83 – Engagement (2)

It wasn’t just Damian who was busy until the work in Legion was completely finished.

Elena, who had to leave Sarham due to Joachim’s call, also spent busy days for her own reasons. It all started because of rumors about Elena that spread around the South.

Her appearance, which made the monster army retreat, was so intense that it soon became a word of mouth about it, and it soon spread throughout the Imperial Territory beyond the South.

Originally, it was an issue that did not receive much attention among the wizards of the continent because rumors were constantly dismissed as exaggerated and insincere words.

For a long time, the south, where prestigious samurai families had maintained their place, was a wasteland of magic, and wizards only enjoyed praising wizards, saying that simple swordsmen were surprised by the majesty of wizards called one-man corps.

Even before rumors spread, Elena was one of only two geniuses in the magic world who reached the 5th tier before becoming an adult, so the extent to which they can accept that she did an outstanding job on the battlefield, if not rumored, is the limit they can accept. was

Of course, Joachim heard it directly from Arthur, who was present at the scene, so he did not get caught up in the rumors, and he learned that the rumors in the south were true due to the clear evaluation given by the Sword Master.

Even if it wasn’t, it was said that something had happened in the south, so Yoheim was worried about his daughter to the limit, so he thought of calling Elena to Merohim once.

However, he was also one of the owners of the tower, which is regarded as the pinnacle of the present generation, and as a mage, he was purely curious about her status. Well, if Arthur’s words and rumors were true, it would mean that Elena had reached a level similar to the current tower owners at the age of not even twenty yet.

“Hey. I feel like I’ve been well.”

“No, why did the Red Flame and Golden Tower owners come here? I haven’t heard anything from my Altman either.”

“Shouldn’t they be so cold to the person who is taking care of their son? Isn’t there a law that calls them in advance and asks them to visit them? It’s just that they can suddenly come to mind and come. Isn’t it right?”

“Right? By the way, I heard an interesting rumor recently…”

However, there were not one or two people with such curiosity, and the owners of each Mage Tower were like that.

No matter how rumors it is, hearing rumors about a child who has been paying attention from various directions makes me feel hot. As a result, the moment Elena set foot in Merohim again, she was unexpectedly plagued by a barrage of questions from the tower owners who ran out of curiosity.

“I didn’t even find the egg I was told to look for!!”

In addition to that, there was a meeting with Theia who felt strange about using the blue bird to its limit, so it would have been better if Elena was more than Damian, but she did not spend less tiring days than him.

However, unlike Damian, who wanted to spend the day with an almost dying face, Elena’s face was always lively, because of the words Damian spoke to her before she left for Merohim.

“I’ll be in touch while things are being sorted out. We’ll talk about our engagement ceremony at that time, so I hope you’ll come back with your father when you return to Sarham.”

It was not a word with a clear date set, but in fact it meant that the ceremony should be held as soon as the work was completed, so the sense of happiness this gave did not dare to be cut down by the pagoda owners and the old master’s questioning.

On the contrary, as the days passed, her excitement grew more and more, as if she were enjoying a conversation with them. Elena was able to finish the conversation with them without difficulty, and it was safe to say that there was no mental fatigue that came to her in the process.

And time passed, and the return day to Sarham, which Elena had longed for, had been set.

***

When Elena returned to the lord’s castle, the preparations for the ceremony had already been completed.

The document acknowledging the betrothal relationship between Krause and Edelweiss had been completed a long time ago, and as Damian said, Elena and Joachim arrived at the castle and the engagement ceremony proceeded the very next day.

Since it was an informal ceremony, there was no blessing from the priest like in an actual wedding.

All gathered are family. The ceremony was held without receiving any other outside greetings. The name was an engagement ceremony, but the atmosphere reminded me of an outing to Daisy Hill that I had enjoyed before.

Someone said that it would be held in a splendid manner no different from a real wedding, but Elena did not hate this atmosphere.

Do we really need a fancy ceremony to announce that we have become a family?

