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Yesterday, Elena went out on the promised outing with Damian.

Since she had previously told Damian that she liked flowers, the location he chose was a hill covered in daisies. This place was known for its expansive and open scenery, rivaling even the garden of the Lord’s Castle in Sarham, featuring not just daisies.

In fact, the view Elena enjoyed from the top of that hill was refreshing, as if it was liberating her heart. The white petals of the daisies swayed gently whenever the wind blew, offering a different sensation compared to the garden at the Isilia Pavilion.

Damian had also prepared the dessert and the mat for their outing.

If they had sat there together, exchanging words, another unforgettable memory might have been created, but unfortunately, they were not alone at that spot.

“This place hasn’t changed since then.”

“Huh? Father, have you been here before?”

“Of course! This is my territory. Would I have never visited? Although it has been a while. Come to think of it, this is where I first confessed my feelings to your mother.”

“Wow! Really?”

“…That’s surprising. I thought you and Mother had a politically arranged marriage. Without that, there wouldn’t be a reason for Mother to marry you.”

“I must have had two sons. Was I mistaken? It feels like only Alphonse is my son.”

Damian’s father, Count Arthur Kraus, along with his brother, Alphonse Kraus, also joined this outing.

Elena pondered why this was happening, but no matter how much she thought about it, the conclusion pointed back to Damian’s earlier words about family time.

Certainly, Elena had said that Damian lacked time with his family. After hearing that, Damian spent more time with Alphonse than before, and it seemed to Elena that their bond had grown closer.

It was true that in their previous lives, Alphonse and Damian had a strong brotherly bond, but there had been a subtle distance between them.

Now, however, that distance seemed to have vanished.

Of course, as time passed, there could be changes in Alphonse and Damian’s relationship, but for Elena, the fact that they had stopped repeating the same distant relationship brought her a great sense of accomplishment. Such seemingly trivial changes indicated that her current life was not following the same timeline as before.

And the changes didn’t stop there.

Not only in Alphonse and Damian’s relationship, but the bond between Elena Edelweiss and Damian Kraus began to change as well.

It was not that Damian had fallen in love with Elena.

It was simply that unlike before when he seemed to approach her with an invisible wall between them, now he was gradually moving closer to her on his own.

That small change was the greatest joy Elena felt through this return.

Of course, this didn’t mean she was satisfied with the outing including her father-in-law and brother-in-law.

Elena understood how much Damian loved his family. When he lost his family, and when she lost hers, they had shared that pain, so she wasn’t so petty as to not understand his actions.

Yet, yet it was a promise made with her fiancé…

Elena repeatedly told herself not to think strangely, but just thinking back to the atmosphere and the promise, she naturally thought they should be going alone.

In that place filled with the scent of hyacinths, he said,

“Elena, do you remember when we talked about going on a picnic together last time?”

“Oh, yes! Of course!”

“I thought of a nice place, and…”

“Sounds good!”

Before he even finished speaking, Elena eagerly responded. Damian smiled softly, thanking her for that, and turned to glance at Alphonse, who was watching with envy. Alphonse forced a smile, but he couldn’t fool Damian’s eyes.

“Alphonse.”

“Ah, brother. Please be careful, you two…”

“Why don’t you come along too?”

“Pardon?” “Huh?”

“Of course, it includes Father. Thinking about it, Alphonse, you’ve never been outside the castle walls, have you? It wouldn’t be bad for all of us to go out together as a family. What do you think?”

“Y-yes!! Wait! Brother, I’ll get ready right away!!”

“Huh? Alphonse? You haven’t even told Father yet… and he’s gone. I’ll need to go tell Father as well. Elena, I’ll take you back to your room.”

“Okay…”

Elena knew well how much Damian’s small actions could stir her feelings, but at that moment, recalling his words made her too embarrassed to look up.

Perhaps even when he suggested going on a picnic, it may have been just a casual outing, not a date. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited Alphonse and Count Kraus while calling it a promise.

