Ch.180Ending

“It’s been a while, you rascal.”

With everyone gathered, time had flown by so quickly that the moon had long since risen clearly in the night sky.

After spending enough time gazing at the night sky to be lost in contemplation, Chris’s voice scattered Evan’s thoughts.

“I deliberately slipped away, but is Rofena not playing along?”

“I came out because I had something to talk about with the lady. Aren’t you in the same situation as me?”

It was difficult to find Chris in his former robust state.

If he had reached Master level, things might have been different,

but for him as an Expert to maintain his youth like Evan… it would be even harder than one might think.

It was bitter in many ways, but ultimately it was the law of nature.

Unless he was a god, it was something he had to accept, and Evan chose to acknowledge that.

Chris, with his prickly white beard, settled beside Evan, swirling a glass of wine.

“I’ve always hated the night. I always had to stay alert at night.”

“Was that because of the Extinction?”

“That’s part of it. Because the Extinction tried to attack the capital every other day, when I was young, I always had to stay awake at night with bloodshot eyes.”

“Those are all stories of the past now. Both the Extinction and Mabet are gone, aren’t they?”

“That’s true.” Chris nodded at Evan’s words and turned to him with a pleased expression.

It was a thought he often had, but he never imagined that the hollow-eyed boy he first met would grow up to be like this.

He had always worried that if he let his guard down even a little, the boy might be found dead at any moment.

The boy had seemed so precarious, like a tightrope walker, that Chris’s attention was always focused on Evan.

But somehow he had grown up like this… now standing at a height Chris could hardly look up to.

Though it made him feel the transience of time, he was rather pleased that things had turned out this way.

“There’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you. Is it okay if I say it now?”

Time was so cruel that it mercilessly crushed Chris’s desire to keep watching over them.

He knew well that his body was no longer what it used to be.

Although he wouldn’t die as easily as ordinary people, he knew he could no longer wield a sword like he did in his youth.

As Evan quietly looked at Chris, their eyes met, and Chris spoke calmly.

“I’ve always been proud of you.”

“…That’s quite sudden. Very much so.”

Evan’s mouth opened slightly with a bewildered expression. Without any context, such words only made him feel embarrassed.

It was awkward to receive praise from Chris, who had always been stingy with compliments.

Evan cleared his throat and scratched his head, lowering his gaze.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to say. Of course it’s awkward. I’m embarrassed even saying it.”

“I’ve always been grateful too. I wouldn’t have made it this far without your help, Sir Chris.”

Before dreaming about the modern world, it was only Chris who had rescued him when he was in danger, swept up in the brainwashing of the Extinction.

Whenever death approached, Chris would always appear and scold him,

training him so intensely that he couldn’t harbor any distracting thoughts, always falling asleep with an exhausted mind.

Now that he thought about it, he could tell it was done deliberately, so Evan was always grateful to Chris.

If it weren’t for him, would it have been possible to enjoy this leisure now?

When Chris said nothing more, Evan also remained silent.

That was enough. The blowing wind, the sound of insects from the forest.

The wind rustled the grass, making bell-like sounds, and in the forest shadows cast by moonlight, a night bird quietly sang.

This harmony of various mixed sounds was the perfect backdrop.

Even without words, they could understand each other’s hearts.

Gratitude, reverence.

And regret that there weren’t many days left to see each other.

It was a conversation sufficient to share over a glass of wine, and grateful that time still remained… they simply enjoyed the moment in silence.

#

Chris wasn’t the only one with whom he could share his heart without words.

Perhaps someone with whom he could understand each other’s hearts even if they stayed like this forever.

The only one in this world, whose mere presence brought comfort.

“Did you have a good talk with Rofena?”

“Yes, we did. She seems to enjoy living with Chris. She was worried that he’s been obsessed with mahjong lately, but I’m sure Chris will handle it well.”

They held hands, quietly gazing at the forest. The garden was a place intertwined with many memories.

