Just then, I thought of the crown prince of the Shalbon Kingdom who was about to visit the Croyden Empire, and I temporarily borrowed his body.
And as I thought about it, I realized that the reason Leviathan was looking for the Finder back then was to resurrect the ancient demon.
‘…There’s no need to say this.’
Hills, looking at Arundel in front of him, shut his mouth tightly.
“I should slowly return to the demon world.”
Hills said, standing up from his seat. Then, he gave a playful smile.
“Next time, I should come when Arundel is alone.”
“There won’t be a next time, so get out now.”
Zion growled. Hills raised both hands in surrender, saying ‘Yes, yes,’ and went out the door.
“Hills. Take care.”
Arundel waved her hand in farewell. There was a look of regret on her face.
“Yeah. I’m really going.”
Hills opened the gate to the demon world. He seemed to put his body in for a moment, then he approached Arundel again with big strides.
Smack.
Hills, who lightly kissed Arundel’s forehead, gave a faint smile.
“Someday, I’ll have my chance too.”
And he disappeared like the wind through the gate.
Back in the demon world, Hills closed his eyes to calm his pounding heart.
If he said he didn’t despair again at the sight of them together, which was like a beautiful painting, it would be a lie. He was in the demon world because he didn’t want to see that.
But facing it, it rather gives him a fighting spirit.
“Right.”
Living forever, there won’t be a day when Zion gets tired of confronting me.
Hills chuckled.
It felt like a white butterfly was fluttering in a corner of his heart.
****
It was a fleeting moment, but Arundel was not pleased with the affectionate look in his eyes. Rejecting someone was a hard thing to do.
“…”
But even as she was immersed in her thoughts, she felt an undeniable dark shadow from the side.
“Zion…”
“I’m going to kill him.”
The one who caused the trouble was Hills, so why should I be the one to fix it?
Arundel felt wronged, but first, she had to calm Zion down.
She often felt a little strange at times like this. Zion, who had everything, always seemed to be in a hurry when it came to her.
Whether it was a man, a woman, or even an animal.
He must still feel like she, who has wings, could suddenly fly away.
Every time that happened, she would soothe him.
“Zion, we’re going to be together forever, don’t you trust me?”
Instead of answering, Zion kissed the corner of Arundel’s eye. He often answered in this way.
He wasn’t much of a talker usually, so she was quite used to it now.
“Just like Zion wanted, we’re on a deserted island alone, watching the sunrise together, preparing meals, and falling asleep side by side.”
As Arundel listed their recent daily life, his heart seemed to warm up.
Originally, I lived a life as fierce as Zion’s. Around the time I became numb to the blood-splattering battlefield, perhaps I hit a turning point.
“So, like others, we should let go now…”
Arundel, who was speaking with a gentle expression, hesitated.
‘Like others…’
Wait.
There were things omitted to say ‘like others’. Such as exchanging engagement gifts, proposing, having a wedding ceremony.
Arundel’s eyes hardened as she thought.
Yes. She knows that her existence, and Zion’s existence, are different from ordinary humans.
But, the things listed above are things that can be done.
“Hmm…”
Suddenly, she felt bad.
“I’m going in.”
She couldn’t say it directly, so she could only protest quietly. Hoping that Zion would quickly catch this signal.
As expected, he followed in.
“What’s wrong?”
His voice, softly asking, almost made her feel better.
“It’s nothing.”
But it’s not yet.
Are you saying you skipped what everyone else does? Arundel turned her head, pretending to be indifferent.
****
I overslept.
Whether Zion had left the door open, the spring breeze gently stroked her cheek and passed by.
“Wow, the weather is nice.”
Arundel, forgetting about her gloomy mood from yesterday for a moment, approached the window and looked at the outside scenery.
Under the clear sky, the blue sea spread out, and the trees that rose straight up decorated the view.
The flower buds seemed to be about to bloom, huddling their bodies.
Full spring was coming.
“The garden of the Empress’s Palace was also beautiful.”
Arundel suddenly recalled when she was Empress Irina. By now, the garden there would also be shining beautifully.
Resting her chin, Arundel enjoyed the colorful scenery for a while.
‘Hmm…’
But where did Zion go?
He should know that I’m different from usual, but where did he go without saying a word?
Come to think of it, this has been happening quite often lately.
He would disappear in the morning and return around lunchtime. Each time, he said he went for a walk.
Normally, I didn’t think much of it, but not now.
Now! At this time! You went for a walk?
Arundel’s eyes flickered with anger. Then, she soon looked depressed.
‘Could it be…Has Zion already changed?’
Until recently, if I issued a conversation ban, he would stay up all night in front of the door… Is he now a caught fish?
“Arundel?”
The one who woke Arundel, who was lost in worry, was the culprit who made her worry.
“Zion… where have you been?”
“I went to get groceries.”
As Zion said, he was holding a basket in his hand.
Because this place was a remote island, it was necessary to procure food to solve meals.
Since we have plenty of money (of course, Zion), we hired someone to deliver regularly. It was delivered once a week, and I had forgotten that today was the day.
“That…I see.”
“You were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t wake you.”
Arundel, who was bluntly blushing, nodded her head, and Zion soon went to prepare a meal.
Soon, a delicious smell wafted over.
