Chapter Text
- The Eternal Page, Amphoreus
It had almost been a week since the battle against Irontomb. Since then, the Chrysos Heirs had been adjusting to their new lives. The Goldweaver, Aglaea, had been planning to reopen her tailor shop and had Cipher and Hysilens working together with her as seamstresses. There were also those who could finally reunite with their families. Anaxa got to meet his sister again, while the Deliverer, Phainon, finally had the chance to reunite with his family and friends in Aedes Elysiae. On the other hand, since her curse had been lifted, Castorice had been busy trying things that she normally could not do. Lately, she had tried to touch and feed dromas properly with Professor Anaxa. And finally, there was Mydei. He had spent a lot of his time with his family, especially his mother. During his previous life, he couldn't have a life with her because of her death. But now, things had changed. He had also been pondering something.
Later that afternoon, Mydei found himself sitting alone in one of the Eternal Page's gardens, quietly watching the flowers sway in the breeze. His mind, however, was far from the scenery before him. Then Phainon noticed that Mydei had been unusually quiet lately. After watching him stare absentmindedly into the distance for what felt like the fifth time that afternoon, he finally walked over.
"Mydei?" he called.
The Crown Prince blinked and turned to him.
"Hm? Oh, it's you, Deliverer."
"You've been awfully quiet." Phainon tilted his head. "Is something on your mind?"
Mydei hesitated for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"...Actually, there is."
Phainon quietly waited for him to continue.
"I've been thinking..." Mydei began, rubbing the back of his neck. "About something."
"Oh?" Phainon asked curiously.
"Ever since everything ended, everyone's been moving forward with their lives." He looked down at the grass beneath his feet. "Aglaea is reopening her tailor shop. Anaxa reunited with his sister. You finally got to see your family and friends."
"And you?" Phainon asked.
"I've been spending time with my family." A small smile appeared on Mydei's face. "Especially my mother."
"I'm happy for you."
"I am too." Mydei chuckled softly. "Sometimes I still can't believe she's really here."
Phainon smiled.
After a brief moment of silence, Mydei spoke again.
"But... I keep thinking that I don't want to stop there."
Phainon raised an eyebrow.
"I want to be with her forever."
The Deliverer blinked before a smile slowly spread across his face.
"...Is it Castorice?"
Mydei nodded without hesitation.
"I love her, Phainon."
"I can see that."
"I've loved her for a long time." He let out a quiet laugh. "Long enough that I don't think I can imagine a future without her anymore."
Phainon crossed his arms and leaned against the nearby tree.
"So..." he began, already knowing where this conversation was headed. "What's stopping you?"
Mydei looked away.
"I want to ask her to marry me."
"...But?"
"But I've never done anything like this before."
Phainon stared at him for a second.
"...That's it?"
Mydei frowned.
"What do you mean, 'That's it?'"
"I thought something serious had happened."
"This is serious."
Phainon couldn't help but chuckle.
"Come on, don't tell me the Crown Prince of Kremnos is scared. I thought there wasn't even a word for chickening out in the Kremnoan language?" Phainon giggled.
"Shut up," Mydei sighed.
Phainon continued to laugh.
"Well, would you at least try to help me, Deliverer?!"
Phainon looked at him for a moment before smiling.
"But seriously, Mydei, I think you're overthinking it."
"What do you mean?"
"Castorice isn't the kind of person who cares about fancy words or grand gestures."
Mydei quietly listened.
"So if you're asking me..." Phainon smiled. "Just tell her how you actually feel. I'm sure she'll be very happy when you propose to her."
Mydei fell silent again as he thought over Phainon's words.
After a while, a small smile appeared on his face.
"...Maybe you're right, Deliverer. Heh, guess I'm worrying for nothing," Mydei said.
"Hehe, when you finally propose to Castorice, I'll go tell everyone~ They'll be so excited when they hear this," Phainon said.
"...HKS... We'll just tell them ourselves."
The two of them shared a laugh before heading back. As the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon, Mydei couldn't stop thinking about Phainon's words. Maybe he really had been overthinking it all this time. Taking a deep breath, he made up his mind. Tonight, he would ask her.
Later that evening, Castorice stood alone on one of the quiet terraces overlooking the Eternal Page, quietly gazing at the sky above. Mydei saw her from behind and slowly approached her with a fast heartbeat, knowing he was about to say something that would change everything.
"C-Cas?" he said with a slight stutter.
She tilted her head to see who was calling her, and it was her lover, Mydei. She smiled and let out a soft giggle when she saw him, the one who was always so confident and fearless, blushing so hard.
"What is it, my love?" she replied with a smile.
"There's something I'd like to say. Can we go somewhere private?" he asked bashfully, turning his face away from her, knowing full well that he couldn't look into her eyes in this state.
"Of course~ Lead the way."
As they walked, Castorice could still see how red Mydei's face was. She thought it was cute, but at the same time, she wondered what had caused him to be this way.
Does it have something to do with what he's going to say to me? I wonder what he's going to say. Castorice thought.
Seeing him still so worked up, Castorice reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it gently, as if trying to calm him down and tell him that everything would be okay.
Mydei was surprised when she suddenly grabbed his hand, but surprisingly, it calmed him down. He had been anxious since morning, worrying that this very moment would somehow fail. Castorice smiled at him, and he smiled back.
Finally, they arrived. It turned out he had taken her to the Dome of the Stars, the place in the Eternal Page where one could see the stars beyond the cosmos.
They looked up at the stars together.
"Cas?" Mydei said, finally breaking the silence.
"Do you remember the promise that we made during those cycles? We promised that no matter what happened, we would be together forever. During those times, we didn't have enough time to love each other. We also came to an agreement to put the Flame-Chase Journey before our love. And now that it’s all over, we have all the time in this world to love each other. I've been thinking about this for a while, actually. I... want to be by your side forever, and I... have always wanted to have a family with you. So, Castorice... will you marry me?"
Before Castorice could say anything, she realized that her heart was beating so fast, and tears slowly began to fall.
"Oh, seriously... Mydei... So that's why you've been acting strange this morning... Turns out it was this..."
"I have always been lonely because of my curse, and when I discovered that I could safely touch you, I was so happy. I never thought there would be someone who was immune to my curse. And as we've spent more time together, I've never felt more loved or safer before. Do you know how many times I've dreamed of hearing these words? I thought we'd never get this chance and that fate would always take one of us away before we could have a future. So yes... I'll be very happy to marry you, Mydei," Castorice continued.
Before Mydei could even react, Castorice pulled him into an embrace so tight that it nearly knocked the breath out of him.
Then she leaned in and kissed him.
Her lips met his in a slow, tender kiss beneath the endless stars.
When they finally parted, she rested against him once more, holding him as tightly as if she never intended to let go again.