a flirt. They gave out gifts to everyone on both Valentine's and White Day, with a wink and always a cheap line pulled out of the cheesiest book they could find. (He later learned that they pulled their lines from a book borrowed from Vishnal.) Everyone knew they were already in love with someone else but couldn't deny that it made their heart skip a beat.
They were also reckless; they would put themselves in harm's way with no hesitation to help someone else in need. Once, Xiao Pai dropped some apples into the lake; it was the dead of winter, with snow covering the ground and ice hanging off the tree branches. Even so, they dove in without a thought to fish them out for her. Even when they ended up in the clinic with Nacy fussing over them, they didn't mind. They were content to see someone smile.
No worry was too great or small for them. Taking down the empire? No big deal, just a normal Tuesday! Going to the Forest of Beginnings to bring back Lady Ventuswill? Already on their to-do list! Vishnal is trying to feed people his cooking and Arthur needs help choosing a pair of glasses? No problem, sounds like just the right job for royalty.
They fell out of the sky and became the heart of their town. It was harder to imagine a time they weren't there, as if this was where they had always belonged.
When their love came true and the two began dating, no one was surprised. There had been sparks flying between them from the start; they both just needed a nudge…and here they were getting married.
Even before thier kingdom’s guardian dragon, before their own families, they came to him first for his blessing. To them, he was their new father, their family, and the one they trusted to guide them into this new chapter.
He sobbed for days, all the way up to the ceremony. He held it together, acting as professional and cold as he could…until the vows. And then the kiss. And when he told them both to take time off to adjust to their married life.
People laughed and teased him gently for his emotional outburst, but they didn't understand. Those tears weren't just tears of happiness.
They were tears of pride for his growing family, for the strange earthmate who fell out of the sky and found home on the way down.
He was just so proud, he couldn't hold it in. And so he cried yet again.