Snow stayed with Ceres until just before boarding the ship. Saying “just a little more, just a little more,” she finally had to board when the time came. Even while walking on the plank connecting to the ship, she kept looking back and nearly had a serious accident. She misstepped and almost fell into the sea, but Elios quickly caught her. Arianne, who was watching nearby, gasped in shock. It was extremely dangerous.

After that, Elios practically wrapped Snow in his cloak. Although Snow walked more carefully, she still kept glancing toward where Ceres and the two high priests were standing. Even after boarding the ship, she clung to the railing on the deck, waving until the end.

“I’ll write letters!”

It was doubtful whether Ceres and the high priests, now appearing as mere dots, could hear her words, but she shouted them out as the thought suddenly occurred to her. She could faintly see Ceres Martadia waving back. Her chest felt heavy and painful.

Would there ever come a day when she could hear Ceres’s gentle voice with her own ears again? Would she ever again hear the occasional advice from the taciturn High Priest Patrick, or the jokes from the outgoing High Priest Verdus?

Finding it hard to breathe from the emotions welling up, she managed to exhale a hot breath. Arianne, who was waving alongside her to Ceres’s group, noticed her complexion and offered words of comfort.

“As you said, Snow, you can write letters. It might take a long time to get there and receive replies, but it’s not like you won’t be able to contact them at all. It’s okay. It’s okay, Snow.”

Arianne didn’t realize that despite her words, her own face looked even more tearful. Snow was grateful that Arianne had come along, but she also felt sorry.

Arianne had followed Snow, left the order, and came to the rural barony, and now she was following Snow again to some unnamed island. It seemed that while Elios and Snow had found their own lives, only Arianne remained trapped in the past.

Snow hoped that someday Arianne would find a life for herself. When that time came, she might have to part with Arianne. It would be sad and painful, just like parting with Ceres now. But she knew it would be for Arianne’s own good.

“Yes. It’s okay.”

“It’s okay.” Snow repeated Arianne’s words.

Though she was sad about parting with Ceres, even this sad emotion was something that the once-solitary deity had intensely envied. If one weren’t sad about never seeing a precious person again, that would be a false emotion. This sadness and regret were all genuinely for those three people standing at the port, making them precious and valuable.

So it was okay.

Whether sad or painful, it was okay. Without trying to contain her sad and painful emotions, letting them run wild, Snow called out to Arianne.

“Arianne.”

“Yes?”

“I’m really fortunate to have you by my side.”

“Oh, Snow. I feel the same way.”

Arianne looked freshly touched. Elios, who had been sitting quietly in a nearby chair listening to Arianne and Snow’s conversation, lifted his head. He looked at Snow, mouthing the words “What about me?”

Though he had grown into a dependable young man who now gave off more of a big brother vibe than a friend, at this moment, he seemed to have reverted to the twelve-year-old mischievous prince he once was. But since she was currently talking with Arianne, Snow ignored Elios and continued speaking to Arianne.

“Still, if someday Arianne finds her own life and leaves my side, I’ll be sad but also happy at the same time. I won’t stop you; I’ll give you my blessing.”

“Ah, my life is you, Snow. If I can see you become happy, what greater happiness could there be for me?”

After saying that, she added:

“Of course, I don’t mean that in a creepy way, like I’ll be following you around all the time. Actually, I’d be fine with that, but I don’t think I could handle the anger of His Former Majesty… no, ‘El’ over there.”

She whispered the last part so only Snow could hear. Elios was still staring at them. When his eyes met Snow’s, he pretended to be distracted and turned his gaze to the deep blue sea. Snow let out a small laugh. El was being quite cute today.

“I’ll just be there as a neighbor, as someone close. Watching from a distance as you smile, occasionally able to visit. You’ll allow that much, won’t you?”

“That’s not something that needs my permission. If that’s what Arianne wants to do, then that’s what you should do.”

“Our beautiful Snow!”

Arianne hugged Snow tightly. Snow smiled broadly.

While it would be enough if Arianne was happy, still, if—really, if—Arianne were to find greater happiness, if she decided to leave to find something of her own, Snow would certainly be happy for her. Because Arianne was Snow’s…

“Mother,” Snow said. It felt somewhat awkward and unfamiliar on her tongue. Arianne, who had been hugging Snow and nuzzling against her, froze.

