Archive of Our Own

Marius is well-aware that Eric generally keeps any number of paramours—he has walked into some truly disgraceful scenes with the Cobra and an ever-changing retinue of partners.

However, now that they have arrived at his manor, Eric seems to have taken a grand total of zero partners.

Which only makes sense—they are so busy day in and day out clearing out the manor so that the refugees can be more comfortable within it, sourcing supplies, and also shoring up defenses.

Not that Marius has taken any special note of this.

He takes no more notice of this matter than he did the Cobra’s previous paramours—and he only ever took note of the Cobra’s previous paramours due to sheer number, that’s all.

Oh sure, Eric is still friendly with all the refugees—he’s still the Cobra after all, making everyone laugh and putting them at ease.

Which is actually greatly needed given the reputation of House Valerius and the imposing air of the manor itself.

He thought that all he would be able to think about when stepping foot in that house again was blood and screaming and his monster of a father, but Eric’s chatter breaks through the gloom.

“Bit of a fixer-upper, isn’t it?” Eric had commented upon first walking into the manor with Marius. “The outside looked so gothic and cool, but the inside’s still screaming gothic manor and has way more spider webs than I thought there would be…oh god, is there mold?”

“No, it’s too cold,” Marius had replied.

“Thank god for small mercies—last thing we need is for everyone to go absolutely nutso,” Eric had said, looking around. “Although I guess black mold would be as good of an explanation for the Valerius curse as any…but no, because after all, you never went mad. Or your mother or sister.”

“My mother and sister, yes,” Marius had replied tightly, his jaw clenching. “You know my sins.”

Eric had snorted with a wave of his hand. “The way I see it, you put down a mad beast. And good riddance too, I cheered at that—sorry, I shouldn’t say that to you.”

Marius had frowned, trying to understand, then asked slowly, “…did you ask the Oracle about me?”

“No? We don’t all have incredible pain tolerance and are built like a brick shithouse,” Eric replied with a raise of his eyebrow.

“I am not that rectangular,” Marius protested and plowed on. “You could have brought a servant to give the sacrifice.”

“Definitely not,” Eric immediately replied, shaking his head. “I always thought that was such bullshit—if you want deep magic, you should have to pay the price yourself! Talk about lack of commitment.”

(And yes, that’s Eric all the way through.

He would no more use someone as a blood sacrifice for personal gain that Marius could.

He had thought otherwise before learning who the Cobra truly was, but both Lady Rahela and he himself were wrong to call Eric a villain—

Eric is more of a hero than anyone here and the only man he could ever swear a blood vow to.

Even if he is a mystery wrapped in an enigma on a good day, and all that dipped in far too much glitter and wine and debauchery on others.)

“…you act as though you saw it,” Marius continued stubbornly.

Eric see-sawed his hands and then shot him a dazzling grin. “You know that I have my ways! Now, come on—we got to Keep Calm and Carry On and all that, right?”

“That’s the first reasonable thing out of your mouth,” Marius couldn’t help but comment.

“Hey! I’ve said plenty of reasonable things before, starting with how you could use a drink or two—but I guess the cellars in your manor have more skeletons than wine, so we’ll just have to rectify all that later. First, we have to figure out where to put everyone…”

Thankfully, the manor has about as many empty rooms as cobwebs, and Marius is more than happy enough to toss out some of the imposing furniture to make room, even if Eric himself had protested.

“It’s vintage! Antique even!” Eric exclaimed, clutching at an overwrought vanity that Marius was trying to throw off the cliff.

Marius had raised an eyebrow. “You would rather it take up space someone could be using to sleep in?”

“Obviously not, but why throw it off a cliff?” Eric demanded. “There’s a perfectly good crypt downstairs! Just shove them all there for now!”

“…why? Who’s going to use it?” Marius had asked, gesturing at the carvings on the vanity, specifically the one depicting gruesome murders.

(Apparently, one of his ancestors had woodcarving and furniture making as a hobby, but sadly, blood tended to out.)

Eric had squinted at that vanity, shuddered a bit, and then flipped it around. “But look at these vines and flowers! If we just turn it around so that some of the scenes are less obvious…”

“That defeats the entire purpose of a vanity,” Marius had replied sternly. “At that point it’s nothing but useless decoration.”

Eric had clapped Marius on the shoulder. “Marius, you should know that useless decoration is my middle name—”

“No, it’s not,” Marius stated flatly. “That’s not a name, it’s two whole words—”

“So’s Mary-Anne—”

“And if that is supposed to be a joke, it isn’t funny,” Marius continued seriously, staring intently at Eric. “Do you think I would swear myself to a bit of useless decoration?”

Eric’s cheeks actually flushed at that as he ducked his head. “I—um—of course not. Although I have to say, it’s not like I really understand why you swore yourself to me in the first place—”

“Because you are the one good man in a sea of lies,” Marius replied coolly.

Somehow, that didn’t appear to clear things up for Eric and instead had made him even more flustered as he scrabbled around the vanity, “Uh—sure you’re not putting me up on a pedestal there—”

“No, all your faults are still quite evident,” Marius replied, looking him up and down. “How do you still have time to do your hair and all that jewelry? Which is still contraband.”

“How can it be contraband? The entire Council is probably dead by now, and I don’t think the new Emperor cares about men wearing jewelry,” Eric had instinctively argued, “And fashion is important! Even in the midst of difficulties! It’s the little things that matter!”

“…and this vanity somehow counts as one of those little things?”

“Well, no,” Eric had admitted, staring at the vanity before straightening up to his full height again. “But it’s still really cool, even if it depicts gruesome murders! I’m sure one of the refugees will actually love it—and if not, can’t we shove it down in the dungeons or something until we can figure out a better use for it?”

“…I suppose in the end it could be used for firewood if it comes down to it,” Marius had said with a sigh.

“Over my dead body,” Eric had replied flatly.

“Then that would be mine too, with the vow,” Marius said while picking up the vanity with a grunt.

Eric had stared at his arms for a bit before saying, “Well then, you’d better not be chopping up any vintage furniture, alright?”

So, Marius had ended up hauling a lot of furniture down into the dungeons—Eric had also helped, and some of the refugees had as well, but understandably, most were terrified of the dungeons and didn’t want to go down there after their first trip. Eric had been made of sterner stuff though.

“You forget that I already read all about it—those were some pretty gnarly flashbacks,” Eric had commented, looking around at the various rusty torture instruments. “I think you managed to clean up the place pretty well already—it’s not nearly as bad as I imagined it!”

“My mother had many of the skeletons laid in crypts—disgracefully, we do not have many of their names, so they had to go in unmarked tombs, but I think it is better than moldering in here,” Marius had replied.

Eric nodded solemnly. “Yeah, that’s pretty thoughtful of you guys.”

“It’s the least we could do,” Marius murmured, looking at the torture instruments.

(House Valerius is a shambling monster that should have been put down long ago.

But the Oracle said that he was like the first Valerius, and that he still had his part to play, so—

And there is still his mother and sister, and obviously they are a treasure beyond compare.

Still, he hopes that his sister can marry into a kind family and shed the Valerius name entirely. And after that, he will be the last of House Valerius, fulfil whatever destiny the Oracle was referring to, and the terrible beast of a house can end with him.)

“Okay, enough of that, stop brooding, we don’t have any time for that,” Eric had said, flapping his arms at him. “There’s furniture to move, and an entire duty roster to sort out!”

“…I’m not brooding, I’m simply contemplating the future,” Marius had retorted, picking up the terrible wardrobe Eric had demanded to keep.

“You forget, I’ve read your thoughts before, and I feel like you tend to brood when contemplating the future,” Eric commented, helping move an armoire down the stairs.

Marius grimaces, passing a hand in front of his face.

(He hates the fact that Eric has read his inner thoughts before.

But despite all that, Eric has stated that he’s Marius’ number one fan, and even if he still can’t get Eric to explain exactly what that is, Marius has confirmed that it has a positive connotation in his world, so he has that at least.

…well, he has always known that Eric has absolutely horrendous taste.)

“…I guess it is creepy when I put it that way,” Eric admits. “Sorry about that—it’s weird—I’ve gotten used to just saying inside jokes that no one gets—well, I guess Rae would, but otherwise—yeah, I know, it’s an insufferable habit, and I really need to get over it.”

“It’s fine,” Marius shrugs. “You never make any sense to me anyway.”

Eric laughs, shaking his head. “Who knew that it would just take the end of the world for you to develop a sense of humor? You never did in the books—sorry, I know, I’ll stop.”

(Marius also hates the idea of his entire world just being some kind of tale to entertain the masses with, but he also has to admit that sometimes he’s curious—

What happened in this tale?

Eric does indeed know him well, so it seems that at least parts of this book were accurate—but he doesn’t understand Eric’s obsession with matchmaking him with Lady Lia.

Whatever pity he had once felt for the girl had evaporated on the realization of the true snake hiding behind that soft exterior.

And not even a snake like the Cobra who ultimately puts on a show of dissipation but is a better man than most of those on the Council and even Octavius in the end, but someone who was truly only out for herself.

What makes Eric think that he would forsake his vows for a woman like her?

And in one version of this tale, he had killed Eric?

Absurd.

And if it is a world where all that is plausible, do the events in Eric’s tale even have any bearing on what is currently happening in their world right now?)

“…how was the Emperor ultimately defeated in your tale?’ Marius asks.

Eric shifts in place, grimacing. “Um. So—about that.”

Marius narrows his eyes. “Do not tell me that the Emperor prevails.”

“I wouldn’t say prevails per say….” Eric trails off, twisting a dreadlock around his finger and tugging at it. “Also, my version of the story was already different from Rae’s, so it’s hard to say exactly what might happen—and also, we’re so far off the preservation at this point, oh my god, Rae has messed up the plot so badly.”

“What preservation, and if not prevails, what?” Marius demands. “Is he defeated or not?”

Eric holds up his hands. “So keep in mind that in my world, the final book hadn’t been released yet—and not in Rae’s world yet either. So maybe the Emperor is defeated! Personally, I think that would be a fitting ending to the series—even if he’s the main character, how can you not kill off your villain protagonist after all the shit he pulled and ruined the entire world…”

“The Emperor lays waste to the entire world?”

(This is even worse than he had feared.

