It was such a strong gust of wind that Duchesse was sent flying past the walls surrounding the roof of the tower. He managed to just barely hold on to the railing on the walls.
In order to transform into a dragon, one needed to recite an incantation and trace a mark with a finger. As he was now, Duchesse was unable to transform.
“M-Milord! P-Please, forgive my transgressions!” he cried. “I will commit no more schemes! P-Please, find it in your heart to forgive me!”
Van began approaching Duchesse.
“Lord Dragon Duke!!!” Roche cried.
“We have apprehended the criminal. Commence attack!” A voice called out from the darkness, and a number of knights emerged from behind the dragon. It seemed that Roche was the one who shouted.
A magic barrier was raised in front of me and the Dragon Duke. The next moment, rays of light began firing at Duchesse.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
Duchesse was enveloped in light—and at that moment, I felt someone embracing me.
“Mille-Feuille, you need not look.”
“Van...”
Van had reverted from his dragon form and was completely naked. However, since he was enveloped in a bright light, I couldn’t see anything.
Duchesse had been purged by the Dragon Duke’s royal guard.
Everything is okay. I heard Van say as much, so I felt relieved. Then, I fell unconscious.
✦ ✦ ✦
I really went through hell there. If I hadn’t been so cautious, I would’ve fallen straight into his trap.
On the day I received my dress, I immediately wrote a reply to Van, thanking him for the gift. However, he sent a secretary to reply to my letter instead. Van had never sent a messenger to reply to my letters before, but the secretary did say that Van was busy.
Still, I had already been suspicious by the time I received the dress. Van’d already said that he wanted to talk to me about something, and he would’ve just proposed to me in person instead of sending me a dress to do so. There was definitely something amiss. My Evaluation Glasses hadn’t detected anything unusual about the dress, but I had already previously encountered magic that my glasses couldn’t detect by that point.
I showed the dress to Lady Opera, and her conclusion was that some kind of spell had been cast on it, confirming my suspicions. Apparently, a complicated spell that didn’t leave any trace of mana behind had been used. Only Duchesse would have been able to pull such a feat.
On top of that, on the eve of the Founding Anniversary, I received a message saying that Van had changed the venue of our meeting. Of course, I didn’t take that at face value either.
Duchesse had been constantly by Van’s side, so I hadn’t been able to get close to him. However, he would at least leave Van’s side while he was asleep. I used the magic circle that Van had given me previously to perform Transportation Magic and went to Van’s room. I asked him about the change in venue, and, of course, it turned out that he hadn’t ordered such a change.
Once he started pressing me about what was going on, I could no longer keep it a secret. I explained everything I knew about Duchesse and his schemes.
Van, understandably, was quite shocked upon hearing it. He couldn’t simply accept that one of his closest friends was betraying him. I told him that he didn’t have to believe everything yet. I would pretend to fall for Duchesse’s trap and ask him what was going on. Once Duchesse thought that we were alone, he would definitely reveal his crimes.
And, just as planned, he’d revealed all his crimes and schemes to me. Van and the Four Great Nobles had heard everything, and Duchesse had been executed on the spot.
Today was finally the Founding Anniversary, a day of fun celebrations. All of the Dragon Duchy had been waiting for this event. And, since it was also the centennial of the nation’s founding, the celebrations were bigger than ever before.
The death of Duchesse was hidden from the public eye so as to not put a damper on the festivities. His crimes would be revealed to the public another time.
Lady Opera’s party for all the dragonkin women would also proceed as planned.
In the meantime, I did not join any of the festivities and opted to be alone with Van in this gloomy office. Bright moonlight poured in through the window, causing its frame to cast its shadow on the floor.
Van was flipping through work that he didn’t have to do today—simple tasks like stamping documents. I watched as he went through it all.
“Mille-Feuille, aren’t you going to the women’s party?” Van asked me.
“I just wanted to stay by your side while you’re depressed.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.”
I embraced him from behind, and Van’s shoulders trembled.
“I am so confused right now. Duchesse was an evil man who tried to kill you. My anger toward him still hasn’t settled down. But even so, I feel like a large hole has been left in my heart,” Van lamented.
“That’s only natural. Duchesse was a member of your family, a friend, and your teacher, after all.”
Duchesse had certainly been a villain to me and all dragonkin women, but he hadn’t been one to Van. In fact, Duchesse had guided Van along the path to becoming a proper ruler. Even if the end result would have meant that only the men would survive, there was no debating that he had done everything for Van’s sake.
