'Yes, that's what I wanted to hear.'

She wanted an apology from Phillip.

She hoped that Phillip would apologize for his mistake.

Even if Phillip was no longer in this world, she hoped she could hear it from Richard.

Ser slumped down to the ground. The lights surrounded her as if trying to console her.

The Macul were a combination of her powers, fragments of her memories and feelings.

When Phillip sealed her inside, many pieces of her memories were shattered while she struggled to get out, and even more of her memories shattered when she saved Ancia.

When Ser was ready to accept everything, pieces of her began to flow back into her.

But Shell, who had the biggest piece of her heart, refused to be absorbed by her.

Shell drew a big circle and fluttered around Ser instead.

She had created a space. Ser could see Ancia and Blake inside of it.

Blake gave the medicine to Ancia without any hesitation.

Thanks to his choice, he would lose his life soon but he showed no signs of fear.

His thoughts were only about saving Ancia. Tears poured down Serphania's face when she saw it.

She thought she wanted to get an apology first, yet she wanted to just forgive them now.

She didn't want revenge. She didn't even want to kill anyone.

What Serphania really wanted was not an apology, rather, she wanted to forgive.

She wanted to forgive Phillip.

She wanted to be free from the past.

Actually, she knew it.

Laontel and the Crown Prince were different from her and Phillip.

Their love was not shallow.

After all, in the first place, Phillip didn't love her.

So it couldn't be the same as their relationship.

What they had was true love.

She didn't want to admit it so she kept on insisting on her views like a child.

She told herself that she needed to protect her only friend and always emphasized that there was no such thing as true love.

She couldn't let Laontel be tricked like her.

But, she knew it very well.

It was Phillip who hurt her.

But it was also her fault that she was deceived by him and handed her power over to him.

She said she wanted to kill him but she didn't even try.

She couldn't even do it to Blake.

She lied to herself by saying that she left Blake alone because he was annoying. But in fact, she let him be because she knew of the pain he had suffered before.

She wanted to atone for that.

All of the lights that had scattered came into her.

Serphania remembered everything.

Her feelings were restored to its original state, but she no longer had the strength to get up.

"I'm sorry, Laon...I'm sorry."

***

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

I heard a cry somewhere.

It was Ser's voice.

I looked in the direction of the voice.

Then, I saw Ser crying sadly as she squatted on the ground.

I could no longer sense any of the madness and pain from her.

She seemed very innocent, like the Ser from a thousand years ago.

"Ser..."

"Laon, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

The scars that covered the left side of Ser's face were gone. Her face, voice and expression were the same as a thousand years ago.

"Is everything alright?"

"Laon, Laon..."

I hugged Ser as she bawled her eyes out.

"Ser, don't cry."

"Sorry, I'm so sorry."

Ser kept apologizing. She sincerely asked for my forgiveness.

I could feel the pain and loneliness in her.

"Ser, I'll always be by your side. We're friends forever."

"...Thank you. Thank you very much."

She embraced me as she cried.

"I didn't mean it...I'm so sorry."

Ser apologized again and again.

***

I dreamed of Ser.

Ser kept apologizing to me. I could still remember her voice in my dream.

But it didn't feel like a dream. It felt like it really happened.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I felt the rays of the warm morning sun on my skin.

This was Amoria Palace. Why was I sleeping here?

I remembered something.

Blake recognized me as Ancia. We kissed too. I wanted to say a lot of things to Blake back then.

I missed him so badly.

But suddenly, my fever went up and I lost consciousness.

Blake must've been very worried about me.

I have to tell him I'm alright.

When I hurriedly got up, I saw Blake lying on the floor.

"Blake!"

I approached him. I could speak now.

But that didn't matter right now.

I hugged Blake in a hurry.

"Blake, Blake!"

Why was he here?

I tried to wake him up, when the medicine bottle next to him caught my eyes.

Ser apologized to me in my dreams, but it felt real.

What happened while I was away?

Was I going to lose Blake again the same way I lost Rakshul?

"Blake, wake up! Please wake up! Open your eyes!"

I called out to him desperately.

Even though I was going to die soon, I was scared.

Seeing Blake collapsed on the ground, the pain I felt was incomparable to my impending death.

I felt suffocated and my whole body was burning up.

I desperately called his name once more, when suddenly, a warm hand wrapped around my body.

"Why are you crying again?"

Blake woke up and wiped my tears away with his hand.