He should have killed that guard of Lady Rahela’s when he had first clapped eyes on him—although perhaps that wouldn’t have done any good considering that Octavius slit his throat and the man had just crawled out of the Abyss to claim his birthright.)

Eric waves his hands frantically, “He’s obsessed with Rae though, so I’m sure she’s holding him back right now!”

Marius snarls, “Pardon me for not wanting to bet the fate of the entire world on the Beauty Dipped in Blood’s charms—”

“You know, I never even thought much about her when reading the book, and I’ll give you that I don’t think any of us could count on the original Lady Rahela, but Rae? I think we can count on her,” Eric says, pursing his lips.

Marius stares at him. “What gives you such confidence?”

“Well, I mean, she took a totally forgettable character and made her vital to the plot, didn’t she?”

Marius frowns. “…didn’t you take a—what did you call them—a M Pee See—”

“NPC,” Eric corrects him.

“—which you have informed me, is a character who doesn’t matter at all to the overall story, and made him into one of the main characters?” Marius points out.

“Yeah! So, I mean—if you trust me, you should trust her,” Eric says with a nod.

Marius raises his eyebrows. “I trust you, but you’re the one I swore a vow to, not her. I cannot trust someone who has never demonstrated any care for anyone besides herself.”

“Okay, that is so not true—she didn’t have to run back in there to confront the Emperor on her own!”

“As you said, the Emperor is obsessed with her, and I assume that right now, she sits at his side as his queen—how do you know this isn’t what she was planning from the beginning?” Marius demands.

Eric snorts. “Absolute shit way to go about it if so—she let his throat get cut! His arc is completely thrown off—and I don’t even like him! Anyway, I know she wasn’t planning it, because she had the exact same goal as me when I first got here: get the Flower of Life or Death and leave.”

(Marius had never really thought about the Flower of Life or Death; it only bloomed once a year, and only in the palace, so it had no real use for urgent situations.

But apparently, for people in other worlds who are somehow dying in stasis, it could come in handy.

He can’t help but feel somewhat glad that Eric can’t leave this world—it’s horrible of course that he died in his original world, but—well, he had made a life here in this one, right?

And what would he do without Eric now—

…a depressing thought, he really needs to focus.)

“The Flower only blooms for one night, so she has already given up her chance then, hasn’t she?” Marius asks.

Eric sighs, rubbing the back of his head. “…yeah, probably. If she’s still there—which I guess she is since the Emperor hasn’t overrun us yet. God, now that I know he’s Key, he’d probably try to tear his way into my world just to find her again if she did escape…”

“Is that possible?” Marius asks worriedly.

(Do they not have enough to worry about?)

Eric shrugs. “I mean—I got here through a door. So did Rae, but also, both of us were about to die so—I don’t know. But I definitely don’t want to put it to the test with the Emperor, do you?”

“No,” Marius replies shortly. “But in sum, in this book of our lives, you did not see a successful plot to overthrow the Emperor.”

“…no, but again, the version I read is wildly out of date now—and so is the version Rae read! We’re in completely uncharted territory now, but Rae is good at thinking on her feet, and so am I, so—hopefully we’ll figure something out eventually.”

(That doesn’t sound like a plan at all, but Eric has made many an impossibility happen already, so Marius cannot completely write him off.

Besides, he made a vow to him, so if this is the path Eric wants to take, he will assist.)

“Then for now, we continue the patrols, kill the ghouls that swarm, collect food, and see if anyone has any news of the Emperor and Lady Rahela,” Marius intones.

Eric grins, patting Marius’ chest. “Love a man with a plan—and who knows, maybe if you can capture a ghoul alive and somehow imprison it, we can decipher its psycho mumblings and figure out what’s going on there.”

“We do have a lot of options to cage something down here,” Marius acknowledges, glancing at the chains. “But so far the murmurings have mostly been about evil finally winning.”

“Then Rae’s still around, because that’s definitely one of her favorite sayings,” Eric replies, straightening up. “I’ll see if any of my people have heard anything—obviously we’re not as useful as we used to be before ghouls overran everything, but you never know—maybe some of the refugees will know something useful. Or hell, maybe the ghouls will have looser lips than we think.”

Marius frowns. “You’re essential, don’t downplay yourself.”

Eric glances at him, blinking rapidly. “I—er—I guess, maybe sometimes—I mean, I do bring much needed cheer here, but these days, of course the work you and your men do is more essential—”

“I couldn’t do this without you,” Marius continues relentlessly. “See what you can find out. I have full confidence in you.”

Eric goggles at him while his cheeks grow oddly flushed. “I—uh—well that’s a first.”

“I have wronged you before, but I have been trying to make amends,” Marius states, holding up his arm. “If there is anything else you would require me to do—”

“Nope, nope, nope, you just keep being you, let’s hope the narrative doesn’t suddenly shift focus onto us, and let’s stay alive. No sudden heroics!” Eric says firmly, grabbing Marius’ arm and bringing it down. “And besides, we still need to keep an eye out for your sister!”

“…indeed,” Marius acknowledges. “But still—I regret things that I have said before.”

“I think a blood oath really wipes out anything I have to complain about that,” Eric says dryly, looking down at Marius’ arm, before scrubbing his face. “Look—we all said things in the heat of the moment. It’s a lot—I mean, we’re in the end of the world right now, and we’re just trying to avoid the apocalypse!”

“Yes, but I still want you to know that I have been mistaken about you for a long time, and there is no one I trust more now,” Marius insists.

Eric’s face has gone completely ruddy. “…okay, I cannot get used to this, you have no idea—anyway. I get it. Thank you. I also—I mean, I’ve always trusted you the most. You’re the best.”

“Because we’re each other’s biggest fans,” Marius nods solemnly.

Eric huffs out a laugh. “…yeah, you actually might be right about that, as crazy as it sounds. But anyway. Logistics! Spy stuff! Keeping your sister safe! And everyone fed! Let’s go!”

“Alright,” Marius says peaceably, following after Eric.

And they are busy what with sourcing food, scheduling patrols, attempting to interrogate ghouls, and seeing if there’s any chance of spies surviving out there at all, while keeping an eye on Caracalla, so it’s not like they have much time for anything else.

Still, Marius didn’t even figure out that the Cobra had taken no paramours at all until Amanda brought it to his attention.

“It’s good you’re taking care of us all and giving us shelter from, you know, the demonic forces overrunning the land right now—”

“They appear to be currently holding back a bit,” Marius had corrected, holding the latest reports in front of him.

Amanda blew out a breath, “Great, but who knows how long that will last? But to get to the point—you need to treat your man well too. Thoroughly.”

Marius had just stared at her blankly. “…my ‘man’? Are you referring to the soldiers under my command? If they have any complaints, they should take that up directly with myself—”

“No, your soldiers are good—and fine, fine specimens of manhood and womanhood, let me tell you,” Amanda had said, fanning herself. “And some of them are even quite skilled—”

“I do not want to know the details of my soldiers’ private lives,” Marius had interrupted stiffly.

“Fine, fine, that’s beside the point anyway—or not quite,” Amanda had replied with a wave of her hand, then pointing at him. “The Cobra, come on. He also needs some stress relief, you know.”

Marius had just frowned. “Understandable. He has full run of the stables—although he does need to take either myself or a guard with him—along with the library and any number of musical instruments. …is this you telling me that he wants to throw a ball?”

“No, this is me telling you that he needs to get laid,” Amanda said bluntly.

Marius reared back, sputtering, “I—the Cobra has never had any issues in that area before—”

“Well yeah, but now you guys are together, and you don’t seem the sharing type,” Amanda said, looking him up and down. “Unless the Last Hope is actually into that? Because let me tell you, if you guys wouldn’t mind a third, I volunteer—”

“There will be no third,” Marius interrupted this frankly horrifying conversation. “Or sharing—or—or—or anything else.”

Amanda had pouted at him. “You’re no fun. Or I guess the Cobra gets all the fun from you—but he certainly isn’t recently. And that poor man really needs some. It’s really important to make time for this kind of thing—if you need any tips, all you have to do is ask—”

“No thank you,” Marius had said, channeling every note of finality he could to put this discussion to rest.

(Why must Eric surround himself with these degenerates.

…no, that’s not fair.

Amanda has been an invaluable staff member, helping organize all the refugees, unflappable in the face of disaster, and always there with a wry—if inappropriate—word.

But why in the world would she think that he and Eric had that sort of relationship?)

Amanda had shrugged. “Suit yourself. You have the muscles, and you know, being tossed around is always fun… And you’re the Last Hope! Do you know how many clients we had who requested look-alikes? And none of them could quite pull off that cool hauteur you’ve got—it’s a noble thing, I suspect. Ah, the Cobra’s a lucky man—but you still need to put in an effort! You’re lucky too, you know!”

“I do,” Marius had said reflexively before pausing and saying haltingly, “…you seem to have the wrong impression of my relationship with the Cobra though.”

Amanda had raised an eyebrow. “Really? You took down your sword—the one you had hung up—and cut through twenty men for him.”

“…it was closer to ten—”

“And then you swore to protect whatever he cares for,” Amanda continues.

“Yes, that’s only proper—”

“And then you led all of his people straight into your ancestral home, defying both the king and the new emperor to do so,” Amanda barrels along heedlessly. “Darling, if someone did all that for me, I’d almost forgive them for forgetting to sex me up after. But only almost, because all that deserves a good bout in the bed after, you hear?”

(…it’s an accurate summary of everything that he has done for Eric, but that doesn’t mean—

Blood oaths can be entirely platonic!

Of course strong emotions are involved, but seeing Eric that way—

Well, he has seen Eric in actually every state of undress at this point, it’s quite distressing.

Why Eric must surround himself with that much debauchery—

Although according to Amanda, he actually hasn’t in a while, to the point that she thinks he’s stressed.

…does Eric actually need regular bouts of degeneracy to get through things?

That doesn’t sound quite right—while he understands that apparently most people find regular sexual intercourse necessary, Eric is actually much more self-disciplined than he had thought.

And also, whyever would Eric not seek someone out if that was what he needed? He is a charming man, and he has never had problems seducing people before.

…Marius can’t deny though that he is pleased that Eric is not.

…because it shows so much more self-discipline of course, that’s all.

…right?)

