Cesar seemed flustered by Lesia’s sudden words and actions, but he didn’t refuse her behavior. Following Lesia’s pull, Cesar relaxed his body.

Lesia wrapped her arms tightly around Cesar’s neck. Like she wouldn’t let him go anywhere.

From the beginning, Cesar couldn’t feel any sense of reality.

-I love you, Cesar.

-I missed you so much, I felt like I’d die if I didn’t see you right away, so I came all the way here to find you.

Lesia had said she loved him. That she came all the way here because she missed him.

‘Really?’

No, when had he ever doubted her words?

‘But.’

Because this situation was so unbelievable, Cesar found it difficult to accept reality. The body in his arms, the breath, the voice…

Because he couldn’t believe it, Cesar lifted his head and looked at her. Young Lesia was looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

That face brought complex emotions to Cesar. A face that would never be forgotten from his memory. The beginning of everything.

‘And it should be the end…’

Knowing what despair his selfishness had brought, he couldn’t be drawn to that selfishness again. He had something he needed to do. Setting right what went wrong.

“Lesia.”

Cesar carefully removed the tender arms wrapped around his body and stood up. Lesia’s pupils shook with anxiety as she watched him.

“Cesar…?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What…”

Seeing her confused face, Cesar clenched his teeth tightly. He couldn’t waver. He mustn’t waver.

“I’ll restore your world that was twisted because of me.”

“What are you talking about? Don’t say strange things… Let’s go back.”

Lesia desperately reached out her hand toward him, but Cesar didn’t take that hand. The banquet was in full swing, with light and music flowing from the distance.

Looking at that light, he spoke.

“We never met here. I didn’t see you, and you enjoyed the banquet then returned to the village with the people of Flora Village.”

It was the same words Elisa had said. The happiest future Lesia had always imagined, the one she knew best. That would become reality.

Could there be a more heartbreaking, desperate temptation than this? But…

“What about you?”

“…”

“Cesar, what about you…? What happens to us?”

This wasn’t a hallucination like Elisa’s memory. The two had actually returned to the day of the banquet when they were ten.

If she let Cesar go here, their connection would truly be severed. When they returned to reality, Lesia wouldn’t remember Cesar, and Cesar wouldn’t remember Lesia either.

“…Are you really okay with that?”

“Lesia.”

Cesar’s body tensed at Lesia’s painful voice.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Cesar!”

“But I’ll promise you just this one thing.”

He approached and extended his pinky finger toward her. Lesia stared blankly at that pinky.

“If you allow me, I’ll come find you.”

She instinctively realized she couldn’t hold onto him. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t keep Cesar here.

Accepting that fact, tears welled up uncontrollably. Had her emotions become childlike because her body had become a child’s?

She thought she was quite confident at holding back tears, but without Lesia realizing it, thick tears were already falling from her large eyes. However, Lesia didn’t wipe away her tears and looked at Cesar as they flowed.

If it had been the original Cesar, he would have been more flustered by her tears and tried to comfort her. She hoped for that sight, but Cesar was only looking at her with a sad smile.

“…You don’t lie.”

The words about staying by her side, about supporting her from behind, about saving her even at the cost of his own life. He had kept all of them in the end.

But while Lesia believed his words, she also thought it would be impossible.

“…Just this once, I’ll trust you completely.”

Lesia’s bent pinky hooked onto Cesar’s pinky.

“I’ll promise too.”

“…Lesia.”

“I’ll wait.”

“…”

Cesar’s red pupils shook. Lesia looked gently at those violently swirling eyes.

“Yes.”

He barely managed to answer, suppressing the surging emotions. After that, the pinky promise was broken and Cesar passed by her and moved away.

Lesia watched his retreating back and finally cried like a child. She cried and cried and cried again.

As Cesar completely disappeared, the world where Lesia existed began to collapse. Even until the moment before falling into the pit that swallowed the world, Lesia tried to engrave Cesar’s image in her eyes until the end.

I won’t forget. Even if our meeting becomes something that never happened, I’ll never forget.

