Clarissa sounded far too surprised that I was marrying Cici. I mean, she saw how we were together, and she didn't even have any idea how long I've known her for. For all she knew, we'd known each other our whole lives. We didn't, but it sure as hell felt like it. Regardless, I just decided to answer her.
"We are. They have a whole ceremony and the like, and I've been doing my part. I have to get Cici a gift, and not a simple one. It was something I've wanted to do anyways." I said, smiling at her image in my mind.
Clarissa's cheeks flushed, and she looked quite embarrassed for some reason.
"I'm sorry! It was just... I didn't expect that to be the first thing you said to me is all." She said, and a small smile appeared on her face, "That's wonderful to hear! Cici is really nice, and very pretty. Congratulations, Elias. I still feel like I owe you for... all of this. Just let me know what I can do."
I smiled at her.
"You really don't owe me anything. I did what needed to be done. They took people from their homes, slaughtered good people... and then took my Cici from me." I said, clenching my fists from the memory, but I quickly calmed myself with a deep breath, "But that's all taken care of now. I'm sorry Clarissa... but your father was evil."
Clarissa just nodded at me. She did not seem bothered or upset, which I was grateful for. Yeah, he was an evil bastard that deserved to die, but it was still her father regardless.
"He got what was coming to him. People who do what he did? That's no family of mine, and I am to do better." She said proudly, and that made me smile.
"You seem to already be doing a fantastic job." I told her, making her blush in an admittedly adorable fashion.
"Oh... well, you know," She said softly, twirling some of her luscious black hair around her finger, "I've been doing my best. The Framework has been helpful. It has been telling people of the town about my new position, and the number of people that I've accepted into my employ over the past couple of days has been... staggering, but I'm only hiring good people. The Framework helps me weed out the good from the bad."
I nodded, and gave her a smile.
"That's wonderful to hear. I knew you'd be the right person for the job. You're kind and actually care about the people." I said, and she gave me a genuine and happy smile, blushing furiously.
"T-thank you, Elias. It's all thanks to you..." She said, looking down.
I put a hand on her shoulder.
"No, not all because of me. The person you are helps a great deal. I don't know much about..." I said, hesitant of spilling the beans of me coming from a different world, "I don't know a whole lot about this area, or this town, but if they have you? Well, it's safe to say that everyone will be all right. Also, you're my friend, so just call me Eli."
She smiled warmly again, and then got right down to business.
"I've delayed you enough... Eli." She said, and I was starting to wonder if the anime style of blushing was going to be a constant with her, "Anyways, follow me. My father had a treasury in the basement, and if we have anything down there that you think your beloved would like, it's yours."
I grinned as I began to follow her, and as we exited her quarters, quite a few people that were around stopped to stare or ask questions. She informed them all of who I was, and even told them that I was an honored guest of hers that would always be welcome in the estate. She really was a nice woman, and I was happy to have helped her rise to her position rather than her shitty father.
I did mean what I said though. She was placed in her position by the Framework by default, but I still thought she was a good choice. She actually cared, and detested the things her father did, and vowed to do better to make this a better and safer place. There wasn't anything more I could have asked for. We made our way down stairs, arriving on the main level, where we then went down another corridor that led to another flight of stairs. We proceeded down them as well, and once we reached the bottom, we were met with a large vault, with two guards standing outside of it.
"Baroness!" One man said, standing straight and saluting her.
They both stood at attention, taking glances at me as they did so. One man looked to be on the defensive almost immediately, but was stopped short by both mine and Clarissa's stare.
"Gentlemen, I hope you are both well today. This is my good friend, Elias, and he is my esteemed guest. He, as well as anyone associated with him are ALWAYS welcome here. Is that understood?" She said, and to their credit, they both nodded and saluted her quickly.
"Yes ma'am!" They replied, making Clarissa sigh.
"I'm not even 20 yet... I'm not old enough to be a ma'am." Clarissa muttered, making me chuckle.
"I kinda like it. It suits you." I said, and Clarissa flushed again.
