The good and gentle child, taking after someone, always ate the prepared baby food without being picky, chewing thoroughly. After finishing, he would laugh happily, showing his good mood.

“Our Delphin seems to be in an especially good mood today?”

“I know. The weather is so nice today, I was thinking of going out to paint together. Though I’m not sure if Delphin will like being outside.”

“Go paint if you want. I’ll look after him.”

Rondimio, who had already finished cleaning up the kitchen, took Delphin from Louise’s lap into his arms.

Feeling sorry for not having been able to help with childcare when Dallin was a baby, he participated in as much of Delphin’s care as possible. In fact, Rondimio had been taking care of most of it since Delphin was weaned.

“So I earn the living expenses, and you, Rondimio, take care of the household?”

“If you want, I could do both.”

Louise laughed again at his sincere statement.

Whenever their family moved to a new city, they always chose houses that were far from bustling areas but had beautiful scenery and were affordable.

Rondimio bought ingredients himself and prepared meals frugally, while Louise made clothes for the family of four, so their living expenses weren’t high.

Thanks to this, their living expenses were sufficiently covered by the money Louise earned from selling her paintings at the market occasionally.

“I can’t make you hear the titles of empress and princess of the empire again, but I can give you similar treatment. Just say the word, Louise.”

“What kind of work are you thinking of doing to earn money for that similar treatment? Don’t say such things, Rondimio, it scares me.”

Louise looked straight into Rondimio’s eyes, genuinely worried, pausing from stroking Delphin.

Not only did she no longer want such treatment, but they also had no financial worries as they still had plenty of money that Tenueis had provided them when they became non-existent in the world.

“I’m happy just with you giving me flowers every week.”

Louise smiled, looking at the flowers that filled one side of the house. She didn’t miss her past life as the princess and empress of the empire at all.

Because she had her beloved Rondimio and lovely children by her side. She was perfectly happy just receiving flowers from him once a week.

Louise sat comfortably on the living room sofa and shifted her gaze to Delphin. The child was playing with his favorite toy in his father’s arms.

It was so comfortable and peaceful. Louise relaxed her body on the soft sofa, watching the child playing in Rondimio’s arms.

“Do you remember anything else? Last night was fun.”

Louise reached out and took Delphin from Rondimio, holding him in her arms again. She wanted to feel the warm and soft body temperature of the child.

Rondimio seemed to feel the same way, as he looked regretfully at his arms where the child had been nestled until just now. Eventually, he sat right next to Louise and fell into deep thought.

“Hmm. This is also a memory, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“Something I won’t like?”

Louise barely managed to remove the toy that was about to enter Delphin’s mouth and wondered what memory she wouldn’t like.

Last night, the two had shared not only past events but also memories that Rondimio had lost when he came back in time. Not all memories could be good, but if what he was talking about now was from those lost memories…

“That day, you looked so beautiful in that white dress. So beautiful that I regret having lost those memories.”

Louise’s face hardened in an instant.

She had thought it might be the case, but she hadn’t expected him to recall that day. At a banquet held ostensibly for their second child, Louise had met her death with a black sword piercing her heart.

“That day was……”

“I just meant that the dress suited you well. Not what came after.”

Louise stared blankly at Rondimio. Of course, she understood that he wasn’t saying every moment of that day was good, but she hadn’t expected to hear about that day from his lips again.

There was no way she could have looked pretty when she was trembling in fear of death at the time.

“You really seem to love me. Saying you fell in love at first sight, and now saying I looked pretty ‘that day’.”

Louise, hugging Delphin tighter in her arms, lightly touched one of Rondimio’s cheeks. For someone saying she looked pretty, he didn’t seem to remember that he had personally gifted her that dress that day.

It was a memory they no longer recalled. Thinking back on it now, it truly gave her a strange feeling.

“It’s disappointing that you’re only acknowledging it now.”

Peck. Rondimio lightly kissed Louise’s cheek as she was lost in thought again. It seemed like he was returning the gesture from when she had touched his cheek earlier.

Then, noticing that Louise’s mood had dampened, he decided to change the subject a bit.

“Let’s stop talking about the past and talk about the present instead?”

“The present? Like how Tenueis, who became the new emperor of Araceli, is called a wise ruler by everyone, and how the king of Robisa, who made you miserable, was killed by his own illegitimate sons?”

