Chapter 83: Engagement (2)

 

Damian wasn’t the only one kept busy until the matters in the Legion were completely resolved.

 

Elena, who had to leave Sarham at Joachim’s call, also spent her days in a flurry for reasons of her own. It all started with rumors about Elena that spread throughout the South.

 

Her image, driving back the army of monsters, was so powerful that soon people were whispering about it, and it didn’t take long for the tale to spread beyond the south to every corner of the Empire.

 

Rumors, which often were dismissed as exaggerated tales lacking in truth, didn’t usually attract much attention among the continent’s magicians.

 

The south, long held by prestigious martial families, was a hotbed for magic, and the magicians were merely amused, elevating the image of a lone magician whose prowess surprised the simple swordsmen and was called an army of one.

 

Even before the rumors spread, Elena had been a prodigy, one of only two in the magical community to reach the fifth rank before adulthood. So, the notion that she performed remarkably on the battlefield was acceptable to them, albeit not to the extent rumored.

 

Of course, Joachim, who had heard about it directly from Arthur who was at the scene, was not swayed by rumors and was convinced of their truth by the clear assessment given by the Sword Master himself.

 

Joachim, already at his wits’ end with worry when trouble struck in the south regarding his daughter, had considered summoning Elena to Merohim.

 

But he was also one of the tower masters, regarded as the pinnacle of their generation, and as a magician, he couldn’t help but be purely curious about her realm of prowess. After all, if Arthur’s words and the rumors were true, Elena had reached a level comparable to the current tower masters despite being not yet twenty.

 

“Hey there. Been keeping well?”

 

“Ah, what brings the Tower Master of the Red Flame and the Tower Master of the Golden Tower to this place? I haven’t received any word from Altman.”

 

“Isn’t it a bit cold to treat someone who is your guest like this? Besides, there’s no rule that says one must always call ahead before visiting. Sometimes, one just thinks of it and shows up, right?”

 

“That’s right. Speaking of which, I’ve heard an interesting rumor recently...”

 

And so, the curiosity about Elena was not limited to a few; all the tower masters of each magic tower felt the same.

 

No matter how much they were mere rumors, when whispers reached the ears of many about a child who was already drawing attention, one could not help but become invigorated. Thus, when Elena set foot in Merohim again, she found herself unexpectedly besieged by a barrage of inquiries from the tower masters, piqued by curiosity.

 

“You didn’t even find the egg you were told to look for and...!!”

 

Moreover, there were encounters with Theia who sensed something amiss after forcibly pushing the blue bird to its limits. Indeed, Elena’s days were no less exhausting than Damian’s—if not more so.

 

Yet, unlike Damian, who often looked nearly dead from fatigue, Elena’s face was always abuzz with vitality, thanks to the words Damian had imparted to her before she left for Merohim.

 

‘I’ll contact you once things settle down. And we can talk about our engagement ceremony then. When you return to Sarham, I’d like it if you came back with your father.’

 

Although he hadn’t set a specific date, it was essentially an invitation to hold the ceremony as soon as matters were concluded. The happiness this imparted to her was not to be diminished by the relentless questioning of the tower masters and her former teacher.

 

Rather, as the days passed, her spirits only soared higher, and she seemed to relish the engagement with them. Elena easily concluded the conversations with the tower masters, and it would be fair to say that she felt no mental fatigue from these exchanges.

 

And before she knew it, the day Elena had been eagerly anticipating arrived—the day she would return to Sarham.

 

***

 

By the time Elena returned to the lord’s castle, preparations for the ceremony were already completed.

 

The documents recognizing the engagement between the Kraus and Edelweiss families had long been finalized, and as Damian had said, the engagement ceremony took place the very next day after Elena and Joachim arrived at the lord’s castle.

 

Since it was an informal engagement ceremony, there was no blessing from the priest like in an actual wedding.

 

Only family gathered; no external dignitaries were invited to the occasion. Though called an engagement ceremony, the atmosphere was reminiscent of the pleasant outing.

 

Some might have expected an engagement as grand as an actual wedding, but Elena did not mind this simpler setting.

 

Did one really need a lavish ceremony to announce the union of a family?

