ᴍʏ ɢᴜᴀʀᴅɪᴀɴ ᴀɴɢᴇʟ | ᴢᴇʟᴅʀɪꜱ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗔𝗔𝟮𝟵.

━━ 🌹 ━━

"There really is no need for the formalities," I say uncomfortably and then look away. "And thank you...for the compliment. Zeldris wanted me to dress up a little bit for this celebration. I believe his tailor made this outfit. I was rather surprised he made it so quickly since we just got back."

"Don't worry. It looks good on you, (Y/n)," I hear Merlin insist gently so I slowly glance back up at her. "However, the only thing that is missing now is a content smile. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Perhaps," I say, wincing. "Sorry, I know I should be happy right now. We were able to defeat the Demon Queen and save Britannia. There is nothing amiss with this victory. I suppose, I just—"

"You are conflicted over what is to come," Merlin says softly. "That's perfectly normal, (Y/n)."

"I shouldn't worry about any of that now," I say, shaking my head. "I should be...celebrating."

Merlin immediately chuckles at my words before stating, "The fact that you're thinking about all of this just proves you are worthy of becoming the new Demon Queen. I know you struggle to see it, but it's very obvious to the rest of us, (Y/n). You are exactly what the Demon race needs."

You are exactly what our people need, (Y/n).

"Hey Merlin," I hear the eldest son of the Supreme Deity speak up from behind Merlin and I. "This may be none of my business but it's still possible for me to heal that burn away if you'd like."

"Is it ugly?" Merlin asks weakly as she turns around to face those who have entered the balcony.

Meliodas shakes his head with a soft smile on his face as he answers, "On the contrary, I actually think it looks quite beautiful. So if you're OK with it, then I'm OK with it too."

"Me too, me too!" the Serpent Sin of Envy agrees loudly with this assertion before crashing into Meliodas and wrapping her arms firmly around his neck. "I think it's really striking."

"I agree," the Grizzly Sin of Sloth speaks up. "And I think it's honourable to keep it."

"As long as she has that scar, Escanor will continue to live on as part of Merlin," the Goat Sin of Lust notes as he walks over to stand beside Merlin, smiling brightly at her.

"Aww man, I lost," the Fox Sin of Greed says out of nowhere as he joins us, his entire face flushed.

"Beauty's in the eye of the beholder, right?" Elizabeth says gently, her sharp blue eyes flashing.

Merlin's stoic face immediately softens when she hears these sweet words from my eldest sister.

"It's really sad to think about Escanor but there's hope now," Diane speaks up as the youngest son of the Supreme Deity walks over to me, grinning crazily. "Everyone finally has the chance to live a happy life. By using up all the power she got from her Demon Queen heritage, the Captain doesn't have to go back to the Demon realm and Meliodas and Zeldris's curse has been lifted too. So that means Meliodas and Zeldris can finally be with Elizabeth and (Y/n). Ban resurrected Elaine and now they finally get the chance to be together. Gowther was able to remember his heart and all of his memories of Nadja. And King went through a full transformation and became the true Fairy King. Then he...uh...he asked me to marry him and it was so sweet."

"Yeah, and the dummy did it right smack dab in the middle of battle," Ban comments, smirking as he playfully ruffles King's brown hair.

"Hey, you're the one that got me going!" King immediately argues with his future brother-in-law.