Special Extra Episode 8
Wow. That’s a really huge stone.
At that moment, a shimmering light began to seep out from the child’s ash-gray eyes.
[At last, I can speak with you, my child.]
“Huh?”
Ber blinked at the sudden voice. When she came to her senses, she found herself alone in a strange space.
Felix, Elia, and Jeremy were nowhere to be seen, yet somehow the place felt familiar and comforting to her.
[Yes. How does it feel to be held in the arms of the family you longed for so dearly, my child?]
“……You talk! Hehe. I wanna ride!”
At Bernancia’s clear, bell-like laughter, Helios—shaped like a pegasus—shook his head slowly.
[My child. You can no longer ride upon my back.]
“Huuuuh?”
[Because you have become a human child. Tsk tsk. Humans are always so impatient. I will visit from time to time. Bernancia Lloyd.]
Helios turned around, walked straight across the surface of the water, and soon vanished.
Ber looked around curiously, then noticed a beam of light approaching from afar.
“…Your Highness! Princess!!”
Ber opened her eyes. She saw the staircase where Helios’s statue stood and heard people calling out to her.
A fierce wind blew from all directions, sending icy streams of water spinning wildly like a vortex.
Her family came rushing toward her, all of them pale with fear.
“Mom!!”
With a bright smile, Ber raised both arms and waved them energetically.
Seeing that, Elia clutched her chest as if her strength had drained away, letting out a deep sigh of relief. Felix and Jeremy looked the same.
Whoooosh—.
The raging whirlpool of water slowly began to subside. Even then, Archbishop Maximilian remained stiff, unable to relax his furrowed brow.
“…I have never seen such an immense amount of mana in my entire life.”
Everyone turned to look at him.
“The princess is a child chosen by the gods.”
“…!”
“Mom! Ber saw it!”
Even amid everyone’s shock, Ber was busy boasting about what she had seen.
A child chosen by the gods—it was something unheard of since Archbishop Maximilian himself.
The imperial couple decided to keep the matter secret for the time being. Ber was still far too young.
Elia believed Ber should be the one to decide her own future.
Yes. At least until Ber enters the academy.
Unaware of such worries, the young Ber used her ability whenever she felt like it. No matter how many times she was warned, it didn’t help. By now, most of the palace servants already knew.
I can’t exactly hide Ber like this… this is a problem.
Elia spent several days troubled over Ber’s situation. Jeremy’s birthday ball at the imperial palace was approaching.
Elia looked down at Ber, who was sitting on her lap and fiddling with her fingers using hands as small and delicate as blades of grass.
“Ber.”
“Yes?”
“There will be a ball soon. If you stay by my side, you must never bring out the clouds. Do you understand?”
“…Ber, no clouds?”
Elia smiled awkwardly and shook her head.
“Mom loves everything about you, Ber. Your clouds are precious and wonderful too.”
“Hehe, Ber likes clouds.”
At the child’s innocent gaze, Elia closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again.
Ber’s untainted gray eyes—so clear and expressive in showing what she liked and disliked—were dazzling.
“…Ber. Shall we make a promise? Can you only show your pretty clouds in front of Mom?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m worried someone might steal those beautiful clouds. Can you do that?”
The child puffed up her cheeks slightly and jutted out her lower lip, but after a moment, she nodded.
Elia gently squeezed the princess’s chubby cheeks and kissed her face.
“I will too!”
With mischievous eyes, Ber grabbed Elia’s face and planted dozens of loud kisses all over it.
Elia’s face was soon completely covered in drool from Ber’s tiny lips.
“B-Ber!”
Elia laughed awkwardly as Ber lunged at her like a small puppy.
Ber’s clear laughter echoed beyond Elia’s bedroom and all the way through the palace corridors.
The day before the grand ball, Elia, Felix, and Jeremy gathered around Ber to give her some serious instruction.
“Ber. If a child your age asks you to show your power, what do you do?”
“…I like it!”