He was quite good at cooking. I thought he hadn’t even gotten a drop of water on his hand, but I was surprised to see him skillfully making food.
[Did you learn to cook?]
[I didn’t want to use people.]
Soon, I understood what Zion meant.
He wanted only the two of us to be there. So, even though it was hard to learn to cook, he didn’t use people.
Well, anyway, most of the cooking was done by Zion, so it didn’t matter.
“It’s ready.”
At Zion’s voice announcing the meal, Arundel tidied up her disheveled hair and moved her steps to the table.
As expected, his food was as perfect as his perfect personality. Especially today.
Even though it was lunch, quite fancy foods filled the table.
And they were all foods that she liked.
“…How about being a chef?”
At Arundel’s absurd remark, Zion chuckled.
“If I’m your personal chef, I’ll do it for a lifetime, so don’t worry and eat.”
She felt her sharp heart soften at the affectionate words.
Ah, no!
But Arundel quickly pulled herself together. He glanced at Zion, who was unaware of her reaction, he was sparkling as usual.
“Zion. Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Unable to bear it, Arundel finally gave a hint.
“The weather outside was nice.”
But he’s talking nonsense.
“Shall we go for a walk after eating?”
“…”
Arundel unknowingly pouted her lips.
“I don’t want to.”
Arundel, who abruptly stood up from her seat, went to the bed and lay down. Soon, Zion followed her.
“Are you not feeling well?”
At the affectionate words, Arundel’s heart became more sorrowful.
What proposal, what wedding!
When Arundel, who had tightly closed her eyes, gave no answer, she heard the sound of Zion’s footsteps moving away.
When Zion left, she gently opened her eyes. The bright outside weather seemed to be cloudy as if it had never been.
It made her feel more depressed as if it was representing her heart.
For a while, she stared at the sky with her eyes open. It seemed like it was going to rain soon.
Arundel squinted her eyes and watched the scene.
Yes, let it rain instead.
But then Zion appeared in the bedroom again. He looked a bit anxious.
“I can’t.”
And he spat out an incomprehensible sound.
“Kyaa!”
Zion picked up Arundel.
“What, what are you doing!”
“You’re not listening.”
She wanted to ask more about the nonsense, but Zion was moving his steps very urgently.
“Where are you going!”
There was no answer to Arundel’s question.
The steps heading somewhere were different from usual. She held his neck tightly at the fast speed.
‘Really, where is he going?’
Zion rarely acted so urgently. Ah, except when making love.
“We’re here.”
He opened his mouth for the first time since leaving the house. But ironically, the place where he stopped was a cliff.
“Here…?”
Are we going to die together…Arundel looked at Zion with a bewildered face, and Zion, as if he was really going to do that, hugged Arundel tightly and jumped down.
“Ahhhh!”
Startled, Arundel spread her wings in an instant. But the fluttering wings were colorless, and she landed safely.
And then,
“Wow…”
Soon, a beautiful spectacle dominated her view.
Flowers filled with the scent of spring filled the space. The refreshing scent of fresh leaves and the fragrance of blooming petals were enough to make one dizzy.
It was like the garden of the Empress’s Palace.
No, it was even more beautiful than that.
The light was blocked by dark clouds, making it a bit dark, but it didn’t dare to mar this beautiful scenery.
“I’ve been waiting for spring to come.”
Zion’s voice came through warmly.
“I wanted to propose to you formally.”
Arundel turned her head to look at Zion. He was looking at her with eyes filled with excitement and anxiety.
And he slowly took out a small box.
Thump!
When the box opened, a familiar shape came into view.
“That is…”
“It was the necklace you gave to my mother.”
That’s right. What Zion held in his hand was the Eternal Fruit she had brought from the demon world.
It was originally in the form of a necklace, but it had been well refined and turned into a ring.
“It was originally yours.”
“Zion…”
Zion took out the ring and put it on Arundel’s finger.
“Will you be with me, until the life of this ring ends?”
The Eternal Fruit, as its name suggests, has an infinite life that does not rot. He must have already known the identity of this ring.
‘Eternity.’
Just hearing it was very daunting.
She never thought she would live forever. As most angels do, when the will to live disappears, they naturally disappear.
That’s what she thought.
But if she was with Zion, that long time seemed to pass quickly.
Tears welled up in Arundel’s eyes. Tears as brilliant as her silver-white pupils fell drop by drop.
“Zion…”
Zion reached out and gently wiped away the tears.
“I… didn’t even know Zion was preparing this…”
I’ve been upset.
Her words disappeared in the midst of her sobbing. But Zion, who must have already known, laughed softly.
“I knew. But, I had to wait until the flowers bloomed.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
But the tactless sky soon poured rain. The raindrops soon soaked their whole body.
When it started to rain, Arundel remembered the first time she saw Zion. It was also raining when she first saw him.
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
At the grumbling voice, Arundel wrapped her arms around Zion’s neck and pulled him closer.
Understanding what Arundel was trying to do, he slowly bowed his head and kissed her.
Rainwater flowed in between their locked lips, but it wasn’t bad, as it seemed to make this moment particularly memorable.
After a short kiss, Arundel looked at Zion. The angel smiled brighter than ever at the man she loved.
“Be with you, forever.”
