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The words throbbed as if they were stuck in my heart.

"When Shan left the tribe, I tried to stop her to avoid a bad future. But she said with a bright smile. ’My husband and child, whom I haven’t met yet, were so lovely that I can’t help but go.’"

My mother came to meet my father even though she knew what would become of her if she gave birth to me.

"’I’ve decided to love my fate’. That’s the last word that child left."

It seemed to be a very painful memory for my grandmother.

"I still vividly remember the day Shan left. A mother can’t forget the day her daughter leaves."

A face full of traces of time looked at me.

"Only once did she sent a letter to the village after she got on a boat that day. Do you know what Shan wrote then?"

I shook my head a little.

Grandma spoke in a low voice.

"’My husband and daughter will live brilliant lives.’"

"Haa."

She made a sigh before continuing.

"That’s why I came to see you today on your happiest day, Shan’s child."

My mind seemed to be tangled up, but at the same time, I knew for sure.

That Mom was a very powerful person.

And maybe it was a predestined fate that I returned too.

"Shan loved her destiny, Firentia. Sacrificing her own life to bring you into this world. So don’t waste that life."

Waste?

My life was far from being wasted. Neither in my previous life nor in this life.

I’ve always thrown everything and lived for my self.

"No, you are living a complacent life right now."

"You’re saying that without knowing me. I am not a person who’s living in vain." I said, refuting her without realizing it.

Along with disparaging my love for Lombardy, these words were intolerable.

"Don’t live a life of complacency."

"I’m not even living in peace right now."

"Then why are you thinking about your next life?"

"What?"

"Aren’t you bragging about being satisfied with becoming a Lombardy’s Head in this life and then the rest will be fulfilled in the next life?"

"That’s..."

"You can’t even deny it."

I couldn’t refute. It’s true that I sometimes thought about it implicitly.

In this life, there were times when I convinced myself to think only about being Lombardy’s Family Head.

"It’s as if you have a chance for a next life, isn’t that right?"

The foggy eyes looked at me sternly.

"You’re half. There is no next life for you since you’re out of the chains of Chara, Firentia."

A life that leaves regrets as if I could regressed once again.

A life where you don’t even try to achieve everything you want.

It is a complacent life.

"So move, because this life is your last one."

My last life.

As soon as I heard that, there was only one person in my mind.

"There’s a place I need to go right now."

My heart was in a hurry. This is what they must have meant by stamping on your feet. And the plan unfolded in my head as fast as I was in a hurry is...

To have everything I want in this life.

"...Yes, you better get going." This time, Grandma smiled as if she had read my thoughts.

"If you don’t mind, please stay at the Lombardy mansion. There’s a lot I want to know, Grandma."

"Hmm." She thought for a moment, but soon nodded her head.

"Just for a few days. I’ll try to convince Onta."

The name of that red-haired man with a rough face is Onta. At that moment, I saw a familiar face behind Onta and Ana.

The face of my father who didn’t know what to do while looking at me and my grandmother.

"And there seems to be one more person out there who would like to talk to Grandma?"

"....That would be Gallahan."

It might not be easy for her to see, but Grandma said it while looking accurately at my father’s direction.

Father, who received Grandma’s attention all of a sudden, flinched for a moment before bowing his head deeply.

"I’ll be back then!" I said, rushing out of the forest.

At last, a coachman was seen in front of the main building tending the carriage of the Family Head.

I recklessly opened the door of the carriage, climbed up, and shouted.

"Let’s go to the Imperial Palace!"

* * *

After coming to the palace in such a hurry, I regained some reason only when I got off the carriage.

"I’d acted irrationally this time."

It’s in the middle of the day when the sun is still hanging up in the sky. It was also a time for Perez to be busy working.

"I don’t want to interfere with his work."

He haven’t yet come to the banquet that lasted three days and nights. It’s a sign of how busy he was. It was only this evening that I received a letter in the morning stating that he had succeeded in making time.

"Shall we go back and wait?"

The impulsive plan gained weight one thing or another on the way to the Palace.

There was also a pile-up of work that I needed to do in order to not regret anything.

So that I could create a way to keep my position as the Head of Lombardy and not have to give up Perez at the same time.

But it’s not that easy. No, it was impossible under the current law.

However.

"If it doesn’t work, I’ll make it work."

Who am I if I cannot do the impossible, right?

The first thing I have to do is to talk to Perez.

At that time, Perez just walked out of the main palace in front of where I was standing.

