I had heard the account of having black hair and black eyes several times. However, I too, had looked like that in my previous life as well. So I had never thought of making such an association when I first saw Song Ara.
“Because Your Majesty is the one who saved us!”
The bright appearance of Song Ara flashed through my mind. She quickly adapted to a place that she was seeing for the first time and gained the favorability of those around her. Her bright personality and her pretty way of speaking also matched with the saintess from a hundred years ago that they talked about.
“Seems like every one of us is living with precious memories, one by one.”
I was plunged into confusion in an instant when I thought it might be Song Ara. I felt chilled down to my fingertips.
Lecht pulled me, whose tongue was stiff and was unable to reply, over to his side. He wrapped his arm firmly around my shoulder and pulled me into his embrace, shooting back sharply at Frody, “Do you think that I can’t even recognise my own woman?”
Lecht’s furious voice erased the anxiety that had risen to the tips of my fingers.
“You’re the soul I’ve been waiting for a hundred years for.”
That’s right. Lecht would know better than anyone else, so there was no way. I had no reason to be anxious as long as the rose, which contained a piece of my soul, shone.
“Don’t tell me, that woman’s claiming to be the reincarnation of the saintess from a hundred years ago?” Frody asked, as if he were dumbfounded.
“There’s no reason for me not to.”
“But that woman had this sort of thick black hair and eyes though:?” Frody said, glancing down at Song Ara at my words.
Lecht was the one who responded to that. “You must be stupid for you to assume that she would look the same as she did a hundred years ago in the first place.”
At Lecht’s growl, Frody openly scanned me up and down slowly with narrowed eyes. “No. You’re not that woman from back then.”
Frody shook his head. As soon as I caught sight of his deepening smile, it became clear that he was only here to pick a fight.
“Back then, that saintess was not as polite toward me.”
Dumbfounded by his evidence that proved it wasn’t me, I let out a sigh that was close to a laugh and said, “Then will you believe me if I treat you impolitely?”
Frody’s expression became rather bitter at my unintentionally provocative tone. Nevertheless, he quickly muttered with a meaningful smile, “I thought so before as well, but the saintess this time is really exploding with charm. To the point where even I covet it.”
Lecht’s arm around me tightened at the words that he had added with blazing eyes, while I pasted on a forced smile. “If you’re done spouting nonsense, would you please let go of Song Ara and disappear now?”
I also wanted to ask him to take responsibility for causing the ruckus he had here. However, Kelber also seemed to have had no smaller part in the property damage that had taken place, so we just ended up brushing over it.
If we tried to pursue it right now, it would become troublesome since it would even involve those who had allowed him to enter the Demon King’s Palace in the first place. Even though Frody continuously picked fights with Lecht, he still wasn’t someone who was banned from entering the Palace.
And above all, Song Ara’s safety was still the top priority.
“There’s still no guarantee that this child isn’t that woman from a hundred years ago, right? Then I don’t really want to let go of her.”
“…”
“Since I’m curious. Just what will my little brother choose; his past relationship, or power?”
He insisted that I wasn’t the woman from a hundred years ago to the very end. He was just provoking me. There was no reason for me to fall for it, so just as I was about to tell him to keep his hands off Song Ara, Lecht said in a low voice, “I’ll show you that there won’t be a need for me to choose.”
A huge teleportation circle began to form throughout the garden. Not a short distance teleportation circle, but an ultra long distance one. Large enough for it to connect from the human realm to the demon realm.
“Lecht?”
“Hold on tight.”
I was going to ask why he would fall for such an obvious taunt, but Lecht simply hugged me tightly with a look that asked how on earth he was meant to endure that. At the light that burst forth from the teleportation circle on the floor and engulfed us, I clung onto Lecht tightly first.
It may have been more difficult than usual to teleport, especially after Song Ara had appeared and numerous additional barriers had been set up. Nevertheless, Lecht carried on doing so as if he had no qualms. Furthermore, it was more sophisticated than other space travel portals since there was no sensation of motion sickness.
After waiting with our eyes closed for a while, a cool breeze enveloped us. The place we had arrived in was the garden of the Grand Duchy.
“Geez.”
When I turned my head at the sly sigh, Frody was with us too. With Song Ara still in his arms.
Even when she slept in the same bed as me, once she fell asleep, she’d sleep so deeply it was like she was a log… Nevertheless, it still made me anxious when she didn’t wake up in this situation. But even if that was the case, I was still cautious since I thought I’d startle her if I called out to her to wake up.
Still worried, I made eye contact with Frody. His eyes crinkled as he smiled, as if he had read my thoughts. At any rate, he was a hateful fellow.
“Will this be enough for an answer?”
The black rose, which was made with a piece of my soul, emitted a pretty glow toward me today as well.
“Hmm~?” Frody snorted as if he found it interesting. Then he added, “Are you sure that can be proof?”
“What more do you want?”
At my question, Frody flicked his fingers while hugging Ara in his arms. “Move.”
“How dare that bastard to…!”
“Muso.”
Muso, who had come with us, was furious, but I raised a hand to block him.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but go ahead and try.” Despite Muso’s protests, I replied calmly and took a step back without taking my eyes off Frody.
