Marius "Tideborne Romance"/Rewards

Story Summary

This story takes place in Year 2. Marius has confessed to the MC, and the two are a romantic couple.

The MC takes her annual leave on a trip with Marius to the Helena Islands. When she sees unique-looking lanterns made from coconut shells hung about, she gets interested, and Marius explains the legend behind the island's current festival: a sailor who fell in love with a sea fairy once made similar lanterns to guide his lover back to him after he was imprisoned on the island. Tradition says that couples can make the lanterns to grow closer to each other, and the MC agrees to make them with Marius.

With a few days to go before the festival, Marius and the MC explore the island by yacht. They stop at a small fishing village that sells processed coconut shells for beginners and begin to practice carving together. The MC realizes this isn't Marius' first time doing this, and he admits that he came here while he was in university, when he liked to travel the world during his breaks. He remembers that there are coral shallows nearby that were once recommended to him by the locals, steers the yacht that direction, and encourages the MC to join him in the water, with floats prepared in case she can't swim. The two share an underwater kiss.

Marius explains that these islands were a haven for him -- that his acquaintances used to try to drag him back to Stellis on breaks, and he always wanted to share the beauty of the islands with someone special instead. As the MC considers whether his wish to live on this island someday as a sailor is a joke, Marius claims to get a cramp in his leg; the MC calls out to Vincent, who is accompanying them on the yacht, for a life buoy. Marius suggests he might be hungry and asks for ice cream as well, and Vincent serves parfaits on a float, revealing that Marius had arranged this in advance. He apologizes for tricking the MC and invites her to afternoon tea with parfaits on the water.

That night, as the two wait for the island's lights to go dark and the lanterns to be lit, the MC asks Marius his real reason for bringing her here. He recounts a story of when he'd first gotten his yacht license. He was thrilled to be alone and free, but the port was completely dark, leaving him unable to dock, and he realized how helpless he could be when alone. Just then, the festival lanterns began to light up, guiding him home and cementing the island as his "paradise." He likens the MC to that light, saying that she's his paradise. The lanterns they'd hung up earlier fall down, and Marius goes to get them alone, but he's so quiet for so long that the MC begins to fear she's lost him.

Marius reassures her that he's there and won't disappear, then presents her with a lantern as if he's the sailor from the island's legend, cursed to stay there, and she's the fairy, guided back to him after a long time. As lanterns light up all over the island, Marius asks the MC to take him with her, and she responds that whatever he faces, she wants him to come back to her.

After spending the night on the yacht in the water, the MC wakes up on Marius' arm, hungry and thirsty. As she gets a drink and fresh fruit, he asks where she'd like to take him next, but since her travel experience is less than his, she isn't sure and returns the question. Marius shows her a notebook full of notes from his previous travels, in which he's jotted down a number of places he'd been interested in seeing; one of them is a fish market in Stellis, and the two agree to go there when they get back. He also shows her what he claims is a translation of the song the islanders were singing the night before, though she questions whether it might really be a love poem of his own making instead.

Illustrations

Underwater KissAs you both rise to the surface of the water, he silently exchanges a sweet secret moment with you.

Video Call

Video Call		Marius: Tideborne Romance (After Story 6)

Video Call script

Marius: It finally got through. It's really tough to get a signal here. I've landed. Are you at arrivals?

Marius: I've been stuck in a seat for so long. This is really awful. I wish I could get off the plane right now...

Marius: Hey, what are you looking around for? There's nothing to see in here.

Marius: You saw something familiar? Well... about that... I've been hiding something from you.

Marius: Remember how we made all of those coconut lights?

Marius: I kept the particularly cute ones that you made.

Marius: You think you did a bad job? That's not true. They are not just good-looking, but they also have a slight modernist air about them.

Marius: If they are put up for auction, people will pay a ton for them.

Marius: Huh!? Don't get upset... Okay, okay, I will stop teasing you.

Marius: Actually, I want to polish them up so that I can keep them as souvenirs.

Marius: When you come to the studio sometime, you may notice a lot of marvelous lights... kind of like the ones we saw on the island that night...

Marius: Someone is coming. I have to go... I'll find an excuse to leave. Let's meet up at the usual place.

Marius: Don't worry. I'm pretty good at getting away from them.

Marius: All right, I'll see you later.

Story Locations

Helena Islands

Private Yacht

Private Yacht

Helena Islands

Private Yacht

Story Characters

Marius von Hagen

Vincent Kim