 

The peaceful and tranquil atmosphere, the conversations that followed, and sitting beside the person she loved, looking at their families together seemed more than enough.

 

Certainly, like others, she harbored a wish to announce to everyone in a shower of blessings that she and he had become lovers. However, she did not want to go overboard with such a display in a mere engagement ceremony, unless it was a formal wedding following her coming of age.

 

The fragrance of the garden’s flowers carried by the spring breeze swirled around the ceremony.

 

Under the warm sunlight, the gently blowing wind seemed to wield the magic of slumber. Alphonse, after feeling the breeze sweep over him, yawned widely, blinking continuously, almost as if to show everyone that he was dozing off.

 

Upon seeing this, Arthur slightly curled the corners of his mouth and addressed Joachim.

 

“Perhaps it’s my age, but the day is so fine it could make anyone sleepy. Since I can’t just topple over asleep like children outside, I should head in.”

 

“Your appearance and vigor seem to maintain their prime, why are you suddenly speaking nonsense...!”

 

Arthur’s hand moved with an imperceptible quickness. With a swift tap on Joachim’s neck, Joachim’s voice was cut off. Joachim looked at Arthur with an expression of disbelief, but Arthur ignored his gaze.

 

“Clearly, this fellow has aged; unnecessary chatter has increased... My eyelids are growing heavy. We’ll take our leave first; you should come inside before it gets too late.”

 

With those words, Arthur left, cradling Alphonse in one arm and grabbing the nape of Joachim’s neck with the other.

 

Elena and Damian watched Arthur’s retreating figure until it vanished from sight, then Damian rose first and asked Elena.

 

“Shall we take a walk then?”

 

Elena nodded in response to Damian’s suggestion and took his offered hand.

 

Perhaps due to the time spent in Merohim, being alone with him felt like a rare occurrence. Elena realized this and could immediately feel her heart beating more vigorously than before.

 

She didn’t feel disillusioned by her own nervousness, even after the engagement ceremony. Standing before him always seemed to make her this way, and she had long since accepted this fact. Now, the ticklish sensation that made her heart flutter had become a familiar presence.

 

With a sense of excitement she hadn’t felt in a while, she walked alongside him.

 

The first time she had walked this path with Damian, she had wished for time to stand still, but now her feelings were the complete opposite.

 

Was it because she had found peace of mind?

 

Both cherished this precious moment for what it was, but unlike those precarious days of their uncertain engagement, standing now at the starting line of change, the anxiety that they might never experience such times again had dissipated, allowing Elena to truly enjoy the moment.

 

Elena closed her eyes for a moment.

 

Relying solely on the hand clasped in his, she let him guide their steps. As she walked through the garden in silence beside him, following the flow of the familiar scent of hyacinths, the line between the cherished moments stored in her memory and the present began to blur.

 

Just as the boundary between memory and reality seemed to dissolve, she opened her eyes again.

 

Petals fell listlessly onto the path, carried by the gentle breeze.

 

The sky was as blue as that day, and the garden was fragrant as ever, yet unlike before, the petals fluttering down powerless in the wind served as a reminder that time was indeed passing.

 

With a smile, she turned to Damian and said, “This view is saying goodbye for a while now.”

 

Having spent considerable time here, she knew the garden, once at the onset of spring, was now racing towards its end. It wasn’t a lament, but Damian seemed to take it a bit differently, his face turning slightly somber as he surveyed the flowerbeds.

 

When the wind blew again, the flowers swayed, creating waves of purple. They paused to take in the sight, then continued on their way.

 

The time spent walking with Damian was very quiet.

 

Normally, they would fill such silence with conversation, but Elena chose not to. Damian’s expression had that certain resolve she had seen on occasion before, and she did not wish to disturb his thoughts.

 

Despite wondering what heavy topic was brewing behind his solemn expression, she kept her thoughts to herself. She contented herself with leisurely admiring the garden until he chose to speak.

 

After a few more steps,

 

Just as they had almost circled the garden and were not far from the lord’s castle, he finally spoke.

 

“Elena, do you remember what I said when we first came to the Isillia pavilion?”