Though it might be tiresome to speak of it now, the reason they reminisced so often was because the first time was so important.

“The first time I thought well of you was because of that tea party.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought you would dislike me for gossiping.”

“I was a bit… harsh to you at first. I felt sorry about that, and it was then that I started to like you.”

When Airin first met Evan, it was after her trust in humans had been severely broken.

Rather than trusting someone, she wanted one person she could thoroughly rely on.

Wasn’t it a time when she wanted to lean on someone, pour out all her emotions, and cry her heart out?

The fact that the person she met then was Evan always felt like destiny to Airin.

The person she needed appeared before her suddenly, rescuing her like a prince from a fairy tale.

Now she smiled often. She no longer cried, and her expressionless face only appeared occasionally when Evan did something wrong.

“My mother said so. She wanted me to smile a lot.”

The frame on the table was still on Airin’s desk.

But now it wasn’t covered, showing that face smiling at Airin.

Just as she remembered, right next to the frame with pictures of Evan and Airin.

She never thought the day would come when she would understand her mother’s perspective.

Immersed in rising emotions, Airin smiled slightly and rested her head on Evan’s shoulder.

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“That I look prettier when I smile? I’ve heard that hundreds of times already.”

Airin poked Evan’s cheek playfully, amused by his momentarily stunned expression.

“But it still feels good to hear it thousands more times.”

The nightmares she occasionally had were based on imagining what would have happened if she hadn’t met Evan.

Being suddenly branded a traitor and killed, with Scarlet looking at her and mocking her.

It was terrifying to think of not having Scarlet, now her closest friend, and Evan, her husband.

But whenever she woke up, Evan was always there, holding her tight as he slept.

So she didn’t worry. Thinking about what would have happened without Evan was just imagination.

No matter how much she worried, her lovely husband would always be by her side.

“When we’re like this, I always seem to have the same thought.”

“What thought is that?”

“Just… that all of this feels like a dream. The ring on my finger, you being my husband. Even Arthur and Robelia getting married soon.”

“How can I make you feel certain?”

After pondering this question, Airin smiled mischievously and tapped her lips.

“Well, I’m not sure-“

As their eyes met with moonlight reflected in them, a slightly different atmosphere began to flow quietly than what they usually experienced.

It was as if they could hear the serenade once played in Siren.

Warm and cozy. That feeling that was warmer than any moment during that confession in the coldest winter.

It was happiness to remember and reminisce.

If someone had asked if they were happy, their past selves would probably have said no.

But now they could confidently say they were happy.

Now she no longer disliked stars, nor feared being alone.

She had become more accustomed to thinking about meetings and happiness rather than partings and pain.

“You know what?”

With their faces very close, Airin looked into Evan’s green eyes and moved her lips.

Those eyes, always like the forest, embraced her gently.

The sentiment she felt whenever their eyes met was very simple. Words that were embarrassing at first, but now she could say confidently.

“I love you.”

At those words, Evan quietly smiled. A sweet scent flowed around them as the distance closed.

It was a scent she could smell because they bathed in the same bathroom, now using the same bath water.

The scent of roses full of thorns.

Thorns stretched out to reveal their beauty only to those permitted.

Perhaps the phrase “the thorny rose that is you” referred to this woman he was looking at.

Stroking her hair whiter than moonlight, he explored her lips redder than roses.

Eyes bluer than lake water slowly closed, and in that subtle atmosphere, they explored each other.

In this forest so beautiful it could be believed to be from a romance fantasy novel,

the lovers sang of love while indulging in each other.

It was a love story of a woman who should have been called a villainess,

and a love story of a man who shouldn’t have existed.

“I love you too.”

They smile at each other as the voice seeps thinly between parted lips.

And he thinks. Forever from now on. He will be the knight of the woman named Airin Yuris.

Doubling as her husband.

-I Became the Knight of a Villainess in a Romance Fantasy. <END>-