"I um... thanks." She said meekly, and I chuckled lightly.
It was pretty obvious that she liked me, although how busy much I wasn't sure. My heart belonged to Cici though, so I couldn't reciprocate those feelings to her. She hadn't said anything, so I wouldn't draw attention to it. If she did though, I'd have to kindly but firmly let her down.
"You're welcome. So, this is it?" I asked, gesturing to the large vault, and she nodded, looking embarrassed.
"Yes! I'm sorry, I got lost in my head for a moment. Gentlemen, we are going inside. I owe my friend something, and I think I have just the thing." Clarissa said, and the two guards nodded as they both grabbed either side of the doors, each by a handle, and yanked it open, causing the doors to creek as they did so.
Clarissa wasted no time as she waltzed inside like she owned the place. I mean, she did, so there was that. I followed behind her, and within a few steps, I was surrounded by wealth that made my teeth itch. It was frankly ridiculous. Gold, jewels, armor, accessories and the like were on shelves, inside chests, and on racks everywhere the eye could see. Clarissa ignored most of them, and instead, she walked over to a small box that was inside of a glass case, and carefully opened said glass. She took out the small box, and opened that as well, her eyes scanning the inside contents back and forth. Her eyes stopped moving eventually, and she smirked.
"Yes, I think that'll do just nicely." She said, and gestured for me to step over, and I did so hesitantly. I didn't want to break or damage anything inside of here.
Once I stepped over to her, I looked at the gem she held on the palm of her left hand, and my breath actually caught. It was a green gem, about the size of an eyeball, and it reminded me of one as well. Specifically, Cici's eyes. It was a cat's eye gem, green just like my kitten's beautiful eyes, and the slit going down the middle of the gem reminded me of her pupils as well.
"That's... perfect." I said, and Clarissa grinned as she put the box away, leaving the one gem out.
"I figured. It reminds me of her pretty eyes." She said with a smile, and then looked at me, "We need to get this fashioned into a ring I assume?" She asked me, and I nodded.
"Yes. Preferably a bit smaller. She has small hands, after all." I said, and she chuckled.
"Yeah. Small, cute hands. I know just the place. Come on." She said, and led me out of the vault.
We actually left the estate entirely, and traveled into town. People greeted Clarissa, bowing and smiling as she passed, which made me feel good. It was truly a good thing that she was now in charge of this town. It was a lot of responsibility for someone as young as her, but she was doing it very well, and didn't seem to mind it at all. In about 10 minutes, we had arrived at a small shop that read "Justine's Jewelry" on the front, and we headed inside without preamble.
A older large chested woman with strawberry blonde hair sat at the front counter, reading through a book, but once the front door opened, she looked up at us, and her eyes widened considerably.
"Baroness Osark! Welcome!" The woman said hurriedly, and Clarissa just sighed.
"Justine, you've known me for years. Please, just call me Clarissa like you used to." She replied, and the woman actually smirked, winking at Clarissa.
"A proper lady deserves a proper title." Justine said, and then her eyes turned to me, "Well, well, you find yourself a husband already? He's a damn good choice."
Clarissa really was a shy girl, because she resembled a tomato right now. I just found it funny. My appearance did change a great deal since coming here. I could actually see how I looked in the character screen, and I had to admit that I was looking pretty nice these days. It never really mattered to me before, being sick my whole life on Earth, but here? I felt like a whole new man.
"He's not! We're not!" Clarissa said, sputtering her words, making Justine laugh.
"Sure, whatever you say, dear. So, what have you come for?" Justine asked, and I held out the gem to her.
"I need this made into a wedding ring." I said, and when the woman raised her eyebrows, and looked between Clarissa and I a few times, I clarified, "It's for my soon to be wife. She's not here right now."
The woman actually seemed a little sad by that news, as she looked at Clarissa, but soon enough, she just nodded.
"Any particular style? Do you want anything engraved on the inside?" She asked me, and I thought about that for a moment, and then smiled.
"Yeah, I think she'll love this."