Chapter 144 [END]
Kirine silently watched as the woman collapsed forward, letting out a bitter laugh. Though she had anticipated this to some extent, everything had unfolded so predictably that she could only laugh wryly.
“I never found this entertaining, you know?”
She wanted to grab Vincent by the collar and demand to know why he had orchestrated all of this. She wanted to hear his excuses or explanations, but the words caught in her throat the moment she saw the blood-stained dagger in his hand.
What would be the point of asking now? She knew well that nothing would change regardless of what she heard.
Seeing him commit such acts so brazenly left her nearly speechless.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t do anything?”
How could he act so shamelessly? Kirine let out a tired sigh as she brushed back her hair.
“We’ve already found all the evidence.”
“What?”
Only then did Vincent react, and Kirine met his gaze directly as she spoke.
“There were quite a few priests who had grievances against you, whether you knew it or not.”
From the moment she had become suspicious of Vincent, she had secretly been in contact with the priests in the Holy City. At first, they claimed ignorance, but as they exchanged letters and gradually built trust, they began to reveal suspicious circumstances surrounding Vincent.
Eventually, she even learned that on the day she and Ares had lost their memories in an accident, Vincent had been absent from the Holy City. It seemed the priests who had complaints about Vincent not properly fulfilling his duties as High Priest had been conducting their own secret investigation.
There was no other way to describe it except as luck. All she had to do was summon those priests here.
As she glanced back, the priests who had responded to her message began to appear one by one. Behind them, members of the Imperial Knights started to emerge in succession.
‘Why the Imperial Knights?’
While the sudden appearance of the priests was surprising enough, Ares tilted his head in confusion when the Imperial Knights appeared as well. Kirine simply shrugged her shoulders in response.
“Just in case.”
She meant that she had stationed the Imperial Knights nearby as a precaution.
“Hah…”
With not only the priests but also the Imperial Knights appearing, Vincent irritably rubbed his eyes. He had apparently planned to try some tricks if it had only been the priests, but the presence of the Imperial Knights seemed to throw him off balance.
“We will escort you to the Holy City.”
The priests didn’t even flinch at the sight of the blood-stained knife in Vincent’s hand. Rather, they maintained their composure as if they had expected this.
Kirine watched until Vincent was led away by the priests holding both his arms, then let out a heavy sigh.
‘It’s really over now.’
With a strange sense of relief, her legs gave out and she sank to the ground. Though Ares was safe and the situation was somewhat resolved, for some reason, a corner of her heart still felt heavy.
Ares, who had been quietly watching Kirine’s exhausted and weary appearance, extended his hand.
“Get up. We need to go get Sasha now.”
At hearing their daughter’s name after so long, Kirine’s head snapped up, and Ares smiled.
“We can’t keep her waiting any longer.”
Upon hearing those words, Kirine smiled back and took Ares’s hand to stand up.
It was finally time to go find Sasha.
***
“Our Sasha must be a genius!”
Unable to take breaks from her work at the Magic Tower, Reilly had no choice but to bring Sasha to her research lab.
Fortunately, unlike when she was in Kirine’s lab, Sasha didn’t touch things carelessly and remained well-behaved, so no major dangers occurred. However, perhaps due to the influence of both Kirine and Reilly, Sasha showed remarkable skill in handling mana.
“Looks like our Sasha might follow in her mother’s footsteps and become an excellent mage!”
Reilly exclaimed excitedly while hugging Sasha tightly. However, Sasha, who barely understood half of what Reilly was saying, just tilted her head and shook it.
“Mm-mm, I don’t want to.”
“Then what do you want to be when you grow up?”
Curious, Reilly pressed for an answer, but her face soon darkened.
“Don’t tell me you want to become a knight like your father?”
Surprisingly, Sasha had good basic physical abilities and had even received evaluations from Ares’s fellow knights that she had talent as a knight.
But Reilly couldn’t imagine those small, delicate hands holding a sword. More precisely, she couldn’t accept it.
Just as she was about to firmly state that it was absolutely not allowed—
“I just want to live with Mom and Dad for a very long time. Oh, and with Auntie too.”
Sasha nodded, saying that was enough for her. Though she answered with a bright smile, her expression suddenly clouded over like a fog had descended.
“But Auntie, when are Mom and Dad coming?”
The words finally came out after holding them back for so long.
Actually, despite being at the Magic Tower for quite a while, though Sasha had talked about Kirine and Ares, she had never asked when they were coming or said she missed them. It seemed as though she had been suppressing these feelings, knowing Reilly would worry.
But now, having reached her limit, Sasha could no longer hide her feelings.
“I miss Mom and Dad, Auntie.”
“Sasha…”
Just thinking about how much this child must have been swallowing her longing all this time made Reilly’s heart ache.
With a heavy heart, Reilly sighed softly and hugged Sasha.
“If they don’t come by tomorrow, I’ll go bring them here myself.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If our Sasha misses her parents, I’ll definitely bring them.”
“I could go instead.”
“No, your parents promised they would come get you, so we should let them keep that promise.”
This time especially, Reilly strongly hoped that Kirine and Ares would keep their promise to Sasha. As if understanding this feeling, Sasha nodded and clung to Reilly’s arm.
“Then I’ll wait until tomorrow.”
With determined, sparkling eyes, she turned her attention back to the storybook Reilly had given her. It seemed like she was trying to focus on something else to make the waiting easier.
‘Come to think of it, when are these two coming?’
She had lost track of how many days it had been. As time passed, she grew more anxious and found herself increasingly watching Sasha’s reactions.
Just as she was about to try to find out what they were up to, thinking tomorrow might be too long to wait—
“Lady Tower Master.”
There was a knock at the door. Wondering what it could be, Reilly opened the door and involuntarily let out a loud exclamation.
“Hey, you’re finally—!”
Before she could finish speaking, Kirine and Ares had already rushed inside, looking for Sasha first.
“Sasha!”
Hearing the voices behind her, Sasha turned around in disbelief. The moment she saw the faces she had been waiting for and missing, she threw herself into Ares and Kirine’s embrace.
Without any hesitation, Kirine and Ares took Sasha home immediately. Only after returning home and checking Ares’s condition again did Kirine feel all the tension finally leave her body.
Afterward, Vincent was transferred to the Holy City to stand trial. Though there were also crimes of attempting to harm her and Ares, those would likely be addressed after the Holy City trial concluded. It seemed it would take quite some time for everything to be completely resolved.
“Should we go on a trip in the meantime?”
When they had somewhat adjusted back to daily life, Ares made the suggestion readily.
“Where to?”
“Anywhere.”
Adding that it didn’t matter where as long as they were together, Kirine nodded. Sasha, who had been quietly watching, raised her hand high.
“Me too, me too!”
“Of course Sasha has to come too.”
The moment their eyes met, all three burst into laughter as if on cue. It finally felt like everything was complete.
[End]
TL Note: Thank you everyone for reading! This was my first longer story I translated and it’s crazy that I started this in September and it’s already completed.
heyitsjaye
Thank you for translating this story! I really enjoyed it and loved that we didn’t have to wait days/weeks between chapters.
I will say that I wish the story gave us a better conclusion especially for Vincent. No mention of the other people held hostage, the woman who was likely murdered (and why), what happened during the carriage accident or when he pushed Sasha on the stairs. I think so much time was spent on the flashback that the main story was lost which is unfortunate.