It was obvious what he was up to, but I didn’t have a clue on ‘what’ he was going to do. And there was no way he was going to ruin the rose all of a sudden in this situation.
To be honest, I was actually a little curious. What had he prepared for him to be so confident? It was clear that if I tried to block him, he’d only become more energetic and say more unnecessary nonsense.
“Nothing will change anyway.”
No matter what it was, I wanted to nip it in the bud right here. Lecht followed my lead.
When I stepped away from the black rose, the black rose, which had been shining with excitement, became silent again.
All of Frody’s actions in holding Song Ara and moving in the direction of the rose entered my vision. But it was then.
“Huh…? Why is it shining? Shouldn’t that only react to Her Majesty?” The rose began to shine accordingly to Muso’s words as Frody approached it.
“See? It’s the same. So how can this be proof?” Frody said triumphantly in a voice that had a mixture of ridicule in it.
Why did it shine?
When I became flustered and couldn’t find the words to reply, the angry voice of Lecht suddenly came out. “What sort of trickery are you trying to pull?”
“What did I do? That’s just what that child’s existence is.” Frody said aggrievedly as he placed Song Ara on the ground. With such light steps that felt as if the soles of his feet hadn’t touched the garden floor, he retreated. The rose’s light remained, even after he withdrew.
“As you both know, isn’t this the first time I’ve seen this child? Does it make sense for me to do something?” Frody raised his hands and smiled. Although he had a smile that was so hateful it made one’s teeth ache, there was still nothing wrong with what he said.
Song Ara had fallen into this world during my welcoming banquet. Frody hadn’t participated in the event. We had even spent every waking moment together ever since she had fallen here. So how could you explain this situation…? It was confusing.
‘Does it perhaps… react like that to every soul that’s from earth…?’
At that time, when absurd doubts were sprouting in my mind, I felt the strength of the hand that was wrapped around my shoulder. Lecht’s expression, which I had turned to take a glance at, made my heart drop. Eyes that were wide open and slightly parted lips.
Lecht wasn’t the type to reveal his emotions in his expressions. That’s why this was also the first time I had seen such a shocked expression of his.
I seemed to be shrouded in an even greater confusion than when I had seen the rose shining toward Song Ara. I took a step back instinctively.
Lecht turned his head in surprise at my movement. “Ara.” He called out to me calmly, as if he had returned to his senses. “In any case, something seems to have gone wrong.”
“Gone wrong?”
“Something… so…”
However, unlike what he said, he wasn’t able to find a way to explain it. I was already so flustered, so just how flustered was he?
“Lecht. The woman you’ve been waiting for… is it me?”
“What…?” A clearly bewildered Lecht.
“You said you knew because the rose was shining.”
“…”
Lecht alternated his gaze between me and the rose with a look of uncertainty on what he should do on his face. There was no explanation or clarification that came out from those slightly parted lips either.
Instead, he grabbed my shoulder and said, “There’s no way I wouldn’t recognise you. It’s not anyone else, but you. I don’t know what’s gone wrong with that. No, it doesn’t even matter now.” Words and sentences mingling between the gap of his mouth came gushing out. “What use is a piece of a soul when you’re right here with me? You’re already back in my arms.”
I was able to sense his urgent feelings since I knew that him uttering gibberish was a habit that came out whenever he was flustered.
“I know. You’re the one I’ve been waiting for.”
Then, his lips, which had inched closer for a kiss, stopped just short before reaching me and paused in the air.
“I’m sure.” He looked at me with eyes that seemed to appeal for me to believe him.
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
To be honest, I was still confused. Now that the rose that had given me confidence in the first place had now erased all my existing confidence, I felt as if everything I had believed in had now turned upside down. However…
“Ara.” Lecht’s desperate gaze that was cast toward me extinguished all such confusion.
Yeah, who cares if the rose is a bit weird? Quite some confusion had probably sprung up after a hundred years. Or maybe it just shone toward anyone that was from earth. Who cares?
I tiptoed slightly and pasted my lips against his. When my lips descended on his with a chuu sound, he drew me into his arms, as if he had only been waiting. And proceeded to pour out kisses onto me. The heat that rose so intensely was so hot that it was to the extent where we couldn’t even feel the winter wind that was lashing at us so sharply.
Our deeply intertwined breaths didn’t even give me any time to think of my anxiety and confusion. He swallowed all my breath and senses, as if he were scolding me for being shaken for even a moment.
“Haa…”
The scorching breath that flowed out from our lips that had barely parted turned the cold air white. Amidst the cold of the early winter, the only ones who were burning up were us.
“The rose was never meant to convince me of you. I already had confidence in you.” Lecht’s tender voice gently permeated my ears. “I’ve loved you for more than a hundred years, so how could I not recognise you?”
His voice was sulky, to the point where you could even detect a hint of blame. At his extreme cuteness, I was able to relieve myself of my anxiety.
“That’s true. All I needed to do was trust you, Lecht. I’m the one who was wrong.” I whispered and stroked the top of his head.
Leaving himself to my hands, he nodded. The arm that was wrapped around my waist tightened slightly.
The time that only belonged to us was soon broken by Frody’s voice.