It was so satisfying to Haru to choke the arrogant, two-sided prince. If he had it his way, he would have killed him, but, very quickly, he glanced down at his wrist tablet, realizing he could not do such a thing. The hesitation let Presley shove him away, not that the brunette ever planned on killing him with his own hands. Still, he felt regret for deciding to listen to (Y/n)'s demand. After all, Orion deserved to die. For everything.

"What?" the prince teased, masking his terror with false confidence, "You won't do it? Ah, it's because Miss Shiratori said, huh? She won't let you kill me. But she never said anything about you."

"Only because she thinks you're weak."

"I don't have to be strong. No, maybe it's best if I'm not. That way, she protects me. I know you're jealous, but killing me will only make her hate you. And do you really think you can get away with hurting the crown prince of Vethela?"

The brunette narrowed his eyes. To think that the country would be passive to his mother's death but so receptive to Orion's was beyond hypocritical. Haru stood up, facing down the three in front of him. He was outnumbered. There was no chance of him overpowering Presley, especially when he had no weapons. It was difficult to decide what to do, especially since Orion declared his intent to finally kill him.

Despite Haru telling him there was no chance his death would go unnoticed, especially since his father would avenge him, the prince didn't care. He went on and on about all of the cards he held, including the fact that Enmei would stop any animosity towards Vethela. Haru let him, too, trying to buy some time to figure out what to do. It seemed his patience only added fuel to the fire though. Orion felt he had the room to say whatever he wanted now, showing his cousin and his knight his true intentions. They seemed unnerved.

"I think it's time for you to disappear now, okay?" Orion smiled, turning to his playmate, "Presley, please kill him for me."

"Your highness...I cannot do that."

"What are you talking about? Of course you can! You have a big sword right here. All you have to do - "

"No. I mean, I won't do that."

Orion seemed genuinely confused about why the knight refused to do such a thing. After all, it wasn't like the man hadn't killed before. It was necessary to protect his playmate, so he had already gotten over his first kill jitters. But now the man was refusing to follow orders. The prince glared at him, expecting an answer, but Presley only glanced away, unable to face him. Haru had to take advantage of that.

"He knows you tricked him," the brunette mumbled, the younger male snapping back to glare at him, "Just like you tricked me."

"I didn't trick anyone! It's your fault! If only you had just shared - "

"Why do I have to share? (Y/n) was with me the entire time! You were the one that came in between us!"

"And do you know how hard that was?! That stupid little robot kept following her around! All day! Every day! No matter what! Even when I destroyed it, she was still moping about it! You and that thing must have done something to her head!"

Presley seemed shocked at this information, looking to Ichiro for confirmation. When the bluenette had an obvious look of guilt on his face, the knight gasped. Presley hadn't known about what happened with Sona either. It made him question how many other people Orion had decided to get rid of, especially since he was obviously willing to dispose of Atlas, of all people. The knight trembled. Was he disposable, too?

"Presley! Get rid of him!"

"I won't!" the coral-haired man shouted, throwing his sword on the ground, "How many more people have to die?! What are you becoming, Orion?!"

The orange-haired male ignored him, quick to attempt picking up the sword. Though, as his playmate knew, he wouldn't be able to. After all, the prince was weak, lacking the muscles or the core strength to carry it. The most he could do was lift the hilt up. Haru was quick to shove the prince to the side and grab it from him, hiding himself behind the weapon. But when Presley refused to help, knowing Haru would not kill the boy, Orion did whatever he could to take the weapon back, not that it amounted to much.

"What about Kazuki?!" the prince shouted amidst his struggles, not giving up on his strongest ally's help, "Y-You destroyed him, you know! Asking him to let you go and serve me instead! How could you do that?! A-And now you're just going to let me get hurt, too?! You're a horrible playmate, Presley!"

"And I'll take responsibility for that. But you need to take responsibility, too. You're in the wrong here, your highness."

"You - Ichi! Help me!"

