Asha explained to Ivan carefully. What had been brewing within him all this time, what emotions he felt today that seemed to devour him. She assured him that there was no need to blame himself when he couldn’t change or shake off those feelings.
Even though it might seem like one can control their own heart, in reality, it’s not that simple. Despite that, he had worked hard, put in efforts, and now it was okay…
Ivan didn’t seem surprised. Rather, it seemed that he understood everything he had not been able to do. And finally, when a drop of tears began to fall from his eyes, Asha hugged Ivan for a long time.
When the tears stopped, she made him drink warm water, laid him on the bed, covered him with blankets, and checked that he fell asleep.
“Karnov, aren’t you tired?”
“It’s okay. What about him, Ivan?”
“He fell asleep. He cried a lot…”
Next to the mansion, a tree that had not been there before grew large. The bark sparkled with a silver shine, and the leaves had a faint violet hue.
Phoebe, who had leaped around excitedly upon seeing the world tree Karnov had nurtured, was now sitting between the branches, catching her breath.
“You used a lot of energy today too, Karnov. Are you really okay?”
“Well, more than I thought…”
Karnov shrugged, holding and unclenching his hand.
“It seems to have become a bit easier to use my power.”
“Really? Is that why you can hear what Phoebe says? But you’re still not there yet with your spirit, Karnov.”
“It’s because you neglect me.”
“Oh, no! No, what are you saying? If others hear, they will misunderstand.”
Karnov turned his head with his arms crossed. Asha rolled her feet with a puzzled face.
“Didn’t I just leave Karnov alone?”
“Then what?”
“If I had to say it, we did our best in our respective positions.”
Asha nodded with satisfaction at her self-proclaimed answer. Karnov stopped teasing and touched Asha’s nose.
Asha glanced at Karnov. But her expression quickly softened. She reached a conclusion after various thoughts and held out her hand.
“Okay. Very good.”
“What else is good?”
“Ivan’s Prasti has been solved like this. Now, Ivan can freely pursue more of what he wants to do, right?”
“That guy is already doing whatever he wants.”
“More than this?”
“He might get spoiled if it goes on like this.”
“Karnov really talks like Ivan’s dad, huh?”
“…”
Karnov pursed his lips with a complex expression, silently gesturing to stop talking.
“Well, if Ivan ate most of my snacks and it took this long, the next might be Uncle Valery, I guess? I’ll have to check when I go back. As for Lyuda, we might need to wait a bit, so let’s tackle this step by step!”
“You’re very motivated, Your Highness.”
“If things go as I planned, I should be able to solve this issue and open a shop by the time I turn twenty.”
“A shop?”
“Yes, my snack shop. I mentioned it last time, collecting buttons.”
Asha tucked her arm into Karnov’s oversized coat, shaking the loose sleeves. The decorative buttons on the edge jingled.
Karnov smiled and gently wrapped his fingers around Asha’s wrist, holding it with care. Even beneath his coat, there was plenty of space within his grasp.
“You’re doing a shop with this arm? I heard Lise did it all because you couldn’t even stir the stew.”
Asha hurriedly pulled her arm out of Karnov’s grasp and hid her hand behind her back.
“How did Karnov know that… No… No, I have six years left until I turn twenty… It’s almost five years now. I’m going to grow up, too!”
When Asha came back into the mansion bickering with Karnov, she faced Alexei, who was coming down from upstairs.
“Ah! Alyosha!”
“Asha, Karnov.”
Alexei glimpsed the coat that Asha was wearing, looked at Karnov once, and with a gentle touch, tucked Asha’s hair behind her ear.
“Did you talk with my mom and dad?”
“Yeah. It’s nice to see them after a long time.”
Alexei’s succinct words could have sounded like a greeting, but Asha never misunderstood.
“I was sad that only Alyosha couldn’t come, but it turned out like this.”
Alyosha’s appearance in casual attire at the mansion, not the palace, was intriguing. Seeing Asha’s expression, Alexei smiled warmly.
“It’s nice, yet unfortunate. Initially, I had arranged with my cousin to have breakfast tea with me every morning starting next month. But I guess that won’t happen, will it?”
“Well… but we can still have tea time.”
“If my cousin says so?”
“Yes!”
Asha nodded vigorously. Karnov and Alexei laughed at the sight.
“I have to go back now.”
Alexei slowly turned his head after sending Asha up to the bedroom on the second floor first. The reason he personally came down, even gathering people, was that he was the contract holder for Fafnir.
Because he thought he could put out the fire with his own power. But the fire was put out the moment he arrived, so Alexei had to clear up the rest of his work and go back to the capital tomorrow.
“Thanks to you, the fire was quickly contained.”
“I shouldn’t have called you. I’m sorry.”
“I said I’d come. Thanks to you, I saw my uncle and aunt.”
Alexei smiled as he said so. In the hall downstairs, people gathered, snacking and chatting. Light permeated their expressions. Alexei smiled as he leaned behind the pillars and scanned the faces.
“Why are you laughing like you don’t have any regrets?”
“My heart feels a bit lighter.”
“What?”
“Just because a problem can be solved even without me…”
Karnov, who was about to say something, closed his mouth. Alexei, who was smiling faintly, turned his head and looked at Karnov.
