“Mom, are you okay? Can you see well? How are your ears?”
Eliya poked and prodded at Maria’s face, asking questions relentlessly.
Maria briefly lost her words and just stared at her.
It had been five years since they had lived separately in the south.
In those five years, Eliya had grown up, calling her ‘mom’ like it was the most natural thing in the world.
She was still as cute and lovable as a child, yet somehow more mature now.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I can see well. I can hear you.”
That was a relief, but both Eliya and Judas were a bit puzzled.
Because when Judas and Gawain woke up, their vision and hearing hadn’t recovered instantly.
Maria held Eliya’s hand and spoke to Judas.
“She told me to pass a message to you.”
“Who?!”
“Um… I’m not exactly sure, but I think it might be a being like a god.”
Eliya tilted her head in confusion, but Judas immediately understood who it was.
“They said they’ve delivered up to the third gift.”
“The third gift, huh….”
He recalled the words he had heard right before leaving for Eliya.
That gifts had been prepared.
Thinking back from the third gift, it was primarily Maria’s quick and certain resurrection and recovery.
The second?
Probably the memory that returned when he kissed Eliya.
He had no solid evidence, but it felt right.
Logically, there shouldn’t have been a way to regain memories.
It should have been just a wish, yet he had managed to remember.
There must have been divine assistance.
Then what was the first one?
“When I went out to the pier to greet you, that voice guided me.”
The final mystery was solved.
The first gift was to aid Maria in finding her way.
He felt a bit guilty about being obstinate when talking to God.
Not that much, just a bit.
“Thank you so much. It’s all thanks to you.”
Maria bowed her head in gratitude.
“Uh, ah, no, that’s not….”
Judas shivered slightly at the overly formal gratitude.
Eliya chuckled lightly from the side.
“Thanks, Judas.”
She gently took hold of his hand.
Naturally, they sat by Eliya.
No matter what had happened so far, no matter what, seeing Eliya smile so purely and happily made everything feel fine.
Having been on an empty stomach for too long, Maria was suddenly eager to eat.
Eliya ordered for some easy-to-digest soup to be brought out.
While waiting, she explained a few things to Maria.
Starting with a bombshell of a statement.
“I became the Emperor.”
A nonchalant declaration, as if she had found him on the street.
But to Maria, it was an unfathomable term.
Emperor.
Even though she was the concubine of Duke Balak, Maria never received any proper treatment as a concubine.
She was essentially treated as non-existent.
Born as a commoner, raised as a commoner.
And yet, here she was, suddenly the Empress Dowager, the mother of the Emperor.
“Wha, what… is it really that easy?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that so….”
She understood that Eliya was her daughter and she must be amazing.
Even without the positive bias of being a mother, Eliya’s brilliance was an objective fact.
Still, this was far beyond her expectations.
Then, like she did with Judas, Eliya began to recount what she had handled on her own.
Maria soothed herself with the soup while listening.
The story sounded surreal to someone like her, a commoner, but the more she listened, the more composure she found.
She was just proud of Eliya.
Even though she hadn’t done much, her daughter had grown into a respectable adult.
“Eli, you’ve really grown up. I’m so proud of you.”
Eliya responded with a proud smile.
Just like a proper adult.
Though deep down, a part of her was still a child.
Eliya knew that.
But she couldn’t show it to Maria.
That was a duty of a grown child in front of their parents.
Instead, she could act like a baby with Judas, so that was okay.
After Maria finished her meal, Eliya said to the two,
“I have a place I want you to come with me.”
Both readily agreed.
The place she led them to was Gethsemane.
The garden where Maria’s grave lay.
“I thought it might be time to remove it.”
“…….”
Every year on the anniversary of Maria’s death, Eliya visited the grave.
She would promise to be more resolute and cried while hugging the gravestone.
Maria remembered that every year.
Just as she was about to say sorry, Eliya grabbed her hand.
Her now-grown daughter spoke first.
“It’s okay.”
“…Okay. Thank you, Eli.”
If they dug beneath the gravestone, they would find a coffin.
At the time of her death, she had been buried in an empty coffin, claiming they couldn’t find the body.
Eliya vividly remembered herself crying over that coffin.
Maria hadn’t attended then.
She was just a maid and couldn’t muster the strength to see Eliya crying.
About ten years had passed since then.
The coffin, buried in the dirt, surprisingly looked well-preserved.
As if it were that fateful day, ten years ago.
The inside was clean.
Thanks to Balak, who had prepared the coffin as a luxury item worthy of nobility.
How despicable was that?
Now, she didn’t really know.
She hadn’t forgiven him.
It’s just that she didn’t want to bother with it any longer.
She was going to toss it away and move forward.
With Judas and Maria, together.
She bid farewell to meaningless obsessions with the past.
In the center of the coffin laid a small teddy bear.
The stuffed animal that Eliya always carried before being dragged away to her family.
Even after ten years, it hadn’t rotted or been eaten by bugs.
Judas gingerly picked up the teddy bear and handed it to Eliya.
It was just the right size to cuddle with one arm.
It may have seemed large to her as a child.
