Is "Your Highness" the right honorific for addressing a Marquis? Or is it "Your Serenity"? It felt like it should be "Your Serenity", but Damien couldn't remember it on the spot.
"I... I am Damien Crowell from Earth, Your High...Serenity" Damien stammered, tripping over his words. Uh oh, he messed up. Surely, he'd be executed for this.
"Theo is fine," the white-haired man said with a gentle smile. "Those people who are close to me call me that."
Despite Damien's blunder, Theo (as he now asked to be called) didn't seem bothered at all.
Damien nearly felt tears welling up again, overwhelmed by his kindness after all the stress and fear he'd been through.
"Thank you very much, Theo," Damien managed to say, bowing his head deeply and trying his best to smile gratefully.
Theo gazed at him quietly.
"Uh, is something wrong?" Damien asked, unsure of why he was being stared at.
"Oh, no, my apologies," Theo replied, clearing his throat. "So, Damien... No, Crowell, you said you came from a place called Earth?"
"Please, feel free to call me Damien. That's what those close to me call me as well. And yes, Theo, I'm from a world called Earth," Damien responded. Since there was no point in hiding it, he decided to answer truthfully.
When he did, Theo looked slightly excited and glanced over at the other man, who had a completely confused expression on his face. Then Theo seemed to remember something.
"Damien, I should've explained this earlier. Right now, we are communicating through the magic of this necklace. Whoever wears it can understand the language of others. I swear on the name of Dalehaven that it causes no harm. Could I ask you to wear it?"
So it was the necklace that had been enabling them to talk. This really was a world with magic...
It seemed like a valuable item, especially since it had been stored so carefully in a luxurious box. Should Damien really be allowed to wear something so precious?
"Thank you for the offer, but are you sure it's alright for me to wear something so valuable?" Damien asked hesitantly. Even the other man seemed taken aback by Theo's words, so it probably wasn't a casual offer.
"It's no problem at all. It would be inconvenient otherwise. Please, go ahead," Theo replied lightly, as if it were no big deal. He removed the necklace and offered it to Damien.
Damien glanced over at the older man, who had a strained expression on his face. After a silent sigh, the man gave a small nod of approval.
There was no way to refuse now since Theo wouldn't understand him without the necklace. Resigned, Damien accepted the necklace and put it on.
"How is it? Can you still understand me?" Theo asked.
"Yes, it's fine," Damien replied, nodding.
Theo smiled, seeming satisfied, and nodded in return.
"Then, Damien, I must apologize, but could you please introduce yourself again?"
Damien figured it was for the older man's sake, so he repeated what he had said before.