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Neuvillette washed the last of the glasses on the sink and wiped the surface beside it with a damp clean cloth.
Once the kitchen was all cleaned up, he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeved arm then took of his apron and cap, stuffing them both inside his locker at the staff room.
It was past 11pm, way overtime his usual hours. If didn’t have outlines to write and cases to digest, Neuvillette wouldn’t have minded staying longer at the café he worked at after his classes at Fontaine Law University.
He was in his mid-twenties with long silver hair and a pair of amethyst-like eyes. He was surprisingly well-built despite only hitting the gym once a week to release stress from both school and work. If he didn’t need the money, Neuvillette would have preferred to be a full-time student, dedicating his hours to mastering everything about the law.
Sadly, he had no parents and grew up in a few foster homes before becoming an emancipated minor. And ever since then, Neuvillette had been doing all kinds of jobs to keep him in school.
Not only was he a hard worker, Neuvillette was bright, too. He did so well academically that he had gotten through college on a scholarship. When he applied to Fontaine Law University, he received another scholarship, exempting him from paying the outrageous tuition fees.
Still, law books were pricier than college textbooks. He would need a job to afford them that also wasn’t full-time.
Hence, Neuvillette got a job as a barista as some local café near the university. The pay was decent, and the hours were flexible.
At first, Neuvillette was assigned to man the cash register at the counter. But after two of his co-workers resigned, Neuvillette was taught to make the café’s drinks and beverages. He was also taught by the manager to make pastries which the café sold as well.
To Neuvillette’s surprise, he found the task enjoyable and rewarding. The customers who bought the drinks and pastries that he made expressed their compliments and often returned for more.
At present, Neuvillette was alone when he started to close the café, making sure that everything was clean, and all appliances had been turned off before locking up the doors.
His apartment was only a few blocks away from the café, so he started walking as he usually did while recalling his law professor’s lecture earlier that day. It was a usual habit of his that he had developed over the years.
Neuvillette yawned as he mindlessly crossed the street, his brain too tired and absorbed that he did not hear the shouts of the other pedestrians.
He only noticed the truck speeding in his direction at the last minute.
And after that, everything became dark.
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“Hey?! Wake up!” a high-pitched voice started yelling.
Neuvillette felt throbbing pain on his head which eventually dissipated.
His eyelid fluttered open, and he saw the blue cloudless sky above him.
“Finally! You’re awake!” the squeaky voice said, relieved.
Neuvillette blinked a few times before sitting up to appraise the situation.
He surveyed his surroundings, seeing nothing but trees and bushes. He was sitting on grass, and hovering above him was a small child-like creature with a silver tiara, a pair of dark blue eyes, and white hair garbed in unusual clothes that looked like they were weaved from the stars.
“Where… am I?” Neuvillette asked as he slowly rose to his feet.
He stared at the tiny floating creature. “And who are you? What even are you?”
“Hmph!” the creature placed her tiny hands on her waist; “Paimon will have you know, Mister, that Paimon is a wish-granting fairy!” Paimon materialized a small golden wand in her hand and tentatively waved it in the air, a dust of sparkles dripping from its tip.
“What’s a Paimon?”
Paimon scoffed, offended. “Paimon’s name is Paimon!”
Neuvillette found it weird that the self-proclaimed fairy spoke in third person. He would have questioned it, but he thought that it would just unnecessarily prolong their conversation.
“And where exactly am I, Paimon?” Neuvillette asked.
Paimon smiled and let her wand disappear. “You’re in the land of Teyvat! And Paimon’s here to guide you and grant your wishes! Tee-hee.”
Neuvillette arched a brow at her. “How did I end up here?”
“Let Paimon explain: You see, sometimes when people die unexpectedly, they are transported to someplace else to continue the rest of their lives.”
Neuvillette’s eyes turned wide. “Are you saying that I died?”
