“Boat, Count…”

“?”

“I-I’ll walk… You can put me down now…”

“No.”

I was carrying Wendy out of the Castle of the Duke in what you might call a “princess carry.”

“Your legs are too short; you’d trip in a place like this.”

“Ugh…”

The scattered debris at our feet had caused Wendy to trip and scrape her legs multiple times. Unable to watch, I ended up carrying her.

“If I transform, I won’t fall…”

“Foolish talk. Don’t use that power recklessly. If you reveal yourself as the Hero, it could complicate your future.”

“Eek?! R-right…?! S-sorry…”

With such a naive side, how did she manage to face me when I was out of control? But anyway…

“You’ve grown a lot compared to before.”

“Huh?!”

Compared to the memories I had of her, Wendy had grown in many ways. Beyond her physical appearance, what impressed me most was that she had grown into a Hero capable of facing me, the Demon Lord.

Wendy, who had lived a life of misfortune due to the influence of “Misfortune.”

In a way, her life was similar to the lives Sora and I had lived.

Intentional misfortune is rare in the world, but when one faces unintended misfortune repeatedly, the heart inevitably wears down.

Why does this only happen to me? It’s hard not to blame others and resent the absurdity of the world.

Yet, Wendy endured.

In this timeline, she withstood “Misfortune” differently than in other timelines I had seen. Of course, my influence wasn’t entirely absent. I had used every means to ensure she didn’t die.

But Wendy’s transformation into such an admirable character was entirely due to her own efforts.

Having overcome countless misfortunes, she had now become “Hope.”

“Count… You said I’ve grown… Could it be…?”

“Hmm?”

“D-do I weigh a lot now…? Sniff… Have I grown too much…? I’ll stop growing now…”

Misinterpreting my words about her growth, Wendy started to tear up.

No. But saying you’ll stop growing… That’s not something you can control.

“Don’t worry. Even if you grow more, carrying you won’t be a problem.”

“Well, the Count is strong… Oh! I see the exit over there!”

Where Wendy pointed, the entrance we had first come through was indeed visible.

“Th-there! I’ll get down now! You can put me down!”

“Enough. Stay still.”

“B-but…”

Wendy looked at me with a troubled expression, as if something was bothering her.

“What’s wrong?”

“If others see us like this… they might misunderstand…”

“…Misunderstand?”

“W-well…”

Wendy fidgeted, then whispered into my ear with her small hand.

“This kind of thing… is something… people who like each other do… Huh?! N-no, I mean, that’s what I heard…”

I almost laughed out loud.

Her shyness whenever I carried her like a princess must have come from something she read in a fairy tale.

Though she had barely outgrown her childish appearance, her inner self was still as pure as her age suggested.

Cute kid.

“Was that all you were worried about?”

“B-but if the Count gets misunderstood because of me…”

“Wendy. Do you dislike me?”

“Huh?! N-no?! No!? Absolutely not…!”

“Good. I like you too. Isn’t that enough?”

“……Huh?!”

Wendy’s eyes widened in shock.

“If it’s something people who like each other do, then there’s no problem.”

“Huuuu… Y-you like me…? M-me…?”

Covering her face, Wendy was at a loss for words, then suddenly snapped out of it.

“But Count… Don’t you carry Lady Bella like this too? I’m not special… am I…”

It was understandable for Wendy to misunderstand. Publicly, I was close to Bella as her strategic fiancée.

“That probably won’t happen.”

“R-really…?”

“Yeah. She’s probably heavier than you, so I wouldn’t be able to carry her like this.”

“Count! Are you okay?!”

Turning my head towards the voice, I saw a woman waving at me.

“Ariel…?”

“You’re alive…! Ah… What a relief.”

Ariel sighed in relief upon seeing me. Her attitude had changed so much that it was hard to believe she had been hostile towards me until now.

“Count…”

And next to Ariel, a silver-haired woman approached me.

“Do you know how worried I was when I heard you were in danger?”

“Bella…”

It had been a long time since I last saw her. Though in terms of time, it was only a few hours, but with all my past memories returned, Bella in this timeline was a dearly missed presence.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Don’t worry… The dangerous situation is over now.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. I came because Ariel said something big had happened…”

Bella smiled softly at me.

“There was no need to drag your heavier body all the way here.”

“……”

Only then did I notice the coldness in her eyes.

It seemed the dangerous situation wasn’t over yet.

*

The long ordeal that felt like it was only for me had ended.

As the tension eased, I fell asleep.

Perhaps it was due to the mental stress from the returning memories and the physical fatigue from the intense work.

When I woke up, three days had passed. Fortunately, Bella had taken command in my absence to manage things.

I wanted to thank and apologize to her, but she blatantly ignored me, likely due to what had happened a few days ago. Still, she must have been concerned, as she relayed the situation through Blanshe.

Despite Blanshe’s advice to rest more, I couldn’t sit still and went outside.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you… That’s not how you use that sword.”

“Huh?”

