695 – Goodbye, Goodbye – 6

Had a final conversation with Hecate.

Perhaps a miracle like this can come again. Maybe we can have a conversation through a pure dream rather than a miracle like this. Perhaps a third, unexpected solution may appear.

But I don’t want to give up on such slim odds. I don’t want to take this moment to bet on the same gamble.

So now is the last time. This is the last time that Hecate and I can laugh and talk for the last time in this life.

“Aren’t the other kids coming?”

“They gave it to me. Children are enough to disturb a couple’s time, but they said they are not children.”

“Aren’t there some people who do things worse than children?”

“Including you?”

She shyly raised the corner of her mouth. From Hecate’s point of view, I am also a child.

“And he said he said everything he wanted to say while he was alive. We did enough things we wanted to do together. Doing more than that will only make you regret it, so please say hello.”

“Then what about you?”

Looking at Hecate, who was smiling brightly, she slowly opened her mouth.

If those guys said everything they wanted to say and did everything they wanted to do while they were alive, they really did that. They aren’t so considerate that they say things they don’t mean out of consideration for me and Hecate.

But if I’m just trying to coolly leave for fear of regret, what about Hecate and I, who remain until the end? Even though it’s good for me, isn’t it harsh for Hecate?

“I died without being able to do what I wanted to do. If anything, I hate leaving now even more.”

“…I see.”

It wasn’t a very comforting answer, but I tried to smile.

He died without being able to do what he wanted to do. Although these words break her heart as her husband, the only consolation is that she can relieve her lingering feelings.

“Knife.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve achieved so much success in just a few years? I guess you can’t even claim the title of heir to the Imperial Baek anymore?”

“Of course. I was hogging what should have been shared between the seven of us.”

As soon as those words were finished, Hecate lightly flicked my nose.

“If you say it like that, you can’t use it. Instead of monopolizing it, you shouldered what we should have shouldered instead.”

“Isn’t that what it is?”

This time she flicked her nose once more without even answering.

This really hurts. Even if Hecate, the sorceress, hit me, it wouldn’t hurt.

“Be proud. It’s not that you went forward alone because we weren’t there, but because you were able to go that far even without us.”

The face she was still smiling, but it had a decisiveness that could not be hidden.

I couldn’t say no, so I nodded silently. Even if the person concerned said so, it would be rude to leave out more than this.

“And I ended up with the family I wanted to have.”

“That’s right. I didn’t know there would be this many.”

The next words made me burst into laughter.

Six wives and seven children. How many, many families are there? If you even include the northern lice in your stomach, there are eight, not seven.

“Is that the end? Is there more?”

“Huh?”

However, I tilted my head when asked to think more.

What? Do I have more family than my wife and children?

‘Ah.’

I have to include Teresa too. Looking at it more broadly, Zenobia, his sister-in-law his, and Serra, his sister-in-law his, are family, and if he is more greedy, his goddaughter his, the Crown Princess, is also family─

“My parents-in-law and my husband. Are we family now?”

…Ah.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Good job. I wish I had done that a long time ago.”

I felt ashamed at the sight of Hecate gently stroking my head.

Even Hecate, who left seven years ago, remembers the awkwardness between me and her family. It’s so embarrassing that it’s hard for her to look up.

It would have been great if she had opened her heart like Hecate said, if she had already considered her father and mother as her parents, and if she had treated Erich as her younger brother her. We are now living as a normal, harmonious family, but it would be a lie if we said we were not disappointed.

“Anyway, I’m happy that my wife has achieved success, she has a big family, and she is respected by people… But there’s just one thing that’s bothering me?”

Either way, Hecate continued to speak steadfastly.

Although my embarrassment had not yet subsided, I listened quietly. Because I have to listen to everything Hecate wants to say to me.

“My honey. You don’t have any friends, do you?”

“What?”

But I didn’t expect this at all.

Who would have imagined that a wife would stick a bamboo spear into her husband’s solar plexus?

“I have a lot of family, I am trusted by my superiors, I lead my subordinates well, and I get along well with my co-workers… It’s great, but I feel like I have no friends.”

Before we knew it, Hecate’s eyes had changed from half affection to half love.

“You have so many pets. It’s because you’re lonely without friends.”

“Oh, no…!”

She instinctively opened her mouth to retort, but it wasn’t long before she asked again.

There are many things I want to say. The pets are not sold by me, they are given to me, I am raising them not because I am lonely, but because they are children’s playmates, and they have a stronger image of being children’s friends rather than my pets. You can refute it like that.

But even so, ‘So do you have friends?’ This statement cannot be refuted no matter what justification is given. It is also true that I am a friendless person.

“Originally, nobles were lonely without friends…”

“Seobang-nim married your friend?”

“…It’s a bit difficult to make friends now.”

“It’s hard. There are good people right next to you.”

Those words were strangely full of confidence, so I ended up tilting my head.