"Blake are you alright? Why did you collapse? Are you sick?"

"Don't cry. It's nothing. I just fell off the bed while sleeping."

"What?"

He fell off the bed?

That couldn't be it.

I couldn't believe it so I glared at him. Blake snorted and hugged me.

"It's been a while since I slept with my wife. I must've been nervous."

"Is that true?"

"Yes."

He kissed my hands.

The hand that Blake kissed was surprisingly pristine, with no hint of ever having any scars.

I was surprised.

Where did the scars go?

Come to think of it, I was so shocked when I saw Blake collapsed that I didn't notice it. I could speak now.

Moreover, my hair was golden.

I looked into the mirror. The reflection of the woman looking back at me had blonde hair and emerald eyes.

It was me.

It was my original body.

"Blake, I'm back..."

"You're late."

He smiled brightly.

But there were tears in his eyes.

"You said you'd be back sooner."

"I'm sorry."

I'm finally back.

After seven years since I left, my body and soul had completely returned.

Blake hugged me again as I burst into tears.

***

We lay in bed in each other's embrace for a long time.

Blake used to be the one enveloped in my embrace when we were kids, but now, I was the one covered by his arms instead.

"I'm sorry. I should've recognized you sooner."

Blake apologized again.

"You recognized me."

Blake recognized me even though I denied it desperately. But I had always waited for this moment.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I should've told you sooner."

"You don't have to be sorry. Don't say that. It was all because of me."

He said he met Ser and saw everything I experienced.

I had wandered through the door of darkness for seven years and he also knew that I rejected Ser's offer to save myself.

Though he said all of these things to me lightly, I was sure that he was severely blaming himself.

"Don't say that, Blake..."

"But..."

Blake was about to blame himself.

I held his hands and said sweetly, "From now on, let's not be guilty towards each other and move on."

I didn't want him to keep apologizing to me.

Blake didn't do anything wrong, so there was no reason for him to apologize.

"Okay, let's do that."

He nodded when I said so.

Blake's arm hung over my shoulders.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and looked around the room.

I try to read some of the titles on the bookshelf and surprisingly, I found that I could read the imperial language as well as ancient ones.

I also felt no pain at all and didn't even cough anymore.

I closed my eyes and felt the power of light flowing in my body.

The light was much stronger than it was seven years ago.

Ser didn't only give me her blessing, she gave me some of her strength too.

Now I didn't have to be afraid of death or leave Blake's side.

But I was still worried about one thing.

"Blake, are you really okay?"

"What?"

"Did nothing really happen to your body?"

I couldn't believe it.

When I heard that Blake met Ser after I collapsed, I felt uneasy thinking about it.

Ser apologized to me, but I wasn't sure if it was a dream or not.

Besides, regardless of our relationship, she never liked Blake.

"I actually had a dream."

"A dream?"

"Yes, the goddess of light appeared and asked to meet you."

Did he mean that Ser asked for me?

Maybe it really wasn't a dream since both of us met her.

"She also asked me to protect you for the rest of my life on her behalf. If I didn't do it, she said she would really kill me."

"Then, what else did she say?"

Maybe she asked Blake for his life. I felt afraid when I thought of her threats before. My heart quickly sank.

But before I could say anything again, Blake grinned.

"Nothing happened. She only told me to be nice to you."

"Really?"

"Yes, or else, she's going to take away all of my powers."

"You should really treat me nicely then."

When I joked, he held my hands tightly.

"I will be nice to you. I'll never let go of this hand again."

His fingers were intertwined with mine as we clasped our hands tightly.

I also tightened my grip.

I wouldn't let go of his hand either.

"I love you."

I whispered shyly as I said what I always wanted to say when I was Rose.

Now, I could say whatever I wanted to say.

Blake was surprised by my sudden confession and became silent for a moment.

But soon, he smiled mischievously.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you well."

"......"

In contrast to his beautiful smile, the words that came out of his mouth were playful.

This is why I shouldnt have teased him before.

Now the words I used to say when we were children came back to me.

"...I love you."

I was embarrassed to say it again so my voice became quieter.

"Tell me louder."

"......"

"Ancia come on."

He carefully touched my lower lips with his fingers.

His mischievous expression had disappeared at some point, instead it was replaced by a beastly look in his eyes.

I answered as he kept urging me.

"I love you."

At that moment, our lips overlapped.

It was another sweet kiss, just like the one from yesterday.