Allen cleared his throat. “Duke Evans. Reincarnation syndrome is a medical condition that’s officially recognized across the world. The ten years you’ve lost is a long time...but well, what I mean is...” He paused, not knowing how best to put it, but in the end, he went straight to the point. “If you want to make a fresh start, I’ll give you a hand. So don’t despair so much.”
“Thank you...Mr. Allen.” Frank bowed deeply to him. When he raised his face again, he looked more cheerful. “I’m glad a young man like you was close by Charlotte’s side. I feel easy knowing you’re always there to protect her.”
“O-Of course. I’d give my life for her.” Allen nodded stiffly.
“Oh, F-Father...” Charlotte’s cheeks turned pink. Though they hadn’t planned on it, the crucial meeting between the parent and the boyfriend was a success. Next to the sweet, fresh couple, Natalia, Lydie, and Gosetsu exchanged looks with sour faces.
“I see... Father isn’t such a good judge of character,” Natalia said.
“What a sneaky move to win over a man in dire straits,” Lydie said. “I approve—I wouldn’t expect any less from my own Papa.”
“The man is Lady Charlotte’s sire, after all. Sir Allen knows he has much to gain from winning him over,” Gosetsu said.
“Hey. I can hear you, you know,” Allen grumbled at them.
And so, Duke Evans took a step forward in his brand new life. However, since his treatment and recovery were not complete, he was to return to Athena for a bit longer.
Natalia thumped her chest and declared, “I’ll make sure to keep an eye on Father from now on. I’ll send word if anything happens, so don’t worry about him.”
“Oh, Natalia, you’ve grown so strong too...! It’s really true that children can grow up to be so admirable even when they don’t have parents to guide them...” Frank started getting emotional again.
“N-No more crying, please! How do you think I feel looking after you? Here, take this handkerchief!” Natalia muttered, but she still took care of him. Though they were only just getting used to being a father and daughter, they seemed to be a good match.
Lydie tugged at Allen’s sleeve. “I wonder, can I go back to Athena with them too?”
“Sure, but you’ve finished your testimony, haven’t you?”
“I want to go back to the school dungeons. Natalia and I are in the middle of conquering each one! We still have to defeat the final boss—until I do that, I feel so restless I can’t even have a good nap!”
“Oh, by the way, Allen,” Harvey cut in, “I’m happy to arrange Lydie’s enrollment anytime.”
“Can we start with the normal school in town first and see how that goes...?” Allen replied, but he let Lydie tag along for now.
The lively group went off to the school together, and tranquil, ordinary days returned to Allen’s mansion. That was why Allen had invited Charlotte to go back to her hometown to visit her mother’s grave.
Come to think of it, it took us a long time to get to this point... Finally, I have a chance to take her back, Allen thought.
Charlotte’s innocence was proven, but nevertheless, she was at the center of a big scandal causing an upheaval in the country. To avoid curious eyes, they had to make this trip in secret—so they had asked Vynos, the owner of Ryugukyo, for help.
Soon after the incident with the prince and Cordelia, they went back to Ryugukyo to thank Vynos. By then, she had already heard a general account of the scandal through the network of long-living species, so she welcomed them back with open arms.
“I knew you were a good man, Mr. Crawford! My eyes didn’t deceive me! I hope you’ll keep teaching me those useful magic spells of yours!”
“Well...with your powers, aren’t those spells for ice cream and hot chocolate basically child’s play?” Allen asked.
“Oh, thinking up those small pieces of magic isn’t my strong suit, you see... I’m only good at washing away continents, freezing over the Earth, and things like that,” she said with a sheepish smile.
Allen didn’t know what to say. “Your scale is...off...”
In any case, with her permission, they used one of the magic portals that linked to places all over the world. Since they had stepped through the portal near Allen’s mansion straight to the forest near Charlotte’s village, they hadn’t met anyone except the old neighbor.
At the moment, Charlotte still had to be secretive when she traveled. But soon, the public would forget about this scandal. Next time we come here...we might be able to manage without the shortcut, Allen mused. While he was lost in thought, Charlotte’s story for her mother was coming to a close.
