The sun was beginning to set in the distance as both Maren and Amaragi walked down a small garden area, away from the hustle and bustle of the main market place. The latter was wearing a content smile, happily taking small bites of her sweetened rice balls every so often, which were pierced upon a smooth wooden stick. 

 

Maren held the same one, albeit in comparison, he had merely taken a few bites at best of his own as he stared at the treat in his hand. Amaragi had been set on visiting one certain market stand amongst all the others, and he actually remembered the old lady from the first day he had met her. 

 

However, he had immediately felt an uncomfortable tinge in his chest the moment Amaragi gifted him a stick of rice balls as well, smiling at him all the way. Even when he grew nervous and hesitated, the old lady actually began to chuckle slightly at the sight in front of her, and in the end, he relented. 

 

He felt bad for accepting a gift… whenever he witnessed the mere thought or motion of someone wanting to endow him something, he would always decline. He simply felt as though, whenever someone gave him something for free, he'd be indebted to them, in one way or another. 

 

Thus, when he had actually mustered the courage to mention it to Amaragi, she had regarded him for a long moment before a warm but amused smile etched itself upon her lips. 

 

'Then I guess you shall be indebted to me for a bit longer… or perhaps… I may just want to keep you forever instead…'

 

The amount of playfulness was evident in her voice, and yet, the way she had looked at him back then, it had somehow not really matched her tone… 

 

… he shook his head, finally stopping to think back on it any longer. When he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, the only thing he witnessed was the way she simply seemed to enjoy herself, her lips always formed into a smile. He had noticed from way back before, when she had asked him to accompany her to the marketplace, that her entire form had been quite stiff, and he didn't doubt for a moment that she had previously been busy with her tasks. 

 

"I hope that you could take a break from your duties…" he was the first to break the serene silence between them. Internally, his own words felt so generic to him, for he knew how it felt for someone to ask him something like this simply out of politeness, but he did care. 

 

"More than you can imagine, really." he glanced at her once more when he heard her sighing in utter content, the last bit of her rice balls now gone as she held a hand upon her stomach and her eyes were closed with the most peaceful expression that someone could wear. 

 

A small and intrusive part of his mind wondered how many people have ever seen her like this, if ever. But he swatted that thought away almost immediately, feeling somehow ashamed for a reason that he didn't understand. 

 

Curiosity soon enveloped his mind instead, and even though he didn't want to remind her of the stress of her duties, he was curious about what they entailed. Albeit when she heard this, she glanced slightly at the ground in dismay. 

 

"Truthfully, I'd rather have you not know… there are certain things that are simply unnecessary, and the mountain of contracts and parchments that is stacking upon my table is one of those things." a mental image immediately appeared in his mind, a scene playing out in front of his mental eye where Amaragi was sitting next to her desk with her head buried in a sea of parchments. 

 

"... I'm sorry…" a hint of a smile etched itself upon his lips when he apologized, and even though she had witnessed it, she merely heaved a small sigh. 

 

"... are they all that silly?" she actually perked up at that before she waved with her hands slightly. 

 

"No no, I didn't want to create the impression that all of those parchments are meaningless, far from that. However, with the recent activities of Norian soldiers right within the capital, the riots, and all the new security measures that must be undertaken… it takes a toll on my mind when I read through one tragic parchment after another…" Maren almost immediately grew silent again when he heard this, especially at the mentioning of his former allies. 

 

However, Amaragi was not oblivious to it and engulfed one of his hands with her own. 

 

"It's unclear to me as of now how my father plans to proceed from here on out. With all the riots, I doubt that he will want to spread out our troops even more. I seek peace, just like you… and if I can help it, then I will do all that I can to achieve that with your home country." he nodded ever so slightly at her words. 

 

Albeit, after a small moment of silence, Amaragi's eyes turned a little bit more sullen. 

 

"... although I hope that… one day, you will consider this to be your home…" it was an almost inaudible whisper, and her eyes shifted to their hands, connecting them even further by gently intertwining her fingers with his own. 

 

Maren perked up slightly at her gesture, her words having never reached him. 

 

When the sun had fully settled down, replaced by the night sky, the both of them had already returned to the palace, silently walking down the corridor towards their respective chambers. 

 

Amaragi was not even truly registering it when she unlocked the door to her room before she held it open to allow a certain someone entry, at least until she shook her head slightly once she heard him going for the door opposite of her own instead. 

 

Just as Maren unlocked the door to his own quarters, he perked up slightly in surprise when a hand engulfed his own. Thus, when he turned around to look at her, he only witnessed that her eyes were cast at the ground. 

 

"Maren, why not…" she hesitated for a brief moment, but in the end, she looked him directly in the eyes. 

 

"... is it really necessary to be apart anymore?" his eyes widened slightly in return, but she didn't flinch. After everything that had happened, he had not even spared a thought on it before, but now that it came back to him… 

 

Amaragi witnessed the small amount of confusion that was still apparent in his eyes, and thus, before Maren knew it, her arms were engulfed around him as she hugged him, her head resting against the crook of his neck. 

 

"... we have already done it twice before…" she envisioned those times in her head once more, almost feeling the amount of happiness she had felt to see him beside her. And thus, before he had a chance to reply, she suddenly whispered into his ear. 

 

"... and I promise I won't do anything…" she felt his gasp before she pulled back slightly, playfully winking an eye at him before she innocently pulled him with her to her own chamber instead. 

 

She'd made sure that, from tomorrow on, she would take an extra bit of her time to move his things over to her room, for there was plenty of space. 

 

From now on though, there would be no separations anymore. 

 

---

 

AN:

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