There’s a good person right next to you? Considering my age and position, can I never make friends? To the point where it would be faster to create 100 more subordinates.

“Your Majesty is here.”

“That sounds terrible.”

I couldn’t tolerate this even if it was Hecate’s words, so I gave up with a straight face.

I’m friends with the emperor. It’s understandable if it’s an enemy, but it doesn’t go well with cute and soft words like friend. If you’re going to stay friends with that b*stard, stay friends with Jiz.

“As time passes, you will remember what I said. Ah, my wife really has an eye for people.”

Still, I couldn’t deny it out loud because I was so confident.

After that, we talked about various things.

No matter how busy you are, eat regularly. If you sleep less, your body will not get better, so sleep well. Even if you are healthy now, you never know what will happen when you get older, so be careful. You can take care of it, but only hang out with good people, etc.

A small but warm, insignificant but gentle conversation took place. It’s like a mother giving advice to her child who is just starting out on his own.

‘That’s strange.’

It’s really strange. I thought that if I met Hecate again, I would pour out all kinds of stories. I thought I would talk about a lot of heavy things, but now that I have the chance, I am only talking about these things.

I thought we were going to make a fuss about never breaking up again. I thought she would cry because she had a hard time alone.

Of course, I complained that it was hard, but that was only for a short time at the beginning, so whatever.

“Ah, it’s already happened like this.”

Hecate, who had been pouring out affectionate advice for a long time, looked at her window and smiled bitterly.

What. In my eyes, the night is no different from before. Does it look a little different to Hecate?

“Okay then! For the last time, really the last time, I’ll just say what I want to say and leave!”

“Yes, Mom.”

She wanted to say she could stay longer, but she barely held herself back. Hecate doesn’t want to leave because she hates me.

“I’m sorry.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m sorry for cowardly leaving you alone.”

With those words, Hecate hugged me.

“We said we would be happy together, we said we would be together for the rest of our lives, even if the five of us left us… We said we should remember them, but I’m sorry for making you remember them. . Alone.”

“Hecate.”

“I’m sorry for running away… Leaving you with only scars…”

Her shoulders went limp. The hands that hugged me began to tremble.

“And thank you.”

Still, the tremors were brief. After breaking the hug, Hecate put her hand on my shoulder and looked at me with the brightest smile.

“Thank you for not forgetting me. Thank you for continuing to love me.”

I had tears in my eyes, but those tears made my smile brighter.

I guess I’m a pervert too. I feel pretty when I see my wife crying.

“So, I know it’s cowardly, but… “Can I ask you one last favor?”

“As much as you want.”

As I wiped away Hecate’s tears and spoke, Hecate’s smile became brighter than the sun.

She is the prettiest when she just smiles without crying.

“Think of me as the seventh.”

“…Seventh?”

“Yes. Seventh.”

It was an unexpected request, so I blinked blankly.

Seventh. Although it was somewhat out of context, it was completely understandable. Because I only have one sixth.

“I know I don’t deserve it for cowardly running away… But I’ll be with you even at the very end…”

“There is no softness?”

“Uh, huh?”

This time I hugged Hecate.

I was happy. Because it meant that Hecate still loved me. Because she said she still wants to be my wife.

Even though she left me first, she didn’t leave because she hated me.

“It’s a wedding with only us, but the gods will be watching. You’re not lying to the gods, are you?”

Then Hecate hugged me without saying a word.

That was enough.

My eyes opened.

I woke up from a dream and opened my eyes to reality again.

“Carl, are you awake?”

“Mar?”

And when she opened her eyes, Mar, who was combing her hair greeted her.

Right. You were sleeping in the same room as Mar today, right? Maybe it was because I had spent several days in a dream, but for a moment it felt vague.

“Did you even have a good dream? I was smiling all the time while I was sleeping.”

“Me?”

“Yes. To the point where I feel sorry for waking you up.”

Seeing Marr smiling, I gently touched the corner of her mouth.

That’s right. Even now, the corners of her mouth are raised.

“I had a good dream. It was almost too bad to wake up.”

“Sometimes that happens. There are times when I have such a great dream that I wish I could continue dreaming.”

She was a sympathizer at best, but she couldn’t bear to nod her head.

If I continue to dream this dream, it means that it is just a dream that manifests my desire, not that Hecate and those guys came to visit.

If so, it might be better to never dream again. Only then can you think of your dream not as a dream, but as a new reality.

“But I woke up because reality was better than the dream.”

“Hehe, thank you. I almost lost my sword to Dream, didn’t I?”

I just laughed at those words.

– I had a dream that you were all alive. I thought I was going crazy because there were 7 kids causing accidents.

Until the minister contacted me early in the morning with a haggard complexion. I kept laughing.

‘It was a busy move.’

Go to me, go to the minister.

Anyway, it’s amazing that he’s Count Livnoman.