Paimon nodded. “That’s right,” she said cheerily; “Paimon doesn’t know what happened in your original world that led to your death; all Paimon knows is that you were suddenly sent here to continue living since you’re not fated to die yet until you’re… hmm… probably a hundred years old?”
“I’m… fated to live to a hundred years?” Neuvillette said loudly, his wide eyes blinking at the fairy.
“Yeah! But you died in your original world, so you have to live the rest of your life here in Teyvat!”
Paimon flew ahead towards a path in the forest.
“Let’s go and see the rest of world!” she beamed.
Neuvillette was still dazed and shocked from everything that was happening.
Is this real? Did I really die and somehow got transported here? No. This has to be some crazy dream. I’ve been studying and working too hard that my mind must have conjured this up.
“Hey! This is not a dream!” Paimon yelled while angrily stomping her feet in the air. “This is very much real! Paimon can prove it.” She rapidly flew into his personal space. “Go on. Make a wish and Paimon will grant it.”
“Alright then,” Neuvillette said incredulously; “I wish to go back to my apartment.”
“Uh, perhaps something else,” Paimon said wryly; “Paimon has no power over other worlds, especially your original world. Paimon can only grant wishes that affect this world. However, there are certain limits and rules to Paimon’s wish-granting abilities.”
Neuvillette sighed.
“Fine,” he said; “I wish for a house on this exact spot.”
Paimon smiled as she conjured her golden wand.
“Done!” the fairy said.
With a flick of her wand, a two-story house appeared out of nowhere and the pair found themselves inside it.
It was cozy and barely furnished. Neuvillette glanced around while walking about the living room.
“Incredible,” he said underneath his breath.
Paimon cackled proudly at his amazement. “See? Paimon can grant whatever wish you have in your mind.”
“In that case…”
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A few days had passed since Neuvillette arrived in Teyvat. It took him some time to fully accept his situation and realize that he wasn’t having a very long lucid dream.
Using Paimon’s powers, Neuvillette turned the exact place of his arrival into his new home.
Paimon was disappointed when Neuvillette wished for a garden to plant Lakelight Lilies, a library filled with books about Teyvat’s law, history, geography, and more. He also wished for other things which were foreign to her such as a machine that produced ice and kept things cold, a small box that warmed food in minutes, a large cup made of glass that turned fruits into juice, and a kettle that heated water without the need of fire.
Even though he was in another world, Neuvillette wanted to create frappuccinos, iced coffee topped off whipped cream, macchiatos, as well as the other pastries he made in his old job.
Sadly, there was no one around to share these with him.
“Why don’t you go into town?” Paimon asked him one day. “Don’t you wanna get to know the other people in this world?”
“I think it’s too early for me to mingle with them,” Neuvillette said; “I know nothing of this world yet that is why I wished for those books in order to study this world’s culture and history, so that one day I could blend in with them as if I had always been here.”
“Ugh, fine,” Paimon said, irritated. She honestly found Neuvillette very boring unlike the other people who came to this world before him. Her personal favorites were the blonde twins from five hundred years ago.
“You seem to have everything, so let Paimon know when you need Paimon, okay?”
Neuvillette’s eyes were glued to the pages of a book he was reading about Teyvat’s government, completely ignoring his fairy companion.
Without waiting for a reply from him, Paimon disappeared into her own pocket space. She had an inkling that it would take Neuvillette maybe a year to learn everything he wanted to about Teyvat and finally decide to interact with the other inhabitants of this world.
Neuvillette spent the rest of his days reading countless books inside his cozy living room.
Whenever he got sleepy, he would just brew coffee for himself although he honestly preferred water over coffee.
He enjoyed this newfound tranquility, the stress from law school and work slowly leaving his body. It was the first time in a long time that he felt this happy.
He hoped that nothing would disturb his peace.
After closing his book, Neuvillette replaced it on the shelf and took out another one.
He sat on his large, comfortable armchair then opened the book and started reading again.
