The voice consumed by guilt sounded painful.
He wet a new towel and placed it on the sleeping Roselyn's forehead, then stayed by her side holding her hand until dawn.
Repeatedly wetting a dry handkerchief and placed it on her forehead.
It was around the time Roselyn's breathing had become even that Cherty Bellion let go of the child's hand and stood up.
***
"I'm sorry, my dear."
At the faint voice, Roselyn flinched, trembling her shoulders and opening her eyes wide.
'Also...'
She saw a scene that felt like a dream.
"... Roselyn? Are you feeling really unwell after all?"
At the sound of the voice, Roselyn realized the reality and slowly shook her head.
"No, I'm sorry. I must have been tired because I was thinking about something else for a moment."
"...Go to sleep quickly."
Roselyn was about to close her eyes but paused and opened her mouth.
"Father, may I ask why you suddenly tried to hold my hand?"
Even though you haven't even tried to help me until now.
At Roselin's words, Cherty Bellion paused and glanced down at her grown-up daughter.
"...Just. Someone told me that doing this helps you sleep well. It also feels like I haven't held your hand before."
"..."
"I know it's late, but..."
He moved his lips, but when Roselyn didn't say anything, he quietly closed his mouth.
"I will leave if it is inconvenient."
Roselyn let out a small sigh as she watched her father trying to dig a tunnel again.
"I never really said I was uncomfortable... Dad."
Cherty's eyes widened as he was about to let go of her hand. He turned his head sharply, looking flustered, at Roselyn.
'If what I saw from Arma the other day was a dream Arma had, then just now too...'
She thought it might be a dream her father had.
“What did you just say..."
"Ah, I'm sorry. It seems you don't want to, Father."
"W-who says I don't like it! Who said I didn't like it? Come on. If we keep dragging this on, it'll just be tiring for both of us, so why don't you just keep calling me that? If you say even one more word, you might end up hurting even more..."
"Huh? You've gone on too long, so I don't really understand what you're saying, Father."
Roselyn frowned and spoke nonchalantly.
"..."
"I'm tired, so I'm going to bed now. Father, you go inside and get some rest too."
"..."
As Roselyn closed her eyes, Cherty quietly opened his mouth.
"Daughter, isn't calling me 'father' a bit stiff?"
"I've called you that my whole life, and you're saying that now?"
Roselyn snorted.
"...That is true, but judging by the tone, 'father' feels a bit distant..."
"Father calls Grandfather 'Father' too, you know."
"...Still, didn't I have some expectations of my daughter? Of course, he wasn't a father worthy of the name."
"I think that is a sexist remark. Are you saying you don't want your son to call you 'Dad'?"
"...I like Dad better."
“Yes, Dad.”
As soon as Cherty finally expressed his intention to surrender, Roselyn calmly called out to him.
"...You're making fun of people."
"The problem is that my father isn't honest."
Cherty let out a chuckle as she watched her daughter, who wouldn't back down even a little.
Roselyn opened her eyes wide.
"Father, you know how to smile, too."
"...What? I’m a human too."
He never smiled, so when she was little, she thought her father was a doll made of porcelain.
He paused at Roselyn's candid words and touched the corners of his mouth a few times with his fingertips.
“I see."
"Yes."
Roselyn stared blankly at the ceiling and then opened her mouth.
"Dad, will you be sad if I die?"
"...What? Don't state the obvious. If you die, I die too."
"...What would you do if there was something you really wanted to resolve, but it was a place you could only get to by dying?"
She heard the sound of heavy breathing at the words she spoke.
Roselyn glanced at Cherty and closed her mouth.
Anger and a sense of betrayal could be felt from the widened pupils.
"I was just imagining it. Don't make that scary face. What if you can't even go to the bathroom at night?"
"...Don’t even imagine such a thing. You are the only one I have left now, Roselyn. Without you, I have no reason to live. Please don’t leave me, too."
Roselyn recalled her father from the original world, who had been killed by Lady Carmel.
'...He wasn't the kind of person to die like that.'
Roselyn slowly narrowed her eyebrows.
"I'll give it a try."
She looked at the seven-stone strapped to her wrist.
'It seemed the Seven-Star Stone fed to that man had already run its course.'
Because when they met again, he wasn't shivering in the cold.
Even though his whole body was covered in burn marks, a stone is a stone.
It was clear that its effect would eventually wear off.
"...What do you mean by effort? You just said it was imagination, didn't you?"
"I mean, I’m going to think about such a method in my imagination."
"You're talking complete nonsense. Did something happen at the Imperial City today?"
Roselyn slowly shook her head while slowly clasping the hand that was being held.
"Just..."
"Just?"
"Because I saw an old snake."
Roselyn slowly closed her eyes.
"...It is an unforgivable old serpent."
She spoke softly and yawned.
"...I am curious, but I can listen to it later, so go to sleep."
"Yes. Don't stay out too late; please go to sleep once I fall asleep."
Yes, listening to the faint voice, Roselyn recalled what had happened during the day through her fading consciousness.
***
"Why did you offer me the Queen title?"
At Roselyn's question, the captain of the Royal Guard paused and narrowed his eyebrows with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean, all of a sudden?"
"I was just curious. Why you offered me Queen."
Both then and now.
Let's assume that is understandable right now, given that he is interfering with Makluxa's work at every turn.
However, in her previous life, she couldn't understand why they offered her the Queen position.
And even going so far as to directly reveal the face that had been hidden so thoroughly.
"Thanks for the guidance. I'll be going now."
Roselyn was about to get back into the carriage, as she hadn't really expected to receive any answer.
"Lady Bellion."
If only it weren't for that call...
"Do you think that light and shadow can exist in a person's life?"
"I'm not sure what you mean by that, but if you're asking if there are ups and downs in life, yes. Of course there are."
"Rather than that, I mean the value of life."
Roselyn stopped walking up the stairs and came back down.
As she cautiously stepped back and let out a short sigh, he burst into a low laugh.
"Did the old man pass something too difficult?"
"I just can't seem to get used to the aristocracy's characteristic roundabout way of speaking, whether then or now."
At Roselyn's dry yet brusque voice, the captain of the Royal Guard shrugged his shoulders without saying much, surprisingly.
"If you had answered just a little faster, I probably wouldn't have needed to expend energy climbing the stairs."
"...Excuse me for that."
"Yes. That's all I need to know."
At the captain of the guard's apology, Roselyn shrugged her shoulders and quickly nodded.
While the captain of the guard frowned, she slowly extended her hand forward.
At that, the captain of the guard let out a hollow laugh and silently escorted Roselyn.
“How is the garden?”
"Great."
As Roselyn nodded, the man politely escorted her.
"The Princess said that there is light and shadow in a person's life."
The captain of the guard broke the awkward silence and approached her stealthily.
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