Seconds felt like years for Ryoma who was waiting for his beloved answer to his proposal.
'Looking at her reaction, her answer should be yes … or is it just my overconfidence?'
Never had he seen Esdeath shed a tear before. Not once did she cry even when witnessing her father's death and in her own last moments in the anime. Maybe because she thought that crying was a sign of weakness.
And this weak side of hers was shown clearly in front of his eyes. On top of that, her tears should be from overwhelming joy too, so her answer must be yes right?
He tried to say that it's ok for her to consider her decision more carefully because he would wait for however long it takes but it seemed like he already received the answer…
'It's a yes…'
In the form of a kiss….
Not the passionate one filled with carnal desires like before, but a gentle chaste kiss, enough to pour all of her feelings for him.
"Haha… I… I've never felt this much happiness in my entire life….," she said while wiping the tears off her face.
Not even when she went all out against him and when they shared their first kiss could make her heart filled with so much bliss like this.
"So…. How is that for an answer? my husband~" she beamed with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
'I love her….'
Making him fall deeper for her…
"Perfect! But husband? we haven't even held our marriage ceremony you know~?"
"Fufu~ that doesn't matter, once you proposed and I said yes then we automatically became spouses!"
'That's not how it's supposed to work but okay…'
Esdeath then released her hug and looked at both of her hands.
"Umm … What are you doing?"
"Hmm, I know that a wedding ring should be put on the ring finger but for which hand?" she pondered while still looking at her hands.
"Hahaha, you seriously don't know?"
"D–don't laugh at me! It will be my first time wearing one, you know?" she pouted at him.
How was she supposed to know if she hasn't ever been in a marriage before?
Well, as a beautiful woman and one with a very high position in the empire, many had tried their luck for her hand in marriage despite her infamous reputation.
But their ending was obvious. Those unworthy fools along with their families got a free trip to the netherworld after She and her loyal followers played with them for a little.
"My bad~ my bad~ Anyway, It's on the left hand," he said while lifting his left hand and turning his palm backwards.
"I see … Then, why on the left hand?"
"Wedding rings, as a sign of a husband and wife's bond, have to be closer to their hearts, no?"
His left hand touched his left chest where his heart resides to prove his point.
"Makes sense … But, why did you know all of these?" Her eyes darkened as she questioned him.
'Had he ever married before? with whom? This is unacceptable! I must be his only one!'
Possessiveness began to cloud her mind and her thoughts started to drift away to imagine the most suitable torture method among the countless others for the unknown woman.
'Hmmm … This will be too fast, this will be long but won't give her the most painful experience.. hmm what to choose, what to choose …..'
Whoever that unfortunate woman is, would definitely beg for death if Esdeath ever laid her hands on her.
"Don't think about anything stupid, you're my first! And I knew about it because I asked my married friends!"
"Is that so?...." her eyes squinted, trying to find the slightest hint of lies from him.
"..."
But he just kept his silence as his eyes unwaveringly gazed into her own to prove that there wasn't any falsehood in his words.
"....."
"Alright …. I believe in you!" Her bright smile suddenly returned as if her atrocious thoughts didn't exist in the first place.
Well, his firm voice and sincere eyes were enough to convince her or It's her who has fallen too deep for him? who knows…
'Scary …..'
That was indeed scarier than when he had to fight her. Her uncannily change of mood didn't help but added to the creepiness even more.....
Was it because she had become so much stronger after their fight? or was it something else?
'But, that's why I love yanderes!'
Their terrifying side which can make him on edge at all times is one of the reasons why he fell into its deep rabbit hole.
'Should I rile her up even more? Nah, it's not the right occassion so let's do that in the future~'
He would do it later after they are married, because a married woman is even more possessive and crazier right?
"Then…" She offered him her left hand and cheesily said, "Would you please put our symbol of love on my hand, my dearest husband~?"
"It will be my honor, my dearest wife~" Replying with another cheesy lines, he gently took her hand and slowly put the wedding ring on her ring finger. After that, he kissed her hand tenderly and gave her a loving smile that incited sweet giggles from her.
"Hehehe~ I'm really your wife now~ so how does it look?" she said smugly while showing him the ring that fitted snugly on her finger.
"Perfection!"
The snowflake engravings which symbolized her ice power along with the combination of its platinum body and ice-blue diamond that went along well with her pale skin and light blue hair made it felt like this ring was created only for her.
"Thank you~ then how about yours?"
"Hm, wait for a bit…"
Ryoma opened his left palm and light particles once again gathered and formed into a platinum ring similar to Esdeath's but with smooth body without any engraving and the diamond was replaced by a square shaped ruby with roman number of '1' inside of it.