 

The words were delivered lightly, almost as if casually starting a conversation, but Elena felt her body stiffen at his words. She had expected the discussion to be about recent events, not a question on a completely unforeseen topic, leaving her unable to respond as she looked up at him.

 

Seeing his unwavering eyes meet hers, she couldn’t keep silent.

 

“Yes…”

 

Her voice was faint as she barely opened her stiff lips to reply.

 

She felt a renewed strength in the hand that was clasped in hers, the tender embrace of his fingers reassuring her that this was not a reprimand, yet Elena could not easily put her heart at ease.

 

Perhaps sensing her tension, he playfully tickled her hand with his fingers before continuing in a teasing tone, “I said that an engagement was premature. And you, Elena, you just cried upon hearing that. Honestly, I was taken aback at the time. I hadn’t rejected the engagement; it was meant to suggest we both take some time to think, but I didn’t expect you to cry so bitterly.”

 

“That, that was...!!!” Elena was visibly shaken, recalling the embarrassing memory he had nonchalantly brought up. Even if she had followed the advice, the fact that she had clung to him like a child throwing a tantrum, unable to control her emotions, still had the power to make her face burn with embarrassment.

 

However, he wasn’t finished speaking.

 

“So I said we should go ahead with it. The engagement.”

 

“What?”

 

“At that moment, I couldn’t think of any other way to stop Elena’s tears.”

 

At Damian’s last words, she was at a loss for what to say.

 

Elena’s mind was in disarray, as if a storm had just passed through it.

 

Now that the engagement ceremony had gone smoothly, she couldn’t understand why he was bringing this up. His words, which seemed to suggest he had made a reluctant promise to appease a crying child, made the connection binding them feel faint.

 

An engagement was merely a formal ceremony. It was a promise to marry, not the marriage itself.

 

Elena knew better than anyone how easily engagements could be broken, having gone through the process in the past.

 

Though she knew that worrying might be excessive considering Damian’s past behavior and the way he was currently treating her, Elena simply couldn’t afford the luxury of that thought at the moment.

 

Damian, perhaps aware of her state of mind, embraced her carefully just as he had the day before. Wrapped in his encompassing warmth, Elena instinctively held on to him tightly, as if to never let go.

 

Still, the anxiety did not fade, and although she did not want him to continue speaking, she could not bring herself to ask Damian to stop. After all, if their engagement had indeed continued in part due to her own insistence, she could not now throw a tantrum as she had before.

 

Unlike her, his voice was still as gentle as it had been at the start, seeping into Elena’s ears.

 

“Back then, we had barely known each other for a day, and there was no affection to speak of. What I said to you, Elena, was simply because I couldn’t stand to see you cry because of me, and I wanted to stop it—to get past that moment.”

 

“So... are you saying we should pretend it never happened?”

 

“Of course not. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have had an engagement ceremony, would we? You can hear the beating of my heart right now. That’s not what I’m trying to say.”

 

Damian, as if to affirm his point, pulled her even tighter into his embrace. Just as he said, the pounding of his heart beat loudly in Elena’s ears. Was it just now that her eyes opened to the truth? The ears that were sheltering her seemed particularly red today.

 

“I like you. Elena.”

 

With these simple words whispered into her ear, Damian made his feelings known.

 

Before she could even respond, Elena found herself facing Damian. He was always the one to tease her whenever her face turned red, but now his face was flushed just as hers used to be.

 

As her emotions intensified, her body, which had been cold, was now covered by Damian’s warmth surpassing her own chill. The source of this heat was now clear.

 

“Will you continue to stay by my side in the future that lies ahead?”

 

Damian’s voice was steady and warm, but the redness of his face and the heartbeats drumming against her body told Elena of his intense nervousness.

 

At Damian’s question, Elena couldn’t immediately respond.

 

Her body no longer emitted coldness; instead, the fire that had spread from him had kindled a flame in Elena’s heart. The heat made her body and mind feel strangely different, as if the heartbeat she could hear was indistinguishable, whether it was his or her own.

 

The heat that made Elena’s head spin soon robbed her of her ability to speak but granted her a corresponding ability to act.

 

Raising her arms, Elena wrapped them around the nape of Damian’s neck without hesitation and pressed her lips to his.

--- END OF CHAPTER ---

 

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