After a short time passed, the two, who had calmed their emotions, had a conversation they were supposed to have.
Irene Pareira started.
‘I remember when I first came out of the world of sorcery.’
At that time, the words his father said about the status of their family.
About how he was curious about the son he saw again after five years, but he still waited until the son brought up the story first.
And how Irene said he would repay the care he received.
Irene, holding back his desire to hear Lulu’s story, unraveled his own story one by one.
A mysterious world that was exactly the same as his dream, but where he could sleep whenever he wanted.
The hardships, adversity, and overcoming process in the mysterious world.
The results he obtained through that and what happened after leaving that world.
Lulu immersed herself in the stories as if they were her own,
And said
“Ah, so fun! Indeed, sorcery is mysterious! That’s possible!”
“Yes. I didn’t even know that my friends would come there.”
“The story after you broke out was fun too. Of course, I know that part.”
“Well… Lulu, since when? Since when were you watching me?”
Irene asked with a curious expression.
He already guessed that Lulu was secretly chasing him.
It was from the time when he received the notes.
Without thinking, he immediately realized that there was only one person who could deliver such messages, someone who cherished him. It was Lulu.
‘Maybe right before the subjugation?’
No.
Lulu, who flew around in the air, landed on the bed and wagged her tail.
And answered,
“From the beginning.”
“Huh? Beginning?”
“I have been by your side ever since you came out of the world of sorcery.”
“… what?”
Irene was startled.
Embarrassed by that reaction, Lulu went into the quilt.
The black cat, with only her face sticking out, spoke.
“After you were sucked into the world of sorcery…”
It wasn’t a very special story.
For about a year, Lulu tried to somehow enter the world and then realized it was impossible, so she would sit in front of the barrier and pray every day.
So that Irene could safely return to reality as soon as possible and return to his family.
Those words meant that Lulu had devoted all five years to Irene.
“Honestly…”
“Honestly?”
“I was the white cat in your room. I just changed colors with magic.”
“What? Why!”
“I couldn’t show you my face… I was concerned about the black cat superstition. Of course, not now! I won’t grieve that anymore, and I won’t even think about the superstition!”
Because Irene didn’t want to see Lulu in that light.
So, she won’t ever feel bad about herself in the future!
Seeing Lulu jump out of the duvet and speak with confidence, Irene burst into laughter.
He was happy and delighted.
To the extent that the troubles he was dealing with before felt unimportant.
Of course, it was a problem that couldn’t be overlooked, but emotionally, they felt at ease.
With a much brighter appearance, he even asked for advice about his changed dream.
“Hm, so that’s how it is. Somehow, the past few days have been bizarre. But, it’s interesting.”
Hearing about the man in his dream, Lulu flew around the room.
However, despite being an excellent sorcerer, Lulu had nothing to say.
She was unaware at first.
If the man in the dreams is a real person or not.
What was the relationship between the man and Irene Pareira?
What did the man in the dream want?
Nothing has been revealed.
At least they managed to find one thing.
“That man, he seems to have a strong hatred for demons. Maybe not demons, but the reason for them… the cause of hatred could be the devils. Which means he’s someone from 150 years ago.”
“Umm.”
“Well, honestly, it doesn’t matter. Does it really matter what that man thinks? What’s really important is that your heart is being swayed by the will of some person you don’t even know.”
Irene nodded.
To be honest, it was bittersweet.
It was natural since he moved like a puppet underneath the man’s hand ever since he picked up the sword.
The time when he trained every day without any thoughts or hopes of his own.
However, ever since he became aware of what his sword meant, he put in a lot of effort to establish it.
As such, the new negative thoughts were shaking Irene.
“It’s fine.”
The black cat, Lulu, flew.
And tapped Irene’s shoulder with her soft sole.
Still unreadable.
However, her emotions were conveyed through her eyes.
Believe in yourself.
That’s what Lulu’s eyes said.
“Sometimes you’ll be shaken, sometimes it will be difficult to put down your sword too, but you will lift your sword again, right?”
“…”
“If it’s tough, then I’ve been through the same hardships! For the last 5 years, I trained and got stronger! In the Pareira estate, I’m the strongest cat!”
Lulu spoke while puffing out her chest.
Irene burst out laughing. Lulu’s past words come to his mind.
‘When you don’t believe in yourself, trust those who believe in you. And later, when those people are in difficult times, reciprocate the trust you received.’
Fortunate.
Without Lulu, his current worries probably would have grown out of comfort to the extent where he wouldn’t have been able to bear it alone.
