Chapter 73 Part 5: The End. My Light, My Soul

A gentle breeze blew.

A green field stretched out before them.

A simple landscape, Eckshire.

This village in the northwest of the empire hadn’t changed, even after all these years.

Quite a bit of time had passed.

A year, to be exact.

A short time, if you looked at it one way, a long time if you looked at it another.

But somehow, Rosa felt like she had experienced a lot.

Rattle-

Two carriages entered the village.

At a rather slow pace.

The view of the village through the window.

It was a tranquil afternoon scene.

Coming to Eckshire was Rosa’s insistence.

[Do you want to go? To Eckshire.]

At Rosa’s words, Caron hesitated.

His bride was four months pregnant.

It was a long journey, and he couldn’t help but worry.

But Caron knew.

He couldn’t dissuade Rosa.

Their relationship had changed somehow.

After Rosa became pregnant, she became the one in charge.

You could say she held the reins of the relationship.

In the end, following Rosa’s strong will, the two came to Eckshire.

Of course, the carriages moved at the slowest possible speed, and the insides were filled with soft blankets.

It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Caron worried about her every moment.

He would offer Rosa anything she wanted, even the stars.

‘But if it’s something that could harm her body..?’

He had firmly opposed it.

But it all came from a place of deep devotion.

[The most sensitive time for a woman is during pregnancy, my lord.]

Pavel had said that.

Even if he hadn’t said it, Caron knew.

It was the time to be most careful, the time to take care of her the most.

His beloved Rosa.

She was carrying a child.

‘And that child is mine…?’

When he thought that it was his and Rosa’s child.

It felt strange.

He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it.

But it felt exhilarating, and his heart felt full.

Now he truly felt connected to Rosa Anencia, the one and only woman for him.

“….Rosa.”

Caron grasped her small, white hand.

A hand so different from his, so feminine.

“Hmm…?”

Then Rosa looked at him.

A round, small forehead. A cute, straight nose.

Dainty, pink lips and flushed, lively cheeks.

Unbelievably beautiful.

The embodiment of all gentleness in the world.

Her red eyes, looking at him, were filled with a gentle warmth.

When their eyes met, he would involuntarily inhale.

Because he felt an overflowing affection that he couldn’t handle.

‘I’m happy.’

Once upon a time.

He never thought such a word would enter his life.

But now Caron felt it.

A sense of fulfillment deep in his heart.

Every moment he spent with Rosa.

Some things don’t change, even with the passage of time.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been here.”

This familiar feeling, even though it had been so long.

At Rosa’s words, Caron looked out the window.

And there it was.

Eckshire, in the height of summer.

Two seasons had passed, and it was the end of the third.

Eckshire hadn’t changed at all, but at the same time, it had.

Rosa and Caron remembered this village.

The green fields in spring, the languid afternoons in summer.

“In the fall, this place will be all golden.”

Caron nodded.

He remembered the scene too.

“It’ll be so pretty. Should we have come a little later?”

But now was really the limit.

Around fall, Rosa’s belly would be swollen.

In fact, even now, her belly was starting to show.

Lately, her morning sickness had gotten worse, and she had become picky about food.

Caron would do anything Rosa wanted.

Didn’t he bring all sorts of desserts even now? And sandwiches with vegetables.

“We’ve arrived, Your Majesty.”

Finally, the carriage stopped.

Caron got off the carriage first and, naturally, escorted Rosa.

“Thank you, Caron.”

Rosa held onto the door handle and carefully got off.

Caron gently helped her down, as if embracing her.

How much more would he have to get used to it?

Rosa’s face turned red.

Caron’s meticulous care had finally swayed her.

It had even swayed her heart.

The soldiers escorting them followed at a distance.

So if you looked around, it was just the two of them.

“Huh…! Could it be?”

Suddenly, they heard a voice.

They looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man.

He hesitated for a while, then slowly approached them.

“Are you Miss Rosa and Master Caron?”

How did he recognize them?

The reason was very simple.

If a man and a woman with the same characteristics as the two of them were together like this, it was obvious.

Rosa and Caron recognized him too.

“….John?”

That’s right.

He was the one who had suffered in his childhood.

The boy who was always made to play the role of the princess because his voice sounded like a girl’s.

But now, he was a proper young man.

“Your voice has changed.”

John smiled and answered Rosa.

“Of course it has… Yes. It has.”

Eckshire was a small, remote village.

It was possible that the rumors hadn’t reached this place yet.