“Karnov, miracles are usually transcendent phenomena that cannot be explained by anything, but some miracles seem to have a clear causal relationship.”
“…”
“It would be heartbreaking if my miracle happened to shed even a single tear.”
“…Why do you look at me and say that?”
“Then should I not say anything?”
“You’re so mean, you know?”
Aleksei laughed with a rare noise at Karnov’s grumbling, and when people heard the sound, he grabbed Karnov and ran away as people turned around.
Karnov eventually burst into laughter as he saw Alexei, who had never run even when he was ten, reach the end of the hallway and pant.
“To think His Highness the Crown Prince would run.”
“I was embarrassed for some reason.”
“Oh my. If this embarrasses you, what about giving a speech at the coronation ceremony, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”
“I thought maybe I’d hold hands with our Asha for the coronation speech.”
“…”
“Why? Are you jealous?”
“Be quiet. Don’t talk to me.”
“Ha ha. Should I stay quiet?”
Karnov, who briefly imagined Alexei laughing silently, shook his head.
“Seriously, aren’t you two siblings really mean? No, never mind.”
“It’s serious business, Lord Sedvoyer. You could return to the capital with insignificant efforts.”
“Didn’t you swear to become a gentleman for Asha?”
“Oh my gosh.”
Alexei smiled, saying he had lost. Karnov sighed.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“This is…”
“It’s for eating! It’s chestnuts, chestnuts! Roasted chestnuts!”
Asha quickly shouted before the people lined up in front of the mansion could open the pouches in their hands and possibly mistake them for gemstones. Upon her words, the crowd looked even more puzzled.
“Chest…nuts?”
“Uh, yeah. Sweetly glazed and roasted. I thought it might lift your spirits…”
The moment a farmer looked up at the newly sprouted barley field illuminated by the dawn’s red light, it would likely become the opening of a legend that would be told for generations to come.
The tears that people shed when they saw the barley stalks swaying in the wind with the morning dew filled the dry lakebed with rain. And those who let go of all the remaining tears had now decided to stand up.
They made a resolution to gather strength and harvest the barley grown under the starlight, rebuild the burned houses, and move forward.
For those who had been forging their daily lives in their own place, it was time to bid farewell and gather in front of the mansion of Yuriev and Irina to see off Asha and her group who were returning to the capital.
As they expressed their gratitude and left the mansion, Asha handed out the chestnut dishes she had prepared a while ago, one by one.
“Alexei might sulk when he finds out.”
Karnov whispered next to her. Alexei, who returned first to the capital, was not given the chestnuts she made this time. After distributing them to the people here, there wouldn’t be enough left in the mansion.
“I’ll go back to the palace and make them in a hurry.”
“What do you mean by ‘in a hurry’?”
“I’m saying I need a pot of caramelized sugar.”
“Oh, really? You left it to me. Isn’t it about time to say something nice, as a decent person?”
“Kayeruth Empire’s first and most powerful guardian knight, Karnov Neustadter! The only one who can help is you! Please be my rapid-sugar-melting pot!”
Karnov, who had been silent for a while, grumbled that he had said something unnecessary. While loading the carriage, Lyudmila spoke a few words to the servant she had brought. The servant, who was nodding silently, packed a package of herbs that Lyudmila had given to him and handed them to some of the people who had come out. Lyudmila couldn’t stop coughing.
Meanwhile, Ilya said goodbye in tears to the children he had been soothing and playing with. He carefully mentioned that he would come again next year.
“Our princess, if you return to the capital and receive the subsidy allocated to our house, use it yourself.”
At Yuriev’s words, Irina coughed awkwardly and nudged his waist with her elbow.
“Asha is richer than us…”
“Can’t you give pocket money to our rich daughter?”
“Even if we give her an allowance, she’ll use it as a subsidy. I’ll earn it myself and give it to you.”
Asha burst into laughter. Before the laughter could stop, Irina embraced Asha and let her go.
“Be careful not to catch a cold in winter. Always keep warm. And make sure to wear warm clothes if you’re out late at night.”
“Yes!”
“We’ll think of the tree as our daughter, and Mom and Dad will take good care of it.”
The sudden silver tree in the backyard of the mansion was not very surprising in the face of a miracle in which all the barley in the barley field grew again. Although Phoebe grumbled how no one was interested in the world tree that appeared on the ground for the first time in a long time.
“By the way, Arten will be very disappointed.”
“It’s okay. We’ll see him again next time.”
Arten hurt his fingertips a little while playing the harp too much. He couldn’t touch the instrument until it healed, so he focused on composing lately. He claimed that he was inspired and stayed up all night composing a piece, falling asleep at dawn.
After bidding farewell to Asha and exchanging warm greetings with Yuriev and Irina, the couple hugged their nephews one by one. After greeting their daughter’s friends warmly, the couple took a step back.
When the carriage door closed and the coachman started the carriage, people waved and sent them away. By the time the carriage had crossed the lake, Arten rushed out of the mansion and shouted something, but it was already too far away to hear.
Asha put her head out of the window and shouted, “You have to be well~!” before being led back inside by Karnov. The carriage, passing through the lined-up road, was accompanied by the sound of the barley field, where miracles were still unharvested, carried by the autumn wind.
Until the carriage completely disappeared from sight.
