The memories of my past life as Ha Sohee have become hazy now.
Even if Jung Seulbi hadn’t appeared before me as Tia Blua, that name wouldn’t have held much significance for me.
Perhaps, if I had continued to live like this, feeling the love from my family, whether this is the original story or not, this state of being might have been enough.
The seemingly irresponsible statement that only time is the answer is probably the greatest consolation that those who have experienced eternal time can give.
However, how do we handle things that even the accumulation of eternal time cannot resolve?
For example, an obsession with a certain person, or the desire to protect that person from that obsession.
So, is that why that person keeps appearing in my dreams?
Could it be that even as a god of death, he, being a god himself, knew that forgetting is a gift? However, he gave me a punishment that wasn’t really a punishment?
I constantly carried the thought that someday, these people I loved would abandon me like shadows at my feet.
Thanks to the god of death, I realized that the passage of time was not the answer, but rather a sense of helplessness.
Like a ship that has lost its sail, just drifting with the flow of the waves. He said it was something he did because he loved her, because he loved me.
What is love? If I were to ask a hundred people, a hundred different definitions would be given.
Even Demimore and Arsene in front of me right now would give different answers.
If I were to associate something with the word “love” right now, Grand Duke Estin, my father, comes to mind.
I constantly doubted and resent him, but looking back now, what he showed me was unwavering love.
He did not fear falling into the curse at my place, and he was willing to endure all the curses of our family for the sake of his children.
When I think of the love he showed me, the definition of love is wanting to protect and cherish the other person. Someone who was there for me every time I had a nightmare…
I remembered the image of my father, whom I saw for the last time. Tia Bluea was beside him. It pained my heart.
During my time here, Tia Blua was probably by his side. If that’s the case, would he feel less lonely without me?
If what he showed me was his definition of love, I didn’t want him to feel more lonely and miserable because I was gone.
Yes, perhaps it’s better that he lost his memories. Leaving my father when his memories were intact would have been too difficult.
I might have stayed within his fence, constantly fearing when I would be driven away.
Just as he showed me love, I also have love to show him.
“Mary, are you crying?”
Lost in my thoughts, with both of them in front of me, I ended up shedding tears thinking about my father in the Grand Duchy. .
This is why I tried not to think about him. I tried so hard not to think about him, but here I am.
Seeing my tears, Demimore came to me and looked at me anxiously.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Demimore standing in front of me with an expression that seemed to say that he was in more pain, even though I only shed a few tears.
I lightly tapped Demimore’s chest with my fist.
“It’s okay, it’s just that seeing you suddenly reminded me of home…….”
“I don’t know for sure, but they seem to be doing well in their own way. Well, I’m an outsider, so I won’t be privy to all the details, but it seems like they’re doing fine.”
“Yeah, that guy, Logan, seems fine too.”
“I heard this too, but apparently, the Conler Knights’ military power has been at its peak since its founding. Vice Captain Hestia is completely running the show. There’s a fuss in other knight orders because they want to learn her training methods.”
“Hestia is something else, really.”
I burst out laughing at Hestia’s story.
Thinking of her, with her high-tied hair, shouting slogans, the longing grew stronger.
I was bothered by not being able to meet her properly in the end, but hearing that she’s doing well put my mind at ease.
“You know, Mary.”
“Yeah?”
“To get back to what we were talking about earlier……. I didn’t come all this way because I thought you were pitiful, but because I believe in you. On the contrary, it’s because I trust you and want to help you with the things you need to do. You may not realize it, but everyone in the Grand Duchy is doing their part in their respective positions for your sake. But maybe because I’m not very clever or because I can’t really grasp the situation you’re in… I just don’t know what I should do for you.”
As I showed a smile, Demimore seemed to gain a little courage and began speaking in a determined voice. I wasn’t unaware of Demimore’s feelings.
I was experiencing the same emotions that Demimore was feeling right now. Is it because my mind is clouded, or is it truly difficult for anyone to objectively understand the situation I’m in right now?
Could Demimore really help me in this confusing situation?
According to Arsene, he allowed him to stay here because he could really be of help.
Really, can Demimore be of any help? I leaned my head back, pursed my lips, and pondered, but Demimore’s face suddenly appeared in front of me.
“Are you thinking about it?”
“You scared me!”
Without realizing it, I pushed Demimore’s face away with my hand.
Is it acceptable to treat a prince of a country like this? However, Demimore’s expression looked cheerful.
“If I can’t be of help, I can at least clean beside you.”
“…You can clean?”
“Isn’t it as simple as using a broom or something?”
“…….”
“Or we can just chat…”
As I looked at Demimore with an expression of disbelief, his pouty silver hair looked adorable.
There aren’t many moments when Demimore feels like a younger sibling. That’s why my heart is weakened.
“……Thank you.”
“Are you going to let me stay here?”
I couldn’t refuse Demimore any longer as he persistently looked at me with eyes that resembled a puppy begging its owner for a walk.
Well, Arsene said he could be helpful, so…
When I turned my gaze towards Arsene, he was shaking his head as if he expected this outcome. What’s with him?
He was the one who said Demimore could be helpful!
“Well, then you’ll sleep in the same house as me.”
Arsene kept watch over me in his dog form until I fell asleep and then went back to the neighboring house.
Figuratively speaking, it meant that he would only sleep there and spend most of his schedule with me. Although he seems to be busy during the day…….
“I won’t sleep here.”
“This is Mary’s house.”
“Oh…….”
Demimore, who was protruding her lips as if feeling somewhat disappointed, reluctantly nodded at Arsene’s urging.
“I have a question. So, what’s the relationship between Mary and the God of Death?”
“How did you know?”
“I just had a hunch while listening to my mother’s stories. The person who’s been tormenting you is the God of Death.”
How much does Demimore’s mother actually remember?
The fact that she, too, could become a victim of the God of Death felt surreal.
The man who had lived with an obsession to possess a certain woman for a long time.
And to avoid that man she created a village and obsessively surrounded it magic barriers protecting it for so long along with Arsene.
“So that woman is you, right?”
“Yeah, but I’m not entirely sure. What that man truly desired wasn’t me, but ‘that woman.'”
He was even more insane than I thought.
Demimore murmured in a dry voice. Whenever he was too angry, he would paradoxically become calm and composed.
Even in front of Rex, who had behaved rudely towards him, he remained composed.
He seemed to already know everything about “Yusa” from what he heard from his mother.
Demimore seemed to be lost in thought after listening to our story.
“How can we get rid of the God of death…….”
“If Arsene regains his strength, there might be a chance.”
Even when he had almost lost his power, the God of death tried to avoid him. Arsene had barely managed to maintain his human form, and he was currently striving to regain his full power.
“Or we can make it harder for the God of Death to gather more power.”
“How?”
“By making people not fear the God of Death.”
“That’s not an easy task. People are afraid of death… even your mother is afraid of the God of Death.”
“What my mother fears is not the God of Death. It’s the ‘person’ who tried to push her into death.”
Demimore’s words sounded like a fallacious argument., yet he sounded convincing.
“Let’s make the God of Death laughable instead of feared.”
“But how do we make the God of Death laughable?”
“He’s already laughable. Living like this is because of one woman.”
“That’s true, but…”
I felt like I knew what Demimore wanted to say, yet I also felt like I had no clue at all.
I glanced at Arsene, wondering about his thoughts. He was simply looking at Demimore with an expression of interest.
“And we have a storyteller specializing in such romances around us, don’t we?”
