It was clear why Camille had ended up like that. Both altars were filled with beautiful, glowing jewels.
The reason why the Imperial family accepted Neris.
Camille's goal.
The result of her filthy desire to monopolize the power of the three Jewel Hearts and gain even greater power.
But the power of a Jewel Heart was immense enough to seal a dragon, even just one. With two such powers, there was no way that Princess Camille's body wouldn't be burdened. Unless it was a timeline reinforced after the curse she placed on Neris failed once.
Cledwin took off his cloak and wrapped it around Neris, then hugged her. His vision blurred, making it impossible to see her face properly.
"Wake up."
Please.
"Wake up, Neris."
We have to go home.
I've gathered as many people as I can who love you. We're going back together. I want you to hurt a little less. I want you to be happy, even a little bit, in this damn timeline.
"You're not dead yet. Right? Right?"
You know?
You are the snow. The snow that falls on my frozen land. I am winter.
Do you know how frightening and desolate a winter without snow is? A winter without snow freezes the land, the livestock, and the people, all to death. Even when spring comes, the land doesn't produce anything. There needs to be snow.
Only with snow can winter truly embrace life.
Only then can we look forward to spring.
Palos's eyes spoke sadly.
I'm sorry…
"I curse this world. I curse everything the three heroes created. May they all die. May they all be torn to shreds! I completely understand my father, who went mad after my mother died. A world without her is nothing. I'm so desperate to keep breathing that I'm stabbing a knife into other people's hearts, a filthy…"
Cledwin's lips suddenly stopped, mid-rant. It was because of the ball of light, which had appeared in front of him, trembling.
Cledwin, who could finally breathe again, muttered dazedly.
"…I told you not to come…"
The ball of light's form grew dimmer. Its trembling voice was laced with sobs.
He didn't know if it meant anything, but Cledwin shielded the ball of light with his palm, preventing it from seeing Neris's body. But the light continued to dim. Cledwin hastily whispered.
"It's okay."
It was a lie. Nothing was okay. But he didn't want to tell the ball of light that.
When the former Duchess died, the former Duke didn't care at all about his son, Cledwin's, feelings. He consistently maintained an attitude of indifference to everything in the world. But only now did Cledwin realize.
He cared about the child's feelings. He wanted the child to be able to breathe, even if he himself were to die, having all the air he breathed taken away.
He was different from his father.
He could love the traces of those he loved.
Just like his strong mother.
Palos's eyes shone brightly, along with Elandria's eyes. Palos's eyes whispered.
You… are not from here. Little one… Don't cry, my child, and Elandria's child. When you return to your time, everything will be as it was.
The ball of light flickered. Cledwin took off his cloak and carefully covered Neris's body with it. Then he approached Palos's eyes and asked.
"I heard that if Camille touches the seal and the dragon awakens, I should ask for her help. When exactly will that be?"
Ah… so that's why you came. She'll probably come to her senses now. But to be able to borrow her power… Do as I say for a while…
Palos's eyes instructed Cledwin to change part of the magic circle. Cledwin did as he was told, carving new shapes into the floor and walls with his sword, or erasing existing ones. The magic circle, which had been glowing golden, as if it were about to explode, gradually dimmed.
How much time had passed? The magical wind that had filled the surroundings subsided, and the pillar of light that had enveloped Palos's eyes disappeared. And silently, a woman appeared in the secret room.
A robe with a mysterious sheen, golden eyes. Kian the Dragon was smiling, with tears in her eyes. As if she knew everything, without needing any explanation. Cledwin said to her.
"Return my wife to her original world."
"You take her yourself."
He was about to ask what that meant when he heard a faint cough, "Cough, cough." Cledwin turned around and collapsed again.
Neris, looking as if she had never been injured or died, was getting up. She struggled to remove the cloak wrapped around her body, and when her eyes met Cledwin's, she grumbled,
"Why did you wrap me up like this, so I couldn't even breathe? I was startled."
It was Cledwin's Neris speaking, not Neris of this timeline. Cledwin approached his wife without a word and hugged her. Neris patted his back, saying it hurt, as he hugged her tightly, without a single gap.
Kian approached and said,
"This is your memory, child of Elandria. Your husband came in because you were sealed in your memory and couldn't wake up. Go back now. It's not good to be caught in magic for too long."
Before Neris could reply, Kian placed her hand on her head. Soon, Neris closed her eyes and fell asleep, then shattered into golden light.
"Now you go back too, child. You've worked hard."
Kian spoke to the ball of light this time. Her voice was filled with a deep tenderness, different from when she spoke to Neris or Cledwin. The ball of light, which had brightened and was now sparkling like the sun, replied brightly and confidently, without any sign of shyness.
"You'll have plenty of time to talk when you wake up. Yes, a few words are fine."
The ball of light flew to Cledwin, excited. Cledwin smiled faintly as he looked at the ball of light.
The ball of light finally asked the question it had asked more than ten years ago, according to this world's standards. Cledwin replied without a hint of falsehood.
"Yes. I love you."
The ball of light shone brighter than ever before. And the light grew stronger and stronger, until it was difficult to look at it directly.
