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Our first stop was the Imperial Palace to pick up Yulian. We then quickly made our way to the temple, parking our carriage at the entrance.

"Duke Luminel, Your Grace!" the temple gatekeeper exclaimed, recognizing the Duke.

The Duke responded with a gentle laugh, gesturing to ease the tension. A glint appeared in the gatekeeper\'s eyes as he noticed me stepping out of the carriage.

"Ah, Lord Harte! It\'s been a while."

"You remember me, Randel."

"How could I forget? The kindness you showed me was immense."

"Haha..."

It was around when I was fifteen. A noble had lost all sense of propriety and caused trouble at the temple. Randel stood up to stop him but ended up severely injured. I was the one who treated him. Since then, he would occasionally bring me food.

"But what brings you to the temple?" Randel asked.

To ask someone with a baptismal name why they\'re visiting the temple... Randel probably meant nothing by it, but it struck a nerve. Still, I maintained my composure and answered calmly.

"I\'ve come with family to watch the New Year\'s celebration and the sunrise."

"That sounds wonderful! Speaking of family..."

Randel sized up my companions - the Duke and Elphisia, along with the three children. A warm smile spread across his face as he observed them.

"You look well, Lord Harte."

"Randel?"

"I\'m just a humble gatekeeper, so I dare not offer much commentary, but... in my opinion, you look more at ease now than when you lived at the temple."

"... Haha."

I just laughed, feeling awkward. This seemed unexpected to Randel, who raised an eyebrow.

"You\'ve found precious people, Lord Harte."

"It seems I have."

"I\'m glad to hear that."

Randel opened the temple gates and bid us farewell. Leaving behind the connection to my past, I stepped into the temple. My present connections quietly followed, admiring the interior.

Most of the temple\'s vast grounds were open space, with wide gaps between buildings filled with gardens. As we passed through colonnades lined with ivory pillars and areas where prayers could be heard, the children murmured in fascination.

Elphisia, who had been walking silently, broke the silence. "So this is where you grew up."

"That\'s right. Is this your first time inside?"

"Yes. Some stubborn, principled fellow never showed me before, but now it\'s so easy..."

"Who\'s this fellow you\'re talking about?"

"Oh, just some ridiculous idiot."

I became curious about the identity of this principled person who prompted Elphisia\'s gossip. But before I could press her further, the Duke, who had been walking in step with the children, boasted:

"Hmm. I know the temple\'s interior very well. I came and went so many times in my youth that I memorized the layout."

"Wow, that\'s amazing! Grandfather!" Tina exclaimed.

"Ho ho, your grandfather is quite impressive, isn\'t he?"

"Grandfather, you\'re the best!"

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho."

I desperately hoped he wouldn\'t proudly blurt out that he infiltrated to engage in swordplay with His Holiness the Pope. It was also painful to watch Tina give a thumbs up, praising what she thought was an admirable anecdote but was actually a horrifying tale in disguise.

"So, son-in-law," the Duke called out.

I flinched, startled by his call, thinking he had read my mind.

"Where are you leading us? If I remember correctly, this isn\'t the way to the pond."

"Ah, I should have explained, Your Grace. If we take the legal route, we\'ll have to go through some hassle."

"Ahem..."

Perhaps the Duke wasn\'t entirely shameless, as he didn\'t press further. Instead, he hastily changed the subject and began chatting with the children walking behind us.

Later, when the sunset had completely faded and starlight replaced the world\'s brightness, we came face to face with a lake - or more accurately, a pond so vast it could be mistaken for a lake - reflecting the white moon on its surface.

---

---

New Year\'s was a special event even at the temple. Warm orange lights were strung up around the sacred pond, normally off-limits to people, giving it a cozy impression. The orange lights paired well with the navy evening sky, evoking a sense of romance in viewers.

"Wow, it\'s so beautiful," Tina exclaimed.

Yulian agreed. "I never imagined such a natural landscape would be preserved in the heart of the capital. I can see how growing up here would make anyone devout."

The grass that bent with each step, the harmoniously arranged evergreens, and the vast pond with its clear, refreshing hue were a feast for the eyes.

"By the way, it should be about time," I said.

"Is someone else coming?" Glen asked curiously.

I informed him with a hint of mockery, "Who else but your secret friend?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear - our final guest revealed herself to us.

"Ah, hello everyone...!" It was Echo\'s voice, which I hadn\'t heard in a while.

