Alumaria
I watched *Castlevania: Nocturne* on Netflix and was quite impressed. In some respects, I actually found it even better than the original *Castlevania* series. Because I really liked Maria Renard—and thought Alucard was great, too—I wanted to ship the two of them together, only to run headfirst into those tiresome "age-gap" debates. I hadn't realized that Maria was only 12 years old in *Nocturne*. o,o Unfortunately, the anti-shippers overlooked one small detail... Maria can age. And to prove it, let's take a quick look at the Castlevania-Wiki. For Maria Renard's story, only two games are actually important: *Castlevania: Rondo of Blood* and *Castlevania: Symphony of the Night*. *Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss* and *Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles* are remakes of *Rondo of Blood*. Although *Castlevania: Judgment* is not a remake, I am leaving it out nonetheless. The characters and designs were drastically altered, and it is a time-travel scenario in which all the characters clash in a chaotic free-for-all. "Dracula X: Tsuioku no Yasoukyoku" was broadcast on Konami's internet radio station and later sold as a Drama CD. So, it is not a game—though it can certainly be regarded as canon material. For this reason, I will be referring to it. At the age of 12, Maria—along with Annette and two other girls—is abducted and held captive in Dracula's castle. Richter Belmont, seeking to rescue his girlfriend Annette, sets out for Dracula's castle. Maria is one of the girls he rescues as well. She becomes a playable character and can utilize her four heavenly beasts. Importantly: at this point, she has never met Alucard.
The design from *Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles* was adopted for *Castlevania: Nocturne*. When Maria is 17 years old, she sets out in search of Richter, who has gone to Dracula's castle. There, she meets Alucard for the first time; he promises to help her in her search for Richter. They discover that Richter is being controlled and has turned against them. However, Alucard manages to free him and subsequently confronts his father, Dracula. Subsequently, the following scene takes place:
Let's be honest. Would you hesitate to chase after a guy you barely know if you weren't totally smitten with him? And "Maybe what?"—kissing, getting married, having kids? Or what exactly are we talking about here?
Source
And I also always tell my best friend that I want to spend my life with him.
No. It is a romance stemming from a deep mutual understanding—one, however, that was never allowed to blossom. In *Nocturne*, their bond was further underscored by having Maria kill her own father; in the games, after all, her parents were killed by vampires. This establishes a profound understanding between the two, as Alucard, too, killed his father. "Dracula X: Tsuioku no Yasoukyoku" is a "What If" scenario in which Maria decides, after all, to go with Alucard. She travels with him for a year and is, consequently, now 18 years old. The story revolves around a series of murders in the city, in which young women are being killed by a vampire. Behind these acts is Lyudmil, who has been manipulated by Magnus. Alucard and Maria find themselves at odds over Alucard's emotional guardedness. The central plot involves Magnus attempting to goad Alucard into giving free rein to his vampiric instincts—something Alucard is determined to resist. The narrative concludes with Lyudmil's death, Magnus's demise, and Alucard's decision to finally open up to Maria; for her part, she resolves to remain steadfastly by his side.
I’ve added a few screenshots from the audio drama to show just how close the two of them are. - They worry about each other. - They are obviously very close. - They trust each other. - Lyudmil tells Alucard that these flowers are presented to young women to express one's love—and Alucard takes Maria to that very flower meadow.
So, let's establish this: as of now, Maria is 18 years old—meaning she has reached the age of majority. But how old is Alucard?
He is estimated to be definitely under 22 years old. And there isn't a big age difference between 18 and 22. So just let 12-year-old Maria grow up a little more, and then it’ll work out—even if she already seems to have a crush on him.^^
