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“I’m glad to see you’re in a good mood.”

“…..”

In response to the woman’s question as she knelt before me, I gave a faint smile and nodded.

I gazed at the hand that had made a promise with him. The warmth that had once lingered in my hand had long since vanished, but the sensation from when we made the promise still lingered in my memory.

It was a simple pinky swear, devoid of any force or drama, something only children would do, yet to me, it felt like a more reliable commitment than any grand vows.

No matter the form, he was someone who kept his promises.

Though I hadn’t shared my situation with Damian, I knew he had a grasp on the nature of my relationship with Altair and my current state of being.

And despite this, his promise to stand by my side was a sign of how much he trusted me.

I hadn’t even considered getting such a promise from him; my thoughts only went to revealing the truths I hadn’t spoken that day and settling matters with Altair. Thus, Damian’s promise felt like an unexpected gift.

I always knew in my heart that he would be there for me, but hearing it directly from him felt different than just thinking it alone. His declaration freed me from the anxieties that had long plagued my mind.

“I ended up doing something terrible to him…”

The truth was something I should have revealed long ago. He gave me time and showed understanding, but I shouldn’t have accepted his warmth as it was.

No matter how perceptive he was, if I didn’t speak plainly, he would just wander through a sea of assumptions and theories. The worries and troubles he faced were all fabrications of my own making.

The only fear that remained after my regression was revealing the truth of my return and the events of my past life to him. The belief that Damian would stand by my side was indeed illuminating my heart, but it couldn’t completely dispel the dark fog caused by this anxiety.

That’s why, despite having numerous opportunities to speak, I kept avoiding the subject, leaning on his kindness.

What a selfish woman I am.

With mixed feelings of loneliness and guilt alongside gratitude and affection, I stared at the finger he had promised with.

In the end, he drew his own conclusions without the truth.

He wouldn’t be able to fully assess the current situation. The information given to him was limited, and even someone with his insight would have clear limitations based on that.

If I were to liken it to a story, he managed to decipher all the important background settings but knew nothing about the crucial events within it.

He might have an idea of how the circumstances unfold, but the reasons behind them were unknown. Without experiencing the situations directly or hearing from someone who had, that was an area impossible to grasp.

The sense of discomfort that had been sprinkled throughout had allowed him some vague understanding, but knowing that he chose me despite that incomplete truth kept my heart full.

The way to repay that faith would be to unveil the secrets I had concealed, but unfortunately, he declined even such a repayment.

“Elena, wait! I was about to finish the story I started last time, right?”

“Huh? Yes…”

“Then, could you put that off for a moment? It’s not that I want to, just until the Sacred Festival ends.”

Damian had been troubled about this for a long time, so why was he refusing to know? After the Sacred Festival, I might not be able to hear his answer.

“Why not? I’m aware Damian has been worrying about this a lot lately. I think it’s already quite late for me to reveal this, are you really okay with it? If it’s out of consideration for me, I’m prepared. I’ve finished getting ready.”

I asked him, confused, and he smiled as he answered.

“Hahaha… Don’t worry. This time, it’s for myself, not for you, Elena.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t want to add unnecessary thoughts. The person standing here is Damian Kraus. The fiancé and lover of Elena Edelweiss, the scion of the House of Kraus. A friend to Reinhardt, Noel, Orcus, Richard, and the children of the Department of Knights. That’s who I am. I’m here now, facing the issues at hand as myself, not the Damian existing in Altair and Elena’s memories.”

Damian reached out to me, gently ruffling my hair. His kind gaze was directed towards me, and not towards the past or the future, but at the present me. At that moment, I understood his words.

“Elena and Altair know a version of me I’m not aware of, but I don’t know the me that I don’t know. It didn’t happen to me in the first place. That’s why I’ve been troubled. To think about how you see me, to wonder how I acted before to deserve this love. What did I do that twisted things so much? I thought over and over. But I couldn’t forcibly fill in the blanks of what I don’t understand.”

