The Runaway Paladin and the Half Fae Duke

Sien cutely tilted his head, poking at his youthful cheek in thought, as a child would. He was confused by what had brought up such a question, but if it meant that Ritt wasn’t going to sit there so quietly and awkwardly anymore, then he saw no reason not to answer it. He gave it a moment’s thought. Was Ritt his pet? Well, he planned on keeping Ritt and never letting him go, he provided Ritt with food, housing, and whatever he needed to take care of him, and felt happy whenever he spent time and played with him. He’d even grown to enjoy petting Ritt lately. Wasn’t that basically what it was like to keep a pet? Perhaps he was keeping Ritt as his pet monster instead of just a normal pet, but that didn’t really make such a big difference, did it?

 

“Sure, I guess you could call it that.”

 

Ritt’s face immediately fell. It showed itself as only a slight grimace, but Sien, who had been paying close attention to Ritt ever since he came, quickly noticed the change.

 

“I… Oh, I see. …So… I suppose we weren’t friends as I’d thought, then…”

 

Ritt had to bite his tongue so that he wouldn’t let any more of his despondent words flow out. He especially had to fight himself to not let the words ‘The Duke was right’ flow out. Even if he felt absolutely crushed, he still didn’t want to say anything that might end up hurting Sien. All his life, he’d been a simple creature; He’d never been one to succumb to feelings of vengeance. Even if his heart felt like it was lying cold on the floor.

 

Sien’s eyebrows came together, not understanding what had gotten into Ritt. He leaned in close, looking at Ritt’s face from all different tilted angles.

 

“What’s wrong? Why are you so sad? Why can’t we be friends?”

 

Ritt’s hands, which had been resting worriedly on his lap, fisted painfully as he willed himself to answer Sien.

 

“...Because if I’m your pet, then that means you won’t see me as a friend.”

 

“Hmmm…?”

 

Sien tilted his head in thought, and placed his hands on both sides of Ritt’s face while looking at him quizzically.

 

“But that’s not true, is it? I’ve met a bunch of people who think of their pets like friends. I’ve even met some people who think of their pets as family, and some who treat them even better than their real family.”

 

Hearing that, Ritt’s eyebrows rose, and his mind that had been drowning in sadness now was suddenly being flooded with confusion.

 

“W-...What? Is that… really how it works?”

 

“Yeah. Like I said, I’ve seen a bunch!”

 

Ritt’s thoughts spun in circles, his brain chugging as it tried to piece together these new facts he’d been told. Was what Sien had said true? Did people really cherish their pets so greatly? He’d seen plenty of people be rude to and hit their pets, but hadn’t he heard some of the guardsmen chatter sweetly about their pets before, too? But then which one was the norm? Which side did Sien belong to?

 

No wait, wasn’t there a more important thing he should be asking?

 

“Then… Does that mean we still get to be friends?”

 

Seeing Ritt’s absolutely befuddled but hopeful face, Sien felt the urge to tease the naive seeming man. He leaned just a bit closer, closing the gap between their faces just a bit more, and smirked roguishly as he looked into Ritt’s eyes.

 

“Sure we can be friends. But I think you and I could be something even better than that.”

 

Ritt blinked, unsure what the expression that he was seeing on Sien’s face was, and squeaked out a small reply. From their previous conversation, he could only conclude that Sien meant one thing.

 

“Do you mean… we’ll be a family?”

 

Stunned by Ritt’s unexpected words, Sien paused for a moment, and then slouched a bit as laughter erupted from him. He was absolutely tickled by Ritt’s innocent response.

 

“Yeah, sure, that’s good too! We’ll become a family!”

 

Ritt’s face immediately lit up. Only moments ago he felt like he was dying of grief, and yet things had come out so much better than he had ever hoped. Even when he was a child, he’d never really gotten to meet much with his true family. There were many times that he felt neglected and lonely. And so, the idea of gaining such a kind family member like this was practically a fairy tale come to life for Ritt. He felt foolish for ever letting the Duke convince him to distrust Sien, although he was thankful that it all led to this wonderful moment.

 

After letting his laughter die down substantially, Sien took in the pure, gleeful smile that painted itself onto Ritt’s face. It wasn’t a big smile, and was still on the softer side compared to most of the smiles that Sien had seen during his life, but for some reason the slightly reserved smile still seemed to radiate a happiness more pure than anything else in the world. Sien couldn’t help himself as he reached out to stroke his happy pet monster’s hair. Just like always, he’d meant what he’d said. He had every intention of becoming a family with Ritt.

 

Of course, Ritt didn’t know that there was an easy way to turn two strangers into ‘family’, like Sien did.