“I—” Marius starts and stops, staring into Amanda’s flinty gaze, then deciding it will take too long to argue her into seeing the truth. “…I will take your comments under advisement.”

“Good!” Amanda says, slapping him on the back. “Because he could use a good session with the Last Hope, if you know what I mean.”

“…I do not,” Marius replies stiffly.

Amanda nods sympathetically. “Exactly what the Last Hope should say, but with more tossing someone around. And that someone needs to be Eric! Although, of course, again, if you guys did want to add a third, I am completely down for that—”

“Your presence will not be required,” Marius hastily interrupts her before more horrifying things can come out of her mouth.

However, perhaps the damage has already been done because that night he has some rather strange dreams. They start off normal enough, with him and Eric arguing as usual, but then he ends up slamming a hand against a wall, caging Eric in, and then he leans in close until their faces are nearly touching—

And then he’s kissing him, and then there are hands everywhere, and when he wakes up, it’s to a mortifying mess in his bed.

Other boys may have dealt with these nocturnal emissions at the Gray Tower, but he had thought it due to an abysmal lack of self-control, and he had never experienced such things.

He’s somewhat more sympathetic to his roommates now, but only slightly, since he is diligently scrubbing his sheets himself while they had just left it to the laundresses of the Tower.

(He definitely could not—there are no dedicated laundresses in the Manor to begin with, so they are currently using some of Eric’s, and he is absolutely sure that if he handed this to them, not only would the entire Manor learn about it, but Eric would as well, and he—

He has no idea even how to face Eric now.

He doesn’t—

It’s just that Amanda put those terrible ideas into his head, that’s all.

Even if he’s had dreams like this before, although not nearly as sensual and detailed, it doesn’t actually mean anything. Everyone has always said that such dreams and reactions are very natural in men, even if it has never happened to him before!

He’ll just—

He’ll carry on as he always has.

Eric doesn’t need to know, and it’ll be fine.)

--

It’s the coward’s way to simply avoid a problem, but given that every time Marius sees Eric now, he flashes back to those shameful dreams, so he has simply been ducking him and delegating certain work to some of his soldiers to oversee instead.

He just needs some more time, he’ll figure it out if he can just get some more space and if those dreams would just stop haunting his nights.

(He’s never done so much laundry in his life, and sooner or later, someone is going to notice.

Of course it’s Eric who makes him lose control—isn’t it always?

It has to come to a head at some point, one way or another, but—

He doesn’t know. And unlike last time, he couldn’t consult the Oracle even if he knew what to ask in this case.)

At the very least, his family is a welcome distraction, even if Caracalla seems to have once again taken a shine to Eric, peeking out of corners whenever she can at him.

(He immediately disregards his mother pointing out once again that his sister and the Cobra would make a fine match.

Leaving aside that Eric is from another world, there is the entire age difference there, the fact that his sister is in no condition to be matched to anyone, and also—

And also, his stomach twists at the thought.

He cannot.

He swore vows to Eric Mitchell, and if Eric truly falls for his sister, he will yield, but until then—

No.)

His mother simply raises an eyebrow at his refusal to countenance the match and his reasoning why. “…you swore a blood oath to him?”

“Of course, I just told you that,” Marius points out.

His mother is quiet for a moment before saying slowly, “…I do not have to pursue this match; after all Caracalla is still young, and I think she is more comfortable at home for now. However—Marius, do you have something you would like to tell me?”

Marius’ eyebrows twist. “I just told you everything that happened.”

“Yes,” his mother says with her patient voice, “and I am happy for you, truly. To find someone worth breaking your vows for—to swear a blood vow to someone—it is more than I hoped for you. I just hope that he is worthy of your regard.”

Marius bristles, drawing himself up to his full height in his chair. “You were the one who gave him one of the House daggers—you even though him a match for Caracalla—”

“Indeed,” his mother interrupts him, looking him in the eye, “and I stand by that decision. But a match for Caracalla is not the same as a match for you, Marius.”

(…what is she saying.

She can’t mean—

Is his mother joking?

Quite a strange time to make a joke—especially such a joke—but it has been a trying time for everyone here.

He has already been driven to the point of madness, clearly, so why could it not be the same for his mother? He had hoped that he had managed to shield her from the worst of the news, but she is a smart woman, so she must know that the state of the world is not promising.)

Marius lets out an extremely strained laugh. “Very funny, mother.”

“I am not joking, Marius,” his mother says with a frown. “My children’s marital future is not a source of frivolity for me.”

Marius blinks and then leans forward. “…matches between people of the same gender are not allowed by the Crown—”

“I think our new Emperor has many other things to worry about than the legality of certain marriages,” his mother replies cooly. “I won’t ask if you are serious, because even without the blood oath I would know that you are—”

“A blood oath does not imply romantic interest!”

“Not necessarily, but Marius—from you—who else could you devote yourself to after swearing this?” his mother asks, peering into his eyes.

(That’s—

Well—

Well, he’s made vows against that sort of thing!)

Marius begins stiffly, “Mother, you know what Gray Tower vows entail—”

“Yes, but at the same time, you have already broken some of those vows for him,” his mother says, nodding at the sword at his side. “What’s some more?”

Marius sputters, “It’s not the same—and I do not—my feelings towards Eric are entirely pure and platonic.”

(Yes, strange dreams don’t count.

Who can control their dreams? And besides, he’s seen Eric in so many disgraceful situations that it’s only natural that if he dreams of him, sometimes he’s in a shameful state of undress.

And there are certain biological reactions that even he can’t quite get under control sometimes…but he is trying to…)

His mother purses her lips, her eyebrows arched. “…it’s fine if they aren’t, Marius.”

“They are,” Marius insists. “He’s not—well, he certainly is, but I’m not—I’ve never—and I’ve never thought of him that—or at least, very, very few times—moments of weakness that will certainly never occur again—”

“Marius,” his mother says firmly, reaching out a hand to touch his arm. “Love is not a weakness.”

Marius can’t help but snort at that, narrowing his eyes. “It is when you’re a Valerius. …and I never said anything about love to begin with.”

His mother smiles at him. “Oh Marius, I know you. And for you to have thoughts of anyone like that implies you’re falling in love already.”

(That’s not—

He doesn’t—

He always thought falling in love would feel like impending doom since that’s what it always has been for all the men of House Valerius.

But maybe it’s more insidious than that—maybe it’s something that sneaks up on you through words and rolled eyes and quips and exasperation and revelations and oaths.

What he feels for Eric is warm though—he’s ridiculous, but he doesn’t want to cage him, and even if he doesn’t like the idea of Eric with other lovers, it’s not like he wants to kill Eric over the idea of him sleeping with anyone else.

And as for sleeping with him—

He cannot think about those kinds of things in front of his own mother.)

Marius coughs and says stiffly, “That is inappropriate, Mother.”

His mother simply arches a brow. “Perhaps, but truly, Marius—as I said before, I am happy for you. And your regard for him does much to raise him in my esteem, as have his own actions taking care of all the people here—I just hope that he will know how to treat you well. Should I have a talk with him?”

“Absolutely not!” Marius barks, leaning forward before quickly pulling himself back, moving a hand over his face. “…I’m sorry Mother, but no. There has been a misunderstanding here—there is nothing to talk to him about.”

His mother narrows her eyes, rising smoothly up. “Indeed? I do not believe that is the case. If he thinks he can do any better than you, we will have words about it—”

“Mother, stop,” Marius says desperately. “I—you know that there is no happy ending from the love of a Valerius man.”

His mother freezes in place, turning to look at him, the corners of her mouth pinched. “Marius. You are not your father.”

Marius can’t help the short bitter laugh that escapes from him. “And am I not the many Valerius men who came before him as well?”

“Yes, because if you were, your sister and I would both be dead,” his mother says fiercely, grabbing his hands and holding them tight, looking him in the eye. “My darling—no one is doomed by your love. You will not cage anyone—”

“Love is madness for Valerius men,” Marius murmurs quietly, looking down.

His mother lets out a short laugh that sounds too much like his own. “That was not love Marius—that was obsession.”

“And how do you know the difference?”

His mother gently places a hand on his cheek. “…do you wish for him to thrive? Even if it is not at your side? Or do you wish to keep him by you, no matter what?”

(Eric would positively wilt and probably shrivel away if he kept him caged in this castle with no one else to talk to, the way that his father had his mother.

So, no—he prefers Eric to shine.

Preferably, of course, he would be with him to properly protect him, because Eric can barely take care of himself, but if he isn’t—

As long as Eric is well, that was what he vowed, and that is what matters in the end.

…is that love?)

“I would never cage Eric,” Marius says steadily. “And I vowed to keep him safe and happy—so if that is not with me, I do not care.”

His mother smiles at him, caressing his cheek. “I know you would not. And I think you would care, but—it is good that you would let him. You are not the curse of House Valerius—you are its redemption.”

(A tall order, and everything that he had strived for when joining the Gray Tower.

Who knew by breaking so many vows and laws that he may be approaching it?

But still—

Is it love?

Is there even room for that given that they are facing the end of the world as they know it?)

“I—I still need some time to consider all this,” he says, squeezing his mother’s hand. “It’s not—please don’t say anything to Eric.”

“Of course not,” his mother says, a hand rising up to her chest in consternation. “I would never betray your trust like that—take your time Marius. Know that you have my approval whatever you decide—but if you do choose to bind yourself even more closely to the Lord Cobra, please let me know. Because I shall want to have a talk with him then.”

(He has no idea what his mother would say to Eric, much less what Eric’s reaction would be to all that.

…is he seriously considering this?

He’s not—

He’s spent so long so grimly on guard against any signs of obsession and madness, sure that it would spell out his end as it has every Valerius heir before him.

But this doesn’t feel like an ending—it instead feels like something new unfurling before him.

But is that a trick?

Did his father feel the same thing for his mother and all his other obsessions?

His mother seems to think he’s different, and that his father had never loved anyone, but in the end, she married into House Valerius from a distant branch; she doesn’t carry its cursed blood.

Can anyone who doesn’t truly know the depths to which he could fall?)

“Brooding again?”

Marius jerks out of his reverie to see Eric grinning at him, tossing himself into the chair nearby and swinging his legs over the arms of it.

“Sit properly,” Marius says automatically.

