Chapter 327: So... About Rin’s Fiancée
Chapter 327: So... About Rin’s Fiancée
Elyn’s POV
Rin sighed like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Her entire body seemed to slump, her void-black eyes dropping to the floor, her feather-like hair drooping with the weight of her confession. She nodded solemnly, her voice carrying a note of deep resignation.
"Yes," she said. "I do."
I blinked, clearly still in shock. My brain was struggling to process what I had just heard. Rin. My raven-kin maid. The demon who stole shiny jewelry and called it "taking." The demon who had never once mentioned anything about a fiancée. And now she was telling me that she was engaged. It felt surreal, like I had stepped into some alternate reality where nothing made sense, which, if I was honest, was how I felt these days... one hundred percent.
"How is it," I asked slowly, "that you’ve never once talked about this? Not even once."
Rin made a face, her expression shifting from resigned to frustrated. Her shoulders tensed, and her hands clenched at her sides.
"My lady, that’s because I don’t want to get married," she said, her voice rising slightly. "It’s my father who’s forcing me. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t agree to it either."
"Describe your fiancée to me," I said, leaning forward slightly because, yes, I was curious as to what this lovely demon of mine... she wasn’t lovely at all... fiancée looked like. "Is she a raven demon like you?"
Rin made a face, her nose scrunching up like she had smelled something unpleasant. Her entire expression twisted with distaste.
"She’s not a raven demon," she said flatly. "She’s a stone demon. And she’s annoying."
Vaelory gasped, her hand flying to her chest like she had been personally offended. Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.
"Your fiancée is female?" she asked, her voice carrying a note of disbelief that bordered on horror.
Rin nodded, completely unbothered by the reaction she had caused. Her void-black eyes were steady, her expression calm.
"Yes," she said simply. "She’s female."
Vaelory turned to me, then back to Rin, her mouth opening and closing like she was trying to find the right words. Her eyes darted between us, and her hands fluttered nervously at her sides.
"You’re engaged to a woman?" Vaelory asked again, as if saying it a second time would make it make more sense.
"Yes," Rin said again, her tone unchanged. "Do you have an issue with that?"
Vaelory’s face was a mixture of confusion and shock. Her brow was furrowed, her lips pressed together, and she looked like she was trying to solve a puzzle that didn’t have a solution.
"How is it possible for people to be interested in the same gender?" she asked, her voice small and uncertain.
Rin made a face at that. Her hair seemed to bristle with irritation.
"Did I tell you I was interested in her?" she asked. "I said she’s annoying. I don’t want to marry her."
"Then why would your father make your fiancée female?" Vaelory asked, her voice carrying genuine confusion. "It doesn’t make sense."
Rin tilted her head, her expression one of genuine bewilderment.
"Why do you speak like it’s weird?" she asked. "Surely humans get married to each other."
Vaelory blinked rapidly, clearly struggling to keep up.
"We get married to different genders," she said slowly, as if explaining something obvious. "Just like Her Highness is to marry the King. A man and a woman. That’s how it’s done where I’m from. That’s what’s normal."
Rin tilted her head further, her confusion deepening.
"I don’t understand," she said. "Marriage is marriage. Whether it’s to the same gender or to the opposite gender, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that two people want to be together."
Vaelory frowned, her brows knitting together tightly.
"But that’s not normal," she said. "It’s not how it’s done. It’s not—"
I almost laughed at that.
Vaelory really thought that because of where she came from. She had grown up in Aelthryn, a human kingdom with strict traditions and rigid expectations. To her, marriage was between a man and a woman, and anything else was unthinkable.
But the demon realm was different.
Here, people got married to whomever they liked, regardless of gender.
And that was the same in my previous life.
I spoke up before this could escalate further.
"Vaelory," I said gently, "this is the demon realm. Everyone is free to do as they wish, especially when it comes to relationships. It doesn’t matter if it’s the same gender or the opposite gender."
Vaelory still looked shocked. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes wide, and she seemed to be struggling to process everything she had just heard. Her gaze flickered between Rin and me, and I could see her trying to reconcile her beliefs with this new information.
I turned back to Rin.
"Vaelory asked a question that I also have," I said. "Why is your father getting a fiancée for you in the first place?"
Rin scratched the side of her face, her expression shifting to something that was almost sheepish. Her eyes darted away, and she seemed to be trying to find the right words.
"It’s because my father is tired of me," she said. "I keep stealing his shiny jewelry, which, I must say, is not my fault. I can’t help it if the jewelry is shiny."
I stared at her.
"I stole from him yesterday, but I only took one," Rin continued, her voice growing more defensive. "I had just put it in my chest when he showed up with a fiancée for me. He told me I need to get married so I can leave his jewelry alone, insisting I was a menace to his precious collection."
The room was silent.
Even Vaelory looked shocked out of her senses... again.
I paused, letting the weight of her words sink in.
"Rin," I said slowly, "how long have you had this fiancée?"
She blinked, then she counted with her fingers before answering.
"Exactly ten hours, my lady," she said.
I exhaled.
Now I understood why she had never spoken of a fiancée before.
Vaelory, as if reading my thoughts, tilted her head.
"Then why," she asked slowly, "did you talk like you’ve had this fiancée for years?"