“If Luna doesn’t cease to exist and continues to remain here, then there’s no need for dark mana anymore.”

Everyone stared with their mouths hanging open. More than anyone, the Duke of Sepra’s expression was the most striking.

At the sight of him sitting there in a daze, the Duke of Sorpel and the Duke of Jayvillan looked at their old friend as if he were some new curiosity.

“...Prevent her from ceasing to exist?”

It was something he had never once considered.

No, more precisely, he had never even thought of it because there could never have been such a method in the first place.

How could anyone possibly prevent the ceasing of a divine beast whose life was bound together with the head of the family?

‘And yet...’

And yet that child had found the method.

“......”

Countless emotions surged through the Duke of Sepra’s eyes.

After staring at Camilla in silence for a long time, he looked back and forth between the golden fruit and Luna.

The last place his gaze landed was where his son sat.

“Camilla, you...”

Arsian, too, was sitting there with an expression no one had ever seen from him before. It was the face of a man who had too much to say and no idea what to bring out first.

The Duke of Sepra watched his son for a moment, unable to take his eyes off Camilla, and then a hollow sigh slipped from his lips.

The chain of darkness that had bound him, his son, and every member of their house for long ages.

Could that chain really have been something that could be cut this easily?

Emptiness. Regret.

And a strange, unplaceable thrill.

“Ha... hahahaha!”

The Duke of Sepra burst out laughing.

“......!”

At the sight, the Duke of Sorpel and the Duke of Jayvillan’s eyes widened.

They had been together since childhood, but this was the first time they had ever seen that man laugh out loud like this.

“You’re giving your permission, right?”

“......”

At Camilla’s question a moment later, the Duke of Sepra could not answer for a long while.

Permission? Did he even have the right to be asked such a thing?

“...Yes.”

Wearing a bitter smile, he finally gave a slow nod.

How could he possibly reject that proposal? If anything, he should have been the one grabbing hold of her and begging.

“......”

Arsian met Camilla’s eyes, yet even now he could not say a word.

When their gazes met, Camilla only gave him a faint smile.

Then the last one she turned to was Luna.

“Luna.”

[...]

At Camilla’s quiet call, Luna, who had been sitting beside the Duke of Sepra, came closer to her.

“Do you want to eat this?”

The most important thing was Luna’s will.

‘It would be nice if she would eat it, but...’

Holding the fruit in her hand, Camilla grew slightly tense.

The suffering caused by the beast of darkness was, one way or another, a human problem.

‘It’s not something Luna has to concern herself with.’

Wasn’t it possible Luna might not want a life where she never ceased to exist?

There were lunatics like the head of the Eva Church who wanted to live forever even by taking other people’s lives, but there were also beings who did not want that.

“I’m absolutely not forcing you, Luna.”

Yes. This absolutely could not become coercion.

Whatever it was, it had to be left entirely to Luna’s choice.

[...]

For a long time Luna silently looked at the golden fruit. Then her gaze shifted to the Duke of Sepra.

Meeting Luna’s dark black eyes, the Duke of Sepra calmly nodded, as if telling her to follow her own will.

After confirming his intent, Luna looked once more, for a long while, between Camilla and the golden fruit resting in her hand.

Slide.

A moment later Luna’s face moved close. Then she swallowed the fruit from Camilla’s hand in one gulp.

FWAAASH!

A brilliant light burst from Luna.

Gasps spilled continuously from the mouths of those watching Luna slowly dye herself in gold.

“Mm...”

“......! Hey, are you all right?”

“What? Are you dizzy?”

At the very small groan heard from beside him, the Duke of Sorpel and the Duke of Jayvillan hurried over to the Duke of Sepra.

“...It seems to have broken.”

The Duke of Sepra had felt briefly dizzy at the sensation of something that had bound him heavily snapping apart. He turned his gaze to Luna, whose light had already faded.

[...]

Luna was looking at him as well. She, too, could feel that the bond with the being who had anchored her in this place had been severed.

“Luna, are you okay?”

Camilla asked out of concern for Luna’s condition, then her eyes suddenly widened.