Unlike the knight, the male's cousin felt weak to his pleas. Fearing that he might get hurt trying to take the sword, he stepped forward, nervously prying the sword away from the brunette. Though, of course, Haru wasn't going to let him just do that. On the contrary, he fought with all of his might, warning the male away, lest he get hurt. However, on Orion's insistence, he remained. That was his mistake.

Taking the risk, Haru took one hand off of the sword to press a button on his wrist tablet, prompting a blinding light to temporarily blind everyone. With all of his rage, he grabbed the sword back, using it to slash the bluenette's throat. (Y/n) never said anything about Ichiro. The blue-haired male fell to the ground, going into shock at the sight of blood. When he recovered his sight, Presley ran to his side, trying to halt the bleeding by any means necessary, begging the prince to do his best to live.

"Y-You didn't...To...Ichi...How could - "

Orion stuttered and stumbled on his words, trembling at the sight of his now dead cousin. His body was still twitching, making it all the more unnerving. Covering his mouth with his hand, he glanced up to the brunette, fearing for the worst. If Haru really wanted, he could kill him with no problem. Orion's body was still fragile and weak, so he wouldn't be able to outrun him, fight him off, or anything else. In fact, just from the sight of the blood alone, he felt sick, feeling bile crawling up his throat.

"You wanted me to kill him," Haru growled, throwing the sword to the ground and stalking closer to the male, "That's why you brought him along."

"Of course not! I-I was only scared you would bully me into - "

"You used him as a shield. What did you think would happen?"

"You were the one that killed him! You didn't have to! Ichi's weak to blood, so he wouldn't have hurt you! He - "

"How was I supposed to know that? All I knew was that you ordered me to be killed!"

"This is your fault! Yours!"

"Stop blaming me. This is on you."

Unable to formulate words anymore, the orange-haired male began shoving the brunette, only able to do that much. He screamed and yelled, begging him to die already. All the while, Haru let him. He played along, glaring at the prince as he backed him further and further to the edge of the cliff. And when it came time for Orion to try and shove him off, he merely moved to the side, letting the male taste the consequences of his own actions for once.

A look of horror crossed the prince's face when he realized he couldn't get out of it. His momentum was too much for him to stop as he was. Maybe a healthy person would have been able to, but not Orion. If only he had never been sick...That thought made him lash out in one more last-second burst of hatred, the male grabbing at Haru in an attempt to take him down, too. By a stroke of fate's pity, he caught him, too, but only for a moment. Haru faced falling off the cliff, caught off balance and completely unaware.

And, yet, he felt something pulling him back, a small grunt of effort being heard before he found himself sitting on land. Shocked, he turned back, expecting Presley to have had a change of heart or perhaps for (Y/n) to come save him, but it was neither. Instead, Enmei, tears streaming down his face hugged him tightly, the immense fear of losing the brunette weighing on him. Enmei had saved Haru. The thought shook him deeply, but, strangely, he ended up hugging the male back.

That night, Presley was forced to report the death of Orion and Ichiro to their family. Suddenly, the relief that they had felt from the revelation of the royal family's misdeeds came back to them full force. They wouldn't be freed. And, worse of all, after the news, Verona had been found dead in her cell, a dagger next to her.

The person who took the news hardest was none other than the only remaining prince, Kazuki. Not only had every single member of the royal family been wiped out with the exception of him, his great uncle, and his mother - soon to be executed - but he lost his freedom. No longer was he able to run off to Athain to avoid the expectations of the royal family. No. Now he was forced to become the next king - a position he never wanted. Worse, his mother, ultimately, ended up winning. The smirk on her face before he watched her be publicly executed traumatized him as well as his father.

Then, of course, Kazuki had to sit and watch as his closest, childhood friend performed the giving ceremony. Regardless of his attempts to save his prince, the male died, so it was by tradition that he was forced to join him in paradise. All senses were cut off of him one by one by his own hands until, finally, even those were cut off. Worse still, he sat there, bleeding out until his death, leaving Kazuki devastated and traumatized. 