Finally, the pit swallowed Lesia too. And…

“…Sia, Lesia!”

Flash.

At the voice calling her, Lesia’s eyes snapped open. Sunlight was painfully stabbing her eyes.

What?

“Why is she oversleeping today of all days… Oh my, have you been crying?”

Juliana, who had come in to scold her, was surprised to see Lesia’s face soaked with tears and rushed over.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere? Did you have a bad dream?”

At her urgent voice, Lesia blankly touched around her eyes. They were really damp. Not just damp, but swollen from how much she had cried.

“Why are you like this on such a good day? What’s wrong? Tell mom. Hmm?”

Juliana, who had never seen her daughter cry, became even more anxious and pressed for answers. Only then did Lesia struggle to part her lips.

“Mo… m?”

“Yes.”

“Are you really mom?”

“Of course I’m really mom, who else would I be? You’re really strange today… I should take you to Grandma Lulu…”

However, Juliana couldn’t finish her words. Because Lesia had suddenly embraced her.

“Mom. Mom. Mom, sob…”

“Lesia?”

Juliana’s eyes shook at Lesia’s incomprehensible behavior. But soon she let out a light sigh and patted Lesia’s back with a voice full of laughter.

“You must have had a scary dream.”

A scary dream? Was that it? Actually, she couldn’t remember well. Just a sense of loss and sadness like she had lost something most precious.

“Still, stop crying. Would it be right to show tears from morning on a day like today?”

At Juliana’s words, Lesia wiped her eyes and asked with a puzzled expression.

“A day like today?”

“Oh my, did you forget that too?”

“…”

“Today is your twentieth birthday.”

“Huh?”

“Look at this girl?”

Juliana shook her head with an incredulous laugh, then got up and opened the front door. Then people tumbled through the open door like dominoes.

“Ahhh!”

“It’s, it’s heavy!”

“Move aside please…!”

Lesia, who had jumped up from her seat at the sudden situation, approached them.

“Uncle Chalson and Aunt Amy… Uncle Jordan and even Grandma Lulu. What brings you here?”

“Haha.”

At Lesia’s bewildered voice, Chalson awkwardly laughed and stood up.

“Well, the thing is.”

Then he approached Lesia and presented what he had hidden behind his back.

“Happy twentieth birthday, Lesia!”

It was a cake made of castella. Starting with Chalson’s words, congratulations poured from everywhere.

“Congratulations on becoming an adult, Lesia!”

“But we’re against you becoming independent!”

And Grandma Lulu, who emerged from among the people, patted Lesia’s back and whispered.

“Happy birthday, dear.”

Her hair, which had already been white, had become even whiter. Her face and the back of her hands had more wrinkles, but her kind eyes remained the same.

“Everyone…”

“You should say something to commemorate finally becoming an adult!”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

“How do you feel, Lesia!”

Lesia wiped away the welling tears, held the cake tightly with both hands, smiled brightly and shouted.

“Thank you for the meal!”

Then laughter burst out.

“That’s right! Lesia would like cake more than becoming an adult!”

“Look through the gift bundle later too.”

“Today is your day, Lesia.”

Amid the pouring congratulations, Lesia cut the castella and put it in her mouth. The castella left a sweet taste in her mouth and melted away instantly.

“As expected… Uncle Chalson’s castella is the best.”

“Hehe, you rascal. I’m embarrassed.”

Chalson scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.

“Is it that delicious?”

“I knew she was originally a castella ghost, but I didn’t know she’d like it this much…”

“Eat slowly, child.”

Words mixed with teasing and worry poured out, but Lesia didn’t care and only put castella in her mouth. But why was it?

No matter how much she ate, it felt like some empty corner wasn’t being filled.

‘It feels like I’ve forgotten something very important.’

A strong premonition washed over her that this emptiness wouldn’t disappear until she figured out what she had forgotten.

Then someone suddenly spoke.

“Oh right, did you hear? The Grand Duke Velius is holding a grand banquet this time.”