Lady Celine’s mouth, full of wrinkles, trembled inexpressibly. When she attempted to rise from her chair, Cediloy, startled, cautiously supported her with his arms.

“Liria?”

Meiana, with a tense expression, was observing Arianthe and Lady Celine. There was no reason for it, truly no reason for it, but she was extremely nervous, perhaps afraid that Lady Celine might startle Arianthe.

“Liria… Is it really you? Have you come back?”

Arianthe, holding the doll, silently gazed at Lady Celine. Just as Cediloy was about to say something, the child cautiously walked toward the lady and rested her head on her lap.

The wrinkled, rough fingers trembled. Along with the peaceful smile that appeared on Lady Celine’s mouth as she gently touched Arianthe’s curly hair, tears welled up in her sparkling eyes.

Cediloy gently seated Lady Celine again. The chair lightly rocked back and forth.

“Liria, where did you go? I worried because you didn’t come back… You shouldn’t worry your grandmother.”

Lady Celine carefully patted the child’s head and touched the doll placed on her lap.

“Oh my, why is this doll so dusty? I made it not long ago. Just wait a moment. Grandmother will make you a new one.”

Arianthe remained quietly nestled on Lady Celine’s lap, like a doll. At that moment, even Meiana couldn’t fathom what Arianthe was thinking.

Whether she wanted to comfort Lady Celine pretending to be Liria or simply remained silent because she didn’t understand why Lady Celine called her Liria.

Arianthe’s eyes closed as she quietly leaned on Lady Celine’s hand that was patting her back.

“It’s okay, grandmother. I still like the doll.”

“What a mischievous one you are. Refusing a new doll I offered.”

Lady Celine chuckled softly. Arianthe, with her head leaning on the lady’s crooked lap, whispered as if comforting.

“It’s okay, grandmother. Liria will like this doll. It’s okay to have just this doll.”

“Yeah, that’s right… Our good granddaughter. How nice would it be if I could live healthily until our Liria grows up? If a wonderful gentleman comes to take our granddaughter, it would be sad, but how happy would I be. Liria…”

For a very long time, Arianthe leaned on Lady Celine’s lap until she fell asleep again. Lady Celine’s hand, more wrinkled and rough than Jocelyn’s hand, was incomparably warm and affectionate.

Since that day, Lady Celine’s memory did not fully return. However, contrary to the doctor’s prediction that she wouldn’t survive the winter, she lived for about another half a year. Quietly, around the summer when pure lotus flowers bloomed by the shores of Lake El Rautica, she peacefully closed her eyes.
Arianthe was still by Lady Celine’s side at that moment, willingly kissing the forehead of the grandmother who had begun a long rest.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

King Elmerat sat in front of his desk piled high with documents that needed verification. He had his head wrapped as he dealt with mountains of paperwork.

In essence, the king’s job was simple: read the contents of the reports and, if they were suitable for approval, sign below, or if there were matters to reject, set them aside. However, if this happened with dozens of pages every day, the job was not as simple as it seemed.

“Your Majesty, take a moment to cool your head.”

When Valdeve placed a teacup on one side of her desk, Elmerat sighed, picked up the pen, and then exhaled heavily. Then, he swiftly removed the crown from his head, loosened the lace choking his neck, and laid them down.

I knew it would come to this. Valdeve thought, smiling softly. He knew very well how exhausted Elmerat was by now. He even sent the king’s closest maid out of the room, just to give Elmerat a little freedom of movement.

“I can’t do this anymore.”

Elmerat said. Valdeve, suppressing laughter as if watching a pitiful child, sat down beside her, showing both a sympathetic expression and a suppressed smile.

“Since the Duke of Waltermund is absent, Your Majesty has to handle more tasks.”

Elmerat looked around her desk filled with documents, wearing a distressed expression. If she were still the same as before, she would have surely scattered some of them—probably the ones she rejected—onto the floor. Valdeve couldn’t help but appreciate how mature and dignified Elmerat had become.

“You’re right. When Cediloy was here, he would have handled half of these. Stuck with the ducal matters, I never thought of ascending to the capital.”

“If you need him, couldn’t you send a letter and call him back to El Rautica? What could Your Majesty possibly be unable to handle under the sky?”

Elmerat looked at the documents around her with a weary expression. If she had her old personality, she would have thought about throwing some of them—especially the rejected ones—to the ground. Valdeve could clearly feel how mature and dignified Elmerat had become.