It wasn’t until after noon that Ains finally fell asleep.

He seemed to have a lot on his mind, silently listening to my lullaby for quite a while before eventually drifting off.

Now that Ains was asleep, I thought I might get some rest too and carefully tried to get up.

“!”

However, perhaps sensing my attempt to leave, Ains suddenly grabbed my wrist.

Clutching my startled heart, I checked on Ains.

Through his half-opened eyes, I could see blue irises looking at me.

“…Ains?”

Not expecting him to wake up, I called out to him in surprise.

He closed his eyes, let out a low breath, and spoke.

“Don’t go.”

His voice was husky, as if drunk with sleep.

“Don’t go…”

I hesitated for a moment at his words that sounded like a plea.

Whether he was holding onto me in his sleep, or if this was his conscious sincere request.

It was difficult to guess what he was thinking.

“Should I stay?”

So I asked him directly.

He gave a small nod in response.

At this gesture of affirmation, I tried to remove my wrist from his grip.

“…Weren’t you going to stay?”

Ains looked up at me anxiously. His wavering eyes made my heart soften even more.

“I will stay.”

“Then why are you…”

“Because it hurts. The blood flow is cut off.”

Only then did Ains release my wrist. A belated look of apology crossed his face.

“Sorry. I couldn’t control my strength.”

“No. It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Was it because he was half-asleep?

His words sounded like a child’s whining.

I carefully smoothed back his hair. The ticklish sensation at my fingertips felt pleasant. Feeling my touch, Ains closed his eyes again.

After a while, I could hear his soft breathing. Checking on him, I could see his chest rising and falling steadily. It seemed he was completely asleep now.

I considered leaving but decided to stay as I was.

It wasn’t like anything was happening, I was just staying beside him. Besides, I had originally planned to go back to my room to lie down and rest.

Even though I had dozed off briefly during the night, it had only been a short nap in an uncomfortable position, so I was still tired. And I was also exhausted from singing lullabies non-stop to help Ains sleep as soon as we arrived.

After hesitating, I lay down next to Ains.

His face came closer as I did so.

I slowly etched his face into my memory.

Below his straight, rounded forehead were his beautifully closed eyes. Between them was his prominently bridged nose. His firmly pressed lips appeared somewhat stubborn at first glance.

Well, that was true actually.

Ains’s stubbornness was quite well-known.

Finding my own thoughts amusing, I swallowed a laugh.

Only after calming down did I feel fatigue washing over me like a wave.

* * *

Ains opened his eyes less than two hours after he had fallen asleep.

For just a brief moment, until noon, he had barely resisted the approaching drowsiness to not miss Cecilia’s singing voice, and now he frowned as he realized he had fallen asleep without knowing it.

But strangely, despite the short sleep, his body felt refreshed and clear.

As he unconsciously tried to get up, he froze upon seeing Cecilia sleeping peacefully right in front of him.

Cecilia’s face was too close.

They must have gotten closer while sleeping.

Feeling his heart beating rapidly, he gave up on getting up.

There wasn’t anything to do even if he did get up anyway.

He had already taken care of all the work that needed to be done for the next four days last week in order to come here.

Though he was handling additional matters that needed attention here and there, none of them were particularly urgent.

Moreover, he needed rest right now.

‘Yes. Rest is necessary.’

Having convinced himself, Ains lay facing Cecilia.

Then he quietly watched her.

Despite all the emotional suffering she had endured because of him since childhood, she had ultimately forgiven him.

He felt both sorry and grateful to her.

Though he frequently tried to convey his feelings to her, he was always anxious, unsure if his sincerity truly reached her.

But today, he had heard her sincere feelings.

“…Thank you.”

Ains expressed his gratitude to her, knowing she couldn’t hear him.

* * *

“Tomorrow is our last day, how about going to the lake?”

Ains suggested to me on the day before we were to return.

The lake was where we used to ride boats together when we were young.

I had heard that Alex used to enjoy fishing there with the former Duke Graham.

“At this time in the evening?”

The issue was the timing. It was evening now, with the sun setting. It wasn’t really an appropriate time to head to the lake.

“It’s fine, I’ve had lights set up. There won’t be any danger.”

Ains said confidently.

I hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Since we were at the Jermel villa anyway, it didn’t seem like a bad choice to visit once.

Ains must have anticipated that I would agree to go to the lake, as he had already prepared everything.

We started walking towards the lakeside, taking a leisurely stroll.

Back when we were only as tall as our current waist height, the path to the lakeside had seemed so far, but now as adults, it felt closer than we had thought as children.

“Wow…!”

As Ains had said, the lakeside we finally reached was lit up.

It didn’t look like simple lighting though.

I couldn’t help but exclaim in wonder at the beautiful display of lights flying around.

“What is all this?”

The lights floating in the air looked almost like a curtain of light.

But it was clearly different from an aurora.

That’s because this curtain of light was artificially created by magic.

The curtain of light beautifully embroidered the air.

I looked around, feeling entranced.

Even though I was familiar with handling magic, I didn’t think I could create such a beautiful scene.

“I prepared it thinking you would like it.”

Ains seemed shy, unable to meet my eyes.

I turned to look at him with a bright smile.

“It’s really beautiful.”

Only then did Ains lift the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“When did you prepare this?”

“…Before we came here.”

I opened my eyes wide in surprise at Ains’s answer.

I realized that when he said ‘before we came,’ he didn’t mean before reaching the lakeside, but before coming to the Jermel villa.

Seeing my surprise, he hesitantly watched my reaction.

Then he took something out from his chest and knelt on one knee in front of me. He held out what he had taken from his chest.

What he presented to me was a small jewelry box.

“For this.”

After finishing his words, Ains opened the jewelry box to reveal a diamond ring containing brilliant colors.

“This…”

I froze momentarily at Ains’s unexpected gift.

“I know what hardships you’ve been through because of me, what pain you’ve endured. I know how shameless it is for me to approach you like this.”

Ains trailed off with a pained expression.

Then, gathering his courage again, he added more words.

“But still, I’ve grown greedy to be with you. To never create regrets in our relationship for the rest of our lives, and to do more of the things I couldn’t do for you before.”

Ains’s voice trembled slightly.

It was evidence of how nervous he was.

His Adam’s apple bobbed once as if swallowing dry saliva.

Only then did he open his mouth, as if he was trying to gather courage.

“That’s why I prepared for today. Cecilia, if someone like me is acceptable, would you start over with me?”

Unlike his trembling voice, his eyes didn’t waver at all.

I knew it was because they were filled with certainty.

Indeed, I had already known through our conversations that Ains wanted to be together with me again.

Yet I hadn’t accepted his feelings because my emotions toward him were still complicated.

But this time was different.

After long and careful consideration, I had sorted out my feelings and forgiven him. And I had conveyed those feelings to him.

It was time to move on from the past.

“Ains.”

“I’m listening.”

Ains responded immediately.

With difficulty, I moved my lips to answer his confession.

“Yes.”