(✔︎) ❝𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐑❞

95 | Object

*This book focuses more on the lore than the actual love story

*Lore going brrr and I might reuse some ideas soon

- Kingdom of Thorns, Barbatos's room -

It was lunchtime and the Queen is currently in the dining room with her grandson, the angel, and trusty retainers. The demoness is currently waiting for someone to appear in front of her to interrogate her plan with them...

     "Seems like you're waiting for me, (Name)..." Barbatos appeared in front of her, a black puff of smoke leaving her body. "What is the reason why you want to see me, (Name)?" She asked and sat beside the current demoness.

     "I have won the favor of the Queen and managed to befriend her. They'll plan for a wedding later as I expected from last night's observation," (Name) stated. "If you're in my shoes, what type of plan would you commence during the wedding?" She asked.

     Barbatos pinched her chin, "Wedding, huh... To escape someone's wedding, you should have someone to object to it or you need to choose violence to escape Malleus-san's grasp," she replied. "It's best to approach the peaceful way. If they attacked you, then you need to choose the violent path immediately," she advised.

The demoness nodded at her future self's advice for her-Barbatos is worried about her past self's actions, reminding her of old recklessness in this world. Yes, (Name) is reckless towards decisions because she can't see the future, unlike Barbatos. The wound he caused was still imprinted on her stomach, reminding her of that day...

     "Barbatos, are you alright?" (Name) asked her future self, checking if she has done something wrong. Her future self tensed and looked at the confused (Name), "I'm fine, (Name). You don't need to worry about me. I'm pretty capable of taking care of myself..."

     "I see."

     "Yes, I can assure you I'm fine," Barbatos assured the worried past self. "Tonight, the wedding shall happen and what I fear is your life is in danger. Make sure your plan will succeed or your hard work will be wasted..." She told her as she disappeared in black smoke.

(Name) can sense the sadness in Barbatos's voice-confusing her about what she worries about. Also, she asked about what's her plan despite seeing the future, is her worried expression represent someone is permanently tampering with not just her magic, but also existing timelines? If so, she needs to be quick...

- Scarabia Dorm, Lounge -

It's finally the evening-the time of the (Name)'s wedding and the said meeting of Jamil. Every student is currently gathered around the table, with Yuu and Grim sitting beside them. They were waiting for Jamil to sum it up...

     "Are you all here?" Jamil asked them, earning nods from everyone. A student raised his hand, "Where's dorm leader Kalim?" He asked.

     "He's currently sleeping since I have put a sleeping pill in his tea before bed. I'm sure he's still sleeping, hopefully..." Jamil replied with a small smile plastered on his face. Grim yawned, "Why did you gather us here anyway? I'm already sleepy and I wanna sleep soon..." He rubbed his eyes.

     "Shut it! Let's listen to what Jamil-senpai tells us first!" One of the students scolded Grim. Jamil cleared his throat, "I'm aware that what Kalim is doing right now is out of line by making you train in holidays and being unreasonable. He's making all of you irritated because of this behavior he has..." He announced, acknowledging their woes.

     "Then why did you just let him do what he wants?!" One of them yelled, angry at Jamil's ignorance. The Vice Dorm Leader sighed, "Believe it or not, but I have tried my best to convince him and I didn't succeed..."

     Yuu groaned at their sensitivity, "No shit, but if you're gonna complain about Kalim, then why not talk to him directly? I'm sure he'll listen to you," he stated. Everyone started to murmur about not being able to complain to Kalim, earning a disgusted look from Grim, "You all kept complaining about how your dorm leader is being like that and can't even complain it to his face."

     "They're all bark and can't bite, Grim!" Yuu nudged the cat, both of them laughing at the insult.

They told the Ramshackle students about how they did complain about it, but if he's not in a strict mood, he's a carefree guy that's nice to everyone. They all respected him before, but they're confused about what happened to him exactly, they even considered him better than any dorm leaders here...

His nice acts weren't a joke because he helped a student who feels lost and confused when he first came into the dorm. Another student told them about getting accompanied by Kalim every morning training since he couldn't catch up with class and he helped him overcome the fear of leaving school. Ever since Kalim is the dorm leader of Scarabia, everything's fun and that, but...

     "Ever since he started acting like that, it's not the same anymore—I always wondered why he's like that now. Kalim's a great dorm leader from the fact he doesn't have favoritism and is friendly among the bunch," Jamil stated as he sighed at his best friend's weird behavior.

     "I see now, you all adore him to the point you can't leave him alone," Yuu remarked. "Have you considered taking him to a doctor? To check if something is happening to him?" He asked the vice dorm leader, earning nods from Grim. The cat stood up, "He's being stubborn and we can't even see Kalim as him anymore! He's a completely different person and did he do something bad?"

     "Maybe he's being controlled by someone," Yuu firmly muttered.

     Jamil shook his head, "If we bring him to a doctor, it'll only cause more problems because they have the doctor that checks them up. Yuu, I can see that as a possibility, but I don't think no one in their right mind has the guts to control Kalim," he stated.

He started to tell them their situation is the same as Heartslabyul's incident—who's afraid to disobey their once-tyrant Riddle Rosehearts because his magic can seal someone's magic. Yuu and Grim started to tell them advice to conquer the problem by removing Kalim as Dorm Leader through a fight...

     "That's something I can't do..."

- Kingdom of Thorns, Garden -

Everyone in the village was invited to their Prince's wedding, and the town's Priest was gonna be the priest for his marriage. (Name) didn't like this one bit since she's a demon (they're getting married to a priest leading) and forced to marry him against her will, but she'll play around until he comes to ruin the wedding...

     "She's here!" The flower boy, Luke, exclaimed and looked at his guardian's silhouette from behind the curtains at the exit. "She's so pretty..."

She was wearing a white wedding dress, her bare shoulders glowing under the moonlight and her long gloves holding a bouquet of red roses. Her dress was too long at the point someone is holding the ends of the skirt from behind and she was wearing flat shoes to avoid accidents...

Her hair was fixed into an elegant bun, held by the pin of the veil covering her face. She was truly alluring today even though the artists assigned to fix her make-up placed a light make-up, black eyeshadow, and light lavender tint for the lips...

     "You look wonderful, (Name)," Malleus smiled at his soon-to-be wife. He offered his arm for her to cling in, which she did, "You're not so bad yourself, Your Highness," she complimented.

They didn't notice a bunch of soldiers slowly emerging from the mirror on the outskirts of the town, going to the venue of the wedding. She looked at the time to check if he was coming to save her because as expected the town's Priest is currently reading the vows quickly...

     "If anyone can show just cause why this couple cannot lawfully be joined together in matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace," the priest announced as he looked amongst the audience. (Name) and Malleus looked as well, "Very well—"

     "I object."

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(バルバトス)