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Princess Furina smirked as she rode her silver stallion into the woods outside the Kingdom of Fontaine.
Her faithful steed swiftly galloped through the forested path while the princess firmly held onto the reins, enjoying the wind against her face.
It took her a great deal of planning and meticulous execution in order to escape her bodyguard, Clorinde, as well as her mother’s—Queen Egeria—guards who had been ordered to protect her.
Princess Furina’s life used to be simple and happy. But ever since she came of age, her mother had been setting her up with numerous noblemen and foreign royals with the intention of marriage.
“You are to be the next queen of Fontaine, my dearest Furina,” Queen Egeria told her once before; “It is time that you find a husband, a king consort to rule beside you.”
Furina thought that she was still too young to be considering marriage. Her interests lied in the arts. She honed her singing and dancing, dabbled in painting and drawing, and often read books in her free time. There was still so much she wanted to do in life before settling down and committing to one man.
Moreover, the young princess wanted to find love on her own. She firmly believed that her true love was somewhere out there in this world. She wanted to wait for fate to bring them together the way lovers in her romance novels met and fell in love.
As she ventured deep into the forest (she had no idea exactly where she was going), Furina stumbled upon a strange-looking house. It looked very different from the commoners’ houses in the city but less grand and smaller than a noble’s estate.
Furina made her horse stop and directed it to slowly approach the unusual edifice standing in the middle of the forest.
It had two or three stories, the outer walls painted in white, its windows made of dark glass. There was a small garden of Lakelight Lilies, her favorite flower, beside the house.
Furina hopped off her horse to approach the house. She was more curious that scared of the unknown.
She walked towards the front door on the porch and found a small round knob beside the door. Furina brought a finger to it, unintentionally pressing it, and a buzzing sound came from inside followed by heavy footfalls that could only belong to a man.
Her heart raced, thinking that she might have disturbed the owner of the house.
She was about to turn and walk away, but the front door opened, and her blue eyes laid on the face of the most handsome man she had ever seen.
Neuvillette stared with wide eyes at the sight of a visitor on his doorstep. She was a petite young woman with short white hair with blue streaks and a pair of mismatched blue eyes that were wide and staring at him.
She wore blue dress with white frills and a pair of leather shoes suitable for horseback riding.
“Can I help you?” Neuvillette said.
Even his voice was beautiful, Furina thought. He was so tall, and she could tell from how his clothes stuck to his body that he was well-built. She instantly found him very attractive that she did not notice his odd-looking clothes.
Furina felt her cheeks warm at his gaze.
“O-Oh, I—”
Her horse suddenly neighed, giving her a quick excuse for her presence.
“M-My horse is parched from our journey,” Furina said nervously; “I was hoping if she could have something to drink? Perhaps you have a well from which I could draw water?”
“Ah,” Neuvillette said; “I don’t have one. However, I have something better.”
He walked out of his home and into his garden. Neuvillette took out a small plastic basin from the nearby shed where he kept his gardening tools, and he placed it underneath the faucet.
He turned on the faucet and water came out of it to Furina’s surprise.
Neuvillette then brought the basin to Furina’s horse, who didn’t seem to be wary of him.
Her horse bent down her neck to drink the cool water placed in front of her.
“T-Thank you, Monsieur,” Furina said to Neuvillette; “I am in your debt.”
She flashed him a smile and he smiled back at her, causing her young maiden heart to flutter intensely.
“You seem parched yourself, too,” Neuvillette remarked. Furina didn’t even notice that her cheeks had turned red. “Would you like to come inside for a drink? I could even make you a milkshake if you want.”
Furina cocked her head at him. “What’s a milkshake?”
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“My deepest apologies, Your Grace,” Queen Egeria said with a polite curtsy to the young dark-haired duke who had come to the palace at her behest. “I’m afraid that Princess Furina fallen ill today and will not be able to meet with you.”