Eric pouts at him, swinging his legs back down again. “So, what’s going on? Just the usual depressing stuff, or is it just time for your monthly brooding session again?”

“I don’t have a monthly brooding session.”

“Well, maybe it’s not monthly, but I feel like if you don’t get to brood, you won’t get to process your emotions at all,” Eric shrugs. “But brooding for too long isn’t healthy either—but hey, you were just talking to your mom, right? Did she say something?”

“It is none of your concern,” Marius quickly replies, backing away.

Eric bites his lip, frowning before saying slowly, “…hey, did I do something?”

“What?”

“Did I—I don’t know. It feels like you’ve been avoiding me for some reason—which, I mean, obviously you used to do that all the time before, but not really since you made the vow—not that I’m pressuring you about it or anything! It’s just—um. If I did something you didn’t like, I’d rather you just tell me.”

(…he’s upset Eric.

He’s done that before of course, but that was when he thought the man a selfish hedonist who bizarrely insisted on following him around and calling him a friend.

This is a violation of his vow to him in and of itself.)

“You didn’t do anything; it is my own troubles that have caused me to draw away,” Marius says, and when Eric frowns, he adds, “Nothing that you need to be concerned about—I just need some time to figure it out.”

Eric’s frown only grows more pronounced. “Are you sure? Sometimes it’s better to talk things through—you can get pretty caught up in your own head at times.”

“I will be fine—I have handled all my personal issues without your intervention previously,” Marius snaps.

Eric holds both his hands up, biting his lip. “Right, right, got it—sorry. I’ll mind my own business now. I’ve messed up enough things…”

(…he’s inadvertently hurt Eric’s feelings once again.

How can he rectify this without making things worse?

He can’t confess the truth—that will obviously just make things worse.

Perhaps he should apologize? And then—just try to reassure him. Maybe.

He really has no idea what he is doing here.)

“You have not messed up anything here, as I said before, it is my own personal problems, and I am sorry to have distressed you,” Marius says stonily. “I require time to work on this matter myself though, and I would appreciate no one prying into it.”

Eric’s expression lightens a bit but he still frowns and says, “…I don’t want to pry, but I can’t help but worry about you sometimes, you know?”

Marius blinks at Eric. “Be at ease. I can defend myself, and I am sworn to protect you, not the other way around.”

“I guess, but—that’s not really how I see it. An oath binds both ways, right?”

(Not in Marius’ experience—Octavius had certainly never thought of any of their oaths sworn to him that way.

But—

It’s nice that Eric thinks that, even if Eric’s arms would probably snap off if he tried to lift a sword.)

“Please do not try and protect me, I think you will cause more damage to yourself,” Marius informs him.

Eric sighs, rubbing his head. “Why do I bother… Anyway. You’re not mad at me?”

“No,” Marius affirms.

“Well, that’s good at least,” Eric says, “In that case, I’ve got some food supply ideas and entertainment ideas I’d like to run past you—”

“My Lord!” Captain Diarmat comes running up, and quickly salutes both of them. “Lord Cobra. Sirs, there are some people you need to see.”

“Who is it?” Marius asks, immediately falling into pace with the captain.

“They say they’ll only talk to you,” Captain Diarmat replies, leading them down the stairs.

Eric quickly keeps step at Marius’ side. “Are you expecting anyone?”

“No,” Marius frowns. “But I had sent word to other manors in hopes that someone might still be out there and fighting back.”

Eric frowns. “…I mean, maybe the plot has changed enough that that’ll be the case?”

“By which you mean, it’s unlikely.”

“Well—I don’t want to rule anything out…maybe something in the plot changed for the better for once?” Eric offers, biting at his thumbnail.

Knowing their luck, he very much doubts that, but Eric looks worried enough as it is, so he stills his tongue.

When they make their way down and to the doors where two figures are standing, Captain Diarmat bows and says, “My Lord, Lord Cobra. I will leave you to your discussions.”

He strides away before Marius or Eric can say anything, and then they are left with the two people standing by the door.

One of them looks up, the hood sliding down and revealing a familiar doe-eyed, delicate face, as the tall figure next to her also draws down their hood to reveal a dark red birthmark and Emer’s glaring eyes.

“We need your help,” Lady Lia says firmly.

--

“So, let me get this straight,” Eric says faintly. “The two of you went into the Cauldron to find someone to help Rae.”

“That’s right,” Emer replies, crossing her arms as Lady Lia simply gracefully nods.

“You, Lady Lia, went into the Cauldron?” Eric repeats, staring at Lady Lia.

Lady Lia simply nods again as Emer’s scowl grows more pronounced. “I wouldn’t think a brothel owner cared so much about propriety.”

“It’s not that!” Eric yelps, frantically waving a hand in front of him. “It’s just that—Lia—she’s not supposed to—er—”

“That’s Lady Lia,” Emer says with the frostiest tone that Marius has ever heard. “And we are all doing a lot of things that none of us are supposed to be doing, or is The Last Hope here a fake and someone else has absconded with the army?”

“Hey, he’s protecting the common people!” Eric immediately defends, glaring right back at Emer.

Marius holds up a hand. “She makes a fair point. I have indeed abandoned and broken many of my vows; I have to live with that. But at the same time, the Cauldron is hardly a place for women.”

Emer simply raises an eyebrow and raises the axe at her side. “Yes, many of those who importuned Lady Lia thought the same, but I thank you, Lord Valerius, for your lessons.”

Eric blinks and turns to Marius. “Wait, you taught her how to use the axe?”

“I simply gave her some pointers,” Marius replies, his gaze fixed on the pitted surface of Emer’s axe.

(He had seen that that maid had some talent even then, but he hadn’t imagined that she could go into the Cauldron and come out with both her and Lady Lia unscathed.

Perhaps he really should bring her into the formal training sessions.)

“Regardless of the propriety of our actions, we have found some people who managed to sneak into the castle,” Lady Lia intervenes smoothly. “My sister has managed to restrain the Emperor for now.”

“Rae is still alive?” Eric demands eagerly.

Lady Lia nods. “She is, and by all accounts, the Emperor is still obsessed with her.”

“Of course he is,” Emer spits out. “When he was still just a guard he was already completely obsessed with her, so why should that have changed?”

Eric wringes his hands. “…the entire betrayal thing though—and the throat cutting—ugh, the story is all wrong now. Rae! Why must she do this to her fave—but she did say that she didn’t read the first volume all that closely, ugh…”

Emer eyes Eric dubiously before turning to Marius and demanding, “What volume is he talking about?”

“It’s rather complicated,” Marius deflects (he still doesn’t really know how to explain it without sounding insane—he wouldn’t have believed it either without the Oracle’s vision). “Suffice to say, Lady Rahela and the Emperor continue to share a close relationship it seems.”

“But for how much longer?” Lady Lia demands, her eyes blazing with an emotion Marius has never beheld in her placid face. “How much does my sister have to suffer while you sit here in the comfort of your fortress?”

“Fine words from someone who was willing to see her hang not that long ago,” Marius replies icily.

Lady Lia flinches but then rallies. “…she was a different person then. She doesn’t deserve her fate now.”

“You talk as if she is in imminent danger of dying, but I have found Lady Rahela to be someone who always manages to survive,” Marius notes.

Lady Lia purses her lips, but before she can say anything, Eric cuts in hurriedly, “Oookay, so, Rae is definitely a survivor, but I don’t want to count on the good graces of Key to keep her alive. Especially now that we know he’s the Emperor—anyway, let’s not say anything that can’t be unsaid, so we all stay good friends, and work together to figure our way out of this.”

Lady Lia draws in a breath and dips her head toward Eric. “Wise words, sir.”

“Oh, you’re too kind, milady,” Eric simpers at her.

Marius frowns, ignoring the way his stomach twists at the way Eric is smiling at her, and says harshly, “You want us to give up our defensive position for one woman?”

“I’m sorry, were you planning on striking back any time soon, or just holing up here?” Lady Lia shoots back, her eyes blazing once again.

Marius sneers at her. “It is called strategy, milady. I will admit that we can’t all be manipulative snakes, but when it comes to military strategy—”

“Agaaaaaaain, let’s not say things in the heat of the moment that will piss people off,” Eric hurriedly interrupts him, waving his hands around before turning to Lady Lia. “Milady—I understand your concern for you sister, truly—I am also worried for Rae. But at the same time, Marius is right—if he pulls his soldiers from here, what will all the civilians here do? They will be overrun.”

Lady Lia inclines her head. “…I am not saying what you are doing here is not commendable—the opposite in fact. The lands around have been overrun, but House Valerius remains a fortress.”

“Which it will not if we go haring off straight into the Emperor’s clutches,” Marius points out.

Lady Lia gives him a frosty glance. “I do not want all of your forces—we have allies in the Cauldron. We just need a few specialists of yours to back them up.”

“That would be sending them to their death,” Marius says flatly. “I do not have so many men that I can afford to sacrifice any of them, or did you not notice the lands as you traveled towards my manor? They grow increasingly more dangerous every day, and it is all my men can do to forage enough game for us.”

“Are the supplies here not enough to support everyone?” Emer asks, frowning.

“We have greenhouses and gardens, along with stores, so it’s been enough for now, but the problem is protein,” Marius says. “My men can hunt, but it’s growing increasingly difficult.”

“Even more of a reason to get my sister out of there—I’m sure she has important information that she could tell us to stop the Emperor,” Lady Lia says eagerly.

Marius looks at Eric, and Eric glances over at him and then says slowly, “…well, Rae definitely is working with more updated information than me, but it didn’t help before, and not sure how much it’s going to help now. The problem is—things keep changing. And not for the better.”

“Certainly not for my sister,” Lady Lia points out. “We only need one or two people—our allies in the Cauldron mostly survived, and they’re willing to enter the breach once more.”

“Why?” Marius demands, frowning. “What did you promise them?”

“You don’t need to know that—”

“I certainly need to know that if I am to lend you any of my own people. I will not have them walk into a situation that I myself do not understand, much less aid you in pursuits that I am in complete ignorance of.”

Lady Lia’s face takes on a stormier expression than ever before, but Emer says quietly, “They’ve been promised a raid of the treasury if they succeed.”

(…it’s not completely out of the question.

There are artifacts there that certainly shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands, but given that right now, they’re all in the Emperor’s hands, it could only be better for them to be elsewhere.

