While the two began their reunion after hundreds of years, I parted the bushes and circled around to where Cassian and Illyana were hiding.
I had told them to hide well so they wouldn't get caught by Aldhelme, and sure enough, they were listening.
And more than anything, if another person were caught up in that situation, the mood would be completely shattered in an instant.
"Ah, Teacher!"
As I approached, Illyana greeted me in a small voice.
As I took my place between Cassian and Illyana, Eibel and Aldhelme happened to be embracing with smiles from just beyond.
Though I was someone incapable of that kind of love, I still felt a corner of my heart grow warm every time I saw such a scene.
"Master, is this enough?"
"Probably?"
If what Aldhelme wanted was something unrelated to the promise—something like 'I will guard Eibel's grave for eternity'—I might have had to give up.
But looking at his soul, I could see his connection to the present world gradually weakening.
In other words, this was the correct answer.
At this rate, when the sun set, he would likely fade into the other side of this world together with Eibel.
It could be called a belated happy ending.
Still, just in case, I was watching over them until the very end to be certain.
Eibel and Aldhelme, who had been embracing for some time, gradually drew their faces closer together...
At that moment, I quickly moved both hands to block Cassian and Illyana's sight.
"T-Teacher, I can't see..."
"Master, why are you being so suffocating all of a sudden?"
The two protested quietly to me, but for a moment, I couldn't uncover their eyes.
It was a reunion after a long time for both of them, so, well, I figured a kiss would be acceptable.
And there was no reason for me to cover their eyes over something as simple as pressing their lips together.
But tongues? No, not tongues, you people...
I had been planning to give sex education soon, but this was a scene too premature to show the children right now.
◇
As the sunset began, and until the sun crossed beyond the horizon, the two sat in front of Eibel's tombstone and spoke of the stories they hadn't been able to finish.
Most of it involved Eibel talking about how she had lived since then, who her children were, and how they had grown, while Aldhelme listened.
Still, the two smiled and chatted away happily.
But.
Pleasant times always pass by far too quickly.
The two probably wished this time would last forever, but before long, twilight began to drape over the western sky.
Gradually, Eibel and Aldhelme's forms began to scatter and fade.
The time had finally come for the curtain to fall on a story that had not ended even with each other's deaths.
The two embraced one last time, as if reluctant, then looked at each other, nodded slightly, and walked toward me.
So I too stepped out of the bushes and stood before the two.
On the faces of the two, who were holding each other's hands and looking at me, there was regret, but no further lingering attachment could be seen.
"Are you satisfied now?"
―――Thank you, great one. Thanks to you, we were able to reach this conclusion.
First, Aldhelme bowed his head to me in gratitude.
The hostile attitude he had shown until just moments ago while fighting me was nowhere to be found.
Next, Eibel took a step forward and likewise bowed her head.
―――Thank you. I never imagined such a thing would happen after my death... Even so, I will express my gratitude once again for giving me the opportunity to meet once more.
Eibel said so and bowed her head slightly once more.
Then, just as when she had first been summoned, she looked at me with eyes that seemed to recognize me from somewhere.
And suddenly, as if she had remembered, her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth.
―――Ah, I remember! You are definitely the person in that painting hanging in the castle!
"What?"
When I asked back in puzzlement, Eibel explained with a smile.
―――When I was still a princess, I once saw a painting of you hanging in the castle. I only remembered thanks to that hair ornament made of three rings.
I reflexively touched the hair ornament I always wore on the left side of my head.
"...You're not mistaken?"
―――That white hair, and those distinctively prominent tufts are exactly the same. To my memory, I heard that the first queen had painted it...
I moved the hand that had been touching my hair ornament straight to my forehead.
"Lesha...!!"
Come to think of it, if you traced Eibel's ancestors all the way to the top, Lesha was right there at the very peak.
I had definitely taught her since childhood not to leave behind paintings or anything like that to commemorate me, even if I rose to a high position...!
In the past, on the Central Continent, I had run and hidden until I was forgotten because I became too famous.
But to think it had actually been hanging in the royal castle like that.
I could almost picture Lesha sticking out her tongue and saying, "Big Sis, sorry!"
I felt slightly dizzy, but thinking that she had tried to remember me even in that way made me feel a little happy too.
Still, that was that; I had to retrieve that painting.
"So that painting..."