The queen was too anxious by this situation her young daughter has put her in that she did not notice the young duke shoot a flirtatious wink at Clorinde, who failed to suppress a blush.
Duke Wriothesley was one of the most eligible noblemen in Fontaine, and Queen Egeria thought that it would be a nice idea to introduce him to her daughter, Furina, as a potential suitor.
Unknown to the queen, Wriothesley’s heart already belonged to another woman who happened to be a knight working under Queen Egeria and as Princess Furina’s bodyguard. He had known Clorinde for a long time and had been wanting to see her.
So when an invitation from the queen was sent to him, inviting him to Palais Mermonia, Wriothesley instantly accept notwithstanding the queen’s intentions, all just to see his childhood crush.
“I completely understand, Your Majesty,” Wriothesley consoled the queen, his eyes still on Clorinde. “Do you mind if I rest here for some time? The journey from the Duchy of Meropide has been long and exhausting.”
“Yes, of course,” the queen answered eagerly; “Clorinde, please do keep the duke entertained while I tend to Furina.”
It was a lie. She knew full well that Furina wasn’t ill. Queen Egeria just needed an excuse to offer to the duke.
“When that girl gets home,” Egeria said internally as she walked away; “She’ll get the scolding of a lifetime.”
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Furina giggled after taking a few bites of Neuvillette’s blueberry cheesecake. It tasted a million times better than any of the desserts the royal chefs had made for her. Even the drinks Neuvillette created for her in his unusual kitchen were very much to her taste. She enjoyed the coldness and sweetness of his so-called “boba milktea” which she drank through a plastic tube called a “straw”.
“You’re really talented, Monsieur Neuvillette,” Furina complimented him after taking a sip of her milktea. “You should really work as a chef at the royal palace!”
Neuvillette smiled at her, and it effortlessly made her heart race. She almost dropped her fork, captivated by his beauty.
“Thank you for your words, Lady Furina,” Neuvillette said.
She didn’t introduce herself as a princess, although Neuvillette deduced from her clothes that she might be a lady of noble birth.
“But please, just call me Neuvillette,” he added.
“O-Oh, wouldn’t that be rude?” she asked him with wide eyes; “I mean—aren’t you a noble or something?”
Neuvillette shook his head. “I am nothing but a commoner who just came here from somewhere far away.”
Furina doubted that he was just a commoner. His house was bigger and better than any commoner in Fontaine.
“I somehow find that hard to believe,” Furina said with lilt in her tone.
“I assure you that it’s the truth.” He took a bite of his cake and swallowed. “What about you?”
“M-Me?”
He nodded. “I’m curious as to what kind of lady are you? Are you a baron’s daughter perhaps? A daughter of a duke, an earl, or a count? Forgive my intrigue, I am still very new to this place.”
Furina hesitated. Should she tell him that she was the crown princess of Fontaine?
“I—er—would rather not talk about my background if you don’t mind,” she said meekly.
“Oh, I apologize,” Neuvillette said bashfully; “That must’ve been an intrusive question. Forgive me for prying.”
“No! You don’t have to apologize,” Furina insisted. She let out a sigh. “It’s just that life at home has been really stressful, and this place—your home feels so relaxing and cozy that I want to forget all about my problems.”
“I just wish I could live here,” she unwittingly uttered.
Neuvillette was stunned by her unintentional confession. He would have offered her a place to sleep in one of his many vacant rooms upstairs, but he knew that it would be against propriety to share a roof with a young lady you were not married to.
He truly enjoyed Furina’s company. She was pleasant to be around and was absolutely beautiful and radiant. He wanted to keep her by his side.
“You can visit me any time,” Neuvillette told her with a warm smile; “I would be happy to make you more desserts.”
She returned his smile and boldly reached out for his hand to hold.
Neuvillette felt a spark from her touch, prompting him to intertwine their fingers together. Her hand felt small in his, but warm.
