Ch.381381. The Wedding (2)

Quite some time had passed, and unlike back then, I now had a clear goal in life, so I thought those memories might have faded.

Yet somehow, that time seemed to refuse to be forgotten, calling us back once again.

“Here, Reni.”

“Thank you. Hehe.”

The ruins were quite treacherous. Since this was once where the Imperial forces had made their final stand, the terrain was naturally difficult, having been chosen for its strategic advantage in battles against magical beasts.

I was worried whether Renias would be able to keep up, even though I was fine.

“Up we go.”

When I offered my hand, she grabbed it firmly and climbed up, which eased my concerns somewhat.

“Brother? I’m already up here.”

Rather, I was worried about how light she felt. I thought I should check on that.

“Eek-! B-Brother?!”

Hmm. Now that I’m holding her, I understand. I can’t help but worry.

“What are you doing, Brother? Why so suddenly?”

“You feel too light. If you’ve been skipping meals lately, I’ll scold you.”

“Whaaat? No way.”

“No, now that I’m holding you, it feels like you’ve lost weight since then. Should I feed you more?”

The princess-like Renias, who was in my arms, shyly hit my chest.

“I lost weight because I’ve been exercising hard! Geez, really. I’m eating very well! I have all three meals properly every day. We eat together all the time, Brother.”

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, that does seem true.”

Come to think of it, Renias has been consistently training with her handmaidens lately.

It makes sense that she would lose some weight.

“And I absolutely can’t get fat. I always want to look prettier for you.”

As a woman who wants to show her best appearance to the man she loves, she blushed shyly. With our wedding approaching soon, she showed determination to manage herself even more diligently so she could look even prettier then.

“But Brother, I played hooky today.”

“Huh?”

“I stayed at a hotel and came straight to the academy… Hehe. I skipped classes because I wanted to see you sooner.”

“Um… then why have you lost weight?”

“Are you on about that again? How can you tell just by holding me?”

“Hey now. How much do you think I’ve trained my body all this time? I can certainly tell the difference.”

It wasn’t a joke; I really could. Distinguishing weight differences has become quite easy for me now.

Renias hesitated for a moment before answering honestly.

“I-I’ve just been doing some more intense exercise lately…”

“Huh? More intense? Did Maria make you do that kind of training? I never instructed anything like that.”

“N-No! It’s nothing, so l-let’s hurry! Ahahah, ha, haha…!”

Intense exercise? I wondered what kind of intense exercise would make her lose weight and was about to ask, but this time I just cautioned her to be careful not to harm her health.

Renias agreed while breaking into a cold sweat, and though I knew she was hiding something, well, from experience, it probably wasn’t anything serious. Probably.

As we continued walking with Renias trying to change the subject, we crossed over two ridges.

It felt familiar.

Everything around here looked familiar to me. Even though the surroundings were significantly different from back then.

In a way, it was natural. This was a place I had visited before. A place with memories so intense they were hard to forget.

“Brother, over there.”

As we got close enough to see the area clearly with the naked eye, Renias pointed to a location.

“Yes. I know.”

The closer we got, the more I instinctively felt that the hands of the clock were approaching.

Holding her hand tightly, we entered the entrance and saw the inside of the cave.

‘As expected.’

Though it was my first time seeing it, it wasn’t difficult to understand.

Under a large clock face, clock hands and various symbols that seemed to indicate someone.

As my own past was faintly reflected, the pasts of those who had activated the magic formula were intricately intertwined in complex magical patterns.

Renias and I looked at each other, nodded once, and walked toward our intertwined past.

-Flash!

As soon as we stepped onto the formation where traces of the past remained, a brilliant white light engulfed us.

Such a bright light in this dark cave. It seemed impossible, but Renias’s mother had once said:

That magic that defies the natural order, like regression, wouldn’t be easily permitted. That the magic formula was activated with her permission.

If so, there should be no harm from this light. I held Renias’s hand tightly and waited for it to clear.

As the white light that had engulfed us for a brief moment subsided and I opened my tightly shut eyes, I couldn’t help but smile.

Perhaps there was no reason to be wary of what might be implied or what might remain?

Of course, that’s what I thought as I smiled.

‘But Renias probably doesn’t feel the same.’

I glanced at her, the girl whose hand I had been holding, and my suspicions were confirmed.

“How… is…”

Her trembling hand conveyed her emotions perfectly.

Of course she would feel that way. Look who was standing before us.

“‘Welcome, our daughter.'”

At that welcoming phrase, a tear rolled down her cheek.

I gently let go of Renias’s hand.

“Go ahead, Reni.”

“…”

Go on. Hurry.

I gave her a little encouragement to help her find the courage to run.

Sobbing, Renias finally dashed forward.

Crying out “Mom” and “Dad.”

***

Renias ran to the two people and embraced them, pouring out all her pent-up sorrow. She cried and cried, her sobs echoing endlessly.

Seeing their daughter like this, the couple’s eyes also reddened. The mother patted her daughter’s back comfortingly, while the father maintained a solemn silence with a complicated expression.

A meeting between parents who had passed away when their daughter was just two years old—too young to remember their faces—and their now grown daughter.

It was a scene one could only watch silently, holding one’s breath.

Junon watched from a distance, neither intervening nor interrupting. He stayed away, not wanting even the slightest sound to disturb their reunion.

“Mom… Dad…”

“Let me see your face. Hmm? Mom wants to see our daughter’s face too.”

“Dad feels the same way.”

At the couple’s request, Renias loosened her tight embrace.

