In Sickness And In Health (Yandere M. Genius x F. Reader x Yandere M. Prince)

Chapter 21: Mortal

Orion was at peace. Even though he had been plagued by stress, being able to comfort someone else was pleasant. Despite her cold demeanor, she seemed open to being given affection, even if it was from someone she initially wanted nothing to do with. As he helped her calm down and stared at the Lindre flower with her, he found the way she looked at him changed. There were still flickers of hesitation and apprehension, but, perhaps, in the first place, the problem wasn't him as a person. It was probably the different things surrounding him, including his title.

Either way, when he was removed from that environment, it seemed she chose to treat him with just his character in mind. Being in the greenhouse with no servants around must have been the perfect environment. It was useful information that he had gleamed, despite the initial obstacles of getting to that point. The (h/c) haired girl's pride also seemed to be one of those obstacles, but perhaps it wouldn't get in his way too much. After all, she had just had a major moment of vulnerability. He so badly wanted to know what it was about the flower that made her do that when it was so against her motives, but he had to be patient.

"I guess you like flowers a lot more than you led on," the prince chuckled, watching her flare up just a bit, "It's hard to hate them though. Everyone I know loves them, too."

"It's a Vethelan thing," A pause. "You guys throw festivals year round for them, don't you?"

"Of course! There's the Ezdan festival in January and the Sanguine festival this month. Then there's Acrosia in March, and a bunch more. I love them all. They're all super special, too, so it's always different."

"I've never heard of those."

"They only grow in Vethela. You know, because Ezdia lived here."

The orange-haired male spoke brightly about the goddess, but (Y/n) could only dart her eyes away. She didn't believe in the woman, but it was best not to let him know that. After all, his entire existence was devoted to her. Though, she didn't know why he seemed so happy about having the compulsion to worship her simply because of his blood instead of despising it. It just felt like he was forced into the role. It didn't occur to her that he might have felt he had a place because of his faith.

"Don't they have festivals in Athain?" the male questioned, extremely excited to learn more about her home country.

"Well, I guess."

"What are they like?"

"I wouldn't know."

The male paused, trying to figure out what she meant by that. However, it became clear that she had never gone to one before nor had fully experienced one. It was a sad thought, but he couldn't help but smile. In truth, though he liked to talk about them, he had never been able to properly go to a Vethelan festival either. Sure, sometimes, they would simulate what the festivals were like or someone would tell him what it was like, but it wasn't the same. It seemed he had more in common with the (h/c) haired girl than she thought.

"Maybe we can go together sometime. We'd have to sneak out though!"

The girl smiled. She actually smiled. That was a rare occurrence, he thought, especially since she was always trying to put a wall up around everyone. Still, if she smiled at him, wasn't that just another way of accepting his proposition? It would have been fun, having a shared first experience together. There were so many things he wanted to do that he'd never gotten a chance to do before. Perhaps she would join him in doing them. He had a feeling she missed out on a lot but couldn't necessarily say why. It was just some kind of sixth sense.

It wasn't long after that when they were caught. Presley entered with Kazuya not far behind, both of them panicking to catch up with the troublemakers. And though Sona, who had been standing at a distance, let out a sigh, the opposite was true of Orion who sucked in a deep breath. For a second, he considered running away with the older girl just to have a little more fun. But, as his legs reminded him once more of his frailty, he could only sulk and sit in place as they were practically torn apart.