And they do need to deal with the Emperor somehow, which can only come with knowing the lay of the land and what exactly is going on in that dark fortress. Spies from the Cauldron are well and good, but he trusts his own people more to give him what he needs to come up with viable military strategy.

But still, a reconnaissance mission and a rescue mission are two extremely different endeavors, even setting aside how important Lady Raehela is to the Emperor, so he will need to know the entire situation before risking any of his people.)

“…When you say you only need one or two people to back up their own, what exactly did you have in mind?”

Lady Lia’s smile is bright and all the more sinister in its seemingly innocent beauty. “Well, we need a distraction, and it can’t be just anything to draw the Emperor’s attention away from my sister…”

“My men won’t sacrifice their lives just for a distraction,” Marius states flatly.

“And you think that the people from the Cauldron should just risk their lives because they’re more dispensable, do you?” Emer demands, giving him a dark look.

Marius looks down his nose at her. “To put it bluntly, yes. My men are all skilled warriors and trained in the art of war, and right now, with the realm overwhelmed by ghouls, that skill is in short supply, and while we are training up more people, knights take years to make. Whatever thieves and vagabonds the two of you have found, I am sure you can find more if need be.”

Emer’s expression is dark, and Lady Lia has narrowed her eyes, but at this Eric clears his throat, places his hand on Marius’ arm, and says brightly, “Look, you guys all know that Marius is a noble ass, but he has a point: this is the last safe place for a lot of people, and the only way it remains safe is with Marius’ men. Of course everyone is important, and no one is just dispensable, but if someone needs to be distracting the Emperor, maybe it should be the people who are only in it for a payday instead of the people actually trying to protect everyone, you know?”

“Spoken like a true villain,” Emer spits out.

Eric winks at Emer. “You know it, baby.”

Lady Lia purses her lips, a hand stroking her golden hair, her head tilting in a rather fetching fashion (or it would be on anyone else who wasn’t a complete snake). “Loathe as I am to disagree with you, Emer, I feel as though Lord Cobra no longer lives up to his namesake—have you forsaken our nest of vipers for protecting the common people?”

“Hey, if you want something more your speed, let me point out that unless you keep all the common people safe, who exactly are you planning on ruling over? Ghouls?” Eric demands, his hand tightening around Marius’ arm.

Lady Lia’s eyes flick over to Eric’s hand before she inclines her head. “You do bring up a fair point—but either way, my sister must be saved.”

“Yeah, we need to get Rae out of there—who knows what other changes she’s wrecking on the narrative as we speak,” Eric mutters under his breath before adding more loudly, “And she’ll definitely have more information on the Emperor right now—but even if we really manage to get her out of there, the Emperor is immediately going to chase after her. You know how obsessed he is with her.”

“Indeed,” Emer grimaces, flipping her axe out and examining its edge. “If we bring her here, you’ll be under siege. But if we take her down into the Cauldron—”

“The people there will sell you out long before the Emperor tears that place apart,” Marius warns. “He crawled out of the Abyss, no where is safe if he wants to get into it.”

“Then we can at least set up the confrontation with the Emperor ourselves instead of waiting here like all of you are,” Lady Lia says, raising her chin.

Marius sneers at her. “Again, it is strategy that has us fortifying our defenses here—”

“But she does have a point,” Eric interjects, tapping Marius’ shoulder. “If we time it right and bring Rae here when our defenses are as good as they can ever be and we have all the traps necessary—”

“We don’t understand any of the Emperor’s newfound powers, how can we set up traps against him?”

“It’ll be tight,” Eric admits, running a hand through his hair. “We’ll basically have to break Rae out, pump all the information we can out of her, come up with a strategy, get that communicated back to here as fast as possible, and then get that all set up before she or the Emperor arrives.”

(It’s insanity.

…but they may be out of better options.

Loathe as he is to admit it, waiting here without knowing anything about the Emperor’s plans and abilities beyond the mutterings of ghouls is not a winning path forward.

This plan is extremely risky, but even he has to acknowledge that Lady Rahela is the one who best understands the Emperor at this moment.

And is according to Eric, one of the few people who could even influence the Emperor at this point.)

“…if we brought Lady Rahela here, will she even work with us against the Emperor?” Marius asks through gritted teeth.

“Of course she—well. I mean. The Emperor is her fave. But like, she’s stuck here too now as far as I know, so she can’t want him to destroy the world—I think,” Eric says hesitantly.

Marius glares at him. “I would like more certainty than just an ‘I think.’”

Emer makes a face and rubs her chin. “Lady Rahela was inordinately fond of Key, but her horror when he took the throne was not feigned. I do not know if she would want to kill him, but I doubt that she wants him taking over the world.”

“We will make her see reason once she is safe and sound,” Lady Lia says serenely.

Eric grimaces. “I don’t know about that—Rae isn’t exactly reasonable when it comes to Key or the Emperor—but who knows, maybe it’s different when she’s living it and not reading it.”

“What?” Emer asks, staring at him.

Marius clears his throat, drawing both Emer and Lady Lia’s attention back to him as he grimly declares, “We all live in this world and are responsible for its future, and the sooner Lady Rahela realizes that, the better. I will spare men to run this rescue mission for you, Lady Lia and Emer, but the details must be thoroughly discussed, and they will be the ones to spirit Lady Rahela back to the manor, not the distraction.”

Lady Lia purses her lips but in the end slowly nods and reaches out a dainty hand. “We are in accord then.”

Marius takes her hand and sketches a bow over it, not bothering to kiss her hand, and also inclining his head towards Emer. “Indeed, milady.”

Emer frowns but also nods back at him as Lady Lia folds her hands and says brightly, “Good. Now, where are our quarters?”

“Oh, I know just where to put you guys up, follow me,” Eric says excitedly, gesturing at them before grinning and winking at Marius. “You’ll be one of the few people here that will appreciate this…”

(Probably the most gaudily decorated of the rooms Eric has decided to redesign, complete with a snake motif.

There’s a surprising amount of horrible gothic furniture and decorations that feature snakes that Eric has managed to repurpose, and Eric gets so few joyful things to do these days between all the hard work he is responsible for, so why not let him redecorate and put on ridiculous plays in his spare time?

The plays have been a surprising morale boost actually—it seems in these dark times, people enjoy any bit of levity that can be scrounged up, even if it is utterly inane.

Between that and letting civilians watch the soldiers drill, they’ve somehow been holding everyone together.

Speaking of drills, Emer had promise with that axe before, and it seems that she’s had to use it a bit since he last trained her—he’d like to see how good she is with it now.)

“Emer,” he calls out, and Emer turns to look at him dispassionately, “if you would please join me on the training grounds when you have the spare time. I would like to see how the Cauldron has honed your blade.”

Emer’s mouth quirks up in a sharp smile as she regards him. “…is that a command, Lord Marius?”

“It is a request,” Marius replies steadily.

“You may live to regret it, Lord Marius,” Lady Lia quips, laying a hand on Emer’s arm. “Emer has grown quite skilled with the blade.”

“I look forward to the spar then,” Marius states calmly with a slight bow to both ladies before sweeping away.

(He will need to discuss with Captain Diarmat who would be best suited for this kind of mission and who they can actually afford to spare.

This will need to be carefully planned, and whoever they send will need to be aware of Lady Lia’s treacherous nature and Lady Rahela’s chaotic leanings.

It’s a gamble—even if they succeed in breaking Lady Rahela out, that woman was as unpredictable as Eric, maybe even more so.

But if she’s from the same world as Eric, perhaps they can come to a common understanding.

Hopefully, the Cobra’s fabled luck carries all of them.)

--

Between ensuring the food supply, reinforcing the defenses, and plotting with Eric, Lady Lia, Emer, and Captain Diarmat about the rescue mission, Marius hasn’t had much time for anything else. On the one hand, this was obviously good for distracting him from his more—questionable dreams of Eric.

(They are growing increasingly lewd, and Marius is becoming more and more aware of how backbreaking and tedious a task laundry is.

He needs to give the laundresses of the castle a raise whenever they have sufficient funds to do so.)

On the other hand, he hasn’t had as much time to spend with his family. His mother is actually delighted to be hosting Lady Lia and Emer, despite his warnings about Lady Lia, but his sister is more sensible and has been avoiding them by staying in her room.

It isn’t good for Caracalla to be cooped up, so when Marius finally gets a spare moment, he visits his sister in her chambers.

“Are you adjusting alright to all the people in the manor now?” Marius asks worriedly, pouring a cup of tea for Caracalla.

Caracalla nods, taking the teacup up and sipping it. “Yes—it was a little disconcerting at first, but—it is kind of nice?”

“It is wise of you to stay away from Lady Lia, but Emer is more trustworthy, I believe,” Marius says carefully, picking up his own cup. “But regardless of that, neither of them would dare to plot against you here.”

Caracalla bites her lip but nods slowly, setting her cup down. “…I know. I am not worried about that—I just—Lady Lia is so elegant…and Emer is her lady’s maid and has been the lady’s maid to many noblewomen…”

“…yes?” Marius asks in confusion, raising his eyebrow. “I do not understand, Caracalla.”

Caracalla looks down at her hands twisting in her dress before glancing up at him and bursting out with, “I’m not that elegant! I fear that I will shame you and our house—”

“Nothing you do could shame me or our house,” Marius says fiercely, setting his cup down and reaching out to grasp Caracalla’s hand.

(What could shame their house with everything their ancestors have already done?

And he knows his sister—she is a lady of the House Valerius and any horrible actions she could ever do would be driven out of desperation, and he vows to never let her be trapped like that ever again.)

Caracalla squeezes his hand back, frowning. “…thank you. But I still fear—Lady Lia might look down upon me—”

“Has she said something to you?” Marius demands, standing up, his mind already racing with how he can cast Lady Lia out of the manor.

(Unfortunately, it will have to be done with some finesse given their plans for retrieving Lady Rahela.

…he will have to consult his mother or Eric—

Eric always seemed to want to treat Lady Lia softly and bizarrely throw them together, perhaps in an effort that Marius will come around to his opinion.

But that is a lost cause because Lady Lia showed her true colors already.)

