Epilogue: Afterwards and After That
SIX months had passed since the post-tournament celebration where Edward and Amy’s engagement had been suddenly and unexpectedly announced.
Their engagement ceremony was held at a church in the heart of the royal capital.
Many nobles tended to have simpler engagement ceremonies than their actual wedding ceremonies, but that was not the case for nobles marrying into the royal family. As the Earl of Northland claimed, they actually did need quite a bit of time for preparations after all.
But that was nothing compared to the wait for Edward and Amy’s actual wedding—it wouldn’t be held for three years, at least.
People started to wonder just how grand their wedding ceremony would be, but the real reason for the delay had little to do with wedding preparations.
“You’re taking your sweet time to get married, aren’t you?” Letty sighed. “Well, I can’t exactly say it’s out of character.”
“Letty!” Amy whined.
“It’s a compliment! For how enthusiastically you’re preparing,” Letizia argued, but her voice sounded upset, and her eyes were glued to the engagement ring that fit perfectly around Amy’s finger.
“Don’t worry about it, Amy,” Rosalind interjected, giving her friends a fond smile. “Letty’s just sad that she has to wait three years before you can come visit her in Bakr.”
“Rosalind! Th-Th-That’s not—”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Letty.”
“Amy! That’s— I didn’t say anything about being sad!”
Letizia’s cheeks blushed furiously in protest, and Amy took her hand and held it tightly.
“I’ll be sad,” she said.
“I will, too,” said Rosalind. When she put her own hand on top of Amy’s, Letizia finally gave in.
“Y-You two, ganging up on me… That’s not fair!”
The three girls brought their heads so close together their foreheads were almost touching, and they suddenly all started laughing together.
They were sitting in Amy’s bedroom. When the engagement ceremony at the solemn church had finished, they had all returned to the Earl of Northland’s estate for the reception party.
Amy had been down at the party with Edward until a short while ago, greeting the guests and dancing, but when Alexander had snagged Edward away from her, Amy, Rosalind, and Letizia used that chance to take a short break upstairs.
Tigger, who had been cooped up in her room since she left that morning, had gotten very tired of waiting for her return, so he had not left Amy’s lap the entire time they had sat down for tea. They were now on their second helping.
The dress Amy was wearing was made of slightly stretchy fabric and only decorated at the hem, so as long as Tigger kept his claws retracted, Amy could hold him without messing it up.
Amy was still as chubby as she’d always been, but the royal seamstress Edward arranged to make the dress was incredibly talented. The lustrous, off-white fabric draped down her body elegantly and suited her figure and coloring perfectly.
Amy stroked Tigger’s long, fluffy fur, but her face looked a little tired from the constant baseline of stress from the day. But in greater measure, she looked cheerful and happy—like a young woman that had gotten engaged purely for love.
“…Normally, you know, people get married the year after their engagement ceremony. Three years is unthinkable!”
Letizia must have felt very strongly about the matter to bring it up again after having retracted it once before already. But Amy sensed loneliness rather than frustration behind her grumbling. Her heart wrenched in sympathy, and she spoke to Letizia with a look of concern.
“It’s because I’ve never learned anything about royal life before, Letty. Her Highness the Princess has been studying these things since she was little… There’s just no way I could learn everything I needed to in a year.”
There were plans for Edward to be bestowed with a newly created dukedom in the future, but for now, Amy was marrying the Third Prince.
For many years, Amy had just been a “fiancée candidate.” But because she had never gone beyond a “candidate” until recently, she had never learned the customs or unique etiquette required of the royal family.
It was very unlikely that Amy could carry out official duties adequately in her current state, so she had to learn it all from scratch.
“But you won’t even be the crown princess,” said Letizia, “so you don’t really need to learn three years’ worth of the ins-and-outs of royal life, do you?”
“That’s true, but…”
“But the veterinarians in town rely on her so much,” Rosalind jumped in on Amy’s behalf. “They’d really struggle if Amy suddenly quit, so she doesn’t really have a choice.”
After Amy had talked to Edward and her parents, they decided that she did not have to stop helping the local veterinarians or Sir Dion. They didn’t want to overload her with studying official royal duties, either. So if Amy were to continue her normal lifestyle with the extra lessons added on, it would inevitably take some time to learn it all.
In three years, Amy would be eighteen years old.
Although she was at the late end of the so-called “marriageable age” in Luducia, Amy still thought she was too young. Both she and her father wanted her to turn eighteen before marriage.
“Your father and fiancé are very generous with you,” said Letizia.
“Well, that’s true…” Rosalind admitted.
“Even you would betray me, Rosalind?!”
It was not the first time they had talked about Amy’s long engagement period—they had talked about it several times before—but the wait must have seemed so unbearably long to Letizia that she felt compelled to bring it up again and again.
