“Okay, Ash. From now on, I’ll do anything I can to help you. Until my very last breath.”
“And I will gladly accept your help. As you already know, I was always wishing for your help,” Ash responded. Ahh, I haven’t heard that line in a while. I kept my promise from that day, and I’ll continue to keep it. “I’ll be relying on you a lot from here on out, Alicia.”
“Leave it to me, Ash!” He always told me exactly what I wanted to hear. That’s why I was full of love for him. Just when I thought I couldn’t love him anymore, I ended up falling deeper. I squeezed his arm tightly. Ah, he’s smiling. This arm is now mine. I can live with that. I had paid for the life of my lover with my own life, and as a result, I had nothing left. I felt so carefree that I felt like the wind could sweep me off my feet at any moment—it was a delightful feeling. This is probably how birds feel when they are finally freed from their cages.
The strong winds of Sacula welcomed me back. I was almost there. The city gates that I had bid farewell to that day were visible at the end of the concrete road. I’m home. I’m finally home! The feelings in my stomach stirred like a flame at the sight of home. I need to calm down. If I get too emotional, I won’t be able to properly take in the sights of the territory and my home!
“Ah, that reminds me, Alicia.” Ash turned to me as I desperately tried to hold back my tears.
“What is it, Ash?”
“Welcome home.” Ah, now he’s done it. He always knew how to break my facade. I could no longer keep it in.
“I’m home, Ash!” My tears broke free and ran down my cheeks. I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t try to stop either. It was a good thing. This time, my tears were warm.
・・・
We arrived in Itsutsu. Alicia was still in high spirits. She was particularly taken aback by the technical marvel that was the second mansion we had built. As for me, I was unable to hide my nerves. I had only been in contact with Maika via letter since deciding to make Alicia my wife. Maika had responded that she would welcome Alicia with open arms, and she did tell me before I left that I should do what I needed to, so it should not have been an issue. While I ran through all the endless reasons why everything would be okay, I entered the mansion and knocked on the door of the study. Maika, whose work had seemed to follow her home, called out from inside. I readied myself and opened the door.
“I’m home, Maika. As I mentioned in the letter I sent, our family has a new member.”
“Welcome home, Ash. Come on in already, I wanna talk with Alicia too!” I had no reason to be so nervous. Maika’s smile was as bright as always. She extended her angelic smile to her good friend behind me. However, for some reason, the way she smiled felt different from how she smiled at me. It was more akin to the confident smirk you might give to a fellow soldier. “Alicia, welcome home. You’re finally back.”
“You’re right. It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve been home.” Alicia mimicked Maika’s smile. I wonder if that is just what good friends look like when they are together. Maybe I look similar when I am speaking with Hermes and Glen, and maybe, honestly, rarely, sometimes with Father Folke. The two of them continued to catch up—which largely consisted of gossiping about me. But eventually, Maika cut the conversation short.
“At this rate, we’ll never stop talking. We can continue at dinner, Alicia.” Maika turned toward me and scratched her head. “Ash, I know you’ve just got here, but I have a few proposals I’d like your opinion on, is that okay?”
“Of course. Sorry for leaving you in charge for so long, Maika.”
“If it meant getting Lady Alicia back, it was the least I could do. In fact, it really was the least I could do.” The two of us laughed. We knew it was worth it. Alicia, however, stayed silent.
“Ash, what are you doing...?” Lady Alicia asked, pouting her lips. Her voice was shaking.
“What do you mean?” I responded. She seemed to be holding back just how upset she was. Strange. I wonder if we had said something to upset Alicia just now. I do not think we did, though.
“Why is she ‘Maika,’ but I’m still ‘Lady Alicia’?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, that is correct. I guess she’s just ‘Maika’ to me now.”
I spoke to Maika informally, not even using any of her titles. I could have been giving Maika special treatment, seeing as I even spoke quite stiffly with my parents. It seemed that Lady Alicia was vehemently not fond of this. She had put up with the crown prince’s constant meddling and the king’s constant carelessness, but she wasn’t about to let this go. She puffed her cheeks and clenched both her fists together.
“It’s so unfair that you’re only like that with Maika! I want you to be like that with me too!”
“Huh, wha? Hm, I... Is that so?” I stammered. She once again seemed displeased by my response and started to protest even further. Amazing. This is the real Lady Alicia. Maybe Father Folke isn’t the imposter after all. As I thought back to the day before, Maika decided to join the chaos. “Ash, why do you talk to Alicia like that?”
“Huh... I don’t really know why, I kind of just...do?”
“Well, you need to stop. She’s family now, you’ve gotta treat her like you treat me.”
“Oh, okay? My sincerest apologies, La—...” I caught myself before I responded to Alicia too formally. “I’m sorry, Alicia. But is this all right? Is this really okay?” You were a princess, after all. To be honest, you are aware that I plan to use that fact going forward in negotiations, right? Putting my concerns to one side, Lady Alicia—I mean, Alicia—smiled so broadly that it almost seemed like her upset face just before was a mask.
“Yeah! That’s totally fine!” Alicia responded. She seemed pleased.
“All right...” I responded.
Now that we had Alicia right where we needed her, it was time for me to get back to working on the restoration plans. First, we would deploy soldiers to the south of Yanga to restore order and return small groups of refugees to the areas that had suffered the least damage. Moving these people back to Yanga would also lighten the load on Sacula. At the same time, it would allow us to secure a foothold for the restoration, and we could establish a main headquarters for our work there.