It was only natural that not much time had passed since she had been with Damian, making it understandable for him to think of his family first. Despite knowing that, Elena couldn’t completely erase the feeling of disappointment.

Being overshadowed by his younger brother when she was supposed to be his fiancée felt like a loss. But considering that she never had a chance to weigh in on that before, she felt confused over whether to be glad or resentful.

“Miss, how long are you going to stay in bed?”

“Hailey… I’m not moving from here today. I just want to stay in my blanket.”

Despite having experienced transcendence, Elena was not free from human emotions. The day after the outing with the Kraus family, Elena was overwhelmed by feelings of disappointment, joy, and embarrassment, and despite the sun now high in the sky, she still remained in bed.

Hailey, her devoted maid, observed the squirming blanket like a sulking child and wore a perplexed expression as she continued to urge her to get up.

Naturally, Elena had no intention of budging.

But when Hailey started to organize her belongings without leaving the room, Elena peeked her face out from the blanket and asked her,

“Hailey, why are you organizing your things?”

“Oh, this? Well, the lady is moving to a new room today. This is a guest room, after all. Although you haven’t officially gotten engaged yet, it seems that the head of the family doesn’t want to keep you in a guest room after seeing your relationship with Lord Damian.”

“Oh? Then which room will I be staying in now?”

“That is…”

Knock, knock—

Before Hailey could answer, a knocking sound came from the door. Hailey hoped her mistress would finally get up in response to the knock, but unfortunately, Elena remained in her blanket, showing no signs of moving.

Eventually, with a sigh, Hailey gently opened the door, and through the small gap, revealed the now-familiar face of Damian’s loyal butler, Ken.

“Hello, Ken.”

“Hailey. Where’s the lady?”

“She’s… um, I think the picnic yesterday tired her out. She hasn’t gotten out of bed.”

“Oh dear… Young Lord was looking for the lady. Perhaps it’s because he intended to go to the city today due to her moving rooms. How unfortunate. I’ll inform the Young Lord…”

“Ken. Where do I need to go?”

Suddenly, the door swung open wide.

Elena stepped out, looking pristine as if freshly dried, with her white hair fluffed and her attire neat, as though she had prepared in advance. It was hard to believe she had been lying in bed just a moment ago.

Hailey couldn’t hide her astonishment at Elena’s appearance while Ken simply stared in disbelief at the sudden appearance of Elena.

“Lady…”

Hailey knew. Elena had performed magic to achieve this.

Though she hadn’t been using her powers before, Hailey was aware of Elena’s capacity for such miracles.

Yet, seeing her accomplish in an instant what took hours to prepare only further stirred Hailey’s feelings.

No, she hoped the reason was simply that.

*

Inside a moving carriage.

It was the same carriage as before, but the only difference was that there were just the two of us in it.

I wasn’t sure what expression I was wearing. No, I was probably smiling.

Even with the gloomy feelings earlier this morning, just being here with him felt like sunlight had broken through. No matter how hard I tried to act indifferent, my face seemed to betray my honest feelings.

I sneaked a glance at him sitting across from me.

His face, bearing some concern, was turned towards the window. Had anything troubling happened recently? The issue with Alphonse should have been resolved yesterday, so why did he look so troubled?

Certainly, when we parted yesterday, he had been smiling more brightly than ever. And as if to confirm that, when he noticed my gaze, his expression grew darker.

Could it be that I was the cause?

Just as I was about to ask him what was wrong, he spoke first.

“I’m sorry, Elena.”

His sudden apology froze my thoughts for a moment. But soon, my reasoning recovered faster than light, guiding me to understand why he was apologizing.

It was obvious with just a little thought.

“I heard from Ken that you were quite tired from yesterday’s picnic. And above all, I apologize for dragging you into our family matters using that promise.”

How could that not be so?

He knew I wanted to have a picnic just the two of us. Yet, he still went along with Alphonse and Count Kraus because they were precious to him.

Just as he had rushed to tell his father after realizing the problem between himself and Alphonse, he always prioritized matters concerning his family.

