Chapter 152. A Spring Without Ashes

Tomorrow, she would leave the Mage’s Tower.

Ellen, who had completed the course and been recognized as an official mage, received a golden emblem and an appointment letter. As Ellen was looking down at them with satisfaction, Laila approached her side and spoke with a voice tinged with laughter.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? This emblem. When you pin it to your collar, it somehow makes you feel good.”

Laila, who no longer stuttered, had gained a confident attitude and smooth speaking skills. Ellen smiled softly and nodded in response, carefully pinning the golden emblem to her collar.

Although staying at the Mage’s Tower was often stifling, now that she had achieved such visible results, she felt deeply moved.

“Finally, we’re returning to Evitern Castle tomorrow. I’m so glad we can attend Jasmine’s wedding.”

Jasmine’s wedding was scheduled to take place a week later, and the groom was none other than Gideon Warrington, the administrative officer of the Bayern family. It seemed that he, who had long harbored unrequited love for Jasmine, had succeeded in winning her love despite the opposition of Jasmine’s brother, Haley.

“Don’t you have any desire to get married, Laila?”

At Ellen’s casually posed question, Laila laughed awkwardly and shook her head.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never liked someone that much before.”

“Then what would you do if someone confessed their love to you?”

“W-well… Do you think such a person would appear for me?”

“They might. You never know about these things. In my eyes, you’re a kind and charming person. So I think it’s only a matter of time before someone falls for you.”

“Is that so…?”

Laila scratched her cheek with an embarrassed smile. In fact, a young man named Moses among the Mage’s Tower mages had been secretly fond of Laila for months, but Laila hadn’t noticed at all. Even though everyone around her, including Ellen, knew about it.

‘I wonder if Moses will confess to Laila today or tomorrow.’

Ellen chuckled and went out to the balcony to look outside. A warm breeze was blowing from the south where Freuden was located.

It seemed like the perfect weather for sailing a ship from Rheinfelden to Rosretzia.

As the evening sun began to set, Ellen visited Nov’s grave on the west side of the island. The grave was well-maintained by Sion, looking very neat and tidy without a single weed.

‘How have you been? It’s been a week.’

Ellen placed a white daffodil in front of the tombstone engraved with Nov’s name and murmured in her heart. Even though she knew there would be no answer, having these quiet conversations had become a habit for her at some point.

‘…To be honest, I feel a bit regretful. That I didn’t have the chance to become close with you, Master Victorian. Thinking about it now, I realize that. Back then, two years ago… I thought I couldn’t dare to fathom the heart of someone who had lived for such a long time, but…’

During those long years, weren’t you lonely?

Didn’t you miss the connections that passed by your side?

‘Perhaps that’s why. Why you wanted to leave this world…’

Because the memories of those fleeting connections suddenly come to mind, making you nostalgic, and as you live on, you realize that such longing for people will only increase.

So maybe you finally left, letting go of all the heavy responsibilities on your shoulders, your sense of mission, and all attachments to the world and people — Ellen dared to imagine the heart of the great archmage.

‘…Once again, thank you so much for giving me a new life.’

Because I was given life thanks to your mercy and kindness, I too will live a life of giving.

Recalling the vow she had firmly engraved in her heart for two years, Ellen added a soft smile to her lips.

Suddenly looking up, the scenery of the sky and sea was beautiful, with red and blue hues intermingling. It was exactly the view that Nov was said to have loved.

* * *

“Ellen, Laila. We’ll miss you.”

“You’ll come visit often, right?”

“To think it’s already time for you two to leave… Time really flies…”

The mages who they had become close with during their stay at the tower were very reluctant to see Ellen and Laila leave. Ellen also felt sad to part with them, but she couldn’t stay at the Mage’s Tower any longer. There was someone she had to return to.

“Don’t be too sad, everyone. I’ll have to visit the tower periodically anyway. It’s not like we’re saying goodbye forever.”

Due to the task Nov had entrusted to her, Ellen had to visit the Mage’s Tower at least five times a year. That task was none other than creating magical tools imbued with the spatial movement magic she had inherited.

As it turned out, the secret behind the Mage’s Tower mages’ ability to appear and disappear suddenly was this spatial movement magic, and Nov had been regularly creating magical tools for the tower’s mages.

Ellen, having inherited the spatial movement magic from Nov, had the responsibility to not neglect the task he had entrusted to her. Creating magical tools was slightly tiring work, but it wasn’t difficult as she could make about twenty a day without pushing herself too hard.

‘I’ll be able to come and go easily with the spatial movement magic.’

During her time completing her studies at the Mage’s Tower, she could only use magic within Rosretzia Island, so she hadn’t tried long-distance travel yet. Nevertheless, Ellen could tell that the spatial movement magic was incredibly amazing. Just by picturing the desired location in her mind and strongly thinking ‘I’m going there’, she could leap through space without any restrictions.

“Well then, everyone take care. I’m really leaving now.”

After saying goodbye to the mages, including Sion, Ellen stepped beyond the wide-open fortress gate.
Seeing that Moses was nowhere to be seen until the end, it seemed he hadn’t found the courage to confess.

Well… Laila was young and charming, so even if it wasn’t Moses, another good person would surely appear. And it’s not like this was the only chance to confess.