“What did you just…”

It was Arianne who had cried out to Snow in the snow field that Snow’s mother was right here before her eyes. But when Snow actually called her that, she was startled.

“If there’s anyone who deserves to be called ‘mother’ by me, it’s none other than you.”

Arianne cried again. Her eyes reddened, and soon she was hugging Snow and sobbing like a child. Snow liked everything about Arianne, but she wished she wouldn’t cry so often. Not that crying was bad, but it was emotionally draining, and Arianne would be exhausted.

“How could I leave such a person… The most lovable person in the world, a person who deserves to be loved…”

She cried for a long time, a very long time.

“I hope you won’t cry so much from now on. It will be hard on you, Arianne.”

“Yes. If that’s what Snow wants, I will.”

“You say that, but you’re still crying.”

Snow said, quite perplexed. Arianne cried even louder.

“How, how can I not cry in this situation! Snow called me mother!”

“I’ll cry just this one last time today,” Arianne said, and then started crying again. A few people on the deck were looking over, wondering what was happening. But Snow no longer tried to stop Arianne.

The ship was cutting through the vast sea with a swooshing sound. The sea breeze, laden with moisture and mixed with saltiness, was blowing. Both Elios and Arianne were with Snow, and now there was no need to fear being sad or angry.

From now on, she would live freely—feeling sad when she wanted, getting angry when she wanted, and missing people when she wanted.

Thinking this way made her feel incredibly refreshed. Both sadness and joy filled her to the brim, making her feel almost intoxicated. This was not the end.

It was a new beginning.

♣ ♣ ♣

A thick night settled heavily on the deep blue sea. The ship continued to cut through the waves. Stars, as if poured out in abundance, were reflected shimmering on the sea. It felt like floating in the Milky Way.

The sea was quite different from land. In fact, this was Snow’s first time seeing the sea in person. Of course, she had seen it countless times through the pond, but this was her first direct experience. The sea had many fascinating aspects. For example, the fishy smell that had been strong when they first departed was now barely noticeable.

Though it didn’t seem like they had traveled far, the land had already shrunk out of sight. Snow was standing alone, leaning against the railing. Arianne, who had been with her until a little while ago, had gone inside, unable to overcome her seasickness.

Snow looked around. Most people had gone inside, and only two or three remained on the deck. Among them was Elios, sitting nearby with a book in his hand.

Since getting off the carriage, Snow had been wearing her cloak pulled over her head, just in case. Now that it was dark and there were few people around, it seemed unnecessary.

Snow’s white hair, like a crescent moon, fluttered gently in the wind. The wind was a bit strong, but that was fine too.

Elios had closed his book at some point and was now standing beside Snow. The height difference between them had been significant before, but now it seemed even greater. Elios had undoubtedly grown taller in the past four years.

“Aren’t you cold?”

If she said she was cold, he would surely take off his outer garment and wrap it around her. It was a bit chilly, but she didn’t want to make Elios cold just to keep herself warm. Out of stubbornness, Snow shook her head.

“Really not cold?”

Elios asked again. His expression was serious, but his eyes were smiling. Only then did she think he might be planning something. Today, Elios was acting somewhat mischievously. Snow opened her eyes wide and asked:

“If I am cold, what are you going to do?”

Instead of answering, Elios embraced Snow from behind. Snow’s body completely disappeared under Elios’s large cloak, with only her face peeking out. This way, not only Snow but also Elios, who was holding her, became warm.

It wasn’t the first time she had been in his arms, but Snow felt somehow shy and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“This is my first time seeing the sea.”

“Come to think of it, that’s true.”

“Have you been here before, El?”

“I came a few times when I was young.”

It only now occurred to her that since Elios had been a prince from birth, he would have experienced most places, even if only for educational purposes. That’s right. He was a prince. The prince that Snow had admired and dreamed of as a child.

He had been a prince, then Emperor, then former Emperor, and now he was someone who constantly told her that she was more precious to him than any of those positions.

She remembered how Elios had mouthed “What about me?” when she had thanked Arianne for being by her side earlier.

“You heard everything Arianne and I were talking about earlier, didn’t you?”

“Well…”

Elios answered ambiguously.

“If Arianne ever finds something more precious to her than me, or rather, if something that can make Arianne happier than I can ever appears, I will let her go without hesitation. It would be very difficult and painful, but I would still do it.”