But now, Lulu was by his side.
There were also his parents. Although far away, his sister believed in and loved him too.
And the relationships he formed in Krono couldn’t be left out.
‘Now that I think about it. There are things which haven’t been resolved yet.’
His promise to Ilya.
His promise to Ian.
Although the deadlines had passed, the promises cannot be abandoned.
Regardless, he wanted to see them.
‘I miss Judith too…. How is Bratt Lloyd doing? I remember he looked upset the last…’
“Hmm.”
Irene, who was thinking of people, suddenly went stiff.
He met their avatars in the world of sorcery, but from their point of view, it was a relationship that had a 5 year gap.
‘No, it couldn’t be that I’m the only one who thinks of them as friends, right?’
He was timid enough to believe that he didn’t manage to subjugate the demon.
But this was Irene’s true face.
Surrounded by unnecessary anxiety, he trembled.
However, there was another person more anxious than Irene.
“Irene, Irene.”
“Huh?”
“I need a favor…”
“What is it?”
“That… with… Kirill… talking… with…. Kirill… to… reconcile… uh, well. If… it… can be done… would… you… help… me?”
“… Of course.”
“Promise! Promise me!”
Irene nodded, remembering his younger sister’s pale face.
Compared to Lulu’s worries, his own didn’t seem that big.
The people of the Pareira family, who stayed in the Gairn estate, left the next morning.
Because of the uncomfortable relationship and the chaotic atmosphere.
“I’m upset. If I could, I would share many more stories with you… there’s so much work to be done here, I can’t do nothing.”
The Vice-captain of the Twilight Knights, Hill Burnett, was particularly upset.
Instead, Lulu was following Irene.
Of course, not openly, but secretly like before.
Because it felt burdensome to be out in front of Irene’s family.
But it couldn’t go on forever.
A day after arriving at the Pareira estate, Lulu appeared in front of the Baron couple.
“It’s alright. We already knew that it wasn’t intentional. Rather, it would be more appropriate to express gratitude for helping my son grow into such a wonderful person.”
“Right. And if you went through any heartache because of that, you don’t need to think about it anymore.”
The Baron couple thanked Lulu.
If the results are good, then everything is fine. It took a long time, but the son managed to come out of that barrier.
He didn’t just come out, but he came back great.
‘You have a wonderful son!’
‘Your son is the treasure of the Kingdom, no, the treasure of the continent!’
‘You must be very happy. I’m so envious!’
The words from the knights and Hill Burnett were still vivid.
With overflowing emotions, Harun Pareira spoke.
“In the future, don’t ever feel shy and stay here comfortably.”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
Lulu fell flat on the table and expressed her gratitude.
Of course, the encounter with Kirill didn’t go that smoothly.
“…”
“…”
“… aren’t you going to say something?”
“Ah, well…”
At the same time the subjugation was done, Kirill had come back to the family with her teacher’s permission.
And her unbearable cold expression.
Of course, she didn’t push Lulu away or reject her like she did in the past.
Awkward, but they reconciled, and thanks to Irene, they even shook hands and hugged.
Although Lulu was a little gloomy at Kirill’s cold expression, it was still a good result.
And time will heal that relationship.
Just like the people of the Pareira family, Lulu was hoping for a brighter tomorrow.
Viscount Gairn, on the contrary, was spending his days under dark rain clouds.
Clank!
“Why does the tea taste like this! What kind of shitty tea is this? Who made this, who!”
“T-That…”
“Who? Is it you?”
“Hiik!”
The maid wept as Viscount Gairn shouted. It was pathetic to look at the woman trembling.
However, Viscount had no mercy as he kept kicking the maid with all his might.
“Get lost! I don’t want to see you, so get the hell out!”
“Huh! Yes! I apologize…”
“Shut up and get lost!”
After the subjugation, Phill Gairn’s hysteria had gotten worse.
Of course, it did. His eldest son who he was proudest of didn’t do anything, and his family faced a crisis.
It was because of Hill Burnett, that leech-like bastard who kept forcing Gairn to take responsibility for the last day of the subjugation.
It was fortunate that public opinion on the Gairn family hadn’t worsened.
In fact, the excuses Gairn made were so persuasive that many people were brainwashed.
It was fortunate that it happened to the Gairn family, but the damage that the incident brought to the family was so great that it couldn’t be cleared with money.
However, it didn’t end there.
Jack Stewart had locked himself up in his home and didn’t want to leave.
And the moment he spoke out, the situation rapidly deteriorated.