The corners of the black wolf’s mouth had lifted slightly, and it looked almost as though she were smiling.

[...Thank you.]

And for the first time, Camilla heard Luna’s voice.

“Luna!”

The instant Camilla stood there with her mouth hanging open, a pair of arms flung itself around Luna’s neck.

The child rubbing his face all over Luna’s was none other than Rio.

“Luna, does that mean you’re going to keep living with us now?”

He did not know exactly how everything worked, but Rio had clearly grasped one fact alone: Luna was now going to stay with them without disappearing. He broke into a radiant smile.

[...]

Luna licked Rio’s face, as if answering that he was right.

Rio burst into peals of laughter, his face ticklish under the licking.

Whump!

“......!”

Camilla had been watching the two of them with a warm look when she flinched at the feel of someone wrapping their arms around her from behind.

But as soon as she realized who it was, the corners of her mouth slowly lifted.

“Arsian.”

The trembling in the arms around her only grew stronger. He buried his face against Camilla’s shoulder, and long sighs kept spilling out of him.

As if soothing him, Camilla quietly patted his arm.

“...That means I can picture it now, right?”

A low voice, quiet enough for only her to hear, reached her ears.

“A little more...”

A future with you.

“Just a little...” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

I can picture it a little longer, can’t I?

The arms around Camilla tightened.

She did not know exactly what he meant, but she quietly patted his arm once more.

“Hey! Get away from my daughter this instant. What do you think you’re doing right now?!”

“Why does your son keep sticking himself to her every chance he gets? It’s disgusting to look at!”

“If it’s disgusting, don’t look. Your divine beast is back, so why don’t you get out now?”

“...Don’t tell me you’ve been secretly enjoying arguing lately.”

“More importantly, now that the connection is broken, doesn’t that mean it’ll be hard for Luna to remain as your house’s divine beast?”

“That’s true. From now on, the one she follows is up to the divine beast herself.”

“Right. It’s up to the divine beast. Even if she leaves, there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“Really?”

At the unexpectedly calm—no, almost relieved—look on the Duke of Sepra’s face, the other two dukes’ eyes rounded.

“She doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere.”

“Hm?”

“She likes Camilla that much.”

“What? Hey, what does the fact that your divine beast isn’t leaving have to do with my daugh—”

“The tea’s cold. Pour a fresh cup.”

“Don’t change the subject, you bastard!”

In an instant, the area grew noisy all over again.

[As expected, Camilla really is different from everyone else. Hey, why don’t you go find me a fruit like that too? I want to try eating something like that myself.]

“Shut up! If you like her that much, then just keep living here!”

[Really?]

“Ugh...”

The look in his eyes, asking whether he truly meant it, had the air of a creature that would sulk for over half a year if he answered wrong here.

But losing to that thing in a verbal fight would wound his pride...!

A groan of pure despair burst from the Duke of Jayvillan’s mouth.

Chapter. The World Found Again

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Hm?”

“I asked if you’re okay.”

“...Yeah.”

At Ravi’s worried voice, Camilla pulled her gaze away from the grave of their mother, Tia Sorpel.

When she turned her head, the Duke of Sorpel and Ludville were also looking at her with worried eyes.

They were probably concerned that she might run into some pointless ghosts again and get bothered by them...

“It’s Mother’s memorial day. How could I be the only one absent? You terrible brother.”

“It’s not that... Hey, are you really going to act like this?”

Even though she knew exactly what he meant, Camilla put on a prim expression and scolded Ravi.

At that brazen display, Ravi finally let out a sigh and tossed out a curt answer, as though telling her to do whatever she wanted.

“You just have to lay down the flowers. Bear with it a little.”

Camilla nodded without a word, and Ravi, unable to take his eyes off her, clicked his tongue lightly to himself.

‘I shouldn’t have brought her after all.’

He kept sneaking glances at King, who was sleeping away in Camilla’s arms.

Unlike what Camilla thought, the three men of House Sorpel were not worried in the slightest that she might be harassed by some pointless ghost.

They had noticed long ago that whenever she truly could not stand it, King immediately chased the ghosts away.