Had the Lady of the house always been so… unusual?
Nagi had always thought you were pretty strange… well no— you were pretty, yes, but also… just a little- well, a lot strange…
Despite being raised in a household that was preposterously wealthy, you were neither snobby or arrogant like the average noble. No, instead, you were quite closed off, but then you also weren't— at least not with him. With him, you were childish and chatty, a headache and an even bigger pain in his ass, but you were also strangely thoughtful as well. With a pretty smile and soft lips and glittery eyes, it was just impossible to deny you of anything you so desired— not if it meant being on the receiving end of your watery gaze and your pout that weakened the resolve in his knees.
It was arguably cute, yes, but it didn't change the fact that you were also displeased with him!
And it was with the use of that terrifyingly dangerous weapon of yours— pouty lips and watery gaze — the kind of expression that just dared him to refuse, that you had managed to rope him into being your personal guard— 'your knight in shining armour'…
He didn't exactly have any complaints.
You were the kind of Lady he wouldn't really trade for the world. Even if meant giving up the concept of an idle life, the wage you promised was just too tempting to say no to— where else can you find an employer that was willing to pay four times the average wage of an ordinary knight? And to someone who wasn't even formally qualified under the Royal Knight's Association's jurisdiction at that!
Granted, you did make the offer on a whim. Clearly too stubborn to let him go after he, in your exact words, 'saved' you 'like a knight in shining armour would' from the drunkards that were persistently harassing you— though he begged to differ. Any decent human being would've done the same — it was the bare minimum.
Besides, all he really did was extend to his full height and stare down at them with your back pressed close to his chest— it quite literally, was no big task for the lazy sloth. However, the act of merely straightening his posture— that in itself— was an accomplishment for him. Could he be blamed though?
Nagi had eyes.
His Lady was a celestial beauty and above all the embodiment of kindness, the least he could do was kiss the ground you walked on. It was wrong, he knew, but knowing that didn't deter him from seeking you out.
Just like now, the subconscious reminder of you urged his gaze to wander. Like a helpless sunflower obeying the laws of nature, his eyes fell upon you, as they always did.
If Nagi was your sunflower, loyal and devoted, then you were the sun, warm and radiant. With a smile so divine he wouldn't mind fighting the world if it meant being its sole recipient. Expression tainted with deep longing, he watched you from the balcony of your room. Forehead pressed to the glass doors, Nagi took you in wholly, rapt with awe as your attendants adorned your figure with the finest silk nature had to offer you.
You were meeting that strange man again.
Of course, it was foolish of him to even entertain the shameful thoughts that consumed him.
You were a Noble Lady and he was your servant. You were worlds apart from him— a man that couldn't even offer you the honour or status you deserved. It was… bittersweet. You looked so beautiful, it ached so painfully that he couldn't revere you as you deserved to be so.
"Seishi—"
He blinked slowly, an unpleasant pang of defeat crawling up his spine as the realisation of your doomed fate dawned upon him. You were going to wed that man. You were going to get married to him, you were going to carry his child and then— and then, the children of another man will have your eyes.
His heart stuttered, and his sight grew blurry with the image of your concerned gaze. Was he seriously that deprived of you? To the extent he was now conjuring you up like a man drowning in hysteria? If this reverie was just a manifestation of his intense longing, then, then would it be okay to indulge in it?
Nagi hesitated, his trembling hands hovering over your form as he questioned his worth, but you, in all your sublimity, noticed his laboured breath and immediately took action. Your hands caressed his face with the tenderness of an angel, dainty fingers dabbing softly at the tears that streamed down his face. "My dear knight, why do you shed tears so sorrowfully?"
"My— My Lady… Y/n—!" He chocked on his words, and despite his uncharacteristic stammer, you waited patiently in silence. Urging him to speak his thoughts with a gentle tilt of your head and a soft curve of your lips, your throat constricted painfully as his lips quivered with despair. "Please, please answer me honestly."
Cradling your smaller hands in his much larger, calloused one, he knelt before you and begged with veneration. "Am I your one and only knight, here to protect you?"
Heat fluttered over the apple of your cheeks as your eyes zeroed on his covetous form. Your brows furrowed with fluster as you answered him truthfully. "Seishiro… you are the one protecting me, my one and only knight."
Smol birthday gift for the cutest and dearest pookie to my heart @cheerleo 💕💕 HAPPI BDAY GENEE ⸜(｡˃ ᗜ ˂ )⸝💜
Also yes I took some liberties with Leona's bonbonnière design because I didn't wanna make him be all low effort and wear his regular uniform when it's baby cheer's bday