If anything had changed, it was her eyes. The focus that had been cloudy before entering the temple now shone with a new light, concentrating on something.

I asked Echo about her condition. "How are your eyes?"

"They\'re improving. I can\'t see minds anymore. Instead, I can see the blurry shapes of objects."

"That\'s quick progress. A bit more time at the temple and the fragment should be completely removed."

"That\'s a relief. Um... by the way..." Echo glanced at me nervously. She then approached me, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Is Glen... handsome? I mean... everything\'s still blurry, but even with his blurry face, Glen seems incredibly handsome..."

"Uh... well... he is..."

I was taken aback. Who knew a handsome face would shine through even when pixelated? Thanks to Echo, I gained a new insight today.

"Ugh... I guess Glen has both a beautiful mind and face. How enviable..."

"Echo, you\'re just as pretty, so have some confidence."

That\'s how it was with the Peter viscounty\'s people. There\'s a reason they\'ve dominated even formidable powers with their marriage business. It\'s all thanks to their innate genes. Like Echo in front of me, needlessly falling into worry.

I guided Echo to Glen, then delivered a sharp remark while staring intently at a corner. "So... I assume you wouldn\'t have sent a girl with blurry vision alone, so why are you all hiding?"

Only then did the hidden figures reveal themselves from beyond the corner. The Commander, His Holiness the Pope, Ibria, and even Erehite in female polymorph form... all the familiar faces I often saw at the temple had gathered.

"It\'s been a while, Lord Harte. First time seeing you since handing over Echo, right?" the Pope said.

"That\'s right, Your Holiness. But I never expected such a distant superior to grace a family event."

The Pope deployed an invincible logic in response to my words, half-joking and half-serious. "This is right in front of my chambers, you know? Think of it as me paying my dues and let me join in."

Indeed. The logic of capitalism. Unable to defeat the property owner, I simply nodded in agreement. "Well... if you insist."

"Thank you. The Commander and I will chat with the Duke from a distance, so don\'t mind us too much."

"My, how considerate of you. Thank you."

The Commander seemed to want to join the center of things, but His Holiness forcibly pulled him away. With the adults gone, only the children and Elphisia remained.

... Though not all the adults had left.

Erehite, transformed into a white-haired, golden-eyed maiden, approached Tina with sparkling eyes. [Hello, young lady.]

"Ah!" Tina exclaimed. The sensation of language being directly implanted in one\'s mind without moving lips. Tina quickly realized Erehite\'s identity. "Are you a dragon?"

[Correct. I raised your father, Harte.]

"Then are you Dad\'s mother...?"

[More like a wet nurse, I\'d say.]

"Wow..."

The children flocked around Erehite after her shocking revelation. Not just Tina, but Yulian and Glen seemed quite interested as well.

\'Well, Erehite did raise me, so I can\'t really argue...\'

With my baptismal name, I wasn\'t at risk of starving to death. So Erehite was the one who forced me to eat when I was skipping meals as a child.

"Are you the divine dragon passed down in legends?" Yulian asked.

[You must be from the imperial family. As you can see, I am.]

"Divine Dragon, what was the Director like when he was young?" Glen asked.

[He was a very inorganic, boring little boy. If you\'re used to the current Harte, you wouldn\'t believe anything I tell you.]

Sure enough, the children had trouble believing Erehite\'s assurances. It was all true, but I decided to keep my mouth shut for the sake of my human rights.

As the children listened intently to Erehite\'s stories of the past, it happened.

"Harte." Ibria called out to me in a gentle voice.

Graceful and refreshing. She still exuded a beauty like a vessel crafted by the gods. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable with this Ibria.

"My, my knight has worn his emotions on his face for quite some time now..."

"Ibria."

She was a childhood friend who grew up with me. Moreover, as my charge, we were always together... But now, even exchanging a few words felt difficult. It\'s hard to express in words, but it\'s as if my heart grew heavy.

Ibria, who had sharply pierced through my feelings, let out a small laugh. "Never mind. Just live well and eat well."

Along with this incomprehensible reproach, she called my name. "Harte."

"Speak."

"Are you happier now than before?"

"..."

Happiness. Happiness, huh.

It\'s not that I wasn\'t happy before. Life at the temple was peaceful, and the rigid discipline suited my nature. Above all, I grew up receiving ample affection from the people gathered here today.

Yet, comparing the quantity of happiness would surely be disrespectful.

However, my eyes were already reflecting the bonds of a new era.

