Since the topic was already out in the open, I decided to be more direct.
“I can no longer be your daughter as I was before.”
“……”
Delight’s eyes darkened slightly at my words.
I silently observed his reaction before continuing.
“If it feels like you’re losing Ollia…”
A simple apology wouldn’t be enough.
There was no other choice.
I had to find a solution in the only way I could.
I looked at Delight with determination and spoke firmly.
“I will erase your memory.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any other issues. I’ll simply wipe that part of your memory clean.”
It was an extreme method, but I could neatly remove only the fact that I was the Archmage Sherina.
“You trust me, right?”
I reached out to him with a smirk.
“You crazy teacher! What nonsense are you spouting?”
Delight smacked my hand away and shouted.
“Why would you erase such precious memories?!”
Then he let out a deep sigh as if he was exasperated and stared at me intently.
“…Did you really think that?”
“Of course.”
It was an inevitable contradiction that came with becoming my disciple’s daughter.
Delight suddenly let out a hollow laugh and spoke.
“Of course I was shocked! When I woke up and remembered all the things I had done without knowing the truth, it was painful and humiliating…! The moment I regained consciousness, I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t even have the mind to feel my physical pain!”
He voiced his frustration without pausing for breath.
“But still!”
Delight’s voice was resolute as he looked straight at me.
“I’m glad you came back.”
“……”
He flashed his characteristic playful smile.
“I don’t think I lost Ollia.”
His unwavering voice carried firm conviction. Then, with a smirk, he added.
“To me, I simply gained both a daughter and my teacher.”
“………”
“I didn’t lose one—I gained another.”
“…..…”
“I thought I’d never see you again. But in the end, you were always by my side… And just knowing that gives me strength.”
Even though he spoke lightly, I could feel the weight of his sincerity.
“So if you’re feeling any unnecessary guilt, just know that it’s pointless.”
“……..”
“Instead, you should be apologizing for deceiving me all this time. You even broke the promise we made back then!”
“…..…”
“Ugh. Why are you making that pitiful face? And with Ollia’s face, no less—it’s messing with my emotions…”
What? My expression wasn’t even that pitiful!
Before I knew it, Delight was already making jokes as if nothing had happened.
How could he turn things around so quickly, as if flipping his palm?
It was shocking, baffling, and honestly, a little amazing.
…And at the same time, I felt relieved.
“Delight.”
“What?”
“……”
“…Yes.”
Sensing something in my tone, he cautiously responded.
“Thank you for raising me so well.”
Even though I retained all my memories from my previous life and my abilities remained the same.
I wouldn’t have been able to endure my childhood if it weren’t for Delight.
“You were a good parent to me.”
A parent—something I had never had, even in my past life.
I had never experienced it, so I never thought I needed it.
I believed I had no use for such a thing.
But…
Once I became Delight’s daughter, every day of my childhood felt new.
Growing up, loved as someone’s child—so this is what it felt like.
That’s why I had to say this.
“It was a blessing to be your daughter.”
At that,
“…Really?”
Delight’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me.
His lips quivered slightly—
Then, with a shy smile, he spoke.
“…For me, it was an honor to be part of my teacher’s childhood.”
“…..…”
“Thank you for becoming my family.”
At that moment, my heart clenched.
Looking at Delight now, I finally understood.
‘Hiel was right.’
I had run away out of fear, all on my own.
I had always acted so confident, as if it were second nature to me.
Yet here I was—too foolish to even understand my disciple’s heart.
This second life…
At first, I thought it was meaningless.
But now, I found myself experiencing, feeling, and learning things for the first time.
I am changing.
For over two hundred years, I remained stagnant, unable to move forward.
But in this second life, after meeting Delight once again, I am growing.
‘This is… kind of touching.’
When I first took that child in, I never imagined he would have such a profound impact on me.
And now…
As I looked at Delight, a faint smile formed on my lips.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
Sensing my gaze, Delight tilted his head and asked.
I was about to express the warmth and affection I felt for him…
But then—
Delight muttered with a peculiar expression.
“…Something about this feels really unpleasant…”
“What?”
“No, it’s just… You have that ominous smile unique to you, Teacher. Just now, it was exactly that face. You haven’t changed at all…”
“……”
This brat. Here I was, reminiscing about our time together with sentimental emotions, and he just had to ruin the moment.
I narrowed my eyes and twisted the smile on my lips.
“Haha. My dear disciple, you’re just as consistent as ever.”
As expected, warmth and sentimentality could never last between me and my annoying disciple.
***
At the end of the day, Delight lay sprawled next to Blueny in his bedroom, resting.
“Are you okay?”
Blueny smiled gently, knowing he had spoken with his teacher today.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
Truthfully, Blueny had always been curious about the teacher whom Delight missed so much.
It was only natural for her.
After all, this was the person who had occupied his heart so completely that he had no room for anything else.
Not as the legendary Archmage Sherina, but as a teacher—what kind of person had she been?
She had always wondered, though she never dared to ask.
But now,
“I understand why you missed her so much.”
Knowing that Ollia was actually his teacher, memories surfaced in Blueny’s mind.
Back when she had pretended to lose her memory and returned to Promian.
The moment young Ollia had uncovered her plan—
That tiny child had seemed unbelievably large.
Even back then, Blueny had thought it was strange.
But for some reason…
‘Why did I just accept it as natural?’
Even when that little girl spoke like a full-grown adult, it had never seemed odd. Instead, Blueny had just nodded along and believed her words.
A child different from the rest.
But now, everything made sense.
That child was none other than his teacher, Sherina.
And at the same time, she was their daughter, Violyana.
His teacher and his daughter, Ollia, had been trying to protect Delight all along.
Thinking about it that way, she seemed…
‘Adorable.’
Gasp.
Blueny quickly swallowed the words that almost slipped out.
If she called either Delight or his teacher “adorable,” they would definitely lose their tempers.
Though honestly, watching them both fume side by side would probably be pretty cute, too.
Delight was still grumbling, recalling his conversation with his teacher and reminiscing about past events.
“Even the first time she saw me… she kicked my face with her foot…”
As if it had happened just yesterday, the sensation of the impact came back vividly.
Blueny had to pinch her thigh to stop herself from laughing out loud.
After all, it was rare to see Delight acting so childish and cute.
Just as Blueny slightly lifted the corners of her lips—
“Wait a minute…”
Delight suddenly straightened up, his expression turning serious as he fell into deep thought.
“……?”
Had he noticed me smiling?
Blueny’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Delight.
However, he seemed lost in thought, absentmindedly rubbing his cheek.
The moment right after the war, when he had first met the child, resurfaced in his memory.
“She aimed right at my face and kicked me hard.”
At the time, he had been too busy admiring her determined footwork to think much of it.
But now that he considered it, she must have used every bit of her strength to launch that kick.
“That little brat…!”
“Delight. When you come back, I’ll kick your butt.”
A long time ago, when his teacher had driven him away, he had said—
“I’ll forgive you if you consider this a way of keeping your promise.”
Honestly, I’m such a kind disciple that I always end up at a disadvantage.
Delight muttered under his breath.
Yet, a smirk was creeping onto his lips.
***
Meanwhile, I had my first proper meal in a long time.
While Delight had been unconscious, I hadn’t been able to eat properly at all.
Feeling much lighter now that he was awake, I finished my meal and returned to my room.
And there, waiting for me in front of the door—
“Serdin?”
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
It occurred to me that since Serdin had discovered my true identity, we hadn’t had a chance to talk.
“Alright. Then shall we take a walk along our usual path?”
Taking the lead, I started walking.