 

~~~

 

For Ritt, it felt like some sort of hurricane had just ended when Sien left the room, and yet his emotions were still all in a jumble. The confusion of his brain still trying to rationalize what had just happened was still there, but for the most part, he was sure that he was overall happy. The fact that the fears and sadness that had overtaken him had all been a lie was magnificent, and even if he had to suffer from the uncertainty for a minute or two, he was overjoyed that things had ended up even better than he’d imagined. And now, because of his efforts, he’d finally gained someone that he could consider as ‘family’.

 

His thoughts ran over the events of the day, again and again, trying to fully understand everything, and repeatedly thanking his lucky stars, and eventually they settled on what Sien had said about him being a pet. Now that everything had been resolved, and he was looking at things with a new, unworried light, Ritt didn’t actually mind if anyone, including Sien, saw himself as Sien’s pet. What was so bad about that? Even Ritt, with his limited knowledge, knew that people were obligated to take care of their pets. So far during his time here he’d felt a bit awkward, considering himself as being held here by Sien for observation, until he was eventually set free or considered a threat. Sure, he’d been having a lovely time being pampered, as well, but the thought that he was receiving a suspicious amount of favor too quickly had never left his mind, and Ritt had felt a bit out of place and, truth be told, a little bit like an unworthy freeloader. But now, if he was Sien’s pet, then there was no need for future angst; Ritt could just happily stay here, accompanied by his friend, being fed delicious food, living in a luxurious room, being waited on by servants, and being protected by the strongest person he’d ever met. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that there wasn’t a single thing to dislike. Wasn’t this actually quite ideal?

 

There was no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Hadn’t Sien always been kind to him since he came here?

The Duke had been wrong, and Sien was a wonderful person.

From now on, Ritt would live here happily, unworried, just as he’d wished before he’d died.

 

***

 

After leaving Ritt behind, Sien slowly strolled his way down the hall, his happy, smiling, youthful face growing more and more serious and cold as he went further and further away. An uncharacteristic frown appeared on his face, making him appear to age and lose his child-like aura, leaving behind only the terrifying presence that the servants had long since known him as. Every single one of them scrambled themselves out of his way when they saw him like this. And in truth, Sien quite liked it that way. Perhaps he’d let them see him around Ritt too often lately, and they’d forgotten just who he was. Perhaps they, and his uncle, had thought that he’d suddenly gone soft after all these years. He was worried that Ritt might not like it, but it seemed like maybe it was time to make an example.

 

When he made it to his uncle’s room and heard a few of the servants speaking through the doorway, he couldn’t help but smirk evilly in satisfaction that they’d made things easy for him. But by the time he opened the door, the smirk had all but faded away.

 

“Uncle, I think it’s time we had a little talk, don’t you?”

 

The way Sien spoke sounded playful and lilting, but it was easy to see that his cold expression didn’t match it at all. The servants, knowing what such a look meant, all quickly tried to flee, but when they saw that Sien wasn’t moving from the doorway, they immediately realized that it was too late for them. Not one of them was brave enough to try to force their way past such a maniac. In the end, the only thing they could do was huddle against the wall in fear, praying to the gods that they came out of the room alive afterwards.

 

The Duke, not showing an ounce of fear, continued to calmly drink his tea without sparing Sien a single glance.

 

“Oh, I see you’re finally back.”

 

“Yeeees, I’m finally back! And do you know what I've realized since I arrived?”

 

Sien tilted himself slightly in a childish way, as if he were a kid trying to remember what happened while telling an adult about his day. A smile appeared on his face, but it didn’t make it anywhere near his eyes that were boring into the Duke’s figure. And of course, it was hard to miss the way Sien’s hand began to stray towards the hilt of the sword at his hip.

 

“You must have set up that fake little time-sink that I had to care of all day, right? You wanted to get me out of the house so you could say bad things to Ritt, didn’t you?”

 

“Hmm… I’m surprised you noticed enough to care. Did taking you away from your silly little plaything make you that upset?”

 

“Hah!”

 

Sien let out a small, barking laugh, and the smile on his face grew menacingly wider. His sword that he’d slowly slipped out while the Duke was talking hung down from his hand, impatiently cutting little figures into the carpet with its tip.

 

“You’re completely right uncle, it did make me upset! I never thought I was so possessive about anything but this place, so I guess I have to thank you for making me realize it. But you know what? I can be surprisingly patient if I need to be. Knowing that Ritt is waiting here for my return like a lonely little puppy is actually quite fun, weirdly enough. But what I don’t like-”

 

The tip of the sword quickly raised, faster than the terrified servants could even follow along with, and before they knew what was happening, Sien had closed the gap between them, and his sword was now pointed directly towards the Duke, only a short distance away.

 

“-Is you whispering nonsense into Ritt’s ear and making him upset.”

 

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AN: Hey uh, patreon.com/user?u=63286737 totally exists if you're impatient like me, wanna subscribe and read 10 chapters ahead, and feel like giving me some support ;P