* * *

Yuelina and Theo climbed the hill behind the estate. Warmth rose from their hands clasped together.

Theo pointed to a round grave visible in the distance. Yuelina looked at the lilies placed in front of the grave.

“Someone must have visited.”

“Indeed. Lilies, not roses.”

Yuelina placed wildflowers she had picked from the garden next to the lilies.

The tombstone in front of the grave read ‘In memory of Grand Duchess Karenrose.’

“Mother. I’m finally greeting you.”

Yuelina greeted Karenrose with a respectful attitude. Theo gently stroked her hair.

“There’s not even a body.”

“Still. Many people must have come here to honor Lady Karenrose.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. So Mother must know.”

Theo stared at the grave.

Since they couldn’t recover the body from the Eye of the Storm, the grave wasn’t really Karenrose’s grave.

But people wanted to create a space to honor the sacrificed Karenrose, and Theo reluctantly created this place on the hill behind the estate.

He visited only a handful of times after creating it.

Each visit only made him feel powerless for having come alone, leaving Karenrose behind.

But now he knew.

He had returned from the Eye of the Storm, heard the story from Yuelina on his return, and learned about Karenrose’s situation through her father.

He didn’t know if where Karenrose was was more peaceful and better than here……

But the fact that she wasn’t alone was a great comfort to him.

“Oh?”

Just then, a small white crow-tit perched on Yuelina’s shoulder.

The crow-tit stared at Yuelina intently, then fluttered its wings and pecked at Yuelina’s cheek with its small, round beak.

Peck, peck, the feeling of it touching her skin was so ticklish that Yuelina burst into laughter.

Theo blankly stared at Yuelina and the crow-tit.

Indeed, his thoughts were not wrong.

Yuelina resembled a small, cute crow-tit perfectly.

A crow-tit and a crow-tit wife together. The corner of Theo’s mouth twitched.

“Tweet– tweet–“

Yuelina reached out her hand and stroked the crow-tit. The crow-tit kept circling around Yuelina and nuzzled in her palm.

Strangely, the tip of her nose tingled. It happened as she made eye contact with the white crow-tit.

Yuelina eventually shed tears. Theo was surprised to see her suddenly burst into tears.

“What’s wrong? Hmm?”

“No…… Tears suddenly came.”

Theo patted her shoulder and embraced her in his arms.

Yuelina cried in his embrace. It felt as if a knot she didn’t even know existed was leaving her body.

At that moment, a wind blew between the two. The hot, warm wind also carried a fishy smell of the sea.

Luhae Island.

Coho Village.

The faint scenery of her hometown swirled before Yuelina’s eyes.

She watched the crow-tit fly away far from her arms.

“Father.”

“Hmm?”

“……Father must have come to see us. He said back then that he would visit as a small animal like a butterfly or a crow-tit.”

Yuelina wiped her tears and smiled brightly.

“I’m glad we showed Father that we’re doing well. Right?”

“Yes. I’m glad.”

Theo briefly kissed Yuelina’s forehead.

* * *

Asarim massaged his shoulder and sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

Just then, Coho smacked Asarim’s back and he flinched.

“What? Are you going to hit me again?”

Asarim stared at Coho with wary eyes.

Coho had grabbed Asarim, saying his son-in-law had a request for him, and hit him twenty-five times.

His hand was so harsh that the handprint Coho left on Asarim’s back remained for a whole week.

“Why would I hit you? You’ve already been scolded harshly by Goddess Daphne?”

“……Kuk. Don’t mention that. I thought my ears would bleed.”

“So, is Yuelina doing well?”

Asarim paused.

“How did you know?”

“How could I not know? When you made it so obvious that you visited.”

Coho removed a white feather that was stuck in Asarim’s hair.

“……She’s doing well. Her face looks much better too.”

“Really? That’s a relief. I was very worried.”

“She’s still pretty.”

“Want to get hit more?”

“No, I just mean she’s pretty! Yuelina was always pretty!”

Just then, there was a sound of someone smacking the back of Asarim’s head. Coho turned around with a puzzled face.

“Goddess Daphne?”

