Chapter 219

Chapter 219. Reunion

“I heal well, honey. Look at this. They say there’ll barely be a scar.”

As Liam proudly started rolling up the edge of his hospital gown, I had to hurriedly stop this man. If anyone outside saw this, he’d surely be dragged away by hospital security as some strange person.

Though my body was stiff from sleeping so long, there were still things I needed to know. I had to find out what had happened after I passed out.

Saint-Germain began explaining how local news had been buzzing about the historic mansion collapsing overnight.

“As for us, well, we were just unlucky tourists who barely escaped while sightseeing near the sea.”

“You managed that well.”

“I do have a way with words, don’t I?”

Yes, old man, you’re the best. Saint-Germain grinned at my soulless praise.

So how were the others doing?

Saint-Germain, having cleverly noticed my curiosity, began sharing updates one by one.

First, Ian.

Ian had taken a short rest before returning straight to the company. Using Liam’s proxy position, he began work identifying those with cult connections within the company, and in the process, two hidden operatives from another cult group were removed. Fortunately, they had been low-ranking members, so according to today’s report, there shouldn’t have been any information leaks about other magicians.

[“I’ve done enough, so I’m taking a break. …(omitted)… If you contact me, I’ll flee the country to rest, so it’d be better to leave me alone.”]

After that, Ian had gone on indefinite leave. I burst out laughing at Ian’s tear-stained 800-character message begging not to be found.

Jonathan was also resting. Saint-Germain calmly replied that appropriate compensation was needed after making him work so hard.

Liam would have been hospitalized here with me. And Lucita?

“She went to handle him.”

Saint-Germain shrugged at my question.

Oh my, so Lucita had ended up rolling up her sleeves. After all, there were too many social constraints for me, Liam, or Saint-Germain to act directly….

With Lucita taking charge, the Watchers of Huntington would soon be annihilated. The same would go for the remnants of his brain leeches and related operatives.

Showing how serious she was about the ‘cleanup,’ Lucita had said she had no plans to return to England for a while. In her message from three days ago, she’d burned with determination to catch and punish all the cultists hiding in the shadows, saying she was sick of these pests disrupting peaceful daily life. Though tracking down cultists who noticed and went into hiding wouldn’t be easy, I was reassured knowing Saint-Germain was lending some help.

Having finished his long update, Saint-Germain said he’d leave Liam in charge of my care now that he’d confirmed I was awake, and left the room without lingering. Maybe he was giving us space to be alone.

After the door closed, Liam carefully sat on my bed and asked,

“How are you feeling?”

“Ah, I’m fine. Couldn’t be better.”

He replied that was good, then after choosing his words for a while, said:

“Let’s go out for a bit.”

* * *

To be honest, I’d only suffered bruising without any breaks or tears—I’d just been sleeping—so I could walk out of the hospital on my own two feet. Getting discharged now felt like salvation.

Liam walked silently holding my hand, heading somewhere. I wanted to ask where we were going, but his expression was so solemn it was hard to speak up easily.

After quite a while, we stopped near an open square.

This is Trafalgar.

Worried I might be cold, Liam stretched out his arm to wrap around my shoulders and spoke carefully.

“Can you see them?”

“Where?”

“By the fountain. The couple.”

I turned my gaze where Liam briefly nodded.

Despite the cool weather, Trafalgar Square was bustling with tourists and Londoners today. People out for walks or heading to Charing Cross station. Among them, I saw a couple sitting on a bench, chatting intimately. They looked to be in their forties? As I looked more closely at them, I belatedly realized the husband’s appearance was very familiar.

Stylish grey strands mixed into dark hair. And blue eyes visible even from this distance. An unmistakable face.

“…Could that be Herschel?”

Herschel Hopkins. The man my companion once called godfather.

Though he looked somewhat younger than we remembered, and beside him sat a middle-aged woman with elegantly styled brown curls.

“Perhaps.”

Liam answered vaguely with a small smile.

“Who’s the lady with him?”

“His wife.”

