200. The Finale
The revelation that the villainous Lechesia was Chesha Basilian caused another uproar among the people of the underworld.
They rejoiced, saying things like, ‘No wonder she’s been quiet lately,’ and ‘The villainess has caused a huge mess again this time.’
The people of the continent had a similar reaction.
Many believed that the villainess had given the Basilian family a hard time.
Very few knew that Lechesia and the Basilians had truly connected and become a family.
It was impossible to reveal that Lechesia was a Basilian by blood.
Who would believe that a fairy queen had traveled through time and created such a tangled family history?
It would only be dismissed as a joke by those who didn’t understand.
Even if someone familiar with fairies and magic understood the truth, they would likely only be interested in experimenting on her.
Officially, Chesha had no choice but to remain an adopted child of the Basilian family.
However, neither Chesha nor the Basilians particularly cared about being officially recognized by others.
The only important thing was that they would be together in the future.
“…Hmm.”
Chesha raised her eyebrows as she looked in the mirror.
Since creating the new crown, the knowledge passed down from fairy queen to fairy queen had begun to flow into Chesha’s mind.
Chesha learned many secrets about fairies and queens that she hadn’t known before.
She also learned that fairies are spiritual entities, so they aren’t bound by the limitations of the body and can freely transform their appearance.
However, this wasn’t something that all fairies could do, but only fairies or queens with particularly strong powers.
The reason why Chesha suddenly grew up after being stuck in her baby form was similar – a surge of power.
So, now that she was fully aware as the fairy queen, she thought she would be able to change her appearance at will.
‘It’s not working.’
It was still too difficult to return to Lechesia’s appearance.
It seemed like it would take a little more time.
Chesha stared at her pink eyes in the mirror and then turned her head.
She picked up a letter on her desk.
It was information brought from the underworld.
[…After a fierce debate, Inquisitor Hylon was finally elected as the new Holy King.
As the blue smoke spreads, this fact will soon be known throughout the continent.
In addition, the sealed Holy Empire is expected to open in the near future.]
The Holy Empire of Hilderd had closed its doors and sealed its borders for over a month.
Then, blue smoke finally rose, announcing that the Holy King had been chosen.
Chesha gently stroked the name Hylon written in the letter with her finger.
‘Now it’s Hylon Hilderd.’
Now that the gates of the Holy Empire were open, she would be contacted soon.
Chesha smiled to herself as she thought of Hylon, and then she thought of the three brothers.
After all three of them found out that Chesha was Lechesia, they didn’t say a word about Hylon.
They didn’t even mention the Holy Empire in front of Chesha.
Just looking at their actions, it was easy to see how the three brothers felt about Hylon.
‘I haven’t told them yet that I received a proposal from Hylon.’
She imagined it would be a disaster the moment she said it.
It wasn’t that she was too scared to open her mouth, but she was waiting because she thought it would be right to tell Kiern first.
The moment she thought of Kiern, her heart grew heavy.
Chesha sighed at the stuffy feeling, as if she was being weighed down by a heavy stone.
“When are you coming back…”
She firmly believed that he would return, but she was worried as the waiting time grew longer and longer.
She wondered if something had happened, but if that were the case, Hylon, who had given Kiern the Chains of Judgement [a magical artifact], would have grasped the situation immediately.
Even if he was in the middle of electing a Holy King.
“Chesha.”
His voice calling her name lingered around her ears like a hallucination and then disappeared.
Unable to overcome her longing, Chesha used her power.
Glitter scattered everywhere, and flowers bloomed.
The place she arrived at through the colorful flowers was the Black Forest.
A forest full of lush life that no longer deserved the name Black Forest.
It had completely changed from the past, but the place name was kept as it was.
It was to not forget the atrocities of the Holy Empire.
The Black Forest, where monsters had disappeared and anyone could come and go, had a single restricted area.
It was the place where Chesha, Hylon, and Kiern had performed resurrection magic.
Rose’s empty coffin was still there.
The Black Forest was fully opened, but this place was hidden by Ishuel using magic.
Chesha approached the coffin, basking in the warm sunlight.
She crouched down in the flower garden and leaned her back against the coffin.
Chesha hugged her knees and quietly inhaled and exhaled.
She sat there for a long time, feeling the scent of flowers filling her lungs.
How much time had passed?
Before the sun, which had been falling from the sky, completely disappeared over the mountains,
When it cast the strongest of the last red light.
The scene was as if everything was burning in flames.
Naturally, a certain day in the past came to mind.
The day she first met Kiern as Count Basilian and Chesha.
She vividly remembered being impressed by Kiern, who came to the orphanage with the sunset behind him, and thinking he was an amazing handsome man.
Chesha smiled slightly because she was amused by the past.
However, Chesha, who had been laughing out loud, gradually became sullen.
The laughter faded weakly and then stopped.
When she buried her face in her knees, everything in front of her became dark.
“It’s been well over a month.”
Chesha confided her honest feelings in the darkness.
“It’s time for you to come now.”
She quietly muttered, suppressing the rising emotions.
“You promised me…”
Would he end up choosing to live in a fantasy forever?
Chesha couldn’t shake off the slightest fear that clung to one corner of her heart and swallowed a tearful breath.
How long had she been doing that alone?
Just before the sun falling from the sky completely disappeared over the mountains.
When it cast the strongest of the last red light.
“… !”
Chesha felt the wind.
A strong wind swirled around the coffin.
Chesha hurriedly got up and endured, staggering in the strong wind.
Soon after, flowers suddenly bloomed on the coffin.
The countless flowers disappeared, and then a door appeared behind them.
Chesha’s eyes widened when she saw the name written on the large door.
She froze, even stopping her breath, and stared at the door.
At the end of an eternity-like moment, she heard a click from the doorknob.
And the door opened.
It was a man with smooth black hair like snake scales and fiery red eyes.
The man, dressed in a well-tailored suit, slowly exhaled.
He stepped out of the door.
At the same time, the door crumbled into fragments of light.
Amid the sparkling and scattering light, the man slowly looked at Chesha.
Red eyes captured Chesha completely.
He smiled softly.
“Chesha.”
Kiern said in a sweet and affectionate voice.
“Did you wait long? I’m sorry.”
He slowly descended from the air and gently landed in the flower garden.
And he hugged Chesha and whispered.
“Daddy’s here.”
Chesha was in his arms and took a deep breath.
“You’re too late…”
She hugged him tightly, who was playfully muttering whether Chesha was sulking.
Chesha looked up at him and smiled happily.
“Welcome back, Daddy.”
Then, Kiern, who had been speechless for a moment, smiled back at Chesha.
He smiled brightly, dispelling the darkness, and responded to Chesha.
“…Yeah. I’m back, Chesha.”
Chesha nodded silently and buried her face in Kiern’s arms.
Finally, they were a complete family.