Chapter 144

All the times they held hands, hugged, and slept together.

She had thought it was because they were like siblings, or childhood friends who had spent their whole lives together, but now she realized that wasn’t it at all.

“Austin was disgusting just breathing next to me.”

Minuelle shuddered as she mumbled that.

But something was odd. Whether she liked something or hated it, there should have been a reaction, but Ramande was just standing there like a scarecrow.

‘What’s wrong with him now?’

Minuelle clicked her tongue and looked up, but when she saw Ramande’s face, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

She blinked slowly, then asked, as if dumbfounded, “Are you crying?”

“…What?”

What kind of question was that in the midst of such a happy moment?

But as soon as Ramande heard his own voice, thick with emotion, he realized.

‘Ah, I really am crying.’

And not just a single tear here and there. Two or three streams were pouring from one eye. He wasn’t making a sound, but he was sobbing.

Minuelle looked at him as if he were a rare creature.

“Old man Ram… you’re more easily moved than I thought.”

Why do I only meet men who cry, she wondered deeply for a moment, then gave up and held her hand out in front of Ramande’s eyes.

“Give it. The ring.”

“?!”

With these back-to-back surprises, Ramande finally choked. Minuelle waited for his coughing to subside, then interrogated him.

“When are you going to answer my proposal? Are you not going to?”

“Of course I am. I mean… how did you know I bought a ring?”

“I saw you go into the jewelry store. Is there anyone else you would be buying jewelry for besides me?”

“You really…”

He was about to say that she saw him and didn’t even call out to him. Minuelle snapped at the tear-faced Ramande, “Now that you’ve been on edge, don’t ever play hide-and-seek again, Old man Ram.”

No, now is it Old man Ram?

Minuelle muttered something she didn’t understand and smirked. Ramande unconsciously smiled back, and the teasing began.

“They say if you cry then laugh, a horn will grow on your butt? I’ll check later…”

Mwah.

Ramande cut her off with a light kiss and gave her the answer he had unintentionally been putting off.

“I’ll marry you. No…”

He stopped speaking, slowly knelt on one knee, and took the ring out of his pocket to offer it to her.

“Thank you for promising to marry me, Minuelle. Will you accept this, too?”

“Of course.”

The ring, chosen by the person who knew Minuelle best, fit her hand perfectly.

Minuelle put a ring on Ramande’s finger as well, and smiled as she overlapped their left hands.

“It’s so pretty.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah. After all, who chose it?”

In that moment, another of Ramande’s goals was achieved. Even if Minuelle, who was simply praising him, didn’t know it.

That night, as the hours grew late.

Ramande, with Minuelle lying with her head on his arm, made a request, as he had resolved to do earlier.

“Minuelle. I’m going to tell you something important right now.”

“Okay.”

“Even if it seems baseless and absurd, will you trust me just this once?”

The sleepiness in her eyes faded a little. Minuelle’s eyes rolled as she said,

“How can I promise without knowing what it’s about?”

“Minuelle.”

“Even so, I trust you fundamentally. Tell me, I’m putting my trust on the line.”

Trusting a promise that was so like Minuelle, Ramande’s long story began.

When the blockbuster-level tale involving the imperial family, Chitrum, and spirits ended, the window outside was faintly beginning to lighten.

The first thing Minuelle said was, “Is this what they call a pillow talk?”

“It’s not.”

“Oh, I know.”

Minuelle gave a small yawn, rubbed her eyes that kept wanting to close, and said, “The problem is the evidence to persuade others… Actually, with our family, the fact that Austin is a bad guy is enough. Sister Juela would say, ‘Evidence is something you make.’ “

“Minuelle.”

“Okay, okay. I don’t intend to go that far. Anyway, there’s no such thing as a perfect secret in the world.”

Not enough time to get evidence? Then the top priority is to protect the Emperor and Crown Princess. No matter what they say.

Minuelle had heard that the Grand Duchy had several immunities accumulated since the time of the previous generations.

“This is the time to use them. Isn’t there a saying that if you save something too long, it goes bad?”

“Saves something… Ahem. And Minuelle, I’ve also secured the cooperation of the temple, the Archmage, and the Mage Association.”

“When did you do all that?”

“Today, while I was looking for you.”

Minuelle was momentarily impressed and patted Ramande’s back proudly.

“You’ve worked hard, my Ramande.”

“It wasn’t hard. I wanted to see you.”

“Oh, really?”

The two of them met each other’s eyes and laughed.

Is this what it feels like to be the closest people in the world? Even the breathing they shared so intimately was a pleasure.

Minuelle placed a hand over Ramande’s eyes.

“Now let’s get some sleep. Things go well when you’re well-rested.”

He closed his eyes obediently and whispered, “I love you, Minuelle.”

“Ugh. You’ve been so corny since before!”

Maybe the age of “Old man Ram” had ended, and “Old woman Min” had begun—her scolding came nonstop.