But, as the new king, the blonde was forced to take command suddenly as the next day as if he hadn't lost everyone. Echal and Vethela were supposed to launch an attack against Umayena. However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Apostol appeared to Kazuya, presenting the heads of her family. All she asked in return was to be spared, of which Kazuya had her locked away to rot for the rest of her life. She must have been satisfied with that. The woman smiled the entire way there, but she was never heard from again.

With Umayena freed, Haru worked with his father to distribute the technology needed for rebuilding their country. Simple and temporary schools were built in order to teach necessary job skill sets, but the main focus was on agriculture. Along with Fenhua Akiyama, Haru helped bring technology to effectively and cheaply convert contaminated water to clean water. This, in turn, fostered agriculture, allowing Umayena to learn to become self-sufficient. And though the country would need years of help, Echal had swore to help them with the resources of the Akahito family.

And though things were far from normal, Haru finally returned to Echal. (Y/n) mourned Orion when he ended up telling her the truth. She blamed herself for not realizing the prince was willing to kill the brunette. However, she found a kind of joy in learning of Haru's restraint. Even when his life was threatened, he chose to abide by her wishes. He hadn't killed Orion. It was the prince's own arrogance that led to his fall. She could only spill praises for the brunette, in awe of his loyalty. And it gave her the motivation to finally accept him as her own.

. . .

Haru Akahito's wedding was a big deal. People from all over waited in anticipation for an invitation, but neither him nor (Y/n) wanted a large wedding. They could have afforded more than a thousand guests, but, in the end, it was a small gathering. Well, it was small for the Akahito family. As was custom, other branches of the Akahito family were invited as well as family friends. But the (h/c) haired girl purposefully excluded the branches of the family that had shown her animosity at the reunion. It only went to show she held the power of the Akahito family now. Though, she had no idea the extent just yet.

They had just finished the ceremony, officially married to one another. Now they were making their rounds at the reception, shaking hands with everyone and thanking them for their attendance. And though Haru was wholly uninterested, he tolerated it since she let him cling to her and kiss her as much as he wanted. That alone made him satisfied, but when hearing everyone comment and offer wishes about their happy future together, he savored the entire thing.

"Hey," Bastien mumbled, tugging on the sleeve of one of his distant relatives, "Hey."

"Is there something I can do for you, young master?" they answered awkwardly, putting on a smile for the child and his father who held his hand.

"Um...well...do you know who that is?" the boy whispered secretly, pointing to the (h/c) haired girl.

"Well, that's Mrs. Akahito - your brother's new wife."

"N-No...No, who is that?"

"I - I believe her name is (Y/n) Akahito...right?"

The man questioned himself as Bastien began pouting, threatening tears. He wasn't sure what the toddler wanted to hear, but he realized the brunette knew the young woman very well. After all, he was always attached to her, and it was his brother who she married. Confused, he assessed the boy's father, Kazuya merely covering his amused grin with his fist. Enmei also grinned similarly but chose not to hide it. The man tried once more, giving a nervous chuckle.

"Uh, that would be...your new sister?"

At once, Bastien glowed, putting on his happiest smile and tapping his feet in uncontrollable excitement. He nodded enthusiastically, repeating the word, and tugged his father towards his next victim. The brunette had been going around, letting everyone know that she was his sister now. They all congratulated him to bolster his joy, prompting him to feel excited enough to rush out to her and hug her tightly. He then made grabby hands for her to pick him up.

"You look happy," she commented, giving him a kiss on the cheek at his cheerful demand.

"And you look pretty, sis!"

"Oh, but, you look so much prettier. I knew you'd look cute in a little suit. And the little flowers - so cute!"

Bastien giggled as she smothered him with love, wiggling when she tickled him with her kisses. The little brunette finally got his wish. And though he had been through a lot, now she was going to be with them all the time. He didn't think there was anything better than that. Plus, the two of them had told him that he might have a new friend to play with in a year or two. He didn't know what that meant, but it definitely sounded like fun.

"I'm a bit jealous," Kazuya smiled, placing a kiss on all three of their heads, "Bastien gets to go around to everyone, bragging about his new sister. But I'm supposed to keep decorum. I want very badly to brag about my new daughter."