If they had heard the name of the saint, Rosa Anencia, and her characteristics.

They would know the identities of the two.

But even if they hadn’t, John knew that the two were nobles.

Everyone had aged.

They couldn’t remain purely innocent forever. In other words, they had become adults.

John looked at their clasped hands and smiled as if he had expected it.

In fact, Rosa and Caron didn’t know this.

But the children of the village had made a bet back then.

On when the two would start dating. Since they were always together.

It was nice to see him after so long. But soon, John turned his head.

“Honey, hurry up!”

His wife was waiting for him.

“Then, I wish you two happiness-!”

John bowed and walked away.

“John, you too…!”

Whether he heard Rosa’s reply or not, they didn’t know.

But as they watched him walk away, she suddenly realized.

‘There are relationships that just pass by.’

Such an obvious fact.

That even in an unchanging landscape, things change.

‘But if there is one thing that hasn’t changed…’

It was the two of them, still together.

Rosa felt a lump in her throat for no reason and looked up at Caron beside her.

Just then, as if he had the same thought, Caron looked down at her.

“Shall we go, then?”

Said Rosa.

Caron nodded.

Soon, the small villa of Eckshire came into view.

A small and beautiful mansion.

It was the villa of the Anencia estate.

Of course, no one was staying there now.

It was a place that the caretaker visited once every two or three days.

The two strolled through the empty villa together, reminiscing.

First, the hall, which wasn’t small.

A long table was placed there.

“We ate together here.”

Of course, they both remembered.

The many times. The dinners the two had shared.

“Remember when we played chess the day before Thanksgiving?”

At Rosa’s words, Caron shrugged.

“I remember someone got sulky and almost missed dinner.”

“That’s not true.”

Rosa already knew.

She had genuinely told him to eat dinner, thinking of Caron.

“Even if we hadn’t eaten here, you would have eaten plenty, I bet.”

Caron didn’t deny those words.

“But it’s much more delicious to eat with you.”

The reason he looked forward to meal times.

Rosa always took care of him.

No matter what food was served, she would take care of him first.

If there was turkey, all the drumsticks would end up on his plate.

Rosa, acting as if she were his older sister.

Caron liked that about her.

And the back garden with the rocking chair.

The two had shared many conversations there.

Usually at sunset.

Under the red setting sun.

Sitting side by side on the chair, letting the rocking motion sway their bodies.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been here, too.”

Caron spoke, feeling nostalgic.

In fact, there was one painful memory associated with this rocking chair.

He had given Rosa flowers.

“It was probably for your coming-of-age ceremony.”

He had carefully chosen a rose to express his feelings.

Rosa had refused without hesitation.

“I remember what you said then, too.
[Caron. You should give this to a girl you like.]”

From her perspective, she was probably giving advice, thinking of him.

Rosa had a strange expression.

“Ah, back then…”

She suddenly realized.

‘It’s been a long time.’

Since Caron had started liking her.

Even when she was oblivious.

‘If I didn’t have my memories from before……’

If she had been a real woman from the start.

Then she would have had no choice but to notice.

No, she was certain.

Caron was outstanding in many ways.

There was nothing to criticize about him.

‘If I had such an attractive friend by my side…?’

She probably would have fallen for him first.

At first, Caron was indifferent to everything, so it must have happened that way.

Of course, it was all meaningless speculation now.

“Still, I’m grateful you accepted. Should I say this to you? What do you think?”

Caron said with a bit of playfulness.

A cool, almost cold impression.

But when a charming smile appeared, that impression changed in an instant.

This was a side of him that only Rosa knew.

Thump-thump-

Her little heart beat faster.

When Caron smiled, he was really quite handsome.

‘Of course, he’s a good-looking guy even normally…….’

But that smile was just cheating.

A smile that truly captivated anyone who saw it.

“Ahem-“

Clearing her throat for no reason.

Rosa led Caron again.

“Sh, shall we go to the Glass Lake…?”

She couldn’t help but stutter.

Caron chuckled at Rosa’s flushed face.

It seemed an answer wasn’t necessary.

“Here. Get on my back.”

He bent down in front of Rosa.

“Why? I can walk.”

“The path to the Glass Lake is a forest trail.”

Caron wouldn’t budge on things like this.

Eventually, Rosa got on his back.

The feeling of his presence from his back was quite substantial.

A forest path in the middle of summer.

The setting sun shone on the path ahead like a blessing.

Careful steps. The scenery of the forest slowly passing by.