But Ramande understood. They had been friends for such a long time, they couldn’t just suddenly become a couple gushing with affection.

“…Me too.”

But still, the words she added while burying her face in his arms were sweeter.

He hoped this feeling reached Minuelle too. He hugged her tight and, for the first time in a very long time, fell into a deep sleep.

***

And just as Minuelle had said, everything began to go incredibly well.

First, Minuelle met with Esadien and made her position clear.

“Your Highness. It will be dangerous for a while, so please stay at our mansion and return to the Imperial Palace when it is stable.”

“Minuelle, can’t you give me just one chance? When I became El, all I could think about was you.”

“…”

“Please, I want to be by your side, even if I have to call you master. No… I want to be by your side.”

“Please stop. I understand what you’re saying, Your Highness, but we both learned. That love is like a clap.”

Moving just one hand is simply waving it in the air.

Just as a sound is made when both hands meet, love is achieved when both hearts move together.

“A love where you have to lower yourself has no meaning. A person who can love you more happily will appear. A person who can walk side by side with you, Your Highness.”

Esadien’s eyes lingered on Minuelle’s left hand. The ring on it meant that her match had already appeared.

“You were the only one I wanted to be beside… the only person I thought was lovely.”

Minuelle felt sorry for Esadien.

Still, she didn’t apologize in the end. The moment she said those words, the connection between Ramande and her would become sad.

A love that has to apologize to someone else. She didn’t want Ramande to experience that.

“As the Apostle said, even though it’s hard now, there will be a time when you will look back and feel it was beautiful.”

So all Minuelle could do was offer calm consolation.

Whether Esadien accepted it was unknown. That was a problem for him and him alone.

And not long after, just as Ramande had said, the youngest prince of Chitrum attacked the Crown Princess, and Austin rebelled against the Emperor.

However, the Crown Princess had been forewarned by Elga and was on alert. Of course, Prince Gunnar failed.

So what about Austin?

“I will succeed the throne, Father…!”

He stormed into the Emperor’s chambers with great momentum, but his words were cut short by the numerous sword tips that met his throat as if they had been waiting.

The chamberlain held up a piece of paper in front of Austin’s eyes.

“Prince Austin. You have just been removed from the imperial family register. All assets registered under the name of the prince will be confiscated.”

Behind them, the Emperor, with his arms crossed, scoffed.

He had been so angry at the Grand Duke for warning him, thinking his son couldn’t be all bad, but now that Austin had actually broken in, whatever affection he had was gone.

“You incompetent fool. You are now a son without a father.”

“What…?”

Austin gritted his teeth, but he wasn’t so ignorant as to not know that staying here would only be to his disadvantage.

He quickly took out a teleportation scroll, but the magicians hiding behind him took action, rendering it useless.

“Now it’s all or nothing.”

He had no choice but to use the power of sand he had tried to conceal until the very end.

But outside, the Archmage and Minuelle were waiting.

Whenever he tried to use the power of sand, the Archmage blocked him, and Minuelle absorbed or erased the power of fire.

“…You bastards…”

Austin’s rampage was as good as forewarned.

They managed to stop the enraged Austin well, but danger always creeps out of a momentary mistake.

“Minuelle!”

However, Ramande, who had anticipated this situation, was there. He chose to push Minuelle out of the way and stand in front of the blade instead.

‘Even if it was for a moment, our hearts were connected…’

So this was enough. He had already died once, so he wasn’t afraid to die again.

Staring straight ahead without flinching at the flying blade and sand was his last bit of pride.

But there was one thing Ramande had momentarily forgotten. Minuelle does not give up on her people.

“We haven’t even had our wedding yet, and you’re already trying to make me a widow?!”

Having absorbed the power of Gabbie to its maximum, she stood on a strange boundary between awakening and rampage, handling fire as if it were her own body.

In front of the fire hot enough to melt sand, Austin had no choice but to kneel.

With magic seals of neutralization carved all over his body, he was condemned to live a life of eternal imprisonment in an isolated tower.

‘Why isn’t the traitor Austin being executed?’

There were voices that questioned it, but anyone who had been at the scene that night would simply click their tongues whenever the topic came up.

Austin’s body, which had simultaneously absorbed the power of the Sand God and the spirit, had caught the Archmage’s eye.

“He’s destined to be experimented on by magicians for the rest of his life.”

“I’d rather die…”

In any case, the old clock tower didn’t collapse, and the chamberlain and Sir Nicholas Viache did not die either.

Ramande became a little happier. Because Minuelle wouldn’t have to feel guilt over Sir Viache’s death.

Meanwhile, the Grand Duke and his wife, and Elga, who had crossed over to Roquate before dawn, celebrated Ramande and Minuelle with one heart.

“That’s a good decision, Minuelle. I’m glad Ramande is truly becoming part of our family.”

“You two will live happily.”

The Grand Duke just gave Ramande a single nod, without saying anything like “I told you so.”

‘I knew he was that kind of person.’

Still, it felt like a burden had been lifted.