Serdin followed Violyana—or rather, Sherina—deep in thought.
Green eyes resembling the Emperor’s.
Soft, fluffy pink hair that gave off a gentle feeling just by looking at it.
However, just before she arrived in Promian from Ilnord, when she had activated a large magic circle, her hair had taken on an orange hue.
‘I couldn’t see it clearly, but one of her eyes had changed color too.’
At that moment, a memory from the past flashed through Serdin’s mind.
A long time ago, when he spent every day playing with Violyana as her childhood friend—
There had been a period when he suddenly couldn’t see her.
Even when he went to her room, Monia would only say that Ollia couldn’t meet him, and he had to turn back.
Not being given a proper reason felt suspicious.
It was clear that something had happened, but there was no one he could ask.
Frustrated, he wandered around the imperial palace, searching for places the princess might frequent.
Then, a small child, wearing something like a white veil over their head, ran blindly ahead—straight toward him.
To be precise, he had recognized that the small child was Violyana and had deliberately stepped into her path.
“There you are. I was looking for you on purpose…”
He wanted to say that, but he couldn’t.
Violyana ran straight past him without even checking who he was.
“Huh? Wait a minute…!”
He shouted belatedly, trying to stop her, but she had run so fast that she quickly disappeared from sight.
And at that moment—
‘But why was her hair orange?’
She was definitely Violyana.
The princess was supposed to have soft pink hair.
But when Serdin accidentally brushed against her, causing the white cloth covering her head to slip slightly, the hair revealed underneath was an entirely different shade—orange.
‘Did I see it wrong?’
At the time, he had thought it was just a mistake.
But looking back, there had always been things that felt a little off.
Since childhood, there were times when it seemed like Violyana was the one using him instead.
It wasn’t just his imagination.
The realization sent a chill down his spine.
It was inevitable.
A plan he had devised in his youthful recklessness, after being abandoned by Ilnord in the past, resurfaced in his mind.
Had she seen through everything, even that?
Come to think of it, when he had tried to confess to Delight this time, Ollia had changed the subject and steered the conversation away.
That had seemed strange to him back then.
‘So she knew everything all along.’
Serdin let out a silent scream.
This wasn’t just embarrassing.
No matter how many times he wiped his face with his hands, his skin only grew hotter, and his mind refused to settle.
Because inside that small child’s body was someone who had lived for well over two hundred years…
‘Wait a minute.’
Something clicked in Serdin’s mind, and he abruptly froze.
‘How big is the age gap between us?’
He didn’t know the exact age of the Archmage Sherina.
But even with a rough estimate…
Gulp.
His mouth went dry.
He thought he knew Violyana well… but he didn’t truly know the Archmage Sherina.
Between them lay an unfathomable expanse of time—years and experiences beyond his understanding.
Could he ever bridge that gap?
As Serdin was lost in thought—
“What are you doing? Why are you just standing there?”
She had turned back to look at him.
At that moment, his mind went completely blank, and all he could see was her face.
Whether she was Violyana or the Archmage Sherina no longer mattered.
She was just… her.
Yeah. What did age even matter?
It wasn’t like that would change how he felt.
With a deflated chuckle, Serdin took a step forward.
There was no need for hesitation.
After all, there was only one thing he truly wanted to say to her.
***
At some point, they had arrived at the familiar path they always used for walks.
This should be far enough.
I turned to look at Serdin.
I had been thinking as we walked here.
‘Serdin must have been really confused, too.’
Everyone had been so focused on the problem of facing Delight that they hadn’t paid attention to anything else.
‘I should have gone to him first and cleared things up.’
I felt bad, knowing he had been left to sort through everything alone.
Especially since, the day before the wedding, he had even confessed to me.
Since I was the older one, I should take the lead and clear things up for him—so he wouldn’t be confused anymore.
“You must have a lot of questions for me.”
I deliberately lowered my voice and spoke seriously.
“You already know who I am.”
“Yes.”
Serdin had naturally begun speaking to me with formal honorifics.
As expected, the moment my true identity was revealed, even the smallest details, like his speech, changed.
Blueny and Zaire had reacted the same way, and now Serdin was no different.
It was inevitable.
I had enjoyed the time we spent together as friends, so it was a bit of a shame that things were now so distant between us.
But I had anticipated this kind of change when I decided to reveal that I was the Archmage Sherina.
Maintaining a calm smile, I continued speaking.
“You don’t have to treat me as Archmage Sherina.”
Even if I didn’t want to, there would inevitably be times when I would have to act as Sherina.
But once the issue with Ilnord was completely resolved, I wanted to live solely as Violyana.
Of course, regardless of my wishes, it was only natural that Serdin would now associate me with Sherina.
“Also, there’s no need to dwell on anything that happened before you knew who I was.”
At the very least, I wanted him to feel comfortable about the past we shared before he learned my true identity.
That past included many things.
When we were younger, there were times when Serdin treated me kindly on purpose to use me for his own gain.
Then there were the times he got outplayed instead and ended up doing all sorts of things for my benefit.
There were even moments when he acted like an older brother, trying to be the mature one.
And most recently—
“Does that include the confession I made?”
‘So he really did confess to me.’
I had worded things carefully so he wouldn’t feel the need to bring it up, yet he had bluntly asked about it himself.
“Yes. If that’s something that’s weighing on your mind.”
“………”
“Just think of it as if it never happened.”
I made sure to be clear.
“You didn’t know who I was when you said those things, so you don’t need to place too much meaning on it.”
Before he could struggle to come up with an excuse, I took the initiative to settle things.
“Now that you know why I rejected you back then, you understand, right?”
“………”
“In time, you’ll forget about it.”
I suppose finding out that the person you confessed to was actually the Archmage Sherina must have been quite a shock.
Still, now that he knew the truth, it would be easier for him to move on than if he had been rejected without understanding why.
Back then, I had felt guilty about rejecting him so coldly.
But considering how things had played out, maybe this was for the best.
“If you ever have anything you want to say to me, feel free to say it.”
After finishing my explanation, I added one final remark.
I was prepared to listen to anything he wanted to say with an open mind.
After all, I was both grateful and sorry for many things.
Serdin, who had been silently listening the entire time, finally spoke slowly.
“…Why should I pretend it never happened?”
…Huh?
This isn’t how it was supposed to go.
And why is he glaring at me like that?
Why does he look… angry?
“It’s for your sake.”
Did he feel like I was disregarding his sincerity?
Just as I was about to calmly explain again—
Serdin looked straight at me and firmly spoke.
“No. That’s not what I want.”
His sudden intensity made me instinctively take a step back.
“I don’t want that, so you shouldn’t forget either.”
“………”
“And I want you to think about it whenever you have a spare moment. Before you sleep, when you wake up, even when you go for a walk.”
“…Huh?”
“My confession back then was sincere.”
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
I was so caught off guard that my head spun.
“Even if I could go back, I would still confess the same way.”
W-what?
Completely flustered, I took a step backward.
But Serdin showed no intention of letting this slide.
“And my feelings haven’t changed.”
“…Huh?”
“My feelings remain the same.”
Was this his way of assuring me he wouldn’t betray us?
Yeah, that had to be it.
“…I know. I never doubted that you’re with us.”
We had already come this far together.
Believing that was what he meant, I nodded in understanding.
But then—
“No. What I meant was—”
Serdin spoke again.
“My confession in Ilnord.”
“…What?”
“I like you, whether you’re Violyana or Sherina.”
“……!”
“I mean it.”
For some reason, it felt like I was being completely overwhelmed by his confession.
