Author note: I do not own Count Cain: Godchild or Yakitate! Japan. Nor do I own Meister Kirisaki or Alice. Nor do I own the Vocaloid Gakupo Whisper cover of the song 'White Knight' by AkiGlancy that inspired this into being.
This takes place after the oneshot 'By Your Side,' so you might want to read that first before reading this one.
Warnings: Possible spoilers for Count Cain: Godchild, specifically the 'Mad Tea Party' story in vol. 1 of Godchild, as well as spoilers for Yakitate! Japan. Also contains mentioned onesided AlicexCain, mentioned onesided VictoriaxCain, and a kind-of-romantic-but-more-of-friendshippy MeisterxAlice pairing.
Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope you guys read, review and enjoy! Thanks!
White Knight
Sylvan Kirisaki had always thought that knights only existed in the Medieval times or in fairytales. Nowhere else could they truly exist.
There were men out there that were downright cruel to others, blunt in their harsh actions to get their corrupted goals. There were too many out there to count, and Sylvan prayed that there would be less of those in the future. Of course, he couldn't play god and force them all to become good. That wouldn't really feel right, either, and that was completely impossible, anyway.
There were those that pretended to be knights, but ran away as soon as their duty seemed to be fulfilled enough for them, just so they could take the glory. Sylvan couldn't help but grit his teeth slightly at Cain Hargreaves, the earl that courted death, to dare steal Alice's first kiss and sway her so easily. It wasn't Alice's fault that she was so swayed by him, it was Cain for doing it to make Victoria Mansfield jealous. At least, that was what Sylvan thought, anyway.
Alice was too innocent and naïve, in Sylvan's eyes, to realize that Cain had manipulated her to be attracted towards him to make Victoria jealous. She'd only just started out in high society, while Cain had all the years of his life to make himself available to every woman who would gladly kiss his feet to be with him for even one night.
It wasn't out of romantic jealousy or anything like that for him to be mad at Cain. He was just doing what he should do as a friend, to look out for Alice's wellbeing, and that included in terms of social situations as well. One wrong move and she could have been seen as some cheap harlot in high society. He didn't want that happening to her.
Heck, days after the incident at Mansfield manor, Sylvan mustered up the nerve to go directly to Cain's mansion and reprimand (yes, reprimand of all things he could have done to Cain) the young, teenaged earl about the whole thing with Alice.
"You only protected her so she would fall for you even more! And you let Victoria get killed, too! If I had been in that situation, I would have tried to protect the both of them, even if I disliked Victoria!"
It was surprising that he didn't get kicked out of the manor at all.
"How dare you sway an innocent new flower of high society like that, Earl Hargreaves! She had trouble enough getting used to things without you, and you just had to-just had to go and do that! If you're going to keep playing puppetmaster with any lady, you'll never end up being with anyone special in the future!"
Sylvan was very, very tempted to slap Cain in the face, but he restrained himself, just in time for Cain to respond.
"I was teaching her reality, Meister Kirisaki. You can't expect people to be nice to you all the time, can you? Surely you know that from your past..."
As much as Sylvan hated to admit it, Cain had a point. But still, what Cain had done to her was unforgivable, and Sylvan swore he would do anything to protect her from anyone that dared threaten her. And he found it awfully rude for the young man to bring up his past like that, too. It was an Achilles Heel to his reputation, and that was what prevented him from being in favor with some nobles, who were of pure noble blood and not of 'new money' like he was.
Darn the statement that knights exist only in the Medieval Times or in fairytales. He would be her knight, even if he wasn't exactly some prince head-over-heels for her. He stated that to Cain, who seemed to almost laugh at it.
"You live in a world of fairytales, Kirisaki. You can't be a knight in shining armor."
That was where Sylvan was determined to prove to Cain that he cared for Alice, and maybe Sylvan couldn't have shining armor like Cain made himself look like he did in public, but at least he could be a knight for her. Well, that was only one reason for what he did next.
He asked Alice if he could court her, and despite her hesitation at first, she accepted after he finished his proposal with a few things she knew he meant sincerely.
"I will be your white knight, Alice, and I will dare not let anyone stain you. I promise to stay with you always, and I'll never leave your side. "
Alice wasn't the only one who was happy about the decision. Her parents eventually also grew a liking to Kirisaki, despite his mixed blood, as they saw him treat her well, just as equally as him. Word spread about the news, and soon the two became the talk of the town. Some people scoffed at the facts about Sylvan's past, but others didn't care too much about that and instead congratulated the new romantic couple.
There was something a little wrong about most people's assumptions on the relationship between the two, though. It was like Sylvan was head-over-heels in love with Alice. The reason why he asked Alice if he could court her was because of him simply caring about her, whether love came into the equation or not. The same went for Alice in her case, and she appreciated Sylvan's sentiment towards her, even if it wasn't completely romantic. Fairytales can't be completely real. Prince Charmings that just met their Beauties can't just suddenly fall in love with them at first sight. That pretty much never happens.
But at least, out of all things, the two had themselves a happy ending to the story.