It seemed that it was already enough just to listen to the conversation in a calm and peaceful atmosphere and sit next to the person you love and watch the family together.

Of course, she also wanted to let everyone know that she and he became lovers amidst everyone’s blessings, just like everyone else, but what if it was a formal wedding when they reached adulthood? I didn’t want to go too far in this informal ceremony.

The spring breeze carrying the scent of flowers from the flower garden lingered around the ceremony hall.

The cool breeze blowing under the warm sunlight has the magical power of bringing sleep. Alphonse opened his mouth wide and yawned once as the wind swept past him, then blinked again and again to show others that he was dozing off.

Arthur, who saw this, slightly raised the corner of his mouth and spoke to Yoheim.

“Maybe it’s because I’m older. Because the days are so nice, I’m about to get back the sleep I didn’t have. I can’t fall asleep outside like a child, so let’s just go inside.”

“Your appearance and body, all of which are in their prime, suddenly know what nonsense…!”

Arthur’s hand moves so fast that you can’t see it. He tapped Joachim on the neck once, and as it did, Yoachim lost his voice. Yohaim looked at Arthur with a bewildered face, but Arthur ignored Yohaim’s gaze.

“Certainly, this guy is also old. Seeing him talking a lot without time to write… It seems like his eyelids are getting heavy. We’ll leave first, so you guys should come inside before it’s too late.”

After Arthur said that, he left with Alphonse in his arms and Joachim’s nape in the other hand.

Elena and Damian stared blankly at Arthur, but when they were no longer visible, Damian got up first and asked Elena.

“Then shall we take a little walk?”

Elena nodded at Damian’s words and took his hand.

Perhaps because of the time in Merrohim, it had been a long time since I had spent time alone with him. Perhaps because of that, as soon as Elena realized that she was alone with him, she could confirm her heart beating faster than before.

He does not feel disillusioned with his nervous appearance at the yard where the engagement ceremony was held. It had been a long time since I had taken it for granted that I would become like this when I stood in front of him. Now he is used to this tickling feeling that makes his heart pound.

I walked along the road with the excitement that I felt once again for the first time in a while.

When I first walked this road with Damian, I hoped that time would not pass, but now it was the exact opposite.

Is it because I have room in my heart?

It was the same for both of them that it was a precious moment with nothing to be missed, but unlike the time when even the engagement was in jeopardy, now that we are standing at the starting line of change, the anxiety that we will never be able to experience a time like this again has disappeared, and Elena truly enjoys this time. seemed to enjoy it.

Elena closed her eyes for a moment.

Relying solely on the hand held by him, he moved his steps as he guided him. I couldn’t tell the difference from the moment of the day that I cherished in my memory as I followed the flow of hyacinth scent that I was used to seeing him walking in the flower garden without saying a word.

By the time the boundary between memory and reality collapsed, she opened her eyes again.

A gentle breeze blew the flower petals down on the road.

Like that day, the sky was blue and the flower garden was fragrant as well, but unlike then, the petals that were weakly blown away by the wind were letting us know that time was passing.

At this, she laughed and said to Damian.

“This sight is good for the time being.”

As long as the time I was here was not small, the appearance of the flower garden I saw at the beginning of spring was running toward the end of spring. I didn’t say it out of regret, but Damian looked around the flower garden with a slightly depressed face, as if he felt a little differently.

Once again the wind blew, and the flowers rustled in the wind created purple waves. The two looked at each other for a moment, then started walking again.

The time walking down the street with Damian was very quiet.

Normally, she would have erased this silence by talking about something, but Elena didn’t dare. I didn’t want to disturb Damian’s mind because his face had changed to the one he’d seen once in a while before, when he decided to do something.

I couldn’t even erase the question of what kind of story he was putting on such a serious face to bring up, but I just kept it inside. She enjoyed looking around the garden carefully until Damian spoke.

How many more steps would you have taken?

The moment he looked around the garden and the distance to Yeongju Castle was short, he opened his mouth.

