Capítulo 47: Too Good Of An Opportunity To Pass Up
Rukelion couldn't believe the truth about his feelings for Daisy was finally out in the open. It had happened in the most bizarre way.
Finding out her true age made a lot of things make sense. She didn't take him and later Ira in solely because she was kind. It was because her motherly instincts were coming out.
No wonder she had never expressed any romantic interest in him! What sort of grown woman would fall in love with a child?
He wasn't a child anymore though and he was determined to prove that to her eventually. War and his drive for revenge had hardened him past a point most adults would ever reach. He had essentially stopped being a child the moment Katalya fell even if Daisy hadn't realized that.
He truly didn't care how old she was. She was the only light in his life and new information about her couldn't change that.
All that mattered was that she agreed to marry him. Maybe someday she would change her mind, maybe she wouldn't. Either way, she would stay with him and that was the important thing.
Rukelion wasn't about to become complacent though. This was merely getting his foot in the door. He was going to wear her down slowly. There was a proverb back in Katalya about putting a frog in a boiling pot.
If you put one in a pot of boiling water, it will immediately jump out but if you put it in cool water and slowly turn up the heat it will boil to death. It was supposed to warn children about getting embroiled in things that weren't good for them by never getting involved in the first place because it was easy to keep making rationalizations until you were stuck.
Fitting, considering he would be using that sort of tactics to make the best person he had ever met fall in love with him while he was a monster. Slowly—very slowly—he was going to make Daisy change her mind and see him as a man so he didn't make her uncomfortable.
In the meantime, he was going to wait patiently and continue enjoying her company. That was what he had been doing so far and it hadn't failed him yet.
"Do you believe in the existence of other worlds?" Daisy asked suddenly, no longer laughing.
Rukelion frowned. "I've honestly never considered such a thing. Why do you ask?"
"No particular reason."
That didn't seem like the sort of question that would be asked arbitrarily. Other worlds…she had said she was from somewhere very far away and she didn't know about magic. Was it possible that Ohio was in another world where people aged differently?
He was about to ask when Daisy changed the subject. "So. When should we plan the wedding for? I don't even know how to go about that here or what the traditions are."
That derailed him. He didn't know anything about Mirean marriage customs either. The only weddings he had ever attended were for Katalyn nobility and that was probably very different than the way things were done for Mirean commoners.
"Neither do I," he admitted.
"I thought you were from here!"
"I'm not Mirean! Things where I'm from are probably different."
Daisy regarded him curiously. "I didn't realize. So what are we going to do? Do you know anyone who's married who might be able to tell us how to go about this?"
The only people Rukelion knew who were married were officers he worked with. The thought of asking any one of them was abhorrent. He would ask Conrad. There was a good chance he would know at least the basics.
"I'll figure something out."
Suddenly, she cried out and clutched her head before rushing toward the oven. "The pie! I completely forgot about it!"
Pulling the overly browned pie out of the oven, she poked it with a fork and sighed in relief. "Not burned. Just a little overdone because I got distracted. Where's a timer when you need one?"
"…what is a timer?" Rukelion asked with a frown.
"Ah, it's something from back home. It's used to count down while things are cooking so they don't stay in the oven for too long."
"Fascinating! I've never heard of such a thing."
Daisy was too distracted fussing over slicing two pieces of the overcooked pie to reply to him. "Sorry I got distracted but you did sort of drop a bomb on me earlier. Let's eat. We can figure things out later."
He didn't know what a bomb was either but was too hungry to care. The emotional labor from that conversation had really worked up his appetite. He hurriedly ate his meal and was sure to thank her for cooking it before helping her clean up.
The conversation earlier seemed to have made things a bit awkward because she went to rest in her room for a while and she had never done that before. He bit back a sigh and flopped onto the sofa.
It could have gone worse but it could have gone a lot better too. He really hoped she was able to get over this and go back to normal soon or he was going to suffer.
The next day, Rukelion was more than a little distracted at work and Conrad called him out on it when he came by his office during his lunch break. "What's going on, May? I would have thought you'd be over the moon today now that your fiancée is here."
"I don't know anything about Mirean wedding customs," he muttered. "What am I supposed to do? I have to have some sort of ceremony, don't I? The men expect it and so does D—Veronica."
"Oh. Is that all that's bothering you? I've only been to one wedding but they're usually done in churches since marriages have to be officiated by a priest for it to be valid. The bride holds flowers walking down the aisle and then people congratulate them and eat cake. It's not that complicated, really.
"All Veronica needs is a white dress and veil, those flowers, and that cake and she'll be set. You can probably get by wearing your uniform since I doubt you have any other formal clothes."
"I do NOT want to get married in my uniform."
"Then you'll need to get yourself something nice to wear. Talk to any tailor about wedding clothes and they'll know what to do. Relax, May! You're getting married not going to war!"
"It sure feels like I'm going to war," Rukelion said grimly, thinking about how Daisy avoided him last night after dinner.
Conrad laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "They do say love is a battlefield."
"Not helping, Conrad."
"Sorry. But really, you'll figure it out. Set a date and we'll all be there cheering you on. You know we'd follow you anywhere. Everyone's been dying to see you get married anyway because of how uncharacteristically mushy you are when your fiancée is around."
Rukelion glared at him. "Do you have anything constructive to say?"
"Don't be like that! I know how important Veronica is to you. I won't let all the others guys tease you too much…because I'll be doing most of the teasing myself. It's kind of hilarious seeing the great Lone Wolf fussing over a girl."
"She's isn't just some girl! She's the only thing that made my life worth living after everything happened."
"I know, which makes it even more precious," Conrad cooed.
"…I will smack you, Conrad."
"I have no doubt you would but if you did that, my head wouldn't be straight enough to tell you this rather interesting tidbit I found out earlier. Here."
They had taken to communicating on paper since the walls here often had ears because Rukelion could disintegrate it instantly leaving no evidence behind. Conrad handed him a note and he read it with an increasingly furrowed brow.
'The Crown Prince is joining a border skirmish near Zel as part of his training. The wind mages there will be no match for him. This is too good of an opportunity to pass up but we're nowhere near Zel'
"When is this happening?" he asked as he destroyed the note.
This WAS too good of an opportunity to pass up but Zel was at least three days away on horseback. If he was going to go and ensure the crown prince died, that would be one less plant mage for him to contend with later.
"From what I heard, it started this morning," Conrad said casually.
Rukelion took that to mean that the Crown Prince's entourage left for Zel on horseback this morning. He could catch up with them if he left tonight and slaughter them all, making it seem like they were attacked by bandits or something before they even reached Zel so the other nation wouldn't be implicated unfairly.
The problem would be getting time off at work. He might be a particular favorite of General Pace's but there was no guarantee this would be able to happen. He may have to use Daisy as an excuse.
"Thanks for letting me know. I'll be sure to use your wedding suggestions," Rukelion called out the door as he saw Conrad off in case anyone was listening.
His lunch break was just about up so he needed to go. It was well known the two of them were close so it wasn't at all suspicious for him to be there. As long as they acted like everything was normal, no one would ever know what they were up to.
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