I made an effort to keep it as brief as possible while ensuring I didn’t omit any essential points.
As I finished recounting meeting Franz in the cave, using the magical stone to evade his attack, leaving Valerie at the detective agency in Urentum, and returning to the present shortly thereafter, an overwhelming fatigue washed over me.
Later, I learned that transcending time and space with magical power consumes an immense amount of magical stones, as well as significantly depletes the caster’s stamina.
Having jumped across time and space multiple times in a short period left me mentally and physically drained.
The simplest way to recover stamina depleted by magic, according to Linque, was deep sleep. Karl ensured I could fall into a deep slumber and used healing magic to help me recover more quickly while I slept.
“Did you sleep well, Celeste?”
As expected, the first face I saw upon waking was Karl’s. I wondered how long he had been watching over me; had he stayed by my side while I slept? I felt thankful yet slightly embarrassed.
However, that feeling quickly faded as worry for Valerie surged, compelling me to spring up. I couldn’t lie still while thinking about where Valerie might be wandering, uncertain in time.
“Karl, Valerie is…”
“Shh, it’s okay.”
Even as I described flying back from the past alone after being with Valerie, Karl did not show shock or anger. He simply comforted me, assuring me everything would be alright.
It must have been shocking for him as well, realizing he had left a child behind when transcending time and space.
“Celly, can you get up?”
“Yes, of course.”
Karl gently helped me rise. Even that simple motion of holding his hand and lowering my feet to the floor made my legs tremble, making it hard to stand.
This wasn’t just due to depleted stamina but rather the anxiety and fear of potentially losing a child.
Understanding this, Karl held my hand, continuously comforting me. He smiled gently and whispered, “It’s alright, it’s okay.”
“Do you remember the moment in Septfera when you sent Valerie back to where she belonged?”
“In Septfera? Of course.”
About a year ago. It was when Valerie, who had flown in from the future, was fading, and I desperately used up Marina’s magical stones to avoid the encounter between the current and future Valerie.
I didn’t immediately understand why Karl was bringing up that moment, but I soon realized the reason behind his remark.
“Over here….”
Karl took my hand and led me through the door.
“Karl, this is…”
This place, connected to my bedroom by a small door, was Valerie’s bedroom.
“Don’t be surprised.”
Creaking, Karl opened the door. The sunlight pouring through was dazzling. He raised his large hand to shade my face from the light. Slowly lifting my eyelids, I surveyed the room.
“Baba, Mama.”
“……Valerie?”
“Mama, mama!”
Her violet hair, kissed by the sunlight, shimmered brightly. Her pale skin glowed with vibrant energy.
“V-Valerie!”
It wasn’t an illusion. It certainly wasn’t a dream. The Valerie I had left behind in Urentum was right in front of me. In disbelief at the scene unfolding before my eyes, I looked up at Karl. I needed an explanation.
But all he offered was a gentle smile.
“Oh my, how is this possible? How did Valerie….”
There was no time to think further. Now that I confirmed Valerie’s existence right in front of me, I couldn’t just stand still and wait for Karl’s answer.
My feet, pressed against the carpet, began to move slowly, then increasingly faster. It took exactly five steps to reach Valerie.
As I moved my fourth and fifth legs, I leaped and could finally embrace Valerie.
“Valerie, Valerie….”
“Mama!”
Afraid I might lose her if I relaxed even a little, and terrified that any gap might let her slip away, I pulled her tightly into my arms, burying my face in her neck.
Her breath tickled me, and Valerie burst into a fit of giggles.
With each laugh, the subtle vibrations reminded me that this was not a dream but a tangible reality.
Valerie, my baby. My Valerie. Our baby.
I had no idea how the Valerie I thought I had lost had returned, but she was nestling in my arms. Just that fact overwhelmed me, leaving no room to ponder the before and after.
“Valerie flew back in time to meet you for the first time in Urentum, didn’t she?”
Karl approached. He pulled me, holding Valerie, into his embrace. Together, we settled into his large chest.
“And to prevent meeting the child in the womb, I used my magic to return it to where it should be.”
“Yes…”
“The place it was originally meant to be. That spot was here, Celeste.”
“What do you mean…?”
“The Valerie you sent flying from Septpera came here, to this place.”
“Is that the Valerie from that time…?”
“You said you crossed over to Urentum about a year ago to leave the child behind. And at that time, your past self and your aide were also there.”