“No, Ber. That’s not right.”
“N-no!”
Light flickered in Ber’s eyes, then immediately faded.
Felix couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Jeremy, who was teaching her, wasn’t much different.
“Then Ber. If someone says it’s too hot and asks you to make it rain, what would you do?”
“Umm… uhhh… okay?”
Ber furrowed her brow deeply as she thought, then suddenly turned her head and shouted excitedly.
“My goodness, Ber. We said it’s better to hide your ability, didn’t we?”
“Yes! No!”
She said it more confidently than usual.
“Ahem. Then Ber, what if Jeremy’s friends say they want to see the clouds?”
Felix, standing behind them, stepped between Jeremy and Ber, apparently wanting to ask too.
Ber blinked, took a big bite of her snack, then grinned happily with crumbs all over her mouth.
“I like big brother’s friends!”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Even the three adults, who had been smiling, fell silent at that point.
“…Elia. What about just revealing Ber’s ability?”
“Well, it wouldn’t necessarily be a problem. But I want to give her as many choices as possible. She’s only four years old. Growing up under everyone’s expectations would only narrow her options, wouldn’t it?”
Felix nodded, agreeing that she had a point.
“Hmm. Still, I’ll be by Ber’s side the whole time, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“I’ll stay with Ber too.”
“No, Jeremy. It’s your day, so enjoy it without worrying.”
Elia gently stroked Jeremy’s pink-tinged hair.
“…Okay.”
Jeremy hesitated, then nodded.
“Have you thought about what gift you want?”
Suddenly, Elia recalled what Jeremy had said at his very first birthday banquet.
“…Then let’s all sleep together. Father, me, and Lady Elia.”
Back then, he was much smaller and cuter. Seeing how dignified he had become, it truly felt like children grew every day.
“…I already received my gift.”
Elia tilted her head. She hadn’t given him anything yet.
“What do you mean?”
“You hold a banquet for me every year. You must be even busier and more tired now. I’ll accept my gift as your feelings, Mother.”
“……”
Elia blinked her large blue eyes several times, then shook her head.
Tears welled up in her eyes in an instant.
“Oh, Jeremy. I’m so proud of you… but at the same time, it makes me sad that you already seem so grown up.”
“…Mom, don’t cry! Waaah!”
Seeing tears in Elia’s eyes, both father and son froze in panic.
When Elia cried, Ber cried even louder.
“Elia.”
Felix spoke gently, but that only made her emotions overflow more.
“I just wanted you to cling to me a little longer… sob…”
It was the same feeling she’d had when Jeremy’s pronunciation improved and when he started calling her “Mother” instead of “Mom.”
Pride mixed with sadness.
As Elia dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, she noticed a shadow falling over her and looked up. Jeremy—now taller than her—pulled her into a gentle embrace with a soft smile.
“I love you. Always. So please don’t cry.”
“…Yes. Yes, Jeremy. I love you too.”
“Waaah… waaah…”
Elia and Jeremy leaned into each other’s warmth and closed their eyes.
Beside them, Ber toddled over and clung tightly to Jeremy’s leg, wiping her runny nose on his trousers as she cried.
Felix, watching the scene, had tears glistening in his eyes as well.
Jeremy will grow even more.
So Elia decided to cherish this moment, right here in their embrace. A small glass bell hanging from the garden canopy chimed softly in the fresh breeze.
Clink, clink.
At the gentle sound of the bell, Elia smiled faintly even through her tears.
The ball held at the imperial palace was magnificent. An endless procession of carriages streamed through the palace’s central road, and carriages loaded with gifts followed one after another—so many that the knights struggled to manage them all.
The banquet hall in the palace’s central hall was packed with nobles, including children Jeremy’s age. Above the circular staircase landing stood a massive door through which the imperial family would enter.
Everyone waited eagerly for that door to open, their faces filled with excitement.
Even children younger than Jeremy sat neatly dressed in formal uniforms, behaving with utmost decorum.