“……Asarim. Didn’t I tell you not to mess with causality? Didn’t I say you haven’t recovered enough to go to the human world yet?”

Daphne glared at Asarim. He scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

“Ha, haha! The Water Wall has been resolved, so there shouldn’t be any problem!”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Daphne shook her head.

“What about the Water Wall? What happened?”

Daphne’s face became very serious at Coho’s question.

“I’ve taken back all the power that b*stard accumulated. It’s returned to its original state, but he might be able to build power someday, so we need to keep an eye on him.”

“I see.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you all, we’ve been able to protect that place.”

Coho nodded calmly. In fact, Coho had neither great attachment nor affection for the human world.

His desire to protect the human world where Yuelina lived was greater because of the affection he had developed for her.

“Honestly, I still don’t understand. It was a world that would face the disaster of an ice age anyway, so why did you want to protect that world so desperately?”

“I wanted to defy the saying that the small must be sacrificed for the greater cause.”

“What?”

“Sometimes I want to destroy something big because of something small.”

Her words were difficult for Coho to understand.

“It’s simple. Just like how you became Yuelina’s real father and wished for peace in the human world where she lives.”

“……”

“I’m the same way.”

Daphne smiled brightly.

“Then as a father, may I ask you for one favor?”

“A favor?”

“Yes. Yuelina’s husband, please look after him well.”

Coho shrugged his shoulders. Though their meeting was brief, he strangely felt attached to the guy.

He was Yuelina’s husband, and also a foolish guy who immediately answered that he would die for Yuelina.

Coho liked that aspect of him too.

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

“What?”

“The wish he asked of me. I’m going to grant it all.”

“What did he wish for?”

“He said he’d take revenge on me if Yuelina got sick.”

“What?”

“So I’m planning to direct all of Yuelina’s illnesses to him.”

Daphne smiled eerily.

“And he asked if the marriage vow was really valid.”

“Marriage vow…… You mean the ‘I swear to be happy forever’ thing?”

“Yes. What he said was a bit…… different though.”

That clumsy story containing the reckless and sincere heart that promised to love in life, in death, in this life, and in the next life.

Daphne decided to grant that too willingly.

I hope Theo will be happy.

That also aligned with Karenrose’s request.

* * *

Yuelina and Theo slowly walked back to the mansion, looking at the sky dyed with a faint sunset.

Just until now, they had placed flowers at Karenrose’s grave and sat in front of it, chatting about various things.

Yuelina asked Theo about Karenrose. Theo told her about the few memories he had with his mother from when he was young.

Due to pressure from the Bios Empire, Karenrose had no energy to take care of her family.

Since his father passed away early, Theo spent a lot of time alone.

So there wasn’t much to call memories.

Occasionally eating dinner together and slowly circling around the mansion when time allowed.

Even then, Karenrose kept looking back in case something happened, or received reports from her secretary.

Theo felt anxious each time and a strange sense of guilt arose. He felt like he was interfering with his mother’s work.

“But I think this path is good too. It’s a bit far from the mansion, but…… Shall we come back early tomorrow morning?”

Yuelina asked Theo, adjusting her grip on his hand.

He stopped in his tracks and looked at Yuelina.

“Anywhere is fine.”

“I also like any path as long as I’m going with you, Theo.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Um, and let’s eat out tonight. You said you’ve never been to the restaurant in the square, right?”

Theo knew that Yuelina cared about his story.

He could directly feel her heart caring for him, who had never experienced something as common as dining out, who had never gone for walks or outings to distant places.

It was really a foolish and stupid thought, but……

Because Theo hadn’t experienced anything, he looked forward to doing things with Yuelina for the first time.

Eating meals with her, taking walks, drinking alcohol, watching good plays, and touring famous places.

Holding her hand, kissing her, and whispering love to her.

My wife.

The person I love.

If ‘forever’ exists, I love her enough to want to be with her forever.

“Theo?”

“We didn’t make our lovers’ promise today.”

“Ah!”

Yuelina smiled broadly and wrapped her arms around Theo’s waist. He pressed his forehead against hers.

And he kissed his wife with love.

It was just another day with a pink sunset spreading across the sky and a gentle breeze blowing.

(The End)