“So let me tell you. I’ll tell you how Damian changed me, and what wrongs I’ve done. So please don’t keep worrying. You don’t have to feel so burdened.”

As I bowed my head, blaming myself, he held me in his arms and gently patted my back like a mother soothing a whiny child. The quiet heartbeat resonating between us calmed me.

“Elena, you need to listen to everything I say. Yes. Be sure to tell me later. Not in this gloomy dueling arena behind the scenes, but in a properly set place. Somewhere with sweet pastries and warm coffee. But not now. Will you let me finish my words?”

“Yes…”

“Okay. Where did I leave off… Ah, to the point where I said I can’t know the me I don’t know? Yes, I could never fully know the me that’s unknown to me. Simply put, I don’t know. So I’ll decide without knowing. The answer I gave Elena earlier still stands. I’ll always be on your side. No matter what, as long as you’re my Elena Edelweiss, someone I know, I will stand by you.”

My guilt and anxiety towards him melted away in his gentle voice. I felt a bit like a condemned prisoner receiving a pardon. His voice continued.

“After hearing your story, if I learn about the past me, I might make different decisions. The me I don’t know is a heavy issue. I can’t give you a definitive answer. But that’s not what I want right now. I am me. The Damian Kraus who explained everything to Elena is me, and the Damian you’ve seen and are seeing now is me. While I know I must know the truth someday, I’m satisfied with my current choice. So, Elena, don’t be anxious. I’m by your side.”

In the end, he continued to embrace me with his kindness until he left.

Shouldn’t this be the role I’m supposed to fill? Originally, my aim was to reveal the truth and comfort him as he’d be confused by it, yet the situation had reversed. I had merely alleviated my anxiety, leaving me with no words for him.

“Then I’ll see you in the finals, Elena. I realized that for us to meet in the duel, we have no choice but to make it to the finals. We absolutely can’t lose to anyone else!”

His last words before leaving.

For now, achieving this goal was the only thing he could do.

Of course, this was contingent on him making it to the finals, but somehow, I felt one way or another, he would make it. Just as he had said, he would defeat Altair and stand before me.

With that thought, I smiled and called out to him from afar as he watched over me.

“What are you thinking, standing there in silence like that? Altair.”

[Elena…]

What I saw where I was looking was Noel. However, it was something other than the Noel we knew.

The voice of God spilling from Noel’s lips definitely carried feelings of anger. Even a perpetrator or a considerable superhuman might lose their mind simply experiencing such emotions, but there existed no one so lowly to not feel it.

Whether he realized it wasn’t the right time for me to intervene, the Archbishop, who had been kneeling just moments ago, bowed his head once to me and once to Altair, then stepped aside.

The space now contained just the two of us. Judging by the atmosphere, it was a situation on a knife-edge, ready to erupt at any moment. It felt unusually intense as invisible tensions clashed. To think this was the same place where just a moment ago, it had been just the two of us, it gave me severe cognitive dissonance.

Would it be so bad to settle things now, rather than having the duel during the Sacred Festival? That thought crossed my mind, but for whatever reason, Damian’s words allowed me to dismiss such thoughts.

Looking at Altair, who was glaring at me, many emotions flooded me.

There was unpleasantness regarding her behavior through Noel’s body, and anger at what warranted such a bold stare. Yet, surprisingly amongst these feelings, there was also welcome at seeing her again after such a long time.

Maybe it was because I had regained my calm.

Strangely enough, even though we had yet to conclude anything, I felt as if I had already won. Upon reflection, that didn’t seem like a wrong thought. Regardless of what would happen today, he would support me, meaning the conditions for victory were effectively already met.

Altair might think there was still a chance, but he had already made a promise to me, so even if he were to regain his lost memories, I had faith he would stand by my side.

Perhaps because of that belief, I could harbor a smile even in front of Altair.

 

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