Only then did the gears in my head click into place. Thoughts that had been stalled began to move.
“Right after you confessed that you flew back to the past and left the child, I heard a baby’s cry in Valerie’s bedroom. I thought something was off since there shouldn’t have been a child’s voice, and without hesitation, I ran here to find Valerie sitting in the middle of the bed with a tear-streaked face looking at me.”
“Valerie…”
So, it was actually my fault that I met Valerie when I escaped to Urentum as Celeste?
When I moved to Urentum to avoid Franz, it led to Valerie being sent back in time?
“So, that’s why someone told me the deadline was up and I should return the child!”
They promised to return in half a day, but with no news, the detective had returned the child to the cabin I mentioned.
That’s how my past self met Valerie, and then Karl appeared…
“All these events started right today.”
Today, I was separated from the child, but for Valerie, it was an event from a year ago.
And the child traveled back to Septpera today after a year. The more I realized, the more astonishing the facts became.
“This is what Valerie was wearing. Do you remember?”
“Yes, that’s right. This outfit was what the child wore when Valerie and I were last together in Septpera.”
“Papa, Mama.”
The blissful babbling of the child made reality sink in. How much I worried about sending the child away to avoid Marina.
Did I pronounce the spell correctly? Did Valerie fly precisely to where she was supposed to go? What if I hadn’t cast the spell right, and the child was trapped somewhere in time and space?
I have stayed up all night, shedding tears over countless worries.
‘Oh my, God, thank you.’
The child in my arms was warm. Karl’s embrace was also nothing but warm. It was a moment of immense gratitude and unparalleled happiness.
‘You have nothing to worry about now. Celly, you just… need to be happy from now on.’
Karl’s warm lips gently rested on my forehead. Returning his kiss to Valerie, the three of us snugly held each other.
‘I will definitely make sure of that.’
As I listened to his vow-like confession, I slowly closed my eyes.
I will also make you happy; I want to.
Responding in my heart.
***
The half-hearted prince, whose actions shook the empire, has finally faced the end of his misdeeds.
Having had all his wrongs exposed and stripped of his royal status, he became a fugitive, marking his complete downfall after six months on the run.
Unlike his mother, Marina, who was executed for her crimes that claimed countless lives, Duke Toskur, Franz, received a life sentence in prison.
“I will not let you escape pain through death.”
Emperor Karl believed that killing him would be too easy; it was not a fitting punishment for such a meager life.
To live and witness his own downfall, enduring a lifetime of suffering and atonement, might have been a deeper torment than death itself.
Franz’s cry of, “I’d rather be dead,” never reached Karl. How could a prisoner sentenced to hard labor dare to reach the emperor?
Now, Franz would have to live a miserable life where no one would listen to his voice.
As villains fell from grace, time swiftly moved on. Peaceful and chaotic worlds flowed rapidly in the same passage of time.
“Celeste.”
“Are you calling me again? People are listening.”
“What does it matter? What’s wrong with calling my beloved wife by name?”
Karl Johann Albrecht, regarded as the most capable and coldest emperor in history.
With an inscrutable expression while handling political affairs, he earned the nickname “The Emperor with No Expression,” but I could never agree with that label.
“What’s so amusing? You keep smiling.”
“I can’t help it. The child is adorable, and my wife is even more so.”
How could this man, always grinning foolishly with his lips upturned, be the so-called expressionless emperor?
“Please stop hugging me. It’s hot.”
It was exhausting to dodge him, who clung like a bothersome shadow.
“Who said you could be this beautiful? I can’t bear it without holding you.”
You’re so good at making such cringeworthy sounds… You trapped me in your arms and slapped my busy hands that were fidgeting around here and there.
“Stop touching me. At this rate, I’ll turn into a mushy mess.”
“Daddy!”
Just in time, a meddler appeared. To me, wanting to escape from his mischievous and sly touch, Valerie was like a savior.
“Why are you two alone? Let me join too!”
Now a child who could speak quite well, she got jealous if we were together and rushed over. Because of that, Karl had to take a step back and let me go.
“This won’t do. It seems Valerie is feeling lonely being here alone; wouldn’t it be better when you have a sibling?”
As Valerie grew, Karl often talked about wanting a younger sibling.
It was now time to escape from Karl, who was reaching out slyly, seemingly unbothered by the watchful eyes of Hannah, Leev, or Clovis. Although it wouldn’t be long before I would be caught by his hand again.