I smiled lightly as if it didn’t concern me and replied,

“No, it’s fine. I had fun yesterday.”

I had enjoyed it, even if I sulked afterward.

But if he had gone on a picnic with just Alphonse and Count Kraus, I would have been very upset.

Feelings are very fickle things. They sway one way one moment and the other the next. Had I felt this way before? I used to think of myself as a more straightforward and stable person, yet now I couldn’t understand why I felt this way.

Even though I already knew the answer, I kept repeating that delightful question in my mind.

Seeing him still harboring a guilty look made something within me feel oddly ticklish.

I moved to sit right next to him and grabbed his cheek, pulling it gently. Startled by my sudden action, he called my name.

“Elena?”

“Pff.”

Hearing him stumble over my name made me burst into laughter.

Is this the feeling I had when he teased me? I think I understand why he did it a bit more now. I released my hold on his cheek and leaned my shoulder against him.

“Damian, I really am fine. After all, I’m part of your family too.”

Those were words I had once said to everyone while living in the Lord’s Castle. Yet, I had never directed them specifically at him.

At my words, his gaze softened. But unlike before, he didn’t deny it.

He lightly nodded at my statement.

“You’re right, Elena. You are my fiancée.”

Even without a proper ceremony or rings exchanged, just his words were enough.

*

The destination of the carriage was the heart of Sarham.

I could feel the gazes of the people directed toward us. Though I had received such gazes countless times in the past, the feelings contained within them felt different this time because I was with someone by my side.

We wandered through the city without paying any heed to the gazes of the people around us.

We bought snacks from street vendors and enjoyed the performances of wandering musicians.

Thinking back, I had never really enjoyed the streets of Sarham during my three lives.

In my first life, I had to stay in the Lord’s Castle all year due to Damian, and in the second, I had left this place myself. When I returned, the town was like a desolate wasteland, or it had already turned into a fierce battlefield.

But now such events would not occur. The smiles of the people on the streets would be eternal, and the time I spent with him walking through these streets would also remain unchanged.

As we were exploring here and there, we soon arrived in front of a workshop.

It was he who had led me there.

“Damian, what’s this place?”

“Oh, since you are moving rooms, I thought you might need new furniture. You can pick according to your tastes.”

“Huh?”

“There is a tradition in House Kraus. When the mistress leaves, we reorganize the remaining items in the Isilia Pavilion, except for a few. Normally, we should have started organizing when my mother left, but because of me, my father hasn’t touched anything.”

“Then why do I need to choose furniture…?”

“Didn’t you hear from Hailey? From now on, that place belongs to you.”

?????

In an instant, I became the owner of the wing attached to the Lord’s Castle.

No, I had always thought I’d eventually be. I had even imagined living there with him several times, but hearing I was suddenly the owner left me utterly confused. I certainly felt happy, but my emotions couldn’t catch up with the situation.

“Elena, as you once said, we are ‘family.’ I already spoke with my father last night about this. Thinking about it, since we have about a year until we enter the Academy, it’s also good to choose clothes.”

“…You’re right. After we pick the furniture, let’s head to the tailor right away.”

Ironically, it was his words that helped clear my complicated thoughts.

Thinking it over, these were all things I had wanted, right? There was no reason to refuse.

“Oh.”

Just as I was about to step happily into the workshop, a lightning bolt struck my mind, and I realized I had forgotten something important during all this time.

“I didn’t… call.”

“Huh?”

“I forgot to contact my father…”

I had been so engrossed in reuniting with him that I completely forgot I had to contact my father every two days.

Well, he himself had reverted to the Duke’s residence without getting engaged in the last life, so naturally, he wouldn’t remember the words of my father from the first life. This could have easily been a lost memory had I not recalled how he watched over me to prevent me from returning to the Duke’s residence before going to the Academy.

And that night, almost like a fairytale, when I returned to the Lord’s Castle, the voice of my father echoed through the Kraus Count’s communication device, calling me back to the Duke’s residence.

 

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