“I would like that very much, Neuvillette,” Furina said softly; “And please, call me Furina.”
“Alright. Furina, please come back here whenever you’d like.”
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Furina giggled into her pillow and rolled on her large bed that night while Clorinde stood by her door and stared confusedly.
The young princess returned to Palais Mermonia before sundown and got an earful of sermon from Queen Egeria.
However, Princess Furina felt too happy to let her mother’s vicious admonition get through to her. She was excited to see Neuvillette again tomorrow, her heart racing at just the thought of him and being with him again.
“Oh, dear Clorinde,” Furina giggled as she sat up to gaze at her bodyguard; “I think I have found the love of my life—the person I am destined to marry and spend with the rest of my life.”
Clorinde held back a sigh.
The dark-haired knight had been worried for the young princess for sneaking off the palace on her own, taking with her Chevalmarin, her precious pet horse.
The only silver lining of her absence was that Clorinde got to spend the afternoon with Wriothesley. She smiled unconsciously at just the mere thought of him.
Furina grabbed Clorinde and dragged her to sit on her bed while she regaled her of the afternoon that she spent with Neuvillette.
Clorinde grew suspicious at Furina’s story about Neuvillette, a seemingly well-to-do gentleman living in the middle of the woods outside the kingdom as well as of the strange contraptions he had in his home that Furina described.
A machine that turned beans into a hot brown drink? A large cold box that made ice? A glass cup that shredded fruits into juice? Cold tea with dark, chewy pearls? And a cake made from cheese?
All of these sounded absurd. Could they be some kind of sorcery? Clorinde feared that the princess might have been hypnotized by this strange man she had never heard of.
Thus, the following day, Clorinde secretly followed Furina to her rendezvous with this man named Neuvillette.
She was surprised at the design of his house in the middle of the forest.
She kept her eyes still on Furina as she got off her horse and happily walked to the front door. Furina pressed something on the wall which made a faint buzzing sound that came from inside the house.
The front door opened and Clorinde saw a man with long white hair, amethyst-like eyes, wearing a blue collared shirt and a pair of black pants that looked strangely different from those made by tailors. Perhaps he was really a foreigner, Clorinde thought.
She moved closer to the house and found a window unconcealed by a curtain. She peeped inside and saw the living room surrounded by shelves of books.
Beyond the living room was the dining room and kitchen where Neuvillette and Furina sat around a tall table made of stone.
Neuvillette made them drinks using the strange contraptions behind him and Furina happily drank a tall glass of clear fizzy liquid with white cream on top. Clorinde watched Furina’s happy reaction after taking a sip, and she saw Neuvillette smile softly at her.
The two of them talked freely to each other while eating cake and drinking.
There would be laughter from time to time, but overall, the atmosphere between them was friendly and mirthful.
Clorinde continued to do this for several days until she was convinced that Neuvillette was genuinely a kind man who made the princess happy.
She also noticed how the atmosphere between them slowly changed as their mutual attraction and affection for one another became apparent.
Clorinde eventually decided to stop spying on them to give them privacy. Should Neuvillette hurt the princess, Clorinde would just hunt him down and make him face justice.
And it was a good thing that Clorinde did stop because the day after, Furina found herself kissing the man who had stolen her heart ever since they met.
Neuvillette’s hands were on her head and back, deepening their kiss.
Furina held onto his shoulders for support, and the next thing she knew, Neuvillette carried her from her seat and moved them to the couch in his living room where they continued to exchange fiery kisses.
They pulled away to gasp for air, a thread of saliva connecting their lips.
Furina looked dazzling beneath Neuvillette, gazing at him through half-lidded eyes, her swollen lips parted for air, and her chest heaving.
She cupped his face with her hands, stroking his skin with her thumb. He was so gorgeous. Why hasn’t her mother introduced her to someone like Neuvillette?