I pointed to the famous sword, ‘Prandecker,’ that Wendy was enthusiastically swinging. Although it was a broken sword, Wendy seemed to like it enough to have it repaired by a blacksmith.

But Prandecker didn’t need repairing.

“Wendy. Hold the sword and channel your magic.”

“Okay…”

“But imagine the blade is intact.”

“Huh…? Oh, okay, I’ll try…”

Wendy tilted her head but did as I said. Rainbow-colored magic flowed from her hand into the sword.

“Slowly.”

“O-okay!”

Wendy became serious and manipulated the magic. Having learned from the Sage Myohail, she was flawless in handling magic.

“Wow…! The sword…! The sword appeared!”

Soon, Wendy exclaimed in amazement. Her rainbow magic had formed the blade. A lightsaber-like sword now rested in her hand.

Prandecker was a famous sword in its own right, but its true value shone when the user’s magic formed the blade.

“Try cutting that tree in front of you.”

“Ah… Okay!”

Wendy adjusted her grip, took a deep breath, and prepared to swing at the thick tree.

“Ah, don’t swing too hard-.”

“Huh?! Eek?!”

Before I could stop her, Wendy swung the sword and nearly fell over from her own force. Her sword didn’t miss.

Thud-

The tree was cut as if it were tofu. The tree, as thick as an adult’s torso, was sliced too easily, startling her.

“Eek…!? The tree…! The tree?!”

Only then did Wendy realize how dangerous the sword she held was, her face turning pale.

“For now, don’t channel magic into it without my permission. Use a wooden sword for practice.”

“N-no way…! This is too much for me to handle…”

“Depending on how you handle the magic, this sword can be a sharp blade or a blunt stick.”

“Th-then, if I had channeled magic back then…”

Ah, now that I think about it… When she tried to stop my rampage, she used Prandecker.

If she had known the correct way to use the sword…

Hmm… Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.

I calmly patted Wendy’s head.

“It’s good that you know how to handle the sword now. From now on…”

Just then, I noticed someone approaching.

“…Keep practicing here.”

“Okay… Okay…”

Leaving Wendy behind, I greeted the sudden visitor.

“Is that how you use Prandecker…? I’ve never seen it before.”

It was Ariel. She looked much more haggard than when I last saw her.

“…I read about it in a book.”

“You’re very knowledgeable.”

“…Yeah.”

An awkward silence fell between us.

Ariel seemed to have something to say but couldn’t find the words. So, I broke the silence.

“By the way, is it really okay to give Kyle’s sword to Wendy?”

“Ah… It’s fine. Even if it’s Kyle’s keepsake, it’s not something I have any use for.”

“I see…”

“Yeah…”

Before I fell asleep, I had explained to Ariel that Aidan was behind everything.

Of course, I only told her that he had been manipulated by Aidan. Mentioning that his organs had been transplanted to William or the roots of the Ruelberta Family being demons would have complicated things.

William, driven by revenge, killed Aidan.

That much was enough for both her and me.

I gazed at the distant Castle of the Duke and said.

“About Kyle… It’s unfortunate.”

“……No. I should be the one… Ah!”

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept over us.

A flurry of snowflakes covered us.

No, upon closer look, they weren’t snowflakes. They were Ice Flowers.

Long ago, with the fall of the Northern Garden, these flowers had disappeared. Now, they only existed in fairy tales or paintings. Yet, they had bloomed en masse.

According to Bella, the Ice Flowers had suddenly bloomed after I completed my trial at the Castle of the Duke.

It was truly a miracle.

Such an event never happened in the original story… The blooming of the Ice Flowers felt like the world celebrating what I had done in the North.

‘Ah.’

But such thoughts were fleeting… The pollen from the Ice Flowers, resembling snowflakes, got into my eyes.

Due to Tristan’s character, who had to maintain dignity and grace, I couldn’t rub my eyes. So, I had to endure with my eyes wide open.

But Ariel, seeing me like this, muttered.

“……Are you grieving for Kyle?”

Ah…? What?

The pollen in my eyes caused tears to stream down my cheeks. Seeing this, Ariel spoke with a tearful expression.

“I’ve been… misunderstanding you, Count… Believing baseless rumors and trying to slander you and William… I don’t know how to ask for forgiveness…”

“…Don’t worry about it. Even if William did such things in the past, he ultimately walked the path of corruption. There’s no room for sympathy.”

Recalling what I had experienced with William during the trial, I shook my head.

While I agreed that William’s past was also a life thoroughly manipulated by Aidan, that didn’t excuse the atrocities he committed against others and his son, Tristan.

But Ariel’s thoughts seemed slightly different.

“You’re right… There’s no room for sympathy. As you said, Count, William became corrupt when he became Count Ruelberta. I saw that too, so I know.”

“Then…”

“But… Count. William… might have wanted to keep his promise with my husband, Kyle.”

“Promise…?”

“Yes… That’s why William…”

Tears streamed down Ariel’s face.

The words that came from her mouth, choking back sobs, were enough to shock me.

“William named you after my deceased son…”