Look at him giving such a confident answer after saying ‘perhaps.’ Of course, having known Herschel for so many years, he couldn’t not know his wife’s face. So it really is Herschel.

Honestly speaking, Ian only resembled Owen in appearance—watching him, you got a stronger sense he was a different person. Frankly, it would be better for Ian too to break free from the shadow of someone long dead. So I treated him as a newly met person, but this was different.

I couldn’t help but marvel.

To be able to love the same person even after being reborn. And to promise a lifetime with that love. Just how lucky a man was Herschel Hopkins?

“They look happy. That’s good.”

Only after a very long silence did I manage to murmur those words.

Herschel, who neither lost his wife first nor got entangled with magicians. Herschel, with only happiness ahead of him.

I could understand why Liam kept his distance instead of approaching him. Of course he wouldn’t want to drag him back into the dangerous world.

Though he never explicitly affirmed the existence of reincarnation, perhaps the person who most wanted to believe in it was this man who had endured nearly a hundred years alone.

“It’s a shame this Herschel doesn’t know you.”

I joked.

“You should have at least one adult to call you an ill-mannered godson.”

“That’s true.”

Liam giggled. To think that what this man, who had lived longer than anyone in this square, needed was an ‘adult.’ I had no words.

Of course, after that comment, Liam fell silent too. His face showed he had something he wanted to tell me but was working hard to decide if now was the right time.

What could he want to say that made him so cautious?

Though curious, instead of pressing him, I calmly waited until he was ready to speak.

After some time passed, Liam finally opened his mouth.

“…Should we live here?”

His voice was cracked with tension even in that short phrase.

Here? …In the square?

My expression must have looked like that. Liam hurriedly added an explanation.

“No, in England. With me.”

Ah. It was a proposal.

Having finished speaking, Liam pulled out a ring box from his clothes. He looked ready to drop to one knee.

Though it was an incredibly cute, touching, thrilling, and romantic moment, we still had one mountain left to climb.

When people solve a big problem, they usually think everything’s finished, but that’s only half right. And there’s always a huge gap between the romance of dating and the reality of marriage.

Holding both Liam’s hands, I slowly spoke with an utterly serious face.

“Liam. Listen carefully. There’s actually… a real problem. I’m not trying to refuse your proposal, but.”

“Yeees…?”

“…I entered the country without a visa? I got one extension after finding you.”

Liam blinked twice. His lips parted slightly in surprise, his eyebrows raised slightly in confusion. His expression seemed to ask why visa talk was suddenly coming up here.

Holding back a laugh slightly, I swung his hands back and forth.

“I can only stay in England for less than six months, and during the visit period, I’m not supposed to get married or intend to register marriage.”

Finally seeming to understand what I was saying, Liam sighed.

“Ah.”

“Of course, that’s partly because I’m here as a regular tourist now. But to marry you, we need to solve visa issues and various other things. So it probably won’t be possible right away…”

As I rambled on apologizing for responding to his proposal this way and warning about possible deportation, Liam Moore carefully wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I need to go back to Korea first, and, uh, tell my parents too.”

“Right. I should meet your parents too.”

“…My mom’s going to faint when she hears this.”

Is it okay to have such practical conversations with a man who was once a game NPC? I briefly wondered. Even though you can’t find the game “Misty London” anywhere in reality.

This situation is funny. Liam seemed to think so too. To marry the same person twice! Is this what they call a reminder wedding?

After staring at each other for a while, we burst out laughing simultaneously. Liam Moore laughed so hard I could feel his body shaking as he held me. People passing by might be glancing at us, but I didn’t particularly care.

Hey everyone, I just got proposed to! By my husband!

“Anyway, I need to head back home soon…”

“Perfect timing. I’ll buy the plane tickets.”

I briefly doubted my ears.

You’ll buy them? Plane tickets? Why you?

But Liam said with the most natural expression:

“I want to date you properly before we get married. Last time, we didn’t get to have a proper romance.”

At those words, I was dumbfounded for a while before awkwardly nodding.

Somehow, things always seem to end this way with Liam. Me falling completely for Liam’s smooth talking and sweet gestures.