The moment I tried to ask if she knew what had happened to the painting during the war, the light emanating from Eibel and Aldhelme's bodies grew stronger.
It was exactly when twilight had ended and a faint Milky Way was draped across the sky.
―――Ah...
As Aldhelme sighed in regret, Eibel approached and hugged him tightly.
My heart burned to ask more, but I wasn't heartless enough to interrupt the end with a question, so I closed my mouth and took one step back.
The two looked at each other without caring about their surroundings, as if only the two of them remained in the world.
In that gaze, there was only deep affection directed at each other.
―――It seems the end is approaching now.
―――But this time, we are together, are we not?
―――...Yes, my princess. Together, for all eternity.
And so, Eibel and Aldhelme, embracing each other, soon melted into the air and disappeared.
It was the moment the long, long wait greeted its ending.
◇
The next day.
In the morning sunlight filtering through the gaps in the window, Illyana gently opened her eyes.
She could see Rutina in the corner, poking only her head out of the backpack entrance and sleeping soundly.
Normally she would have woken when stars were still scattered across the sky, but today, for some reason, she had been told she could sleep in.
Thanks to that, Illyana, who had woken once and fallen back asleep, could open her eyes feeling twice as refreshed as usual.
Lying in bed, Illyana placed both hands on her chest.
Even though a day had passed, Illyana's heart was beating even harder than usual.
It was surely because of what she had seen yesterday.
"It was beautiful..."
Though she appeared translucent as a ghost, the dress and accessories worn by the princess named Eibel. And more than anything else, the tiara on her head.
She looked exactly like the admired princess from the fairy tale book Teacher had given Illyana.
Of course, Illyana knew well that most princesses in reality weren't like that, but she couldn't help harboring a vague yearning nonetheless.
And in those fairy tale books, handsome princes always came as a set with the princesses.
For example, a prince would appear before a princess who had collapsed after eating a poisoned apple and wake her with a kiss.
Of course, what she had seen yesterday wasn't a prince but a knight, but to Illyana, it didn't necessarily have to be a prince.
Perhaps that was why, for a moment, she had even hated Teacher for covering her eyes at the moment the two kissed.
Because her eyes had been covered suddenly while she was focusing on the most important moment.
Still, she couldn't forget the lovey-dovey sight she had seen afterward.
Since then, until now, her heart had kept beating strangely.
"What is... love?"
Love between a woman and a man.
Illyana knew that people who loved each other got married, but she didn't really know what that "love" was.
Since the only man she knew well was Cassian, Illyana tried to imagine marrying him.
But it definitely didn't feel like "it," so she shook her head to brush away the thought.
He was just an annoying guy who had nothing in his head and sometimes picked fights with her.
It was true he was trustworthy and dependable when he protected her, but that was all.
Wondering what in the world she was imagining, Illyana sighed and got up from her bed.
"Teacher is definitely outside..."
"...Huh?"
Only after sitting up did Illyana realize that Teacher was still sleeping beside her.
She had been so caught up in her imagination while holding the blanket that she hadn't noticed.
The moment she thought that even Teacher sometimes slept in, Illyana discovered that her expression was strangely scrunched up.
Her mouth was also twitching slightly, saying something very quietly.
Wondering what she was saying, Illyana brought her ear close to Teacher's mouth.
"...No, I'm not. Sorry..."
She was apologizing to someone in a voice filled with anxiety that Illyana had never heard before.
Illyana felt anxiety surge up as well at the thought that something might be wrong with Teacher.
Her heart, which had been thumping excitedly until just now, now beat even more violently from fear.
And she shook Teacher madly to wake her.
"Teacher, wake up, Teacher...!!"
Then, she scrunched up her expression even more, her eyelids twitched a few times, and she finally slowly opened her eyes.
"Illyana...?"
"...Teacher, are you okay?"
"...Yeah, I'm fine. Yeah. Don't worry."
Teacher sat up and stroked Illyana's head to reassure her.
Saying that even she could have nightmares sometimes.
True to her words, from having breakfast, to packing bags, to finally setting off on a new journey once more, Teacher was exactly the same as always.
Just in case, Illyana (though she hated to admit it) asked even Cassian, who knew Teacher much better than she did.
"Don't worry about it. I was surprised at first too, but it happens sometimes."
That was the only answer she got.
But.
"...She's okay, right?"
A faint anxiety remained in Illyana's heart like an ember that refused to die out.