“No,” said Van. “Duchesse was truly evil. After all, he also killed Charlotte—your previous incarnation.”
Van’s words shocked me. I had to take a step back. “You remember that?”
“I have for a while now, yes,” he replied.
“Since when?”
“Since around the time your brother forbade me from seeing you. I kept hearing this strange voice in my head, so I suspected that some kind of spell was cast on me. I went looking for answers.”
As a result, he’d found out that his memories had been sealed away. Van had used Forbidden Magic to dispel the seal and had recovered his memories.
“Mille-Feuille, in your past life, you were the woman that the past me once loved.”
“The past you?” I asked.
“I was really shocked when my memories from a hundred years ago came back.”
Listening to him, it seemed like the sensation he’d experienced was similar to when I’d remembered my past life as Charlotte.
“Even if my memories have returned, it doesn’t change who I am,” he said, continuing. “I’m no longer the man I was a century ago, so I thought I didn’t have to go out of my way to tell you.”
While I was unconscious, I had apparently been mumbling in my sleep while Van had been around. Most of it had been about the pain of having Charlotte’s memories.
“I never imagined that having Charlotte’s memories would cause you this much suffering. I am truly sorry about this.”
“Apology accepted.”
Van stood up and turned to face me. “Who would’ve thought that I would see you again after a century?”
“Well, it was you who cast that spell to reincarnate me,” I retorted.
“Ah, I did do that, didn’t I? I’m sorry.”
At first, we’d known absolutely nothing about each other. I’d thought that Van was a bratty rich boy from the magic academy. To Van, I’d seemed like a spoiled rich girl from the magic academy.
“You ended up helping me countless times,” Van said.
“And you gave me a hand so many times too,” I replied.
It was like we both filled a hole in the other’s life.
“I’m glad that I can have a relationship with you on equal standing.”
“Me too.”
So many things had happened, but now, we were here, gazing at each other gently. It was a miraculous moment in time.
“By the way, you never told me what you were going to say on the eve of the Founding Anniversary,” I reminded Van. He’d had such a gloomy expression on his face back then.
Apparently, he had thought that I would say no to him.
“Say no to what, exactly?” I pressed him.
Van took my hand and pulled me closer to him. Suddenly, he revealed a beautiful silver ring with a diamond as its gemstone in his hand.
“Mille-Feuille, will you be my wife?”
“Me?! Wh-Why me?!”
“What other reason could there be except my love for you?” Van asked, dropping such an embarrassing line with a straight face.
“Y-Your love for me...”
“I think I’ve been hinting at it for quite a while now.”
“Well, yes, you have,” I admitted. “But...you know. Don’t we have a huge gap in social status? And what about Charlotte? Isn’t she occupying your heart?”
“Why are you bringing up Charlotte now? I want you as my wife, Mille-Feuille, and nobody else,” Van said, and he knelt before me on the floor. “Lady Mille-Feuille, will you marry me?”
“Ah, um... You don’t have to do that, you know...”
I was flustered, but I realized that all I had to do was meet him at eye level. I lowered myself and returned his gaze. Van’s expression was completely serious.
“You know, I’m very stubborn, and I might not listen to what you say at all,” I said.
“And that’s how you should be, Mille-Feuille.”
His reply was the last thing I needed to swing the scales in my heart. I held the hand Van was using to hold the ring with both of mine. I brought it to my cheek and told him my true feelings.
“I would be glad to be your loving wife.”
At that moment, Van stood up and swooped me up into the air. He swung me left and right, up and down, much like a mother playing with a baby.
“H-Hey! What are you doing?!”
“I mean, you agreed to be my wife! I’m just so happy!” he cheered.
“Your way of celebrating is so strange!”
“It is? Sorry about that, then!”
Van put me down by the window and the moonlight shone down on me. Outside, the city streets lit by the entrancing glow of magicstone lanterns looked like an otherworldly scene.
Van pulled me closer to him. Our eyes met, followed by our lips.
On the night of the full moon, Van and I swore our eternal love to one another. From now on, we would support each other as spouses and take a vow of unwavering love.
My destiny lay with the Dragon Duke, as it did in my first life. As the Dragon Duchess consort, I would live my life for the sake of the Dragon Duchy of Éclair.
Once, I had shouted that I didn’t want to be the Dragon Duke’s maid. But I had ended up going from maid to bride, and now I was the Dragon Duchess consort.
Later on, Parfeil would ask me what I thought of the way my life was going. I would smile and say, “Being the Dragon Duchess consort is pretty nice.”
The path that lay ahead with my husband Van was a happy one indeed.