“No, she has been most kind,” Caracalla reassures him, pulling at his hand to make him sit down again. “But I am sure she does not want to be bothered…”

“You are never a bother, and she should be so happy to entertain you,” Marius replies haughtily, picking up his teacup again. “What do you wish to talk to her about? I must warn you, I have never seen her read anything.”

Caracalla fidgets, before mumbling, “…how to protect myself.”

“What?” Marius looks at her. “If you wish to have weapons training, I can certainly arrange that—or if you feel unsafe, I can also assign more guards—”

“I don’t always want to be the one that needs protecting,” Caracalla says quietly, looking up at Marius.

(…oh, they really grow up so fast.

He would happily protect his baby sister until the day he dies, but even though he hates it, he knows that he can’t always be at her side.

The world is dangerous for Valerius women, and he applauds her for wanting to stand on her own two feet.

…but what in the world does that have to do with Lady Lia?)

“That is an admirable goal, but Lady Lia herself is often protected by others,” Marius points out, raising an eyebrow. “In fact I would say that you know how to use a knife better than she does.”

“But Lady Lia doesn’t need a knife—with just her words, she moves people into either being her friend or protector,” Caracalla replies, eyes brightening.

Marius draws himself up in his chair, his brow furrowing as he stares at his sister. “…you wish to learn the ways of conniving manipulation from her?”

“It isn’t exactly conniving, is it? She has limited resources, like myself, and she seems to have done very well—Sir Cobra said that she had your protection and favor for a long time as well!”

“And now she does not, because I know the truth of her,” Marius states harshly. “You do not need to manipulate me to have my protection, Caracalla.”

“I know, but with others—it’s not just manipulation. It’s misdirection and acting and—and working with people’s expectations, so they underestimate you while you hide your true abilities beneath the surface,” Caracalla recites.

Marius narrows his eyes. “…you’ve been talking to Eric.”

Caracalla nods, a smile appearing on her face. “Sir Cobra is so kind—did you see the play he put on the other day?”

“Which one?”

“The one with the cats singing,” Caracalla says, leaning forward eagerly. “It was delightful!”

(Personally, Marius had found that play bewildering—what is a jellycat? Why is it different from a regular cat? That Mr. Mephistophiles needs to be stopped—but anyway, at least Eric seemed to be having fun putting it on.

And it’s much better than that strange musical distraction Eric and Lady Rahela put on—much less shimmying against women of dubious character, although far more flouncing than he thinks is appropriate anywhere.

But of course if Caracalla loves it, Marius is willing to let Eric have singing cats run amok across the entire manor.)

“It was certainly something,” Marius hedges, sipping his tea.

“I liked the songs, especially the one about memories that Grizabella sang,” Caracalla says dreamily, a hand on her cheek.

Marius casts his memory frantically around. “…the old sad cat.”

“Yes, Amanda was so good at portraying her! And singing! Absolutely lovely. Sir Cobra is so creative,” Caracalla comments before blinking and straightening up, reaching out to touch Marius’ knee and saying earnestly, “But brother, do not worry—even without Mother letting me know, I already understand. Sir Cobra is already spoken for.”

Marius nearly chokes on his tea, and quickly sets his cup down. “Pardon?”

“It was quite obvious, just watching the way the two of you interact now,” Caracalla says, guileless eyes blinking. “And the vow you swore to him—it’s quite romantic…”

“I do not know how many times I have to repeat myself, but I have taken vows—”

“But now you’ve also taken vows to Sir Cobra! And with the world overrun by demons, I think the Gray Tower has other things to worry about, wouldn’t they?” Caracalla asks, her brow wrinkling before she smiles at him again. “I am very happy for you!”

(Caracalla has completely the wrong idea, but she seems so happy—

But being happy because of a lie is its own cruel prison.

He cannot delude himself, and he cannot his sister delude herself either.)

“Lord Cobra and I are not romantically attached,” Marius states flatly. “Nor will we ever be.”

(Because love is too dangerous, especially at this junction.)

Caracalla’s eyebrows shoot up, and she tilts her head. “Whyever not?”

“Caracalla, you know very well that it is unnatural for two men to be together and is not permitted by the Crown—”

“We don’t have the Crown anymore, there’s just the new Emperor, and once you topple him, surely whoever takes the throne with your aid will be happy to look the other way,” Caracalla points out.

Marius gives his sister a sour look. “None of that is guaranteed, and that speaks of quid pro quo, which is unseemly.”

Caracalla frowns. “…it may be unseemly, but Sir Cobra has said that is the way of the world and courts—”

“And we must serve as a moral example to them,” Marius says firmly. “Those in power should try to live up the ideals that people believe in.”

(Even if Octavius never did.

But that’s even more of why they have to. Someone has to set standards and uphold them, all else is just hypocrisy.)

Caracalla inclines her head. “Very well. Still—whether or not the Crown approves, that doesn’t change whether you love him, does it?”

(And there is that word again.

He’s no clearer now than when his mother had gently refuted his point of a Valerius man’s love being a prison.

Obviously they are too busy now to really deal with frivolous matters such as love—

But he knows that’s an excuse, like the many ones before that he has frantically tried to use to shore up his overflowing feelings.

…he just said that he cannot delude himself, so he has to keep his own word.

His feelings for Eric are far from platonic. He’s not entirely sure when that shift occurred, but now that it has, he doesn’t know how to shift back.

If he could, he would—these feelings are nothing but an inconvenience and a danger for Eric. No matter that his mother doesn’t think he will be like his father—it’s still a risk he does not wish to inflict upon anyone.

So, he will hold his feelings at bay as long as he can, even if it’s somewhat a coward’s way out.)

“It doesn’t change the fact that the love of a Valerius man has been the death of more women than history can be bothered to record,” Marius replies harshly.

Caracalla grimaces, picking up her teacup as well. “…you’re not Father, Marius.”

Marius lets out a bark of a laugh. “I am sure Father also never saw himself as a monster—”

“I don’t think he did, but you do even though you aren’t,” Caracalla says quietly, her clear eyes meeting his. “I know you aren’t, Marius. And I don’t think you should fear turning into one—neither Mother nor I will let you become one.”

(Caracalla is young and doesn’t understand the ways of this wicked world.

Which is not to say that she hasn’t already tasted the horrors that this world holds—she endured their father as well, despite his best efforts to protect her from him.

So, she has encountered monsters before, but she has far too much faith in him, as does their mother.

He doesn’t want to turn into a monster, and he doesn’t want to trap Eric, and unfortunately the safest route forward is just gritting his teeth and exercising total self-control.)

“And neither would Sir Cobra,” Caracalla says contemplatively, taking a sip of her tea, her eyes curving as she smiles. “I think he would have words for you trying to control him, like he did when you tried to offer your suggestions for the musical.”

“That play still had no real plot and just meandered from song to song,” Marius mutters, finishing off his tea. “And words never moved our father in the end.”

“No, but the right argument and actions often move yours,” Caracalla replies, also finishing off her tea before setting the cup down and clasping her hands. “I do not think you should fear, brother. And do you still not approve of me seeking out Lady Lia’s company for advice?”

(If it wasn’t due to the abominable circumstances they were in, Marius wouldn’t even let Lady Lia reside here.

Unfortunately, he cannot turn her out to the ghouls, so if she has to be here, the least she can be is useful.

He doesn’t want her to be a corrupting influence on his little sister either though—she is perfect as she is.

…but the world they live in is cruel and harsh and only growing more so. She does need strategies to protect herself, and even if he would prefer her to do that with a knife and honor, so few people are honorable, and he has to admit that Eric and Lady Lia have both been effective with their twisty words and manipulations.

But Eric has honor and tries to protect people while Lady Lia only looks out for herself and the few people she deems worthy, so he would still rather trust his sister’s education to Eric if he must.)

“…if you must seek out Lady Lia’s company, I would prefer you to do it only under mine, Mother’s, or Eric’s supervision,” Marius finally declares.

Caracalla purses her mouth. “What about under Ms. Emer’s supervision?”

(He trusts Emer more than Lady Lia, but he has never quite understood where the maid stands.

These days obviously at Lady Lia’s side, almost her stalwart knight, but she had also served Lady Rahela when the sisters had been at odds, so who knew where her true loyalties lay.

Against the Emperor certainly, he can practically her disdain when she talks of him, but further than that—

Still not someone he could trust with Caracalla.)

“No,” Marius says firmly. “But if you seek to learn the way of the blade from Emer, you may.”

Caracalla brightens, sitting up straighter. “An axe seems rather difficult to wield, but maybe to try it once—thank you, Marius!”

“It’s nothing,” Marius replies dismissively, standing up to set a hand against his sister’s head. “Do not overburden yourself however—you may take your time in anything you wish to improve upon. You still have me and mother to rely on, so do not fear to stumble and make mistakes. That is the only way to greatness.”

Caracalla beams at him and carefully wraps her arms around him, squeezing tight. Marius smiles and hugs his sister back.

(He will keep her safe, and she will grow up into a splendid woman.)

They settle in for some more tea before duty calls once again, and Marius departs to hear about the latest hunting updates. It’s not especially promising, what with the increasing number of ghouls, but at least the greenhouses are thriving. Apparently Emer has some kind of ideas for a new kind of trap as well, so he heads off to find her.

As always, he finds her at Lady Lia’s side, this time near the training grounds. It seems that Emer has just wrapped up with training, her axe set at the side, gleaming, as she wipes the sweat from her brow. Lady Lia is sitting next to her and reaches over to help her wipe her face. They exchange quiet words, smiling at each other, standing up, and he is about to call out to them, when Lady Lia stands on tip-toe and kisses Emer on the mouth.

(…what?

That is—

Entirely inappropriate!

Beyond the disparity in status and class, they are both women!

He knew now that Lady Lia was a snake, but the woman always manages to surprise him with new lows of which she can sink to.

Taking advantage of a servant? Absolutely beyond the pale.)

Instead of pushing her away, Emer shows great restraint in smiling down at the horrible Lady Lia, quietly saying something to her before glancing up and freezing when she sees Marius staring at them.

(Well, there was no reason to be circumspect before because an abuse of authority should always be confronted and brought to light, but there certainly is no reason now.)

Marius strides forward, thunder on his brow, but for some reason, Emer pushes Lady Lia behind herself, whispers something to her, and despite Lady Lia’s frown, manages to seemingly persuade her to glide away with a slight push.

