The dream he entered was a blend of a forest and a garden, filled with trees and flowers. A well-manicured path seemed to beckon him, and Marsden began walking down it.

Looking down, he saw himself in a fine suit, the kind one would wear to greet a very important guest. Marsden tilted his head, puzzled.

“Who am I meeting, dressed like this?”

The question filled his mind, but he figured it was just a dream. However, when he reached the end of the path, someone spoke.

“Roy, it’s been a while.”

Marsden stiffened, staring at the small figure before him. Small, but he recognized them immediately.

“Ser…?”

“You should call me ‘big brother.’ Just because you’re older now, doesn’t mean you can drop the nickname when we finally meet again.”

Despite the playful smile on Servo’s face, Marsden could hardly react. Even in a dream, it was hard to believe he was really seeing him.

“Sorry I couldn’t visit you much. But thanks to you coming here, I can finally introduce you to someone.”

Marsden shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He couldn’t wake up now.

“Ser…bro…”

“Hey, I know you’re happy to see me, but maybe you should greet this person first…”

Servo’s expression looked a bit awkward, but Marsden was so focused on him that he didn’t notice anyone else. That is, until—

“So, you’re my brother-in-law?”

Marsden jumped at the unfamiliar voice and shifted his gaze. A fierce-looking woman with long, dark hair glared at him, her presence intense.

“You dragged my sister into all kinds of hardship? And made her suffer before too?!”

With a graceful but forceful kick, the woman struck Marsden’ shin.

“You ungrateful jerk. I wondered who stole my sister away, and it turns out it was you. I’ve been waiting for this day, you bastard.”

Brother-in-law? Sister-in-law? The terms were unfamiliar, but Marsden instinctively knew he needed to show respect. Servo was kneeling next to him, as if urging Marsden to do the same. A wave of injustice swept over him, but he complied.

“Are you not going to greet your sister-in-law properly?”

“She means Olivia’s sister, Roy.”

Marsden, still dazed, nodded as Servo gave him a hint. Then it clicked.

“Could you be… Buddy’s older sister?”

Though the woman didn’t resemble Olivia much now, Marsden could sense that in her previous life, they must have shared a resemblance. The fierce energy was unmistakably familial.

“Buddy? No, her name is Sujin, at least to me.”

The name sounded strange, but Marsden understood that she was referring to Olivia’s past self. He adjusted his posture, straightened his clothes, and bowed properly this time.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I am Troy Marsden, Su… Olivia’s husband.”

Meeting another one of Olivia’s family members made his heart race.

“I’ve heard your name. I’m Han Yujin. Yujin is my given name, and Han is my family name.”

“Olivia’s family name was Han too?”

Marsden’ eyes sparkled at the new information, and Yujin’s anger seemed to soften a bit.

“Yeah, we had quite an age gap. I practically raised her. Not that she needed much help—she grew up so strong on her own.”

Her tone carried the affection of an older sister who deeply cared for her sibling. Marsden looked at her for a moment before slowly lowering himself to his knees.

“Even if this is just a dream, I want to ask for your forgiveness, Yujin.”

“……”

“I couldn’t live without Buddy. I did everything in my power to bring her back to my side, even when I had the chance to turn back. I have no excuses, so please feel free to criticize me as much as you want.”

Believing he had no right to shed tears, Marsden confessed his wrongs with as much composure as he could muster. Yujin sighed and looked up at the sky.

“When she suddenly disappeared, I searched for her endlessly. I had never experienced such pain before. You understand, right? When someone you’ve spent your whole life with vanishes overnight, how are you supposed to stay sane?”

Yujin’s voice brimmed with bitterness, and though she spoke resentfully, she suddenly sat down in front of him.

“And then, when I was on the verge of losing my mind, this man appeared in my dreams one night.”

She gestured toward Servo, who had been quietly observing from beside her.

“Servo?” Marsden asked.

“Yeah. He told me that Sujin had a whole other life before this one, that she was unjustly murdered, and that the lover who adored her so much had brought her back. He apologized, saying that my sister’s life was tied to this man, and that she couldn’t survive without him.”

Yujin’s voice trembled as she continued. Servo bowed his head deeply.

“But honestly, what does that have to do with me? I didn’t care about someone else’s sister when I’d lost my own. My sister, whom I loved like my own child, was gone forever. How was I supposed to cope?”

Yujin rose and lightly smacked Marsden on the shoulder.

“I asked Servo what his name was, and he said ‘Troy.’ From that day on, I cursed you daily. I didn’t care that she’d returned to another world. You took my sister from me, and I cursed you for it every single day. But then…”

Yujin’s blows stopped, and she buried her trembling hands in her face.

“One day, Servo invited me into another dream. He showed me Sujin and you, laughing happily together in a meadow.”

Marsden could guess that this dream took place on the day Olivia had proposed to him, right after they had solved the case together.

“After that, every single day, Servo showed me scenes of the two of you. When I told those stories to my young child like they were fairy tales, do you know what he said? He asked me to forgive you.”

Ah, Marsden finally realized why the side effects had stopped.

“Have you forgiven me?” he asked, crying like Yujin.

“Forgiven me, so I wouldn’t be in pain anymore?”