Four children huddled together, their eyes sparkling as they conversed with a mysterious being. A barrier seemed to surround the pure group, rejecting adult intrusion. But just watching them filled my chest with a swelling sense of fulfillment.

Next, my eyes captured a beautiful auburn.

Elphisia, basking in the starlight at a distance from the children. She was my contract wife, who I must take responsibility for life, and the owner of the warmth I\'d grown most accustomed to.

That\'s why I could only say this: "Happiness continues."

In the past that\'s gone by, in the present we dwell in, and in the future to come. I believed the happiness I\'d felt until now would surely continue.

"Exceptional people have always gathered around me. Of course, Ibria, you were one of them."

"But I wasn\'t special, was I?"

"You were special."

"Because I was your duty."

"That\'s right."

Ibria is a woman with the unique position of Holy Maiden. Therefore, I couldn\'t deny that I had treated her specially.

But now, with a grown body and mind, I understood.

Specialness comes in many forms, so the same word can branch into numerous meanings.

The specialness of a friend. The specialness of family. The specialness of an in-group. Thus, the specialness I could define came in many varieties.

Ibria seemed to have figured this out long ago.

"Ah. I give up, I give up. How can I even be spiteful at this point?"

"Spite is the concept least suited to you."

"Alright, alright. I\'ll go look after Echo, so you take care of the one you need to look after."

It was obvious who she meant by "the one you need to look after."

Her - Elphisia - sitting alone on the grass. Though distant from the warmth of others, she had remained in the corner of my vision even while I conversed with Ibria.

The fact that she constantly caught my eye without moving meant I must have been unconsciously looking at her the whole time.

As soon as Ibria turned her back to me, I approached Elphisia, who was staring blankly at the pond.

"Why are you alone like this?"

"I\'m not used to this kind of thing."

"What kind of thing?"

"This atmosphere where people connect without ulterior motives. A scene that feels like looking at an old, nostalgic photograph. Things like that."

Elphisia\'s eyes narrowed, as if searching for a distant horizon.

"Then what about me?"

"Pardon?"

"Am I... are we, bound to be calculating because of our contract?"

"That\'s..."

Elphisia neither affirmed nor denied hastily. She just furrowed her brow, as if chewing on the soft flesh inside her mouth.

It was then that I found myself answering my own question.

"To be honest, I\'m not sure either. It would be a lie to say there were no calculations involved. If you hadn\'t advised me to think of the children, I would have remained celibate for life, let alone get married. I accepted the contract marriage because I had my own benefits too."

She nodded slightly, silently affirming. Up to this point, her face had been expressionless, but it changed markedly after my next statement.

"But now, I don\'t care about benefits or anything else. I\'m just glad that Elphisia is the one who became my wife."

"... Ugh."

Elphisia buried her nose in her drawn-up knees. Then she reproached me in a cracked voice. "Saying such nonsense..."

"I\'m glad. It\'s better to spout nonsense than to say heavy, formal words."

"..."

"Isn\'t that what family is about?"

Nonsense is never truly useless talk. Doesn\'t everyone ease the burden weighing on their hearts by tossing out light jokes? Family is one of the few relationships where this is routinely allowed.

"So... from now on, I think I\'ll try throwing out some nonsense that isn\'t in our calculating contract."

"What are you..."

Her urging was cut short midway. The sound of bells announcing a new beginning rang out under the night sky now ripe with darkness.

Dong. Dong. Dong.

The clear tone knocked on our ears.

Everyone\'s gaze settled on the bell towering high at the temple entrance. But I turned my back on the bell blessing the new year and looked only at Elphisia. As if on cue, she too met my eyes, looking as if her soul had been sucked out of her.

Dong. Dong. Dong.

The bell\'s sound strolled leisurely down the night path. As if time itself had slowed.

Taking advantage of this gap, I blessed her. May this silly blessing walk in step with the slowly advancing bell sound.

Down the path carved by starlight. Until it reaches beyond.

I wished for Elphisia\'s happiness.

"I hope this year is filled with joyful things for you."

To be unbound by calculations, to view our current life not as an old photograph but simply as the present. And for such a daily life to become more familiar, resolving the conflicts Elphisia holds inside.

I sent these wishes riding on the New Year\'s bell sound.

Afterwards.

Just before the final bell tolled.

Elphisia once again buried her face in her knees as if sulking, then peeked out with just one eye towards me.

"... You too."

Her voice, tinged with heat, tickled my ear like a gentle breeze.

"...... Live long. By my side."