"Same here," (Y/n) chuckled, leaning into the man's hug with Bastien, "About my new family, I mean."

"If you feel the same way, I think you should open my gifts."

The (h/c) haired girl gave a conflicted laugh. Though the guests had all brought expensive gifts, Kazuya had trumped them all. Not only were the number of gifts he bought more expensive but they ended up taking over the gift section. He really went overboard. Still, she knew that was how he liked to show his love. She felt honored he liked her that much, returning his affection wholeheartedly. As she continued to speak with Bastien and Kazuya, Haru took the time to talk with Enmei.

"I thought you were going to lose the rings," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the older male.

"O-Oh, of course not! I tried very hard to keep a close eye on them!"

"I know..."

Enmei assessed his little brother closely, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. He had been getting more practice with the brunette. At very random points in time, the male would often find him and drag him away somewhere nice. To that day, Enmei's favorite was when Haru took him to adopt his hedgehog, Pom. Nonetheless, Enmei still found it hard to determine what the brunette was really trying to tell him.

"Um, I'm happy...you know, that you made me best man."

Haru didn't say anything, but the tips of his ears turned red. Having no response, he turned back to hug his wife, nuzzling her with great affection. Enmei was fairly confident he was just being shy. He and Haru were a bit too old to see each other as brothers, but Haru seemed to want to be friends. It made him really happy to be accepted by him, in particular, since it was much harder for Haru to like people. So, he hoped they could get even closer. Maybe, if things went well, Haru might also call him "frére".

The reception was spent in celebration, and, afterwards, they went to Eloise's grave to tell her the good news. They decorated her grave with flowers and all kinds of trinkets, even offering a slice of their wedding cake as an offering for her. She had always wanted the two to marry, so the news must have made her happy in the afterlife. But there was also something else she had wanted; something she had confided in Kazuya for.

So, when the two came back from their lengthy honeymoon, the man handed her a present. Inside was a letter the woman had written for her, and, in it, she begged the girl to take good care of her boys. Along with gifts she wanted to bequeath her was a document requiring one signature. Eloise and Kazuya had already signed their names below. The only one missing was (Y/n)'s.

"I need some more time to grieve," the man confessed, "So I had planned to step down from my role as the CEO. Haru was supposed to take the mantle from me, but he...Well, you know. And with Bastien too young, I need someone to be my heir."

"But Enmei - "

"- has said he isn't comfortable leading. He did say he would like to work, but he wants to do so under someone else's leadership. What do you say?"

The thought that she was being offered the position of CEO of the world's most lucrative company was stunning. No, more than that; he was offering to give her the position of the family's matriarch instead of him. Of course, she knew she could do the job. She had been assisting Kazuya for quite some time and her own abilities to negotiate and pick out ripe opportunities were well-developed. Still, she felt young for the position. Hesitantly, she gazed up at the man, wondering if she would disappoint him with her answer.

"You're worried," he chuckled, "Well, it's alright. I knew it was a bit much."

"No, I can do it! Really, I just - "

"You do not need to prove yourself for love. I offered it to you because I thought you would enjoy it. It's nothing more. I have others in mind, too."

"I would like to do this. But...if possible, could you stay with me for a little longer. Maybe...like an advisor?"

The man chuckled. It was rare for her to show any kind of vulnerability or lack of confidence, but it only made her more adorable to him. Hugging her tightly, he accepted her offer. As she signed her name on the paper, she became the new matriarch of the Akahito family, if only until Bastien came of age. Still, it now meant she was truly valued in a family that genuinely loved and acknowledged her worth.

. . .

A/n: With that, In Sickness and In Health has officially ended. If you're sad about it, there will be cameos of these characters in some of my other works and some one-shots, too. 

Either way, the next chapter will have a Q&A. Feel free to leave comments here, throughout the book, on my message board, through direct messages, etc. 

There aren't any restrictions on the type of questions you can ask, but it doesn't necessarily mean I'll answer them straight-forwardly. Still, I promise there will be much more uncovered in A Storm In A Teacup. And everything else will be answered in Icarus.

Thank you for your support <3