The ritual of connecting the world did not require the use of complicated tools. On a full moon night, all you had to do was recite a spell while injecting mana into the snake’s legs under the moonlight.
‘So I thought it would be simple.’
However, there was a catch to this kind of advanced magic. There was no need for complicated tools, but the order may be complicated. So she practiced chanting dozens of times throughout the day, but she was still worried.
‘What if I’m wrong?’
She replayed the spell in her head and moistened her dry lips.
‘It’s not like you’re summoning a devil because you pronounce something wrong, right?’
Then she looked at the three people gathered next to her. Everyone was excited to see their parents again.
‘I’m sorry if I fail and am disappointed…’
It seemed like he was nervous. Elliot wrapped his arms around her shoulders and comforted her.
“Don’t feel pressured.”
“That’s right. Take it easy. Even if it doesn’t work out, we already have fun breaking the rules and going out at night.”
Luna said as if to make Elliot listen, and she grinned meaningfully.
“Grand Duke, I think you’re planning to change the rules of the Grand Duke’s residence as you wish once I leave…”
“I never said that, Your Majesty.”
“It would be better to give up the idea of changing the rules early on.”
“…What have I done?”
The correct answer was Sir Daniel. As he watched Luna, who called him a spy, and Elliot, who had returned to being her strict guardian, the tension naturally eased.
“Okay, let’s give it a try.”
She raised her hand towards the clearly pouring moonlight and began to chant a spell. It was when she closed her eyes, concentrated, and finished the order clearly.
“Omg! It was on fire.”
When Luca cried out in surprise, she opened her eyes and saw a purple flame burning brightly in her hand. It was just as it was written on the parchment. The flame was not hot, but the legs of the snake in the middle of it burned black and turned to ashes.
“Come on, inhale the smoke.”
They gathered close together and inhaled the strangely scented smoke. She felt dizzy as if she was drunk. The moment the snake’s legs burned up without leaving any ashes, the purple flame disappeared by itself. There was no more smoke to inhale.
“Now… Did it happen?”
They looked around in confusion. The greenhouse was the same as before. There was no such thing as seeing a ghost or anything.
‘Did I fail?’
It was a moment when she was becoming sullen.
“Wait, can you hear it?”
Footsteps were heard somewhere in the greenhouse.
‘Could it be that the dead weren’t really summoned?’
It was a time when the four of them were exchanging nervous glances while listening to the sound of footsteps getting closer.
“Mom!”
Luna suddenly turned around and ran away, shouting.
“Dad!”
When she looked back, the parents of the three siblings were standing not far from them.
The ritual worked.
“My daughter.”
The two took turns holding Luna in their arms and wiping away the tears of her daughter, who was crying uncharacteristically for a cheerful child.
“I missed you so much.”
“We’ve always been watching you, so we can’t say we missed you.”
“But I was so angry because I always wanted to hug you like this…”
It was such a relief that this ceremony allowed us not only to see each other, but also to touch.
“Luca, come here.”
The father of three motioned for Luca, who was standing next to me, to come. Luna was clinging to her parents and acting like a child, but Luca was just standing there blankly. Was it because their parents died when he was a baby? The sight of their parents in person seemed awkward to Luca, who only knew what they looked like in portraits. But looking at the tears in his eyes, it was clear that he missed their parents as much as Luna.
“Go see.”
Elliot pushed Luca’s back against him. Only then did Luca take a difficult step.
“My son.”
When their shy child hesitated before taking just one step, their father suddenly pulled him into a hug. Luca seemed awkward being held in his father’s arms at first.
“Do you remember Dad? Huh? The last time I saw you,you often called me dad.”
Then, when the old story came out, he laughed a little and eventually burst into tears like his older sister. On the outside, both children appear to have no shortcomings, but neither could easily fill the void left by their parents.
‘How much I missed my mom and dad who separated when I was young.’
She also cried because she knew that feeling well. Elliot wiped her tears and led her to the two of them. As they got closer to them, their mother, who was holding Luca, smiled at them and then she suddenly bent her knees and showed respect.