'Hmmm, what does this number mean? the number of my wives?' he thought while looking at the number inside the ring curiously.
His gaze then moved from the ring to his lovely wife who somehow had an expectant look on her face.
'What's this adorable creature?? No matter, all I have to do now is focus on her and her alone. For harem and shits, I will leave that to the future….. if I get the chance of course'
Having a yandere, especially a strong and violent one like Esdeath as his first wife just made his dream of building a harem incredibly more difficult. He could only pray that his future lovers will survive her wrath….
"So would you please put it on me, my dear wife~?" He said as his left hand stretched out to hand her his ring.
"Ara~ with pleasure~." She took the ring and slowly put it on his left ring finger then something happened soon after.
The gems on both of their rings glowed and shot off a string of light which linked with one another before fading away.
"!!!"
Then Ryoma and Esdeath's eyes widened and locked into each other because they just felt some kind of connection formed between them.
Furthermore, it gave them a sense of peace and security because they could vaguely feel that their bond had been protected by something that wouldn't break no matter how harsh the storms it had to endure and allowing them to pinpoint each other's location with absolute accuracy.
'Hehehe~ with this, I can always be together with my husband~ and most importantly…. annoying sluts won't be able to snatch him away from me! Ryoma is my husband and will forever be mine and MINE only!' she cackled internally.
Thanks to the location detector, she will be able to feel like he is by her side no matter the time and place! The obscure but present protection for their love too would ensure that his heart wouldn't be stolen away by anyone else.
Meanwhile, her husband had a different thought in his mind…
'With the ultimate GPS in my dangerous wife's hand, now I can finally have the legit yandere experience!'
Knowing that he was now tracked 24/7 without being able to hide from the woman he loves roused his excitement to the roof!
'And now it's time for the last step, our wedding ceremony! Wait, did I mess up the order? Oh I actually did…'
Indeed, exchanging wedding rings should be done at the ceremony, not when proposing.....
'Anyway, no need to sweat the small stuff~'
Little did he know that his careless action would actually preserve his relationship soon enough….
["Theresa, prepare the Soul Marriage Token"]
[Are you sure, Master? She would know everything, including your previous life, and the truth of her origin]
Indeed, after performing the Soul Marriage, both of the husband's and wife's everything will be revealed to each other. Every single piece of their memories, all of their desires, and many other secrets definitely won't be left behind.
She too was concerned about the existential crisis that would happen to Esdeath after she knew the fact that she was just a fictional character from her Master's previous world.
["True love will only bloom after you've laid bare everything for your significant other"]
[Did you just make that up, Master?]
["Who knows… anyway i mustn't hide anything from her because I'm her husband now"]
From the first time he met her, he never saw her as a fictional character that he could exploit however he liked. If that was the case then he would have already violated her using his overwhelming might without bothering to care for her feelings at all and these bothersome marriage shenanigans.
["And I trust her intelligence and mental fortitude as a fellow warrior to not break down simply by knowing that fact."]
[If that's what you desire… Preparing Soul Marriage Token!]
As his command was fulfilled, a token in the shape of a bicoloured coin appeared out of nowhere, and floated in front of both Ryoma and Esdeath gaze, catching their attention.
It then began to slowly spin, showcasing both of its sides for the two. One side of the token was golden with a tree engraved on it which somehow gave the two warmth as if they've returned to the embrace of their loving mother. While the other side was black with a skull engraving that sent chills down their spine as it incited the primal fear within them.
"Fascinating….. Dear, what kind of coin is this??"
This odd coin really intrigued her, how come it could give two extremely conflicting feelings just by looking at it?
But he didn't answer her question, instead He snatched the coin with his left hand and asked, "Esdeath, my dear wife… Do you trust me?"
"With my everything." Hearing the solemnity in his voice, she decided to not pursue the matter further and answered with the same amount of seriousness.
"Then, please put your left hand on top of mine." he smiled as he offered his closed left palm that was holding the coin.
And it opened, revealing the dark and ghastly side of the coin.
"As you wish." And without any hesitation, she put her left palm on top of his own, her hand touching the cold surface of the sinister looking coin in the process.
And now she could feel it more clearly, it wasn't as dreadful as she imagined. Instead, she felt quite comfortable like she was really meant for this…
"There's no going back after this, are you ready my love?"
"Always have been."
She didn't know what she needed to be ready for. But as long as he is with her, she is ready for anything!
"Then let's begin, [Let our love thrive through eternity and beyond!]"
As he finished his chant, black and golden light erupted from the coin and enveloped the two of them. Then the bicoloured light faded away, but Esdeath and Ryoma were nowhere to be seen, only leaving a coin that had lost its luster lying on the grassy plain...