The side effects that had appeared after bringing someone from another dimension disappeared only when the person who had lost them forgave the one responsible. It was all thanks to Yujin.

“I didn’t do it for you. It was for Su-jin. I was so relieved… After she disappeared, my mind was plagued with the most horrible thoughts. But after that, it felt like all those terrible images finally vanished.”

Marsden held Yujin’s hands and poured out words of apology. He couldn’t recall exactly what he had said, but he felt like he had apologized countless times, saying “sorry” and “I’m so sorry” over and over again. He also promised thousands of times that he would protect Olivia from ever experiencing such pain and that he would love her for the rest of his life.

“You really are a crybaby too, aren’t you?”

Yujin smiled through her tears.

“Troy, just pass on one thing to Su-jin—Olivia, I mean.”

Marsden calmed his trembling breath and focused on Yujin, who struggled to get the words out.

“Tell her, ‘Let’s meet in dreams every now and then. And when this life is over, no matter where it takes us, let’s meet in the same world again.’”

Yujin clasped Marsden’s hand and nodded at Servo as well.

“Then, let’s all live in that world together as a family.”

Yujin lifted Marsden to his feet, then pulled Servo in as well, forming a circle.

“Let’s all get along well from now on. And let’s make sure we meet again.”

With that, Yujin disappeared from the dream. Servo tiptoed and gave Marsden a tight hug.

“Congrats on the wedding. See you later, Roy.”

“See you, brother.”

Marsden embraced him with all his might before waking up. His face was drenched with tears, and even after he woke, the scent of Servo lingered in the room.

Marsden immediately returned to the Marquis’ estate and told Olivia everything: about meeting her sister and his brother, why the side effects no longer appeared, all of it.

That day, both Marsden and Olivia cried so hard that even Lizzy was startled. Olivia recounted the story to Lizzy, and soon Lizzy was crying just as much.

“Looks like we’ve got three sobbing fish here,” Olivia joked, as she lay down on the bed, holding Lizzy’s and Marsden’s hands.

“Mom, can you tell us more about your past life?”

“You’ll get bored.”

“No, it’ll make me happy. I want to hear more of your stories.”

“Me too,” Marsden chimed in, lying down next to Olivia and urging her to start.

Olivia stared at the ceiling, wondering where to begin.

“Hmm, give me a second. I caused quite a ruckus in that world too, so I might need to embellish a bit.”

That made all three of them burst into laughter, and they stayed up late into the night, talking until they eventually fell asleep.

The next day, at last, the date for Olivia and Marsden’s wedding was set: 60 days to go.

* * *
Those 60 days flew by. The wedding itself was simple, almost like a rural farmer’s wedding. Yet someone had sent a beautiful bouquet ahead of time as a gift—it was from none other than Ronae.

With only a few dozen people gathered in the garden, Olivia walked arm-in-arm with Marsden, holding her bouquet. Lizzy, serving as the flower girl, walked ahead of them, earning cheers and applause from everyone.

“Our young lady Elizabeth is so beautiful!” Melanie clapped like a proud parent, further brightening the mood.

Following Lizzy, Olivia and Marsden walked down the aisle, receiving the guests’ heartfelt congratulations. The wedding was modest, with no extravagant decorations, just flowers, but it was a celebration where everyone could be themselves and enjoy the day. Hellebore sent a grand flower carriage as a gift, which was so splendid it drew gasps of admiration from the guests.

There was no officiant. Instead, their daughter, Lizzy, handed the ring case to her father, Marsden.

“Groom, please place the ring on the bride’s finger!” Lizzy announced cheerfully. Marsden smiled, patted her head, and gently placed the ring on Olivia’s finger.

“Now, bride, please place the ring on the groom’s finger as a token of your vows.”

Even though they had already exchanged rings before, Olivia’s hand trembled as she slipped the ring onto Marsden’s finger. Marsden squeezed her hand tightly.

“Now that the couple has exchanged rings, I declare Olivia Charbert and Troy Marsden to be officially married!”

Lizzy’s lively voice rang out, and the guests erupted in applause. Melanie, of course, was bawling with joy, while Glenn, still not entirely happy about Marsden, wore a “we’ll see about this” expression.

Illehan stood among the guests, smiling warmly at the couple. As a man who saw Olivia almost as a granddaughter, he couldn’t have been happier for her.

“Now, who should I throw the bouquet to?” Olivia asked playfully, scanning the guests before locking onto her target and tossing the bouquet.

It may have been the only wedding where the bride threw the bouquet like a baseball, straight at an unprepared guest.

“Huh!?” Glenn was left speechless after getting hit by the bouquet. Even though Melanie was crying, she placed the bouquet firmly in Glenn’s hands.

“Congratulations on being the bouquet’s new owner!”

“No, why would I!? No, Marchioness! I have no thoughts of marriage…”

Glenn waved his hands desperately, but Olivia ignored him and took Marsden’s hand, while with her other hand, she grabbed Lizzy’s.

“Let’s all go out together!”

Olivia marched forward like a general, and Lizzy, abandoning any pretense of dignity, hopped along behind her. Marsden couldn’t stop laughing as he watched them.

This was enough. Truly, this was all Marsden needed—this was already his utopia, his heaven.

TL NOTE: Visit dusk blossoms for more chapters of the side story.