Chapter 105: I Missed You, Damian

Was it a dream?

Edelweiss drew in a heavy breath. Air seeped deep into her lungs.

She closed her eyes, following the softly brushing breeze, then opened them again, biting her lip with a sense of comfort—and there were his eyes.

The clear blue like cold waves proved it wasn’t an illusion. Damian, lowering his hand, wrapped his arm around Edelweiss’s waist and turned his gaze.

With a dry expression, he looked down at Adolf, who was still kneeling in shock, and opened his mouth.

“Did you learn from your mother who committed adultery?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Otherwise, how could you propose to the Grand Duchess in a place like this?”

“Please refrain from speaking of my mother in such a way! She has already passed away!”

Adolf’s voice rang out sharply. His neck flushed red as he sprang to his feet and shouted. Rage flared in his eyes. His tightly twisted face had gone pale.

“How unfortunate. I can’t even tell the dead to raise their children properly.”

Damian let out a short scoff. A cold expression followed.

“…How dare you.”

Just as Adolf tried to retort sharply—

“His Majesty the Emperor approaches!”

The chamberlain’s voice sliced through the hall. The large doors swung open as the emperor walked in. Behind him was a high priest dressed in white ceremonial robes.

The nobles all bowed their heads in unison.

The emperor pushed through them and stepped inside, then spotted Damian and approached with a delighted expression.

“Damian. When did you return? Do you know how long I’ve waited for you?”

He hadn’t been particularly shaken when told that Damian had gone missing. Damian didn’t seem to believe his expression either.

It was clear he was only conscious of the eyes of the nobles.

“The imperial heir—”

The Emperor reached out as if to hold the softly whimpering Gloria, but quickly drew his hand back, recalling what had happened last time.

Meanwhile, the High Priest silently stepped forward. Without a word, he lifted his hand and gently placed it on Gloria’s forehead.

Her crying had already stopped. Gloria blinked up at him.

“O Lord, answer the call of Your servant. Pour forth Your grace and bless all her paths,”

the High Priest intoned, his voice laced with divine energy as he pressed gently on her forehead. A shimmering light bloomed from his fingertips.

It spilled down her arm, etching a radiant sigil across her skin.

Eleonore.

That was the name bestowed upon Gloria.

The same name borne by Eleonore I, the sainted ruler recorded in the annals of the Rejenoel Empire.

“What a blessed day. Until now, no member of the imperial family has ever been given the name of Eleonore I. It’s as though Empress Anastasia herself is watching over this child,” the Emperor murmured as he looked once more at the mark on Gloria’s arm.

Everyone held their breath and turned to the Emperor.

“I hereby proclaim—” His voice rang clear and resolute.

“Damian, firstborn son of Empress Anastasia and myself, shall be Crown Prince.”

“……”

“And Gloria, heir to the name of Eleonore I, shall be Crown Princess and the future of Rejenoel.”

A cry of elation surged through the temple.

“May the Crown Prince and Crown Princess be forever blessed by the gods!”

Applause thundered through the chamber. Edelweiss held herself upright, suppressing the dizzy spell that washed over her. She couldn’t collapse here.

She had to hold on—

“…Edelweiss?”

Maybe it was knowing that Damian had returned. That she could finally rest, leave Gloria in his care.

The tension in her body melted away. The strength that had sustained her gave out, her pulse thudding dully in her chest.

Her vision blurred.

And in Damian’s arms, Edelweiss quietly lost consciousness.

***

The prayer room was still and silent.

Beams of light from the high ceiling poured over Edelweiss, resting on a couch.

Damian sat beside her with care.

He had brewed the coral himself and cooled it into a tea. A faint scent of the sea filled the room.

Gently cradling her head, he tipped the cup and let the liquid flow between her parted lips.

Color slowly returned to her face. Damian massaged her hand, pressing it to encourage circulation.

His thoughts drifted—

To the Arcane Strait, where the air reeked of rusted iron and the brine of saltwater breath.

He couldn’t quite remember how it all happened.

He only remembered diving into the sea, heedless of the raging currents. Willing to risk anything—if it meant saving Edelweiss.

The coral grew deep within the dark, frigid depths.

The cold gnawed at his skin like blades. The sea churned, directionless and violent.

His consciousness had faded by degrees as he sank.

‘Is this how I die?’

‘Damian.’

Her voice—light as a breeze—brushed through the blackness.

In a darkness deeper than the abyss, Edelweiss’s voice rang clear.

It was as if she were calling him home.

He opened his eyes.

By instinct, he reached upward, forcing his body through the murky water toward the surface.

His lungs screamed. His limbs ached. His skull throbbed.

But—

He lived.

He surfaced.

“…So live.

“……”

“Because I came back to you alive too.”

The door to the prayer room opened, and the Marquis of Blossomweaver entered. Gloria was in his arms.

“His Majesty called Lady Katarina and Lady Violette to the imperial palace before he passed.”

The Marquis’s face was clouded with heaviness.

Lady Katarina and Lady Violette—

They had long been considered as potential fiancées for Damian.

The Emperor had looked at the collapsed Edelweiss with clear disapproval.

“If Edelweiss doesn’t wake up like this—”

“I fed her the coral.”

At those words, the Marquis of Blossomweaver looked at the peacefully sleeping Edelweiss, his expression visibly brightening.

“Please give her to me.”

Damian lifted Gloria into his arms. Around Gloria’s wrist hung his dog tag.

“Edelweiss put it on her.”

At the Marquis’s words, he fiddled with the dog tag while watching Gloria.

She had grown a lot in the meantime. She used to be so light he barely noticed holding her, but now she had weight to her.

“You’re heavier now.”

Smack!

Whether by accident or not, Gloria smacked Damian on the lips with her hand at just the right moment.

As Damian froze, the Marquis slowly turned his head away. The corners of his mouth trembled.

“…Gloria is a bit smaller than others her age.”

A suppressed laugh flickered across his averted face.

Damian narrowed his eyes at Gloria. It felt like she knew something—this wasn’t the first time she’d hit him.

As she drooled, he reached to wipe her mouth, but Gloria suddenly kissed him on the cheek.

“Ah, ah—”

“……”

“Ah, papa! Ah! Ah!”

Damian blinked slowly and asked again.

“…Papa?”

Gloria burst out in giggles and stretched her hand toward Edelweiss, who was lying down.

She squirmed so much that he laid her beside her, and Gloria poked Edelweiss on the cheek.

Her finger pressed gently, and Edelweiss’s lashes, faintly indented with a dimple, slowly lifted.

The once-blurry green eyes gradually found focus.

“…Am I… alive?”

“Why are you crying?”

Edelweiss quietly sighed and began to cry. She slowly raised herself and fell into Damian’s arms, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“…Are you hurt?”

Startled, Damian tried to check on her, but she shook her head, trembling.

“I’m just so, so happy… I thought… I’d never see you again…”

“……”

“I missed you, Damian.”