Having been buried in the ground for a long time, it had picked up a unique earthy smell.
She softly patted the teddy bear.
The influence of time was noticeable.
The once-soft fabric felt tattered.
As Eliya hugged the teddy bear, Maria thought back to her younger self.
“Should I fix it up and make it look new?”
“…Yeah. Please do.”
After entrusting the teddy bear to Maria, Eliya smashed the coffin.
She also broke the gravestone inscribed with the name Maria, then dumped everything into the pit where the coffin had been buried.
She covered it up with dirt, then pressed it down flat.
All the struggles of the past would remain buried here, and she would start anew.
Eliya was confident she could do that.
*
Eliya returned to the mansion with Judas and Maria.
There were still a few messages to deliver.
They arrived in the courtyard, where many people bustled about.
“Your Majesty…!”
They hurried to greet her, and some were taken aback when they looked at Judas.
“Judas?!”
Eliya’s royal guard.
Now, it was the Emperor’s royal guard of eleven.
Since Eliya hadn’t announced that she was bringing Judas, they hadn’t even heard that he had arrived.
“You’re back…!”
“Where have you been?! You’re alive?! What have you been doing…!”
They rushed over, bombarding him with questions.
Seeing eleven burly men charging at him, Judas nearly stepped back without realizing it.
“Whoa….”
It took them a moment to notice Eliya.
“Oh, Your Majesty. You have returned.”
“Did you really mean to leave without a word…?”
“Yes, you guessed right. I went to get Judas.”
“I see…”
All eleven took turns glancing between Eliya and Judas.
They had numerous questions for him.
Stealing away some of Judas’s time, they subtly sought permission, and Eliya nodded slightly.
“Thank you for granting us your permission, Your Majesty.”
Of course, he was also tightly clinging to her side.
“What in the world happened?”
“Well, um…”
Judas explained how he had opened the dimensional portal and met the deity before going to the afterlife, having lost his memory in exchange for bringing Eliya back.
Even as he explained, Judas thought it was quite a surreal story.
However, contrary to his fears, they accepted it without much hesitation.
After all, Eliya had perished alongside the Evil God.
At that moment, all of humanity dreamed Eliya’s dream, and she resurrected after three days.
That alone was already surreal enough.
They believed Judas had visited the afterlife.
“Right now, somehow, I got my memory back and followed the lady back.”
He decided not to mention how he regained his memory.
“Well… that’s nice, isn’t it?”
Richard brushed his face with a sigh.
Dillon nodded as if relieved.
“I’m really glad you’re back, Judas…”
Lindell, Argon, Daik, Perlyn, Jerry, Esmo, Hador, Gauss, Nils.
They finished greeting each and every one before they finally noticed Maria.
The red-haired maid they thought to be dead.
For some reason, she radiated a different vibe than before.
Instead of coldness, she appeared warmer now.
Eliya declared to them as if she had just announced the weather.
“This is my mother.”
“…Huh?”
“Her name is Maria. I expect you all to treat her well from now on.”
“Y-yes, Your… um… huh?”
Eliya didn’t feel inclined to explain any further.
Maria just smiled awkwardly, and Judas gestured for them to accept it.
Next, they led them to the knight training ground in a corner of the mansion.
There, Gawain was present.
Now appointed as the head of the royal knight order, he had a new disguise.
With his middle name that honored his master, he was now known as Gallahaid.
“Judas?!”
He rushed over, grabbing Judas’s arm and examining him everywhere.
In the time Judas hadn’t seen him, he had taken to wearing a prosthetic arm.
“Where have you been? Are you hurt? What happened…? Oh, Your Majesty…. I’m sorry.”
“Surprised to recognize me this late, huh? But since you were worried about Judas, I’ll forgive you.”
“Ahem…”
“Sir Gawain. It’s been a while.”
Judas smiled bitterly.
It didn’t feel good, recalling the state of his right arm.
Though it was an unavoidable circumstance back then.
“Glad to see you look fine.”
“Phew… It’s a relief to see you’re well. Where have you been?”
Judas recounted to the royal guard everything he had previously shared.
From going to the afterlife to rescue Eliya, to losing and regaining his memories.
“That explains it… So you brought the Emperor back to life?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but yes.”
For some reason, that made Eliya beam with satisfaction, wrapping her arms around Judas.
Gawain couldn’t look her way directly, feeling awkward.
“Oh, anyway, that’s a good thing. Really good. And from now on, you will address me as Gallahaid.”
“Understood.”
“By the way, the person next to you…”
Gawain noticed Maria again, and Eliya succinctly replied.
“She’s my mother.”
“…Huh?”
“She needs to be treated as the Empress Dowager from now on.”
“……”
Once again, Eliya offered no further explanations.
There was more to show them.
Eliya continued to display the transformations taking place in the mansion.
She hoped the two would adapt soon.
The former butler, Miguel, was set to become the Emperor’s chief attendant.
Mei and Gale, the former mansion doctors, were to become the palace’s chief medical advisors.
Bolse, hired as a wizard, was now appointed as the secretary of the newly restructured royal wizard order.
The vice-captain was the tower master, Epona, with Eliya herself serving as captain.
