Chapter 146
“I originally intended to.”
Unlike the way he had driven Guinness mercilessly, he looked at Allen with warmth. Fearing him, Allen spoke.
“You mean…?”
“You always ran away. Still, this time, you were truly brave.”
“……”
“I’ll give you a choice. Will you carry the memories and suffer, or will you forget and live on as you are?”
At his question, Allen’s eyes turned to Guinness. Guinness was already utterly dazed. Seeing the man who had beaten him so ruthlessly now lying helpless made it clear that the being before them was not a mere human. Allen knew he had to answer the question with careful thought.
Allen already knew what his answer would be.
“I… I don’t want to run away anymore. Rather than forgetting, I’ll choose to remember and long for her.”
A strong conviction filled Allen’s gaze. His expression left no room for any other answer.
He smiled in satisfaction and placed a hand on Allen’s head. Feeling a peace he had never known, Allen tightly shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself back in the forest of the Ron Empire.
“I respect your choice, child.”
His gentle voice echoed in Allen’s ears. In a world where Ronnie had vanished, Allen alone remembered her.
Three years passed. Over those three years, Allen lived in loneliness. The world went on as if Ronnie had never existed.
Whenever Allen brought up Ronnie, people changed the subject or spoke nonsense. How many times had Allen sighed deeply at those strange reactions? Everything was the same—except that, to them, Ronnie did not exist.
To be the only one who remembered someone everyone else had forgotten was lonelier than he had imagined. Allen still wore the engagement ring. Rumors spread that he had a fiancée hidden away.
Of course, there could be no fiancée for Allen other than Ronnie. He fiddled with the ring on his finger.
After Freddy ascended the throne, relations with the Kingdom never improved. In the end, the war Ronnie had tried to prevent broke out. Allen volunteered for the battlefield, helping Freddy crush the Kingdom’s armies.
The invading forces’ momentum was broken by Allen, who fought as a formidable knight, and by the Ron Empire’s troops. Still, the war dragged on indecisively with repeated advances and retreats.
The state of war continued for about three years. Freddy persistently sought negotiations to minimize civilian losses. By the third year, even the Kingdoms that had resisted desperately realized they could not defeat the Empire and began surrendering one by one.
And today, after receiving the final Kingdom’s letter of surrender, Allen returned to the Empire.
“Commander of the Seventh Knight Order, Allen Romanite, reporting to Your Majesty.”
“Welcome back, Sir Allen.”
Freddy greeted Allen, now bearing the air of an emperor. Over the past three years, Freddy had worked tirelessly to restore the shattered royal authority. Allen’s contributions had been crucial in that effort.
At such a young age, possessing powerful magic and swordsmanship, Allen was a talent coveted by all the Kingdoms. Some secretly tried to recruit him, but Allen never betrayed Freddy. Having Allen was like gaining a thousand troops at once.
“So, at last, you’ve accepted everyone’s surrender. It took a long time.”
Freddy accepted the surrender documents with a wistful expression. Thanks to the Empire’s solid defenses, the capital had suffered little damage, but the war had still left scars. Several regions were already devastated and needed rebuilding.
It would likely take as long as the war itself for the border regions to return to normal. At least the war had ended in three years—that much was fortunate. It had been a grueling, drawn-out conflict.
Though Freddy was glad to see his loyal subject and close friend again, he showed no sign of it in public. After the reports concluded, Freddy signaled to Joshua.
“Let’s go. I’ve prepared a private place.”
Allen nodded slightly and followed Joshua. A moment later, Freddy joined them, now changed into comfortable clothes. He glanced at the ring on Allen’s finger.
“You’re still wearing that ring, I see.”
“Seems like you have a fiancée hidden away.”
Having heard the question countless times, Allen replied curtly. At his indifferent response, Freddy spoke with dissatisfaction—his tone now far less dignified than before.
“I’d like to see this fiancée of yours at least once. How long are you going to keep her hidden?”
“Even if I wanted to show her to you, I can’t.”
At Allen’s predictable answer, Freddy grumbled.
“Even during a war, how can you not meet even once? You’re relentless—absolutely relentless!”
“Don’t tell me you followed me.”
Allen looked at Freddy coldly. Anyone might mistake Allen for the emperor and Freddy for the subordinate.
Though the respect usually present in Allen’s eyes was gone, Freddy seemed accustomed to it and asked calmly.
“Why hide her? Afraid I’ll steal her away?”
“Do you think you could?”
No.
Meeting Allen’s piercing gaze, Freddy immediately shook his head.
‘Who said anything about stealing her? I just wanted to see her face.’
Being glared at as if he’d be killed over a joke was chilling. Freddy scratched his cheek awkwardly. Allen had worn the ring for so long without moving toward marriage—just how remarkable was this woman?
Not knowing what was in his heart left Freddy with no choice but to make such petty provocations. Allen muttered, irritated by the attention.
“And you already know, don’t you?”
“I do?”
“Yes. My fiancée will be Ronnie Shalriganne alone, until the day I die.”
“…Hmm, this tea tastes excellent. Are you heading to the castle now?”
Allen looked bitterly at Freddy as he changed the subject. Freddy spoke about the tea as if he hadn’t just pressed him about his fiancée.
He’d expected this. Still, Allen didn’t want to vaguely claim someone else as his fiancée. Watching Freddy babble and divert the topic whenever Ronnie’s name came up, Allen let out a deep sigh.
After tea, Allen left the palace and headed to Romanite Castle. The Empire he returned to after three years looked the same. Having accepted the surrender of all Kingdoms, the Ron Empire was entering a second era.
News of the final surrender had already spread, and the capital was in a festive mood. Everyone rejoiced at the end of the war.
Before entering the castle, Allen bought a large strawberry and took a bite. He hadn’t liked sweets much, but he bought strawberries whenever he came to the market because they reminded him of Ronnie.
Remembering how Ronnie had insisted he only eat the prettiest ones when he picked up fallen strawberries, a smile spread across his face.
‘As expected.’
Strangely, the more Allen missed Ronnie, the more the good memories outweighed the painful ones. Just being at the market brought back memories of going incognito with her—his longing was relentless.
When Guinness first told him she might die, Allen thought it would be better to live under separate skies. Though he had wished more than anyone for her return, in that moment he hoped she wouldn’t come back.
A life without Ronnie was unimaginable, but her death would have been even more painful.
It saddened him that they couldn’t live under the same sky, but Allen was grateful that she was alive somewhere. When he arrived at Romanite Castle, the Marquis welcomed him.
“Welcome home.”
Like greeting a child returning in glory, the Marquis gently patted Allen’s back.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“It was nothing.”
Allen replied bluntly, then awkwardly offered the strawberries. The Marquis accepted them with a puzzled look.
“I bought them by chance on the way.”
“…These again?”
It wasn’t the first time. Allen brought strawberries every time he went to the market.
He’d heard Allen disliked sweets, yet here he was buying king-sized strawberries—the sweetest of fruits. Had his tastes changed?
Seeing the Marquis’s lukewarm reaction, Allen reached out to take them back.
“If you don’t want them, please return them.”