"Oh? Perez?"

I forgot that there were Knights and servants who always stood behind him and brashly called his given name without realizing it.

"....Tia?" Perez looked at me, completely surprised with his eyes widen.

"Why are you here—?"

"I need to talk to you." I said, grabbing Perez’s sleeve.

"I was originally going to wait for you until you arrived in the mansion in the evening. But anyway, let’s just get this over with while we’re at it."

I don’t like it when I’m waiting with nervousness.

"Is there a place without people?"

Perez thought for a moment before answering my question.

"I know the right place."

* * *

"We’re here. There would be no one here."

I don’t think I can escape the forest today.

The place where Perez brought me was in the forest near the detached palace where Perez lived.

"This is where we first met, right?" I said, then pointing to a round bush a little further away. "You were eating grass over there, Perez."

"Yeah. Nobody’s gonna disturb us here." Perez said, nodding his head satisfactorily.

You’re a real weirdo. Thinking so, I smiled without realizing it.

Perez stared closely at my smiling face and said.

"There’s something I want to show, Tia."

"What do you want to show me?"

Perez didn’t answer but reached out his hand to me and said. "Shall we walk further for a bit?"

"Your hand..."

Does he want to hold hands?

As I looked closely at Perez’s hand outstretched in front of me, I could see that his fingertips were shaking a little.

Seeing that he’s nervous, I grabbed his hand.

"T-Tia?" Perez was panicking a little.

You didn’t think I’d hold your hand like this without hesitation, did you?

I won’t hesitate anymore as long as I’ve made up my mind.

"What?"

I walked ahead with my chin brazenly raised a little.

Perez, whose ears are a little red, walked with those long legs striding a few times and caught up quickly.

"Hmm."

The hand I was holding was antsier than I thought. My heart is pounding, and in the woods, only the sound of the two of us walking can be heard.

Feeling suffocated, I wiggled my hand a bit, and Perez’s large hand held mine tightly.

Is it because it’s cold today? Perez’s hands were as cold as mine, seemingly all tense.

The place where Perez led me was the ruins where he lived before. No, it seems there were no more ruins.

There was only a small, brightly built mansion.

"Has this been rebuilt in just a few weeks?"

Perez nodded his head at my question.

"Because it is no longer a place I want to forget. Rather, I want it to remain in my memory for a long time."

"As expected."

Money and power are the best.

He hasn’t been appointed as the Crown Prince yet, but he’s practically the Crown Prince now.

"They must have had a hard time." I had a moment of lamenting, thinking of the workers who would have to work in this cold winter. But I was also truly pleased, looking at the mansion.

"You’ve done a great job, Perez." I praised him, patting Perez on the back.

This once-abandoned palace was a symbol of the darkest and most disastrous days of Perez’s life.

The fact that Perez rebuilt the palace, which was still deserted after leaving, may mean that his wounds have healed a little.

It occurred to me vaguely at that point that there was something amiss.

"You wanted me to come here to only show me this—!" Looking back at Perez, I couldn’t finish talking.

"What are you doing, Perez?"

Perez, who let go of my hand, took a step back. Then he looked at me and slowly fell to one knee.

"Don’t tell me you’re..."

Then, Perez pulled something out of his coat. It was a piece of folded paper. He soon handed it to me.

"What’s this?"

When I opened it in a hurry, the paper was stamped with the Emperor’s seal. And inside it was poor handwriting but discernable words.

[I, Jovanes Durelli, Emperor of the Lambrew Empire, amends the following with the Imperial Decree:

First, the Empress maintains the right to retain her maiden name and inheritance.

Second, the last name of the Empress is maintained.

Third, the rights of independent property and authority originated and derived from the Empress’s family shall be maintained.

This is my decree. Any Imperial officials and/or nobles aren’t allowed to dispute.]

It’s the Emperor’s official decree. It was an absolute imperative that no one could contradict, looking like his last will and testament.

"Perez, you...How did you get this?" My voice was shaking that seemed to be strangled. But to my surprise, it didn’t end there.

"Tia." Perez called my name.

It was when I reflexively met his red eyes and gaze that at that moment, I realized what Perez was doing right now.

His eyes, looking only at me and kneeling on one knee.

Instinctively, I realized what was going on, and my heart started beating faster.

Then, Perez slowly pulled my hand and asked in a deep voice.

"Firentia Lombardy, the Head of Lombardy, will you marry me?"