Glancing back at the fortress, she saw Moses standing at a window on the 6th floor, looking down at them with a complicated expression.

Ellen waved goodbye with a smile to that young man caught in the throes of love. Just as Laila followed Ellen’s gaze with a puzzled expression, Moses hid behind the curtain.

A ship.

A very large ship.

The enormous hull visible in the distant harbor was undoubtedly extraordinary. Ellen involuntarily slowed her steps and bit her lip. Beside her, Laila’s voice, half-filled with certainty, was heard.

“Your Highness, that ship is probably…”

“……”

Ellen nodded silently, sharing the same thought as Laila. After walking a bit further, the structure of the hull became clearly visible, and the figure of a person standing in front of it came into view.

Even from afar, it was unmistakably him.

Although she had told him there was no need to come and pick her up, he had still brought the ship all the way here. As if to flaunt his still burdensome affection, the size of the ship was enormous.

“…It is indeed His Grace the Grand Duke. Your Highness, I’ll follow behind, so please go ahead!”

Laila, knowing that Ellen could move in an instant if she wanted, suggested with a slightly excited voice, but Ellen hesitated to use the spatial movement magic recklessly.

After all, she had never used this magic in front of Enoch before. During the past two years, although they met for two days every month without fail, she had never shown him her using magic.

Ellen was worried that he might be surprised if she suddenly appeared before him, so instead of pulling the distance closer with magic, she diligently moved her feet to reach him.

Stopping at a distance of about one step away, he, who had been staring intently at her until then, slowly pulled up the corners of his mouth into a smile. As he always did when visiting Rosretzia Island to meet her, he was holding a large bouquet of flowers. Today’s flowers were white roses.

“…You bought flowers again?”

As Ellen fidgeted with her hands, not wanting to approach, Enoch gazed at her intently with loving eyes.

If there was something new he had learned about her, it was that she tended to avoid situations when her emotions were about to overflow uncontrollably.

Even now, although it was clearly visible how overjoyed she was to finally be together for a long time, she was hesitating like this. Enoch found this Ellen utterly adorable.

“I thought white flowers would suit you well. And they say the flower language of white roses is ‘new beginnings’. Isn’t that appropriate?”

“……!”

When he stepped forward and handed her the bouquet, she received it with a start and blinked her round eyes. Perhaps because the bouquet was so large, Ellen looked as if she was buried in flowers. Enoch gazed intently at that lovely sight.

Now, we have about 40 years left together.

According to what Sion Brechille had told him a month ago, that was the case. If they don’t fall seriously ill or have an accident, they could live out their remaining lifespan and die on the same day and at the same time.

Then I must do my best to protect you.

So that you can live long, safely, healthily, and happily.

Enoch gazed for a long time at Ellen’s blue irises, at the eternity contained within them. They say all things in the world are bound to change, but there was something there that would never fade. As well as in his heart.

“I love you, Ellen.”

As if surrendering before her, he slowly bent one knee and whispered. With Ellen standing against the light, he felt as if he might go blind from how dazzling she was.

“I wondered what you were to me.”

“……”

“Now I know. You are my soul. There is no one in the world who can replace you. You are the one and only existence to me.”

He pulled her left hand and kissed her ring finger. He had wanted to conquer this woman. He had wanted to possess her even if it meant breaking her. But in the end, it was she who had won. The victor of love was not him, but always her.

But because that submission was welcome and sweet, he could tremble at this sweet sense of defeat. It was a feeling akin to ecstasy. Being finally bound to her was the end of the arrogant man who had tried not to be bound to anything.

“My soul, my religion, my god. I am your fanatic.”

He took out the ring he had prepared and slipped it onto her ring finger. It wasn’t the colorless diamond ring that was originally their wedding ring, but a platinum ring set with a blue diamond that suited Ellen better. It also had an eternity knot pattern engraved on the inside, symbolizing eternity.

“Come to think of it, I never properly said this to you.”

“……”

“Will you marry me? Ellen?”

Receiving this sudden proposal, Ellen laughed as if dumbfounded. No, she was laughing while crying. Tears that had welled up in her eyes without her noticing were now streaming down her cheeks. She muttered in a deflated, dispirited voice.

“We’re already married.”

“We’re doing it again, properly this time. We’ll have another wedding ceremony and go on a honeymoon too.”

Knowing that it would be pointless to say there was no need to go that far, Ellen nodded helplessly. She entrusted the bouquet to Laila, and with her now free hands, she pulled Enoch up and tightly embraced his waist.

“I accept your proposal.”

“Of course you should.”

“Aren’t you going to say thank you?”

“Thank you. For accepting.”

Ellen laughed softly and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Enoch’s lips. A gentle breeze from somewhere tickled their slightly flushed cheeks. The late spring wind, heralding the approach of summer, carried a faint scent of peach blossoms.

A sense of happy fulfillment welled up, as if it would fill even their souls.

Ellen could finally define her own love.

The spring we’ll spend together, the summer we’ll greet side by side, the autumn and winter that will soon arrive, all the seasons of our lives, together with you.

Like a fairy tale where they lived happily ever after and died on the same day and at the same time, may romance and blessings follow the lifetime they will live, endure, and enjoy from now on.

My spring was no longer covered in ashes.

―The End.