Street Mouse [Yandere Archduke x Female Reader]

20. Decision.

Frosino and Y/N walked hand-in-hand on one of the mountain trails. The birds singing happily to announce the spring as Y/N held her new doll tightly to her chest.

Her little heart was racing as she thought over the question that Frosino had asked her earlier.

The three adults had been waiting while holding their breath to hear what she would say, but Y/N couldn't do it, she couldn't give an answer with them all staring at her like that.

Catching on to her discomfort, Frosino had quickly suggested that the two of them go for a walk while she thought things over, and she had happily agreed.

Now that they were both surrounded by nature, Y/N felt more at peace, and began to reflect on what she truly wanted.

She remembered how scary Frosino had been to her when she first met him, but she wasn't scared of him at all anymore.

She thought about all of the wonderful times she had (except for getting lost in the rain,) but even then, everyone at the castle had shown her just how much they all carried for her. Never had an unkind word been said to her, and not once had she felt unsafe while in the company of these people.

They all made her feel safer than she had felt in years, and she knew that should she chose to stay, that it would be a wonderful place to grow up.

It seemed an obvious choice, but something was holding her back, Paety. Looking down at her hand, Y/N saw the little wooden ring that he had given her, the ring that symbolized they would always be there for each other.

As much as she enjoyed the comforts of living at the castle, a part of her greatly missed both Paety, and the street life that she had before. It may have been dirty and dangerous, but some of her most important memories had been made on the streets.

Like the day that she had met Paety, and her loneliness was at last broken, or the first time that she went to the Court of Breadcrumbs. It all meant so much to her. Could she really say goodbye to that old life?

She had reached a crossroads on the journey of life, and she was not sure which path to take. Even as young as she was, Y/N knew that the decision she made today would impact the course that the rest of her life would take.

One part of her wanted to stay at the castle, and live with her new family, but another part of her wanted desperately to find Paety, and the last part of her wanted to curl up under the quilts on her bed so that she wouldn't have to face any of life's hard choices.

She let a small sigh escape her lips, grateful that she at least had time to think about things while she walked.

. . .

Frosino and Y/N had settled themselves upon the same lookout point that they had during the fall.

The pair gazed around the enchanting scenery, now in the full bloom of spring.

The hills were alive with the sound of birds, and a few of the bravest sparrows even dared to land on the small tree that grew from the top of the lookout, very near to where the to people rested on the grass.

Small daisies poked up cheerfully from the ground, and Y/N picked them nervously. She couldn't make eye contact with Frosino, even though he was sitting right next to her.

Frosino was trying to be patient, but as his gaze passed over the tiny village beneath them, he could hold his tongue no longer.

"The time has come for you to make your choice," Frosino stated, startling the birds from the little tree. "I have cared for you for a year as we agreed, but the time has come for you to decide for yourself. I would be incredibly sad should you choose to depart from us, but I will, of course, return you to the village if that is what you desire. It would not be right for me to keep you here against your will after all."

Y/N didn't say anything for several minutes, and Frosino was growing restless. He rose to his feet and began to pace as his anxiety for her response increased.

Y/N was deep in thought about what she wanted, on one hand, there was this wonderful chance at a new life that she had been given, at the castle that she had dreamt of, but on the other hand, was Paety, her bestest friend in the whole world. She had promised to always be there for him, was she being disloyal if she agreed to stay with Frosino. The little girl finally came to a decision and said in a meek voice:

"I-I would like to stay."

"W-What?!'' Frosino asked, not believing what he heard.

"I want to stay here with you," she said with more confidence. "If you want me that is."

"Oh, sweet child, of course, I want you," Frosino exclaimed as he picked her up and spun her around. "I promise that you shall want for nothing!"

The Archduke placed the girl back on the ground, and with a new energy in his step took her hand in his as he said: "we best return to the castle to tell Tola and Alfonse the good news."

. . .

When the pair crossed the drawbridge, they saw that both of the servants had been so eager to hear the answer that they both had decided to wait outside in front of the main doors to the castle.

Frosino watched on as Y/N ran ahead to tell them that she was staying. Alfonse immediately dropped to his knees and started sobbing with joy at the news, and even though Tola wasn't nearly as expressive, Frosino knew that she was very happy at the news as well.

Frosino himself thought merrily about the fact that he would now have to set to work with getting Y/N's paperwork sorted out, what with registering her as a child of the aristocracy of Luccia, as well as adding her to the Crivell family tree in first place to inherit the Archdiocese of Crivell.

As much as he didn't want to, Frosino's mind began to wander to the thought of what would have happened if Y/N had requested to return to the village instead.

However much he said that he was willing to return her, deep down, he wasn't sure that he would be able to let Y/N go.

He shook his head, and scolded himself internally for thinking such things, after all, she wanted to stay at the castle, so he didn't have to worry about what would happen if his little girl ever left.

A/N

Aaaww, Y/N decided to start a new life at Castle de Crivell!

I am going to let you all in on a big secret; Frosino is a complete pushover when it comes to Y/N, Alfonse is too. They are all luck that Tola is there, otherwise, there would be nothing keeping them from being completely wrapped around Y/N's finger.

Frosino is really a big softie, (of course, it will prove problematic for him later on.)

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~