Marius steps toward her, but Emer is already in his way, glaring at him. “Can I help you?”

Marius narrows his eyes and replies as delicately as he can as Lady Lia escapes, “...Your relationship with Lady Lia is inappropriately close.”

Emer snorts, her glare only growing more ferocious. “As if you have any room to judge.”

Marius draws back, fists clenching. “What are you implying?”

“Your relationship with the Cobra—doesn’t it violate just as many norms and laws as the relationship between myself and Lady Lia?”

Marius bites back his instinctive retort that neither of them are a lady of noble birth taking advantage of her defenseless servant.

(But—

Why isn’t his instinctive retort that his relationship with Eric is not romantic?

…his talks with his mother and sister have managed to thoroughly discombobulate him. Even if he has to admit that his feelings are of the more romantic nature, they are certainly not reciprocated, and he would never press his suit the way that Lady Lia has apparently done so.

And in terms of class differences—

Obviously, the Cobra is not a servant, but that’s mainly because Eric clawed his way up into court—by blackmailing Marius in the first place.

…so perhaps in that regard, Emer is actually the more proper of the two, despite her scandalous relationship with Lady Lia.

But that’s beside the point—

The main point here is still that Emer is being taken advantage of, and that cannot stand, even if she is for some reason defending her abuser.)

“My relationship with Eric has no bearing on Lady Lia taking advantage of you,” Marius replies coldly.

Emer blinks at that, her mouth curling oddly. “…what?”

“You do not have to be beholden to her—you have grown quite skilled with that axe, and you can have a place in my guard, if you wish,” Marius presses forward, taking advantage of Emer seeming thrown off (poor girl—she must be so surprised that anyone would take notice of this kind of abuse of power). “Say the word, and I will throw Lady Lia in the dungeons immediately—”

“No one is throwing Lady Lia anywhere,” Emer growls, hand on her axe.

Marius doesn’t bother to reach for his own weapon, holding up his hands and continuing, “You do not need to protect her—”

“Obviously I do when you want to throw her in the dungeons,” Emer glares at him. “She is not taking advantage of me.”

Marius shakes his head (truly, Lady Lia’s influence is perfidious and deeply entwined, she is such a villain). “You may believe that she is not, but I saw both of you, and I can assure you that she very much is—”

“If anything, I’m taking advantage of her,” Emer says, raising her chin defiantly, the twist to her mouth seemingly daring him to have any opinions of that.

(…of course, a servant lusting after a high-born lady is also completely inappropriate, but given what a snake Lady Lia is, Marius has a hard time imagining that she’d let her maid take any advantage of her unless it was somehow part of her own dark, corrupting plan.

Is Emer just in denial?

He had thought she was a reasonable, level-headed woman, but he had been very wrong about people before.)

“I very much doubt that that is the case, knowing Lady Lia,” Marius says coldly. “The offer stands, no matter if you do not appreciate it now.”

Emer regards him for a moment, considering him before saying slowly, “…you really are trying to help me, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Marius replies with a grave nod.

Emer also nods slowly, her hand drifting away from the axe. “…thank you, I think. But I do not require your help—we are quite happy.”

Marius frowns. “I do not understand.”

“Yes, I can tell,” Emer says under her breath, not quite quietly enough, but then takes a breath and looks him in the eye. “You don’t need to understand—just like neither Lia nor I understand how the Cobra and you ended up together.”

Marius rears back, swallowing. “You are mistaken about the relationship between Eric and I.”

“Am I?” Emer raises an eyebrow. “Then you must be mistaken about my relationship with Lady Lia as well.”

Marius narrows his eyes at Emer. “I saw you and Lady Lia with my own eyes—”

“And I’ve seen Sir Cobra draw you back from the brink, and from what I hear, he’s basically unofficially running your house for you.”

Marius scoffs. “And just from that, you would draw the conclusion that I would break my vows and—”

“You already broke your vows in his defense, didn’t you? What’s another?” Emer shrugs.

(She’s ridiculous.

Vows are not something to be made lightly—

But he had broken them for the Cobra before as everyone keeps reminding him, and his new vows say nothing of celibacy—

Now he’s the one being ridiculous.

It’s disrespectful to think of Eric that way.)

“I do not take my vows lightly, and beyond that, I am not presumptuous the way Lady Lia apparently is in treading where she should not,” Marius says frostily.

Emer grimaces as she rubs her brows, blowing out her breath before glancing up at him. “If you stop insulting Lady Lia with every other word, I can tell you how you wouldn’t be presumptuous at all in pursuing the Cobra.”

“You are very much mistaken—”

“I am not,” Emer interrupts him flatly. “He has always believed in you—frankly, he is somewhat obsessed with you. Both Lady Lia and I had assumed the two of you were together now, what with the new vows, but if you two really somehow aren’t, and you think it’s presumptuous to court him, let me tell you that he would be thrilled.”

(How well does Emer know Eric?

He knows that they conspired together before along with Lady Rahela, but he had no impression that they were especially close beyond that.

But even Eric’s closest companions seem to believe that they are together—

And every single one of them are mistaken.

And even if Eric would welcome such—such overtures from Marius, with everything that is going on, it is still a very bad idea.

Eric, however, notoriously, loves bad ideas—

Why is he even considering this?)

“I did not ask for your advice,” Marius says in severe tones.

“Well, I didn’t ask for yours either, so you’re getting mine,” Emer continues, heedless of Marius’ frown. “And if you think it’s an inappropriate match—to be frank, the world might be about to end. Shouldn’t we try to find some happiness where we can?”

(He does not approve of such thoughts since even with things as dire as they are, they must save themselves from the Emperor, or there is no future for his mother or Caracalla.

And if it means his own death, so be it, since he would gladly sacrifice himself for them or Eric.)

“Not if it distracts from the overall goal of toppling the Emperor,” Marius snaps.

Emer sighs, eyeing him. “I suppose even the Cobra could only change you so much. Still—it is a dangerous plot we weave, and if either you or Lord Cobra perish in the coming battle, would you regret not telling him anything?”

(He would never let Eric perish, that’s what he already vowed.

…he hopes he doesn’t die right in front of Eric just because that would upset him.

If he really ended up dying—

Well, he would regret the pain it would cause his mother, Caracalla, and Eric.

He would wish that he could have seen his sister grow up into the fine woman she is meant to be and seen her safely married to a man who adored her and worshipped the ground she walked on.

If the Emperor wasn’t dead yet, he would definitely regret not being able to see him toppled.

And Eric—

Would he really regret not saying anything?

It would be the cruelest thing to tell him right as he is dying—kinder by far to never let him know how treacherously deep his feelings for him run, is that not so?)

“No,” Marius says steadily, looking Emer in the eye. “He knows that he has by devotion and my sword—what else does he need?”

Emer purses her lips. “Lady Lia knows she has those from me as well, but she has told me that she would have deeply regretted not knowing that she also holds my heart in her hands.”

“Spare me whatever delusional metaphors you have spun for yourself—besides, Eric does not hold my heart in his hands, I am not so weak.”

Emer just raises her eyebrows. “Maybe not, but things are brighter with him around, aren’t they? And he feels like home? Safe?”

(No because home has always been a fraught and frightening thing, the opposite in safety in all ways.

….But things are brighter with Eric around.

And he doesn’t know about safe, but there is something happy about having Eric around—happiness and irritation both, but it is—

It is something.

Different.

He wants to be around him, and he wants to talk with him and tell him all the details of the day. He often imagines the way he’ll recount some of the more amusing or frustrating things that happen to him to Eric—and when he does, Eric laughs and emphasizes with him, always.

Isn’t that enough?

Isn’t it the worst kind of sin to not be satisfied with that and yet want more?)

“And so what if he does?” Marius crosses his arms. “Why do I need to tell him any of that?”

“Because he won’t know unless you tell him—and I can tell you that he would very much regret not being able to hear it from you yourself.”

Marius scoffs. “You are speculating.”

“Maybe,” Emer agrees, inclining her head. “But I don’t think I am. Lord Cobra is an emotional and expressive man—he reads everyone accurately, so he might already know, but—”

“You think he already knows?”

(This is a disaster.

No, wait—

Eric has never acted any differently around him—in fact, he had even sought him out when Marius had been trying to distance himself.

So, most likely he does not know, or else there should be some difference, surely.

And he very much doubts that Eric would not react at all, one way or the other.

…well, no, Eric would not be cruel if he could not return his feelings. He would be kind but firm, but he hasn’t even been that.

He does not need to panic, Emer is just speaking of hypotheticals.)

“No,” Emer replies. “Although I’m sure he knows that most of the people here in this castle assume the two of you already are. I know he has taken pains to correct anyone who mentions it to him.”

(Ah.

There you go.

It is an unwelcome assumption, and he has his answer.)

Marius raises his head, ignoring the pain in his chest. “And you still think that Eric would welcome my attentions?”

Emer lets out a huffy breath, running a hand through her hair. “Why is this like dealing with the maids’ gossip—yes, I still think that because Lord Cobra is always quick to assure everyone that you have vows and you would never lower yourself in such a way.”

“That would not be lowering myself,” Marius immediately snaps, crossing his arms.

Emer stills, and the corners of her mouth slowly curl up. “…good answer. You should tell Lord Cobra that.”

(…he can’t have Eric undermining himself to everyone who has erroneous opinions about the state of their relationship.

He’ll need to talk to him about that.

Of course he won’t be confessing his feelings or any of that nonsense, but he does need to make sure the two of them are aligned.

And deal with this abuse of power by Lady Lia at the same time.)

Marius raises his chin. “I will, if you swear to come to me if Lady Lia abuses you in any way.”

Emer’s eyebrows fly up. “…alright. That will not happen, but I hereby swear.”

“Then I swear as well,” Marius says seriously, reaching out his hand towards Emer.

Emer’s mouth twitches, but she still grasps Marius’ hand and shakes it firmly. Marius nods and then sketches a bow towards her. “Good day, Emer.”

“Good day, Lord Marius—and good luck.”

--

“If you wanted to come complain about Lia again, I’m telling you that if you hang around her some more, I’m sure you’ll grow to like her,” Eric calls out, not looking up from the ledger in front of him.

“No, I will not,” Marius replies with a frown. “Is that the record of the food stores?”