“There were a lot of hard times. But I hope you won’t worry about me, Mom.” Still crouched in front of the grave, Charlotte looked up at Allen, and with a soft smile, she said proudly, “Now, I’m...the happiest in the world.”
“Charlotte...” Something squeezed Allen’s heart. He knelt on one knee before the grave and said earnestly, “I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to make Charlotte happy for as long as I live. So please watch over us, Mother.”
“Allen...thank you so much.”
Kneeling side by side, the two of them were silent in prayer for a while.
Eventually, Charlotte peered into his face with a shy, mischievous smile. “Well then, I’ll have to make you happy next, Allen. Otherwise, it won’t be even.”
“What are you saying? That happened a long time ago.” Allen grinned. Meeting Charlotte had changed his life dramatically. When he thought back to all the years he’d spent learning magic since he was adopted by the Crawfords, he wouldn’t call it boring. But still, there was a spark in his everyday life now that had never been there before. “I’m already happy. Ever since I fell in love with you.”
“Allen...”
That was his honest truth. A chilly wind swept through the graveyard, but the warm glow that kindled between them never wavered in the slightest. From the bottom of his heart, Allen hoped that this moment would last forever.
“Hm...?” A slight ache pounded in his head.
“Is something wrong, Allen?”
“No, it’s nothing. I just felt a bit dizzy, that’s all.” Allen shook his head. The pain lasted only for a split second, and he didn’t feel anything wrong with his body. Though it was puzzling, he decided it must be the weather. If they lingered here too long, Charlotte might catch a cold. He straightened up and pointed to the way they came. “Do you want to get going? It’s getting windy.”
“Yes. See you next time, Mom—I’ll come back with Father.” Charlotte gave a little bow.
As soon as they left the graveyard, sounds flooded into their ears—the birds chirping, the stream clucking—the wind felt stronger than before too. Charlotte looked back at the graveyard one more time, then smiled gently at Allen.
“Thank you so much for bringing me here,” she said.
“Oh, don’t mention it. I was thinking of coming here with you as soon as things settled down,” Allen replied in a leisurely tone. And it was true. Ever since their relationship became official, he’d felt a duty to visit her mother’s grave and introduce himself. He even felt relieved that he’d managed to make it happen. “You know, I barely remember anything about my life before I got adopted by the Crawfords. I don’t remember my biological parents, and I don’t even know where I was born.”
“I-I see, I didn’t know that...” Charlotte went quiet for a little while, then asked softly, “Do you want to find out...? About your real parents?”
“Not anymore. Besides, Uncle doesn’t seem to want to tell me much.” He had asked Harvey once before just out of curiosity, but his foster father only hedged the question. Likely, he didn’t have anything good to say about Allen’s real parents. Either that, or they were already dead. So Allen had lost interest completely. He grinned mischievously at Charlotte, who still looked solemn. “So you see, it’s the first time I get to ‘go back home’ like this. Let me enjoy it to the fullest too.”
“Yes! I’ll give you as much of a tour as I can. I used to live over there.”
“Let’s take a walk, then. It’ll probably take a while before Roo and Gosetsu come back anyway.”
They walked down the country lane, the tranquil mountain valley stretching out before them. The sky was a deep blue as far as the eye could see, and clouds like tufts of cotton floated idly by. Charlotte’s face broke into a smile when she spotted small flowers growing on the bank of the stream.
“Hee hee, brings me back to the old days. I used to play by myself a lot, picking flowers.”
“There weren’t other kids around your age?”
“Well, this hamlet is so isolated, and not many people move here, so... Oh, but Harvey said he’s been here, didn’t he?”
“Yes...he did say that.” When Duke Evans came to Allen’s mansion, they had talked about Charlotte’s hometown with Harvey. That was one of the things that gave Allen the idea to visit her mother’s grave now. “But...he was acting weird,” he said, cocking his head in puzzlement.
It should have been a pleasant, harmless topic of conversation. But when Harvey’d heard the name of the place, his eyes had widened a little in surprise. “Hunh, you were born around there, Charlotte? I’ve been there once before, a long time ago,” he said.