Cledwin spoke to the ball of light, which had vaguely taken on the form of a child of about seven years old.
"I can finally call you by your name."
"I do. I've known it for a long time."
He couldn't see its eye color, hair color, or expression. But Cledwin somehow thought that the glowing ball of light seemed to be teasing him.
"Arbyone."
A word in the Meindlandt dialect meaning "light" or "hope."
Arbyone seemed to be smiling brightly. The light, which had been like the sun, gradually diminished, until it finally disappeared without a trace.
Cledwin approached Kian. It wasn't to thank her or to ask her to send him back quickly.
He asked with cold, sunken eyes.
"When my wife died for the first time and time went back, what happened to the rest of the people in that timeline?"
Until now, that hadn't been important to him. The timeline where he and Neris were together was the real world. But now, after coming here and witnessing everything.
Now that he knew that the past she had told him was an abridged version, stripped of all emotion.
Things had changed. Kian looked through Cledwin with wise eyes and said.
I don't know, child of Palos. It's been a long time since I've been separated from your world.
"Can't I go back there for a while?"
"That's too risky."
"Why? You came here."
"This is a world of memory, not a true world. Strictly speaking, it's within your world. Do you want to get stuck in a dimensional rift?"
"I can't. I have a wife and child now."
"Then just go back."
Kian raised her hand to send Cledwin back as well. But Cledwin shook his head.
"Give me a few more days."
"This is just your wife's memory. You're not changing the fate of a real person. Still?"
Kian asked sadly, as if she knew what Cledwin was trying to do. But Cledwin grinned, showing his teeth.
"I've become a dirty character who has to get back a hundredfold the hurt I inflicted on my wife. Consider it practice."
"Alright. You've got that character from Palos. A noble High Elf who never backed down, like him."
Kian laughed and placed her hand on Cledwin's head.
"I'll give you a day. It might be a burden on your wife if you stay too long. Tomorrow at this time, you will return to your world."
"That's enough."
Cledwin smiled faintly, feeling the magic flowing from the dragon's hand.
***
Before opening his eyes, the first thing Cledwin felt was a pleasant scent.
A gentle breeze carried a soft, fresh fragrance, filling his lungs. He took a deep breath, as if bursting, and then someone gently took his hand.
He knew whose warmth it was before he heard her voice. Cledwin opened his eyes and smiled.
"You."
Neris glared at him with tearful eyes. Cledwin pulled her hand towards him, kissed her hand, and asked,
"Are you alright?"
"I'm the one who should be asking. I came back three hours ago, why are you so late?"
"I had some things to do."
"I have a pretty good idea. Why are you worrying me about those figments of imagination in your memory anyway?"
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
Even if he was given a hundred chances, he would do the same thing a hundred times, but Cledwin said it in a way that would please her, and winked. His eyes, beautiful like a painting, made Neris speechless for a moment.
"It's been so long since I've spoken to you. But are you going to keep making that angry face? Hug me."
Finally, after a while, Neris hugged Cledwin tightly and started to sob. Cledwin hugged her back and smiled.
"Enough, alright?"
At that moment, a voice interrupted from the side. Cledwin glanced at Ren, who was sitting at the head of the bed, and asked,
Why are you still here?
What kind of guy are you? Do you have any idea how hard I worked to save your soul-less self?
Come to think of it, did that happen? Cledwin felt a little nostalgic for Ren in Neris's memory. That Ren was cuter than this one. Really, just a little bit.
Ren quickly caught Cledwin's impudent gaze. He was about to have a fit, but Neris gently said,
"Thank you so much, senior. Could you use your divine power one more time? I'm still worried because you were asleep for so long."
"Of course."
Ren smiled brightly at Neris's request and quickly wrapped his hands in light. Honestly, his body felt great, but Cledwin just stayed still.
After a while, Ren got up with a pale face and said he was going to rest in another room. He said he needed to rest for a while because he had been using his divine power nonstop for days. Judging by the way he said "days," it seemed like they hadn't been asleep together for very long.
In the former Duchess's bedroom, truly left alone, Cledwin and Neris lay down side by side on the bed. They comfortably held each other's hands and talked.
"Thank you for doing as I thought. I'm glad you broke the seal the day after I fell asleep."
"Don't you ever act so recklessly again."
The anger he had forgotten for almost twenty years, having spent time in a different era, came back. Cledwin shook Neris's hand in protest of being cursed without her consent. Neris laughed like a gentle breeze.
"I thought that was the best way at the time. Looking back on it now, I think it was a bit reckless…"
"You said 'a bit'?"
"I know. It was reckless. But it was the best way to increase our chances of winning. …Don't be mad. It's been a long time since we've seen each other."
Neris smiled, acting like a child. Cledwin couldn't bring himself to glare at her. He couldn't, thinking about what she had been through.
He just hugged her tightly to his chest.
"What happened after we fell asleep?"
"Senior Ren has been using his divine power on your body all this time. Sir Aidan is taking care of the Imperial City. What should we do? You'll have to go back to the Imperial City and take care of some things."
"Ah, I'm not leaving your side now. I'll bring the Imperial City people here."
Cledwin showed a slight grin.
"It'll be the longest prisoner escort in history."