Rosa wrapped her arms around Caron’s neck and held him tightly.

She rubbed her cheek against his broad back for no reason. She inhaled and smelled the scent of the forest.

It was definitely not to smell Caron’s scent.

Absolutely not, Rosa thought.

Soon, the beautiful scenery of the lake came into view.

The Glass Lake.

A place full of their memories.

In winter, the lake would freeze over completely.

It was named the Glass Lake because it looked like glass.

But now it was summer.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t see that scenery.

But the lake was still beautiful.

To put it into an analogy.

It felt like a beautiful piece of nature that existed just for the two of them.

The branches of the ash trees hung over the clear surface of the lake.

Around it, small wildflowers shyly revealed themselves.

Nearby, trees that boasted lush greenery stood at appropriate intervals, and the sunlight filtering through them gave a cozy and peaceful feeling.

Rosa really liked this place.

When she had something on her mind.

“I used to come here.”

Even before she met Caron.

“It’s like something out of a fairy tale.”

If there had been a small cabin here, she would have really thought it was a fairy tale.

That was how beautiful the lake was.

Cozy and familiar.

“Caron. Shall we sit for a bit?”

The two sat down on a small hill.

Memories of playing in the water together here.

Memories of having a childish snowball fight like children.

Rosa and Caron reminisced.

It was a memory that only the two of them shared.

Rosa silently looked at the lake.

For a long time. A very long time.

Sometimes.

Caron would feel it.

A strange sense of foreboding.

A feeling that Rosa might disappear at any moment.

The girl was as beautiful as a mirage, as ethereal as an illusion, and at the same time, she was all his light.

An iridescent, brilliant light that he felt he shouldn’t covet.

Now Caron knew.

That Rosa had memories of another world.

‘Even if those memories aren’t real.’

That those memories had tormented Rosa for a long time.

But now she had overcome it, and she was looking in the same direction as him.

So there was no more anxiety.

Caron quietly waited for Rosa.

Rosa was gathering her thoughts.

‘Finally…’

It really felt like, finally.

The time had come to take this out.

Rosa took something out of her pocket.

It was a piece of paper. Something Caron surely knew.

[Contract.]

The familiar handwriting.

Caron’s expression turned puzzled.

Didn’t it have no meaning anymore?

But Rosa’s next words were completely unexpected.

“Let’s revise the contract. Us.”

It was a bright smile.

The beautiful scenery of the lake.

The two were sitting close together.

Side by side on a small hill, their shoulders touching.

It was quite an affectionate sight.

A voice like a rolling bead.

After clearing her throat, Rosa began to speak.

“First, the two shall maintain their marital relationship for life.”

The word ‘one year’ was revised to ‘for life.’

“Second, the two shall always look at each other.”

Originally, it was that the contract could be canceled if either party wished.

“Lastly… third…”

The clauses that could really be called contractual were already over with the first two.

It was more genuine this way.

Abstract and concise words.

Such words were more touching.

Rosa couldn’t continue for a while.

Thump- thump-

Her heart gradually beat faster.

Perhaps it was because a woman’s heart is small.

Just looking at him made her heart flutter.

All the trivial memories and events gathered to form a distinct shape.

“・I love you.”

Rosa confessed her true feelings.

The third clause was unnecessary.

[Third, the two shall faithfully fulfill their obligations to each other during their marriage.]

There was no need to include such a clause.

Because the relationship between the two was already not an obligation.

Caron’s eyes wavered.

Soon, that wavering stopped, and it turned into a determined resolve.

“I’m not anxious anymore. That you’ll leave my side.”

There was a time when he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to have her.

“I don’t doubt anymore. That I can protect you.”

He had almost broken many times. He had wanted to give up many times.

But after all the twists and turns.

He had obtained the most valuable thing.

It was a long time ago.

Caron had heard the story of a knight.

A knight’s eternal vow.

He knelt before Rosa and borrowed the words of the vow.

“My light, my soul. My everything to you. I will protect you for the rest of my life, and that heart will never change.”

Caron held out his hand to Rosa.

His expression was serious.

Rosa’s body trembled with overwhelming emotion.

She willingly took his outstretched hand.

Caron grasped her small hand, stood up, and gently kissed it.

On a summer day.

A secluded and quiet Glass Lake, a place of scenic beauty.

Once childhood friends, then lovers.

Now an eternal contractual relationship.

Rosa and Caron. Caron and Rosa.

The image of the two overlapped like a watercolor painting.