That was what Louise wanted too. She gently patted Delphin, who was mumbling in her arms, and recalled some recent news she had learned.

Although they were living a wandering life, they hadn’t completely let go of their interest in the places they had left, so they occasionally learned news.

That Tenueis was doing even better than expected, and that Rondimio’s father, who had sent him as a prisoner to the Araceli Empire, had been brutally killed by his other illegitimate sons.

She smiled slightly at the former news because it was good, and for the latter news, she found herself grinning unconsciously for days because it was so satisfying.

“I know that too. But what I’m curious about is how my mother, who abandoned me, is living now.”

But Rondimio seemed to want to talk about a different present. For instance, about his mother who had run away with a palace servant, abandoning him.

This was a part where Louise couldn’t carelessly offer her opinion, so she pondered for a long time about how to answer.

“How would you like her to be living, Rondimio?”

“I hope she’s neither too happy nor too unhappy. Since we’re also doing well like this.”

“Then she must be living like that.”

But even without Louise’s pondering, Rondimio gave his own answer. After all, the two of them weren’t living completely honorable lives either.

They decided to stop recalling both past memories and present matters.

* * *

That afternoon.

Louise decided to go to the bustling area with Dallin, who had woken up late that day.

Of course, Rondimio and Delphin were following behind, but the mother and daughter acted as if they were alone, whispering something in low voices and repeatedly bursting into laughter.

“This place always seems to be crowded.”

“Oh. That shop seems to have many pretty things. Let’s go together!”

“Mom was just looking at that shop too.”

Louise and Dallin had similar tastes in many ways. Today, too, they were strolling through the center of the city wearing identical dresses they had made, like twins.

“Dallin, is there anything you want? You said before that there was a book you wanted to read.”

“Hmm, no. I’ve changed my mind now. I want to learn how to paint from you, Mother.”

“You want to paint? Then let’s go buy materials that fit your hands perfectly.”

“Yes!”

Perhaps excited about the family outing after a long time, Dallin was walking faster than usual. Louise quickened her steps to stay close to Dallin, then looked around.

With two children, the top priority for Louise and Rondimio when moving to a city was security. As Louise habitually scanned the surroundings, Dallin also turned her head as if imitating her.

While walking excitedly like that, Dallin’s footsteps suddenly stopped in place.

“Mother. I saw a familiar face over there. Would you like to go together?”

“A familiar face?”

Dallin stretched out her hand, pointing somewhere while looking at Louise.

Wondering what was happening, Louise approached Dallin, and the child immediately seemed to make up her mind, firmly grabbing Louise’s hand and leading her to the center of the street where numerous people were passing by.

“Wait, those people are……”

And Louise quickly recognized the familiar faces Dallin had mentioned. They were Ciel and Marquis Est, who had been Louise and Rondimio’s close confidants for a long time.

Louise stood still at the sight of these dear people she hadn’t seen in a very long time.

To think she would meet Ciel and Marquis Est here. Her heart raced at seeing people she had forgotten long ago.

She wanted to run to them immediately because she was so happy to see them, but she knew very well that she shouldn’t. She thought it was enough just to see that they were living well.

“So they ended up getting married.”

By now, Rondimio had come to Louise’s side and quietly joined in her observation.

Of course, Dallin, who had been young, would also have memories of them, but they were even more special to Louise and Rondimio.

They had been close confidants for a very long time, and they were among the few people who knew that they had become non-existent in the world.

“Is marriage the issue right now? It looks like they had a child right after we left.”

Louise agreed with Rondimio’s speculation but couldn’t take her eyes off the two people just a few steps away. It was fascinating and joyful.

To think she would see them married with two children, living happily.

Ciel, visibly close to full term, was holding tightly onto Marquis Est’s arm. And Marquis Est was carrying a child who appeared to be about three or four years old.

“Ciel, really. She told me it was nothing more than just liking him.”

Five years ago, the two, along with Tenueis, helped them secretly escape. At that time, Louise noticed their growing affection for each other, but Ciel stubbornly denied it.

Perhaps she didn’t want to share unnecessary stories with someone she would soon part from. Judging by the age of their first child, it seemed they had married and conceived a baby as soon as Louise and Rondimio had left.

“It’s good to see that the two of them, no, the four of them, are doing well.”