Hermis and Shylock were appointed as elite leaders under Gawain’s command in the royal knight order.
“Oh, and just so you know, the royal palace is still under construction. The scale is so large that it’s taking a lot of time. Until then, you’ll stay in this mansion. I’ll show you the royal palace grounds later.”
After all the introductions were over, it was already late evening.
While touring the kitchen, Maria suggested she wanted to prepare a meal for Eliya, which Eliya gladly consented to.
Currently, Maria was in the kitchen, while Judas and Eliya headed towards Yuel’s barn.
“Yuel!”
As soon as Judas entered, Yuel dashed out to greet him.
“I can’t believe you’re alive!”
Yuel, who had visited the afterlife.
How that was possible, he didn’t know.
He had worried that Yuel might have died, but thankfully, he was alive.
He had heard from Eliya that Yuel was doing well, but relief washed over him when he confirmed it with his own eyes.
“Oh, you’ve been well. Yes, yes! So good to see you. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Judas rubbed and patted Yuel in various places while receiving his overly affectionate welcome.
He checked every inch and saw Yuel was fine—no injuries and looking healthy.
Only a small pink scar on his backside stood out.
Eliya stood by, petting Yuel too.
“I heard you helped. Thank you, Yuel.”
Yuel didn’t show any strong reaction, just leaning into their hands.
While petting Yuel, Judas said,
“By the way, so much has changed in the week I wasn’t here. You’ve been quite busy, haven’t you, my lady?”
“Right? It was super hectic. Honestly, I rushed through some things, so I need to review a few later. …But, Judas.”
“Yes?”
“How long will you keep calling me ‘my lady’?”
“Oh. I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
“……”
Eliya’s hand that had been petting Yuel suddenly stopped.
She pouted and looked up at him.
It was as if she was expressing her displeasure, but to Judas, it was just adorable.
“What’s wrong?”
“Not ‘Your Majesty’.”
“Uh?”
“You know….”
Eliya blushed and fumbled with her words.
Her mumbling was so soft that it almost couldn’t be heard.
“Eli….”
“Y-yes?”
“Call me ‘Eli’….”
“……”
Facing such an irresistibly cute request, Judas understood why his heart raced.
It was just how he felt.
Even while saying that, Eliya was tightly closing her eyes in embarrassment.
“Uh, then, um….”
Even though she was cute, he was a little taken aback.
He never expected Eliya to make such a request.
It was awkward.
After all, she is his master, the Emperor of the Bevel Empire, the Pope of the Sun Church, and a saint…
But such titles were meaningless between them.
‘…We never defined what we are, but still.’
Judas felt slightly shy too.
It felt like he should take it seriously.
He stepped back, letting go of Yuel.
“I will, then?”
Before he realized, Eliya was looking up at him with expectant eyes.
“Uh-huh….”
Clearing his throat a few times, he finally managed to speak.
‘It’s nothing really. Just shortening a name, right?’
Yet, his lips refused to part easily.
With great difficulty, he produced the words.
“Eli….”
Eliya’s eyes sparkled with joy and delight.
Her beaming smile made him feel warmth all over; he called her once more, trembling with emotion.
“Eli.”
Eliya—no, Eli—jumped into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around his waist.
Judas also held her shoulders.
“Uh-huh, uh-huh. It’s me, Judas.”
Judas inhaled her scent deeply.
It was a faint, sweet scent that he loved so much from childhood.
It eased his heart.
And even more than that….
He slightly pulled Eliya away from him and said,
“My lady… No, Eli.”
He would take a long time to break that habit.
It took an eternity just to say that.
How hesitant and fearful he had been was pouring back on him.
He knew Eliya understood his feelings without him needing to say them.
Still, he wanted to clarify and define their relationship.
Eliya, who had been waiting attentively for his words, seemed to pick up on his seriousness, eyes widening.
Her face blushed bright red.
She looked nervous, but her mouth was twitching, as if trying to smile.
Judas announced, finally.
“I like you.”
“……”
“I’ve had feelings for you as a woman for a long time. So, um, please formally go out with me. No, let’s go out.”
Eliya began beaming with joy.
Tears, like morning dew, welled in the corners of her beautifully shaped eyes.
She pulled Judas closer and reached up on her toes.
He naturally lowered his head.
They kissed.
A gentle brush of lips.
When Eliya let go, she grinned and said,
“Now that you’ve called me Eli, you can’t use formalities anymore.”
“…Ah.”
‘So now I have to drop the formality too? That’s going to take a while….’
With a smiling face, Eliya asked,
“How much do you like me?”
“U-umm…”
Could he even put that into words?
How should he express it….
“Pfft!”
Seeing Judas seriously thinking it through made Eliya laugh.
“Honestly, you’re kind of cute.”
“……”
“I can tell without you saying it. Just watching you seriously ponder is enough for me to know, Judas.”
“Yes, um… Eli.”
“In truth, I’ve had something to say as well.”
“What is it…?”
Upon hearing her next words, Judas felt as though his soul had momentarily left his body.
“I want to marry you.”
“……”
“No, marry me.”
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