Epilogue

"...Oh, they're back."

It was barely after dawn. From the window of the Montchat manor in the capital of Mohnton, he saw a carriage he didn't recognize.

Just as had been reported by the men guarding the border, it was a carriage bearing the royal crest.

As Klaus muttered that to himself, Nicole and Günter who happened to be nearby, raised their heads. They raced to the open window and leaned outside.

"God damn, it's true! Heeeey!"

Günter waved vigorously, but of course the people in the carriage a little while down the road didn't notice him.

"Missstresssss! Lord Aloiiiiis!!"

Nicole also yelled as loudly as she could next to him. As he sighed at the two idiots screaming out the window, he noticed that the other servants nearby were already beginning to whisper to each other with big smiles on their faces.

Within minutes, the entire mansion was buzzing with activity.

〇

Despite the brisk southerly wind tinged with miasma, Camilla and Alois were greeted outside by all the mansion's servants.

Alongside the smiling servants, several soldiers also saluted their return. Some of the maids couldn't help but whisper to each other happily, whilst the cooks wondered just what kind of feast was in order. Everyone's faces were bright.

"Mistressssss!"

Nicole pushed her way through the circle of people surrounding them and ran straight into Camilla, who had barely stepped off the carriage.

"I-I'm so glad that you're okaaaaaay...!!"

Camilla didn't know what to say to Nicole, who bawled as she clung to her. As she gently stroked her head, she looked around at all the others.

Camilla looked at them all slightly incredulously. This was hardly the welcome she expected under the circumstances.

"What about the revolt? Is there still fighting going on? The Meyerheim and Ende families are in revolt, are they not!?"

After nearly losing her life in the royal capital, returning to this felt like a major anticlimax. She almost felt as if there was something shady going on.

"Ah, right, that. Nah, nothing of the sort. It's all wrapped up!"

As Camilla looked this way and that, she suddenly heard a frivolous sounding voice behind her. Camilla was startled by that sudden familiar voice.

"Klaus! What on earth are you doing here!?"

The Lörrich family were supposed to be in open rebellion against Alois. When she looked around more, she suddenly spotted two familiar faces in the group of soldiers. Two strong-looking men, with chestnut brown hair...

"Theo!? Leon!? Why are you not in Einst!?"

As Camilla looked at them in complete shock, Leon tried to keep a serious face whilst Theo just winked.

"Just what is all this...?"

"Apparently, the two of you are pretty popular. You managed to win over more than half of Mohnton to your side, and now that they're all alone, Falsch surrendered. We got that message this morning."

Camilla could only breathe as she looked at Klaus, mouth agape. Her thoughts couldn't catch up with what was being said. The three major noble houses of Mohnton rose up in rebellion, just how could that have all changed so quickly?

What's more, Falsch had surrendered. Was it a coincidence that it happened the morning Alois and Camilla had returned?

– No.

It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? As Camilla returned from the royal capital, they must have known the fate of the true heir to the title of Duke Montchat. With the loss of their master, they had also lost their reason to fight on.

"All's well that ends well, right! We're gonna have a celebration! You came back at just the right time!"

Pushing past Klaus, Günter beamed at her. Indicating just who would be in charge of the feast, he flexed his arms.

Then, he glanced behind Camilla.

"What the, I've never seen her before?"

Günter gazed at Diana, who made absolutely certain she would go with Camilla this time. It looked as if Günter was slightly stunned by her appearance.

"She's a beauty, ain't she...?"

"At least those eyes of yours aren't painted on, then."

With a fearless laugh, she stepped forward, but only to Camilla's side as she tapped on her shoulder.

"You really did get to live in a place like this, huh?"

Diana smiled as she cast a sidelong glance at Camilla. Then, still smiling, she looked around at the people surrounding Camilla. She looked at Günter and Klaus, then finally to Nicole, whose hairs stood on end like a cornered animal as she jumped backwards.

"J-Just who are you?"

"I'm Diana. I suppose you could say I'm Camilla's personal maid, or something like that."

"Maid!? I-I am the Mistress' maid!"

"Oh, that's right. I've heard a lot about the little puppy that she picked up!"

"Puppy...!?"

Nicole yelled, her face full of indignation.

Klaus couldn't hold back his laughter. Günter smiled and tried to reassure Nicole, which only drew the laughter of the cooks who didn't think that role suited him at all. The laughter was contagious, and before anyone knew it, it had spread to everyone.

Camilla, meanwhile, watched silently.

It really was a strange scene. Günter from the Brandt family, Klaus from the Lörrich family, Nicole from the Ende family and Theo and Leon from the Meyerheim family. What's more, all of them alongside people from the capital. People from all over Mohnton had gathered here. Even after hundreds of years, they all still gathered for the Montchat family.

Even though they weren't here, there were certainly lots of other people who had done everything they could. It was all so strange, but... she was happy.

"Camilla."

As she watched, Alois stood beside her. He also watched alongside her, without getting into the middle of what was quickly becoming a celebration.

"Camilla, I've gained all sorts of important things in this land. I've met a lot of people. People I became friends with, people who respected me."

"Lord Alois?"

"People who made sure I had a place to come back to. People who waited for me to return. I also met you and eventually came to know you. That's why..."

Alois smiled as he looked ahead. The air that pricked at his skin was still colder than the winds in the royal capital. It was a land where miasma travelled on the air throughout the year, and in the winter the ground would be covered in snow. Every time the wind blew, Alois' skin reacted painfully.

But, even so...

"I love this land. And, I love you. This place is yours as well."

Camilla looked back up at Alois. Alois, too, stared back at Camilla. At some point, they had taken each other's hands.

Not everything had been cleanly solved. Not everything had been achieved without sacrifice. There was also still resistance to Alois.

But, as she took Alois' strong hands, Camilla felt like they couldn't lose. No matter what happened in the future, they would be able to overcome anything together.

"I want to protect the things that I love. Camilla... I want to do that by your side, forever."

The wind blew and the clouds wisped overhead. Laughter echoed through the air. The morning light of the sun was dazzlingly bright. It almost shone on the wind itself.

Mohnton, which was once a land of shadows, was illuminated by the light of the dawn.