Free Web NovelChapter 70: Epilogue
A faint smile curves Raelor’s lips as he closes the main gate through which he entered.
«One last suitor just showed up at the very last moment. After all, you’ve already received more than fifty today — what difference could one more possibly make?»
«The one before almost got roasted alive, and now I’m even more on edge than I was with that stupid satyr — that’s the difference it makes! Anyway, fine, let him in. And this time he’d better really be the last one,» Eliss grumbles resignedly, without the slightest expectation or interest. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
As soon as she finishes speaking, Raelor gives a light knock with his knuckles on the massive front gate, which immediately begins to open with agonizing slowness.
«He’s struggling like hell just to open a damn gate. Pathetic...» Eliss mutters under her breath, throwing her arms wide in irritation.
But when the gate opens just enough to leave a narrow gap — wide enough for whoever is pushing it to slip inside —
«I-I-I can’t believe it...» Eliss sobs in a trembling whisper, springing to her feet. Her eyes grow shinier and more swollen by the second as they remain fixed on the frail boy who timidly peeks through the opening he managed to create, then slowly steps onto the long red carpet that runs from the entrance all the way to the raised platform where the demon princess’s throne stands. «A-Aoshi... w-what is he doing here...?» she murmurs, an emotional smile spreading across her face as thin streams of tears slide down her flushed cheeks.
Aoshi looks around, completely disoriented yet seized by an indescribable awe. He finds himself inside what looks, in every sense, like the enormous hall of a medieval castle, its walls covered in paintings depicting dozens upon dozens of incubi and succubi.
And yet, despite the overwhelming happiness surging through him at the sight of Eliss again — happiness he struggles to contain out of respect and self-control — an unmistakable sense of reverence makes his legs tremble and his chest tighten. He spent more than three months seeing Eliss every single day, and still, standing before her now, it feels as though he is seeing her for the very first time. freёwebnovel.com
What stands before him is nothing like the carefree girl in T-shirts and leggings he had grown used to. Eliss is dressed in a long sky-blue gown embroidered with silver thread, sandals adorned with sparkling gemstones unknown on Earth, and a delicate headband that holds her hair in place yet resembles a small crown, likewise encrusted with jewels. Behind her rises an imposing golden throne, flanked by two bodyguards, while dozens more stand in perfect formation along both sides of the red carpet Aoshi walks down step by step.
He is elated, yet at the same time utterly overwhelmed by the sheer splendor and royalty of the scene unfolding before him.
At the sight of Aoshi, however, a restless murmur spreads among the guards.
«What is a human doing in our world?»
«Don’t ask me. And what’s more, he doesn’t seem to possess any magical power at all. What could someone like him possibly want from Princess Eliss?»
«And yet he was announced personally by the supreme Raelor Valraen. It has never happened before that he himself introduced one of Princess Eliss’s suitors. None of this makes any sense...»
«In millennia of history, a magicless human has never set foot in this place. What a sacrilege...» Vanya, Eliss’s older sister, adds with open disgust.
Those words inevitably shake Aoshi’s confidence — he draws on every last shred of courage and determination to keep moving forward, ignoring the cutting remarks and the hostile, suspicious gazes of the two ranks of guards between whom he walks.
«Silence. Now!» Raelor’s voice thunders across the hall, and an immediate, deathly quiet falls. «The human standing before you is not just any human. He is the Soulmate of Princess Eliss Narkhalis. I therefore demand that you show him the respect he deserves. And if any of you have objections, I will be more than happy to hear them,» he concludes, cracking his knuckles — an unspoken warning of how Raelor would ’listen’ to dissent.
Everyone freezes like statues. Everyone except Vanya, who turns on her heel and storms out through a side door, grumbling furiously.
Raelor’s words do more than silence the hall — they give Aoshi courage. He resumes walking with longer, steadier strides, then drops to one knee at the base of the steps leading to the raised platform, lowering his head as Eliss watches him, standing there with a trembling smile broken only by quiet sobs.
«My name...» Aoshi begins, his voice hoarse and parched by tension and emotion. He clears his throat. «My name is Aoshi Toya, and I am a human! I have come here from Earth to ask for your hand, noble Princess Eliss Narkhalis.»
He does his utmost to sound solemn and formal, and Eliss can’t help but raise a hand to her lips, stifling a soft, spontaneous laugh.
«Aoshi, I think we know each other well enough — there’s really no need for all this formality,» Eliss says with a faint smirk.
«Raelor told me to do it this way, and he doesn’t exactly seem like someone you can disobey lightly...» Aoshi mutters, shooting a brief sideways glance at Raelor, who still stands by the main gate, watching them with a satisfied smile.
«I-I still can’t believe you’re here...» Eliss whispers in a broken voice as she descends the steps one by one. «I thought I’d never see you again — that neither Raelor nor my father would ever accept my Soulmate being a mere human. But if you’re here, then that means... that means...» She breaks down before she can finish, sobbing so hard that her words dissolve into tears.
«It means that this boy has proven himself more worthy of you than any other being who has ever crossed that gate to ask for your hand,» Raelor interjects, now standing behind Aoshi, having crossed the hundred-meter distance in the blink of an eye. «That you formed a deep bond over the past months was something I had already observed more than once. But how strong was it, really? Neither I, as your protector, nor your father could allow you to bind yourself to him forever without absolute certainty that he would love you as you deserve for the rest of your life. That is why we chose to test you both in the harshest way possible — by placing you face to face with death. You, Eliss, refused to return here meekly or with resignation, and instead fought with everything you had, even pushing your body beyond its limits and risking your life. And you, Aoshi, not only refused all that gold—»
«Oh, so you really are a dowry hunter after all, Aoshi,» Eliss cuts in, eyeing him suspiciously.
«Are we seriously still on that?» Aoshi mutters.
Raelor clears his throat — a polite way of silencing them — then continues.
«As I was saying, not only did you refuse that gold — an extremely precious metal on Earth — declaring, and I quote, "accepting that compensation would mean admitting that Eliss was a burden, and I would never admit such a thing," but you also crossed the dimensional rift without hesitation, despite my lie about your chances of surviving the passage.» Raelor raises his voice, making sure everyone hears him clearly. «In light of such proof of loyalty and sacrifice, as spokesperson for King Azhelar Narkhalis, I hereby give my approval to the union between Princess Eliss Narkhalis and Aoshi Toya — provided neither of them objects.»
«Like hell I’d object after everything you and that idiot of a father of mine put me through!» Eliss snaps.
Aoshi simply shakes his head, smiling from ear to ear, his eyes shimmering.
«Excellent,» Raelor declares solemnly. «Then I am pleased to officially announce the marriage of Princess Eliss!»
END