She felt the same way. She wanted to memorize her parents’ faces, to remember them as much as possible.

“So this is what Mom and Dad looked like…”

“How did you grow up to be so beautiful, our daughter?”

“It must have been hard. You must have struggled so much. Thank you for growing up well, Reni.”

As they looked at each other’s faces again, a flood of emotions crossed between them.

The daughter who had worked so hard not to tarnish her parents’ reputation, suffering from compulsions and nightmares.

The parents who had to leave such a heavy burden on their twins before passing away, much to their heartbreak.

Naturally, it was the parents who were the first to express their feelings.

“I’m sorry, Reni. Mom… Mom is so sorry…”

“Dad too… has nothing to say except how sorry I am.”

They apologized for leaving Ronelion and Renias alone and blamed themselves for burdening their children without being able to do anything for them as parents.

If it had been in the past.

If Renias was still having nightmares.

-Why, why did you leave us behind!!

She might have shouted like that.

It’s natural to feel upset. Beyond upset, resentful, and she might have vented her frustration at having been unable to stand on her own under the weight of loneliness and solitude.

She might have angrily asked if they knew how hard she had worked not to tarnish her mother and father’s name.

But.

She is no longer a child.

“I was very lonely, and it was hard. But now I know what Mom and Dad wanted for me.”

“Reni…”

“You wanted me to be just an ordinary girl, not the noble daughter of the Lantana family; a regular academy student, not the child of heroes who saved the Empire; and a daughter who lives freely and happily, not one who just tries to uphold her parents’ reputation. Mom and Dad just wanted me to live happily. Ronelion understood that long ago. Why didn’t I?”

With a small laugh, Renias wiped away the tears from her eyes.

“I met the wonderful brother Dad sent me. And thanks to Mom allowing the regression, I got to know him better and fell in love. We’re getting married soon. So.”

-Don’t worry about me anymore.

That was the answer from the grown-up Renias.

Her parents smiled with relief at their adult daughter’s response.

“I see… Marriage. Marriage, is it.”

As all eyes suddenly turned to him, Junon couldn’t help but join in. Scratching his cheek awkwardly, he confirmed the fact of their upcoming marriage.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a bit early, but…”

He hadn’t expected to meet them like this, nor to be announcing their marriage plans.

But what he had to say remained the same.

“As I told you before, I’ll make her happy for the rest of her life.”

The couple smiled at that.

“Darling, it’s exactly like us, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. The order seems all mixed up.”

“Order?”

The silver-haired girl tilted her head in confusion. Junon felt the same way. What order was twisted that made them smile like that?

『I seduced and enticed my husband before we got married too. Hoho.』

“…!”

『By the way, I haven’t told Reni about this, so don’t tell her, okay?』

‘Ha, haha… Like mother, like daughter.’

His body involuntarily flinched at the telepathic message.

So that’s why they were smiling. Because they were following the same procedure as Renias’s parents.

“…Darling.”

“Yes. We’re almost out of time.”

Crack-

The space beginning to split was a sign that there wasn’t much time left to talk like this.

“Reni. If you have anything to say, you should say it all now.”

“Why…?”

“This space is being interfered with by the two Constellations. So it won’t last long.”

It felt like about a minute and a half. That’s all the time Renias had to talk with her parents. He hoped she could organize her thoughts and say everything without regrets.

Renias nodded in understanding and, with a bright smile, linked arms with Junon.

“I’m going to live even happier from now on. I’ll show you how happily I live with Brother, enough to make Mom and Dad smile from heaven. So… so…”

Unable to finish her last sentence, tears welled up in Renias’s eyes.

She knew this would be her last meeting with her parents, so it was inevitable that she would feel regret.

Nevertheless, she fought through her choked voice and managed to speak.

“Goodbye… Mom, Dad.”

With another tear streaming down, Renias said her farewell.

Crack-!

The space began to collapse completely. Only the last platform, full of cracks, precariously supported them from below.

Renias’s parents approached her slowly and took turns giving her farewell hugs.

“Yes. Dad and Mom will keep watching from heaven to see how happy our Reni is. Tell Ron the same.”

“Yes! I’ll definitely tell Ron.”

“Don’t come looking for Mom and Dad again saying you’re lonely when you have a boyfriend… no, a husband, okay? If you do, Mom will scold you.”

“Hus-band… Yes! I understand!”

Renias blushed slightly at the word “husband” but soon smiled brightly and nodded.

Having said everything they wanted to say to Renias, the two turned to Junon with apologetic looks.

“You must have had many questions. Sorry about that, Junwoo.”

“It’s fine. Actually, my curiosity was just satisfied.”

“Hoho. Is that so?”

The two Constellations roughly understood that his curiosity had been satisfied by seeing through his inner thoughts.

However, not everything was resolved. There was just one thing he misunderstood.

“Ah, the platform…”

“Reni. Hold my hand tight!”

As the last remaining platform disappeared, the two began to fall.

If they had a little more time, they could have explained in more detail. But now, all they could do was give a small hint.

Reynesia cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted loudly to Junon and Renias.

“You two, it’s much sooner than you think, so don’t forget!”

“What?!”

Junon shouted back, but the distance had already grown too great.

“—new family—born—so—more—!”

Unfortunately, their voices didn’t fully reach the two before they returned to reality.

“What should we do? They don’t seem to have heard everything.”

“Hmm… It can’t be helped. They said the wedding is soon anyway, so they’ll find out soon enough.”

“…Is it because Reni takes after me, her mother?”

“Well…”

Beads of sweat rolled down the couple’s foreheads.