Throughout their secret rendezvous, he had been nothing but kind to her. Furina had grown comfortable in his presence that she had began talking of her troubles at home; at how her mother had been trying to force her to marry, although she has yet to tell him that she was the princess.
And she felt guilty for withholding that fact especially after Neuvillette told her how he came to Teyvat from another world; that he used to be a law student and a part-time barista.
He told her everything about his life, even though his story might sound absurd at first. But Neuvillette wanted Furina to know everything about him simply because he had fallen in love with her.
“I think you are the reason fate brought me here, Furina,” Neuvillette told her in a low and husky voice as his hand caressed her cheek. “Ever since I arrived in this strange world, I have been trying to make sense of why I died in my original world and was sent here.
“But now I know why.”
He leaned down to press a kiss on her lips.
“It is you,” he said, smiling affectionately; “I love you, Furina.”
Her blue eyes flashed at his confession.
Her heart throbbed violently against her chest.
Furina smiled at him and said, “I love you, too, Neuvillette.”
And their lips met again for another heated kiss.
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Furina’s joy was short-lived.
Upon her return to Palais Mermonia, Queen Egeria scolded her daughter once again for running away and neglecting the noblemen she had invited to meet Furina.
When Furina apologized to her mother and told her that she had found the love of her life, Queen Egeria brushed her off and told her, “I will not let my only daughter and future queen of Fontaine marry some strange man she has been meeting in the woods! You are too precious, my dearest Furina. You deserve a husband with a title, who has lands and riches.”
“But, Mother—”
“Enough! I will not hear anymore of this nonsense, Furina,” Egeria yelled angrily, her face turning purple; “You will choose a husband among the men I have invited. You will present yourself properly and meet with them. Do you understand?”
Furina slumped her shoulders, deflated by her own mother.
“Y-Yes, Mother,” she resigned in defeat.
During the following days, the palace security increased and Furina was guarded by not just Clorinde, but by a few other soldiers, too.
Furina dutifully heeded her mother’s instructions and met with several men from noble backgrounds. She was forced to converse with them, have tea, and engage in other activities in order to get to know them.
And while Furina dolorously did all of that, her mind and heart were with Neuvillette. She ached and longed to be with him again, to drink milktea and eat cake with him again.
She regretted never telling him her true identity as a princess. Perhaps if he had known, he might have an idea how to find her and then he could visit.
But Furina knew that even if Neuvillette knew where she lived, her mother would not let him pass the palace gates.
Princess Furina languished for days at Neuvillette’s absence from her life. She had contemplated several times sneaking off to see him, but it was impossible.
She sighed dejectedly which earned a scolding from the queen.
“Straighten your posture, Furina,” Egeria scolded her; “Your visitor today is a prince from a faraway kingdom.”
“A prince?” Furina raised a brow at her mother who was excited for her.
“He personally wrote to me and asked to see you,” Egeria said happily; “I suppose he has heard of your beauty and became interested in meeting you.”
That was the first time someone willingly came to see Furina. She wondered who it could be.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness,” the soldier standing by the doors spoke; “His Royal Highness, Prince Neuvillette of Remuria has arrived.”
Furina eyes grew as the doors opened, revealing none other than—
“Neuvillette!” Furina gasped.
No longer dressed in his usual button-up collared shirt and slacks, Neuvillette wore regal clothes befitting of a prince in Teyvat.
He swiftly strode towards Furina, who dashed towards him and wrapped her arms around him.
Queen Egeria was baffled by what was happening.
Neuvillette embraced Furina briefly before pulling her away from him so as not to earn the ire of her mother, the queen.
“Furina, my dearest,” Queen Egeria said, puzzled; “You know the prince?”
Neuvillette bowed lowly to the queen and raised himself. He smiled at her politely as he said, “Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Neuvillette, the crown prince of Remuria, a kingdom not too far from Fontaine.”
Furina was certain that she had never heard of such a kingdom, but her mother seemed to believe it, which was good.