“Elena. Do you remember what I said when you and I first came to the Isilia coffin?”

The words were spoken in a light voice, as if hinting, but Elena could feel her body stiffen at the words that came out of his mouth. I thought it must be a story about recent work, but I looked up at his face without answering the question on a topic I hadn’t thought of at all.

Looking at him facing her with unwavering eyes, I can’t keep my mouth shut.

“Yes…”

He opened his hardened mouth slightly and answered in a crawling voice.

He could feel the strength in his hands growing. Even though she knew that the gentle embrace of his hand meant he wasn’t blaming herself, Elena couldn’t relax easily.

As if he knew this, he moved his finger and tickled Elena’s hand a few times before continuing with a playful voice.

“I definitely said that the engagement was premature. And Elena cried when she heard me. To be honest, I was very embarrassed at that time. I didn’t know.”

“That, that’s…!!!”

Elena was greatly agitated at his words as he casually recalled embarrassing memories from the past. No matter how much he followed the advice, being hugged by him like a child complaining without being able to control his emotions was something that would make his face hot even now.

But his words did not end there.

“That’s why I said let’s do it. Engagement.”

“Yes?”

“At that time, I couldn’t think of any other way to stop Elena’s tears.”

At Damian’s last words, she didn’t know what to say.

Elena’s mind was already a mess as if a storm had swept through it.

Now that the engagement ceremony has ended smoothly, I don’t know why he is talking to himself like this. His words, as if he were telling himself that he had no choice but to make a promise to appease a crying child, made only a faint connection between him and himself.

Engagement is an informal rite. It is a promise to marry, not a true marriage.

Elena, who had practiced it in the past, knew better than anyone how easily an engagement could be broken.

In fact, if you think about Damian’s behavior so far and how he is now dealing with you, you probably wouldn’t know that it was excessive worry, but Elena didn’t have the time to think about that.

It was exactly the same as the previous day that Damian talked about, so he might have known that too, and he carefully held Elena in his arms as he did back then. The warmth that covered her whole body made Elena reflexively hug him as if she would not let go of it.

Even so, the uneasiness still persisted, and she didn’t want him to continue talking, but she couldn’t bear to tell Damian to stop. As he said, it was an engagement that halfway went on like a tantrum, so this time it was impossible to rant like before.

Unlike her, his voice, still as soft as the first time, pierced Elena’s ears.

“At that time, we hadn’t seen each other for less than a day and we didn’t have anything to call affection. What I said to Elena that day was just that I didn’t want you to cry because of me, and I did it to stop it and to get over the situation.”

“So…Now, let’s do it all without it…?”

“That’s not possible. If it had been, we wouldn’t have had an engagement ceremony. Right now, Elena is listening to my heartbeat. That’s not what I want to say.”

Damian pushed her harder into his arms, as if he wanted to confirm this. Just as he said, the sound of his heart beating loudly hit Elena’s ears. Did your eyes start to open? His ear, which is holding him, looks exceptionally red today.

“I like you, Elena.”

Damian quietly whispered this in his ear.

Before she could react, Elena had to face Damian. He had always made fun of Elena’s blushing face, but now his face was stained red like her then.

Although his body was emitting chills as his emotions intensified, Damian’s body was covering himself with warmth that exceeded this. The reason why such heat came from was here.

“Will you continue to be by my side in the future as well.”

Damian’s voice was still clear and friendly, but his flushed face and heartbeat beating against his body told Elena that he was very nervous right now.

At Damian’s question, Elena couldn’t open her mouth right away.

Her body no longer radiated chills, and the fire from him was igniting Elena’s heart. Because of the heat, it seems that the body and head are all strange in a different sense. It’s to the point where you can’t tell if the heartbeat you hear in your ears is his or your own.

The heat that heated Elena’s head soon robbed her of her ability to speak and gave her the ability to act accordingly.

Elena raised her arm and hugged Damian’s back and kissed him without hesitation.