“Maybe I can somehow postpone my own departure to Bakr,” Letizia mumbled.
Amy and Rosalind shared a surreptitious glance. From what they had seen of Jahal, that would probably be impossible.
But Letizia’s departure was still a long way off, as well.
The three girls changed gears and started talking about happier matters—like the outing they were planning for the following week.
Just as they started chatting about which shops they would go to and where they would eat, there was a knock at the door.
Isabelle slipped into the room, looking apologetic that she had to interrupt them.
“Amy, more guests have arrived. Would you mind going down to greet them?”
“Oh! Sure, Mom. Well, I’ll come back to see you again in a little bit, Tigger… Tigger?”
It was like Tigger knew he was being left behind.
Amy tried to stand up, but Tigger put his front paws on her shoulder and desperately clung to her in protest. She felt the same way—she didn’t want to leave him either. She felt her resistance crumble away when he meowed sadly into her ear.
What am I supposed to do?! Amy fretted, tears springing to her eyes.
Letizia and Rosalind looked at each other, equally at a loss.
“Oh, all right,” said Isabelle. “You can just bring Tigger along like that.”
“Huh? But Mom…”
“You take him to the palace riding grounds, don’t you? He’s not exactly a stranger.”
Many of the guests at the reception were members of the Cat Club, including its founder, the Duchess of Coverdale. There were also owners of animals whose injuries Amy had healed in the past and caretakers from the royal riding grounds, so naturally, nearly everyone was already aware of how close Amy and Tigger were.
It was just as Isabelle had said—he wasn’t exactly a stranger.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you bring him,” came a voice from behind Isabelle.
“Ed!” Amy cried when he popped into view. She could even see Alexander and Jahal piling in behind him.
“Plus, if you’re holding Tigger, that will probably stop other guys from asking you to dance.”
“So that’s why…”
“Alec and Jahal behaved themselves, but everyone else was hopeless. At least everyone’s tired now.”
“Amy, I know you’re engaged to this guy,” said Jahal, “but it looks like he’s going to be a pain in the butt down the road. It’s still not too late to say you’ll come to Bakr!”
After Edward and Amy’s dance, she had danced with a handful of guys from the Cat Club, which Edward had seemed very nervous about. Amy talked to them during their dances, but only ever about cats.
“Congratulations on your engagement,” the guys would say, “and by the way, my cat so-and-so…”
With each dance, they only talked about cats from beginning to end.
Amy had told Edward this, but he just smiled and shook his head.
“Well…” said Rosalind. “I can see where Prince Edward’s coming from. Right, Letty?”
“It’s so worrying because Amy lacks any self-awareness,” Letizia confirmed. “I mean, come on…”
Amy’s face sparkled with joy not when she was complimented on her dress or hair, but whenever someone complimented her cat. Her smile conveyed only pure kindness, without any hint of darkness or artifice. It touched the hearts of everyone around her.
As Rosalind and Letizia nodded to each other about their friend’s obliviousness, Amy held Tigger with a worried expression.
“Shall we go, Amy?” asked Edward, offering his hand.
“Y-Yes…”
Hesitating only a little bit, Amy took Edward’s hand.
As he helped her up, the pendant locket and ring she wore on a chain under her dress bumped together and made a tiny clinking noise.
Edward casually moved his hand to Amy’s waist to guide her as she held Tigger. Amy had become completely accustomed to walking without seeing her feet—as well as walking alongside such a handsome escort.
As always, Edward looked just like the character from her old video game.
But Amy didn’t feel the same anxiety about it as before. She realized that the reality in front of her eyes was more brilliant and vivid than an image from her memory could ever be.
Most days passed by without her ever thinking about the fact that this was her second life.
But I probably shouldn’t forget it entirely, Amy thought. The present only exists because of the past…because of my past life.
There would probably be times in the future where Amy would falter or feel lost again.
She may even feel shackled by the game again one day.
When they arrived at the reception hall, they were surrounded by crowds of people. Even today, during a celebration centered around her, Amy still wasn’t totally comfortable being in front of people.
But with Tigger in her arms and Edward by her side, she looked around and saw her dear friends—Rosalind, Letizia, Alexander…
Her parents, her grandfather, Sir Dion…
Tons of people she had met through animals.
Even Harold and Yasmine were there.
They were all proof of Amy’s connection to the reality of this world.
Things will be okay. No… I’ll make them okay. I will. On my own.
She readjusted Tigger in her arms, making sure his weight was evenly distributed, and then looked up at Edward again.
His gray eyes smiled gently when he noticed her gaze. He brushed her cheek softly with his fingers.
She pressed her cheek firmly against his palm, like a cat nuzzling affectionately, and their faces drew naturally closer to one another.
Just as Edward’s lips were about to touch Amy’s cheek, something large and fluffy popped up between them.
“Tigger…What? Oh!”