“I actually met your daughter after my arrival in Fontaine,” he continued; “Furina has been so kind to me that we became fast friends, and eventually—” he shot the princess a loving stare—“I fell in love with her.”
“Neuvillette,” Furina cooed.
“When Furina had stopped visiting me, I decided to visit her instead, but not as a friend, but as a lover.”
“Oh my,” Egeria said, still astonished; “Why didn’t you tell me that the strange man you’ve been seeing is a prince, Furina?”
“I—”
“That was my fault,” Neuvillette interjected; “I did not want my identity to be found out, so I never told Furina—or at least, I never got the chance to tell her since she stopped visiting me.”
Neuvillette held Furina’s hand, and the princess turned to her mother with a pleading stare.
“Mother, I,” she paused to take deep breath; “Mother, I love Neuvillette.” She glanced at him with a smile. “He is the one I want to marry.”
And he returned her smile, gently squeezing her hand in his.
“I love you, too, Furina,” Neuvillette said tenderly, his gaze transfixed on hers.
He then turned to Egeria, who seemed moved by them.
“My intentions towards your daughter are sincere, Your Majesty,” Neuvillette said; “I love Furina with all my heart and wish to spend the rest of my days with her and her alone. Will you grant us your blessing?”
Egeria sniffled as tears formed around her eyes.
“Yes, of course,” she sobbed and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket; “I give you my blessing.”
Neuvillette surprised them both when he dropped to one knee and pulled out a small box from his pocket. He opened it and revealed a silver ring with a blue gem held by tiny silver prongs in the shape of her favorite flower.
“My beloved Princess Furina,” Neuvillette said, his eyes on hers; “will you marry me?”
Furina brought her hands to her mouth to suppress a loud squeal.
With an eager nod, she uttered, “Yes! Oh, yes! I will marry you, Neuvillette!”
Neuvillette slipped the ring onto her ring finger. He got on his feet and pulled Furina close to him for a kiss.
Queen Egeria happily wept for the newly engaged young couple.
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“How did you know how to find me?” Furina asked Neuvillette.
They were alone now, leisurely strolling hand in hand in the palace courtyard while Queen Egeria calmed herself down indoors and probably making wedding preparations.
“I asked Paimon,” Neuvillette answered.
“Who’s—”
A white-haired creature popped out of now where and said, “Someone called for Paimon?”
“Eek!” Furina yelped in surprise. “W-What is that thing?” She poked a finger at the fairy.
“Hey!” Paimon huffed angrily; “What do you mean that thing?! Paimon’s a fairy! Paimon grants Neuvillette wishes.”
“As I said,” Neuvillette continued; “I asked Paimon where to find you. Then I remembered what you told me about your mother forcing you to find a husband.”
“Oh, so that’s why you wished to Paimon to become a prince!” Paimon said.
“Yes,” Neuvillette responded with a smile; “I also wished to be the prince of Remuria, an ancient kingdom located south of Fontaine.”
“Paimon can’t believe that you wished to bring back an ancient kingdom from ruins just so you can become its prince!” Paimon screeched.
“I know your mother would not let me see you if I had no title, and I worried that I might not have a chance to court you if there was another man who ranked above me,” Neuvillette explained; “That’s why I wished to be a prince.”
Furina stared at him as she digested everything he and Paimon just told her.
But still, it made her happy that Neuvillette did all that for her.
Sensing the romance in the air building up between the couple, Paimon disappeared into her pocket dimension to give them privacy.
“I’ve missed you, Furina,” Neuvillette confessed as he stared directly into her blue eyes.
“I’ve missed you, too, Neuvillette,” she said, and he leaned down to kiss her. “I also missed those drinks you made and your desserts, too!” She giggled.
He joined in her laughter.
This truly was better than his old life.
If what Paimon told him was true, that he would live up to a hundred years, then Neuvillette would be happy knowing that he would spend those years with the love of his life beside him.
And of course with their children as well.