“Yeah,” Eric replies, angling the ledger so that Marius can read it as well. “We’re making do, but it’s going to get tricky if the greenhouses don’t start producing more…or if we get even more refugees.”

“Is that likely? House Valerius has a dread reputation.”

“Yeah, you guys were a horror show, but by now, I’m sure there’s been word of what we’re up to here,” Eric shrugs, his long dreadlocks swaying with the motion. “After all, it’s not like we’ve been subtle with all the hunting going on, and the grabbing of ghouls to try and discern something out of their mumblings…”

“Is the Emperor aware of us now?” Marius demands, an ice-cold spike of fear in his belly.

“Maybe, since it’d be hard not to realize where all his soldiers ended up—but I bet Key doesn’t care and is still obsessing over Rae,” Eric sighs, rubbing his neck. “On the one hand, if anyone can handle him, it’s Rae, and it’s definitely helpful for us that she’s keeping him distracted, but on the other, have to worry about her…”

“She has survived many an impossible situation already,” Marius points out.

Eric grins at him. “Yeah, you’re right—got to keep the faith. Don’t stop believing and all that…anyway, for now the situation here is stable. And I mean, I really, really do think that maybe you and Lia have your differences now, but if you just got to know her a bit better—”

“I did not come to you to speak of Lady Lia,” Marius snaps.

Eric nods, setting the ledger aside and facing him. “Okay, sure, what’s up?”

“…nothing, unless you have been redecorating for another musical play,” Marius replies, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Eric chuckles, waving a hand. “Should have known better—anyway. What’s the matter?”

Marius draws himself up, lifting his chin as he admonishes, “I have heard that you have been informing others that we are not involved by implying that you are unworthy of me.”

“Oh shit, you heard about that?” Eric grimaces, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um—sorry about that—”

“If you are truly sorry, then you will take care to imply no such thing about yourself in the future,” Marius says coldly, “No one could be worthier.”

Eric’s eyes go wide as he opens his mouth, then closes it and holds up a hand. “Hang on—what? Worthier of…you?”

“Of course,” Marius snaps, crossing his arms. “Do you think I would pledge myself to anyone I deemed unworthy?”

“Of a blood vow, yeah, I get that—but, um—Marius. You know that they think we’re, you know—um—”

“Romantically involved,” Marius supplies.

“Yeah that. But more than that too—they think we’re sleeping together,” Eric replies, rubbing the underside of his jaw.

“Yes, I know—Amanda accosted me before about keeping you satisfied,” Marius grimaces at the memory.

Eric tenses up, nearly letting out a shriek as he shakes his head. “I—oh god—I’ll talk to her about that, she means well, but she’s a lot and has no idea what’s going on—”

“Clearly,” Marius snorts. “So, you will go and rectify this mistake by informing everyone that they were all misinformed and your worthiness was never in question.”

Eric is quiet for a long time, staring at Marius then off in the distance and then back at him, his brow furrowing before he finally asks slowly, “So—so you want me to inform people that we’re not together that way but it’s not because I’m unworthy?”

“Precisely,” Marius nods. “You can tell them that it is because House Valerius men are a nightmare in their affections and you cannot be risked in such a fashion.”

Eric stares at Marius again before clearing his throat and licking his lips as he asks, “But—I mean—well, first off, you’re not like all your horrible ancestors, I thought we already established that.”

“Thank you, but it is still a risk that you would bear,” Marius says seriously.

“No, I wouldn’t, I’m telling you, I’ve read about you, and—anyway, that’s not the point. The main point is that wouldn’t the best explanation just simply be the truth? Which is that you just don’t see me that way?”

Marius glances away (Eric is too sharp—he might catch the lie if he tries to lie now) and says instead, “Would not the truth be that you do not see me that way?”

Eric snorts, and when Marius frowns at him, he quickly waves a hand. “Is that supposed to be a joke?”

“I do not see what is so amusing,” Marius says stiffly.

Eric just chuckles, leaning back against the desk. “Oh come on, Marius—of course I’m into you. Who wouldn’t be?”

(…what?

That is not—

Does that not change everything?)

“…many people,” Marius manages to somehow say, still struggling with how his heart appears to have sped up. “You yourself have told me that I am stuck-up, self-righteous, and need to remove a stick up my posterior—”

“Yeah, that’s all true, but that’s because I know you—and I still like you!” Eric grins and holds up a finger. “And the people who don’t know you the way I do? I mean there’s a reason The Last Hope look-alikes are super popular in all the brothels—”

“I care nothing for those people and their absurd fantasies,” Marius interrupts, leaning forward, his hands gripping the desk, inadvertently caging Eric in his arms. “I care only for your opinion.”

Eric swallows, his eyes flickering from Marius’ eyes down to his mouth and up again. “Uh—yeah, I get that. You’re being a bit intense—but that’s fine! It’s—look, no one needs to remove the stick up his ass more than you do, but on the other hand, you’re a good man despite all the horrors you’ve been through and you can be really mean and funny and you’re the best.”

(He always knew that Eric admired him and saw him as his “favorite,” but this is—

Why does it make any difference that Eric’s emotions might be romantic in nature?

Because then Eric is choosing him out of his own free will, his eyes and mind clear, with full knowledge of who Marius is, warts and all.)

Marius’ nostrils flare, and Eric’s eyes widen as he says cautiously, “Hey—you know this doesn’t change anything between us, right? Like I know my crush is completely ridiculous, and I don’t expect anything at all—”

“Maybe you should,” Marius says roughly.

Eric draws in a short breath, licking his lips, and saying, “Wait, what?”

(He’s already broken one vow, what’s one more for this impossible, beautiful man?)

He leans forward and kisses Eric. Eric stills beneath him for a second, and Marius is about to draw away (he has done something wrong), when Eric surges forward beneath him, grabbing his face with his hands and deepening the kiss.

Marius doesn’t really know what to do with his lips and tongue, but he follows Eric’s skilled lead in this, letting Eric trace his mouth before returning the favor.

(He always thought that kissing looked unsanitary and frankly somewhat disgusting.

But now, he thinks he feels the appeal.

It is intimate and deep—

He wants to do this forever with Eric, if possible.)

Eventually, they run out of breath, and they part, panting, Eric still nestled within Marius’ arms. Marius carefully rests his chin on the top of Eric’s head, running a hand down his back in wonder.

“Oh my god,” Eric says, his hand covering his mouth and his voice slightly muffled. “…I broke up my own OTP!”

Marius starts and stares down at Eric as he usually does when inexplicable words come out of his mouth. “…and that’s bad? Where does it hurt?”

“Nothing hurts,” Eric flaps his hand. “It’s—you won’t get it. Just—what about Lia?”

“Are you still on about that?” Marius asks incredulously. “Let me inform you for the last time, I am not attracted to her at all.”

Eric groans, burying his face in his hands, his hair curtaining around him. “This is all because Rae and I messed up the balcony scene, isn’t it? That’s what I get for going along with her evil plan—and now look at us. She’s in a Bad Romance with her favorite character, and mine’s in love with me instead of his one true love!”

Marius can’t help but huff. “I still don’t understand why you think I am in love with Lady Lia. And what do you mean by ‘OTP’—”

“It’s just—you really don’t feel anything for her? Not at all?” Eric asks wistfully.

“No, nothing,” Marius replies bluntly. “And answer the question.”

“It’s one of those other world things,” Eric says with a wave of his hand and then bites his thumbnail. “Shit. I already changed the narrative too much since in Rae’s version, you die—although now she’s changed it so much, I bet she doesn’t even know what’s going to happen next. What I’d give to have Google at my fingertips again…”

“…you want to go to the stables to see Google Maps to somehow save my life?” Marius asks, totally bewildered.

“No, no—and the Internet may not even be all that helpful right now,” Eric sighs, before peeking up at him. “…you really like me like that?”

“I just kissed you,” Marius points out impatiently.

“Yeah, I know—I still can’t believe it,” Eric confesses, his fingers drawing across his lips. “I may have imagined that before, written the self-insert fic—anyway, not the point! The point is that in at least my version of the novel, you were super in love with Lia, and it was super cute and devoted and stuff…”

“I do not understand what happened in the novel you read, but I despise Lady Lia and her manipulative ways,” Marius says coldly.

For some reason, Eric brightens a bit at that. “…which you only found out about due to Rhae’s scheming and unfiltered talk! So, it’s not entirely my fault that my OTP seems to have been jossed!”

Marius still has no idea what Eric is babbling about now, but he clearly needs to rid Eric once and for all of this idea that he has any kind of romantic feelings for Lady Lia, so he simply grasps Eric’s face in his hands and kisses him again.

It’s just as wonderful as before, heated and enthusiastic, but too soon, Eric breaks away to point out, “…but hang on, I’m manipulative.”

“Not for your own benefit. You do it for others,” Marius replies, nosing at Eric’s chin.

Eric kisses him sweetly but then has to add again, breathlessly, “…sometimes it is for my own benefit—”

“But not just for your own.”

(He had once thought the Cobra nothing more than an annoying, blackmailing creature intent on pursuing his own comforts, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Eric built an entire golden palace just to shield the downtrodden, and he had happily torn his reputation into shreds to shield it.

This is the only person that he could ever swear an Undying Vow to, and most likely the only person he could ever love like this, even if he rarely understands him.

It’s frustrating, but also—

Without Eric, his life is so dull and gray.)

Marius stares into Eric’s eyes and confesses, “You are one of the best people I know, and I swore my life to you.”

Eric stares back at him, swallowing. “…I wouldn’t build me up on a pedestal or anything—”

“Why would I do that, I have no talent for sculpture,” Marius says impatiently. “You are frequently infuriating as well, but you are—you are the only one I could ever want.”

Eric’s eyes soften as he leans into Marius’ grasp. “I still can’t quite believe this is happening—and I don’t really know what made you decide to confess to me—but I love you too, you ridiculous man.”

Marius has to smile at that, taking Eric’s hands in his own and kissing the back of them, while swearing, “I will endeavor to make you happy.”

Eric laughs at that, his dark skin ruddy with color as he leans in to whisper, “You already do that—beyond my wildest dreams,” before kissing him again.

(There’s still a dread emperor to defeat and a terrible villainess to rescue, but here and now, Marius feels like he and Eric can conquer anything.)