“Meet Your Majesty the Emperor.”
Elliott furrowed his eyebrows and helped his mother stand up. He looked exactly like the furrowed brows of his father standing next to her. Luna was just like her father, with black hair and bright eyes. Luca took out her silver hair and imprinted her mother’s eyes. Elliot really resembles both of them. Seeing them up close and in person made her feel even more real.
As she watched Elliot and his father shake hands and then embrace, their mother called her.
“Hazel.”
“Greetings.”
As she said hello, their mother came up to her and held her hand.
“I really wanted to talk to you.”
“Me too.”
There was something she really wanted to say to Elliot’s mother when she met her.
“Thank you so much for saving me last time.”
Their mother waved her hand as if she was saying thank you.
“It’s natural. I did this because I was worried that my son would die of old age and be single for the rest of his life.”
‘Oh, come to think of it, you are my in-laws now, right? I didn’t know what to do for a bit.’
But when their mother looked at the ring on her left hand, she thought she made a disapproving expression.
“Elliot, there are many rings bigger than this one, so why did you get one this small?”
This… Small? The diamond in the ring was as big as her finger.
“Hazel said she likes that ring, so please stop beating me up.”
Their mother clicked her tongue, tsk.
“If there’s any other jewelry you like, Hazel gets it.”
“Oh, I’m fine.”
She thought it was something Luna deserved.
“Don’t feel pressured. It’s a bribe to take care of my poor son, hoho.”
She said she didn’t like the son of a great lord, war hero, and His Majesty the Emperor, and left him in charge of her, a commoner and witch. Their mother didn’t seem to care about her status or origin at all.
“I guess I should say thank you for raising my son to be a kind man.”
“That’s because Elliot takes after his father.”
Their mother slapped her hand, covered her mouth, and added with a smile.
“Oh, of course, his playful side resembles mine.”
Then she looked with disapproving eyes at Elliot, who was chatting affectionately with his father.
“Elliot, why did you make the marriage proposal like a joke?”
She thought she was talking about the marriage proposal he made while revising a contract in his office and the marriage proposal he made while sitting in her luggage like a puppy, but that wasn’t the case.
“Then what about the Grand Duchess contract?”
When she was in a contract relationship, what he said as a joke was actually…
“Was it a marriage proposal?”
Elliot seemed embarrassed, avoiding her eyes and grinning mischievously.
“You should be an empress, but you refused, saying you’re just a Grand Duchess.”
“That’s a joke…”
“Hazel has a stronger thirst for power than she looks.”
“No.”
“So I had no choice but to take the throne, and only then did she accept my marriage proposal.”
“No!”
She glanced at Elliot, who was smiling mischievously again, and changed the topic.
“But since when has mother been watching us?”
“From the beginning. Because I am a guardian spirit.”
“Guardian spirit?”
It turns out that the dead who lived well enough to go to heaven could become the guardian spirits of those they left behind in this world.
“But there are three children, so they say only one person should be the guardian spirit. So, I decided to take charge of it, as I have a lot of special abilities.”
Their mother was still worried about the children, so she could not leave for heaven and stayed with them. She was there even when Luna and Luca first met Hazel.
“Weren’t you two going to the witch’s hut just because you’re hungry? Of course I was so anxious because I thought it was the evil witch who killed us.”
But she said she met an old woman looking at the crops in the hut’s garden.
“Looking at her appearance and unique clothing, I thought she was not from here, but I was surprised to hear that she was also a guardian spirit.”
It’s grandmother. Her grandmother was always by her side as her guardian spirit.
The tip of her nose twitched.
“Thanks to her I was relieved to know that the witch living in the cabin was not the wicked witch.”
Their mother took her hand again and smiled kindly.
“Hazel’s grandmother is a really nice person. Plus, how good of a conversation she has. She is always a good companion, so we never get lonely or bored.”
She was so happy to hear the news from her grandmother that it was her first time in a long time that it brought tears to her eyes. Then, she was so surprised by the story that continued that tears came to her eyes.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on May, 11.
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