Chapter 526: Chapter 526- Diana’s Resolve (2)

Inside, the King and Queen of Aetherion sat together in silence. Despite all the opulence of the room, the place was dimly lit, as if something had swept away all the warmth, liveliness, and laughter, leaving behind a uselessly large room that felt suffocatingly empty.

"Haha, my joints are paining. I don’t think I have done any strenuous activity today." The King leaned back against the frame of the bed and spoke while massaging his shoulder joints.

"You are getting on in years, my dear. You are no longer young like you used to be." The Queen spoke from the side, helping her husband massage his aching shoulders.

Just as she said, the King of Aetherion looked much older than he did just three months ago. His broad frame had noticeably thinned, fine lines traced his face, and he had more silver hair than before.

Even the fierce aura of diplomacy and politics he carried before seemed to have dulled, as if time had carved years into his bones.

The Queen was not much different either. Her once beautiful and healthy glow was gone, replaced by hollowed cheeks and dark circles under her eyes.

Grief did not always announce itself loudly; sometimes it simply eroded.

Looking at them right now, one wouldn’t be able to differentiate them from an old, ordinary couple who were simply passing their time in empty idleness. The King smiled at his wife’s retort, and the Queen did the same.

However, there was no hiding the pain that they were both concealing behind their smiles.

The old couple was just about to retire early when...

"Father... Mother..." A voice echoed in the room.

At that very instant, the King and Queen froze. The latter immediately shot to his feet and looked around the room. "Diana?!" he called out.

"My child, where are you?!" the Queen cried, tears streaming down her face.

They searched for her desperately, behind curtains, near the doors, even in the shadows in the corners. However, she was nowhere to be found.

"I’m sorry, please don’t look for me. You won’t find me." The voice said softly.

As if his hope was crushed, the King fell down on his haunches. "Is this... are we dreaming?"

The daughter he missed so dearly, the daughter who had one day up and disappeared without a trace. It had been eating away at him all these months, not knowing whether she lived or died.

"Father, Mother... please don’t worry." Diana answered, her voice teary just like her parents. "I’m alive. I’m safe. I’ve been living... well."

The Queen covered her mouth, sobbing openly now. "Then come back. Please, come back to us. We can fix everything. Whatever you want, we’ll listen this time."

"Yes," the King added hoarsely. "Your mother is right. Come home. You don’t need to run anymore."

For a while, an unnatural silence followed. Diana, after a short pause, spoke again, her voice carrying her resolve.

"Father, Mother... I miss you both more than I can say. Every single day for the past three months, I thought about you two. By disappearing suddenly, I made you all worry. Today when I came to the capital, I desperately wanted to see you two no matter what."

At the end of her sentence, her voice began shaking. A tone of longing surfaced from her. "And now that I have seen you two, I want to return more than ever. However, I know that I am not strong yet. If I come back now the way I am, I’ll break. Father, Mother... I know I am being selfish. But please allow your daughter to be away from home for a little longer"...

"I promise you two that when I come back, I’ll be stronger like you both. So please don’t ruin your health because of me. I love you two. I haven’t abandoned you. I just... need time to learn how to stand again."

With that, her voice was gone.

"As long as you live... as long as you can speak to us... That is enough." The King closed his eyes, shedding silent tears.

By his side, the Queen sank to her knees, pressing her forehead on the bed.

"We will wait, however long it takes."

The room, which had become empty and cold, began to flow with warmth once again.

At this moment, a small white snake, camouflaging itself perfectly with the environment around it, slowly made its way out of the bedchamber. Neither the King nor the Queen was able to notice its presence or the fact that Diana’s voice, which they heard earlier, came from it.

.

High above the palace grounds, on the roof of a quiet annex, Reinhardt stood beside Diana. The night breeze brushed past them, cool and gentle, carrying with it the fresh scent of waterfalls and petrichor.

The latter wiped the last of the tears from her cheeks. Her breathing steadied. The tightness that had weighed on her chest for so long was gone, as though a chain she had carried without realising had finally been unfastened.

"...I feel lighter," she spoke with a faint smile.

When she turned toward Reinhardt, the atmosphere around her had changed. The deep sorrow that had practically covered her body earlier was gone, replaced by a gentle, calming aura like that of a blooming flower. At this moment, in this time, she looked like a night sunflower... radiant and beautiful.

Reinhardt’s eyes glossed over for a fraction of a second.

"Sir Reinhardt, you really do have some unusual means." Diana smiled and glanced at the small white snake that had climbed onto the Divine Paladin’s shoulder, coiling comfortably near his neck as if it belonged there.

Its gemstone-like eyes shone with mild curiosity; its tongue flickered every now and then. Looking at it, the creature appeared quite adorable.

Diana tilted her head, charmed by the little creature.

"That... what is it?" She hesitated before asking.

Reinhardt reached up casually, letting the snake coil around his fingers. "She is one of my summons. Meet Eidolon."

At her introduction, the snake let out an adorable kyu~, her scales glowing with a prismatic light.

The plan that Reinhardt came up with earlier was precisely to use the distant communication ability of the Eidolon to allow the princess to talk with her mother and father. This way, she could hear their voices and speak her thoughts without actually needing to meet them in person.

Additionally, thanks to the concealment ability of Eidolon Seraphi, it could easily sneak into the bedchambers of the King and Queen of Aetherion without alerting the guards or triggering any mechanisms.

Diana caressed the Eidolon, who now settled onto her palm, looking at her with its big, oval eyes. "Thank you."

"Hm?"

"Thank you for encouraging me and going along with my selfish demands. It is the duty of a royal to reward a knight; however, right now I don’t have anything. But I’ll surely reward you one day." The princess spoke, tearing her eyes away from Eidolon to thank him.

"There is no need for the princess to thank me. I helped you out because I wanted to."

Diana lowered her gaze; for a brief while, she felt at peace. The pressure that had been weighing down on her since leaving Aetherion disappeared completely. The night felt... gentle.

After that, they exchanged a few light words, talking about small, mundane things. Reinhardt asked what she wished to do next. Since it wasn’t every day they got to tour Aetherion at night.

"There is still time. We could walk a little more. I heard the capital of Aetherion looks extremely beautiful at night."

The place was known as the City of Water, and even at night, it was a breathtaking sight to behold.

Diana hesitated; then something flashed past her mind and she couldn’t help but give a shy nod. "If... if it’s not too much trouble, I would like to try a few more street foods before heading back."

For someone who had lived her entire life within palace walls, bound by etiquette and watchful eyes, a commoner’s palate would have been the last thing she would have been allowed to touch.

Even the thought of it would have never surfaced in her mind. However, now that she was living away from the palace without the identity of the princess, she felt a little daring. And trying the commoner’s food like today would be her first step towards becoming strong.

Reinhardt smiled faintly. He was about to head to the market with the princess in tow when his expression changed.

The next instant, before Diana could react, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her sharply against his chest.

"W-What?" The latter, caught unprepared, could only helplessly dive towards his chest. His masculine scent and frame enveloped her.

Immediately, her breath caught, and an embarrassed yelp escaped her lips. However, before she could say anything else, the world twisted and the two of them vanished from their place.

A cold breeze passed by the area they were in just a moment ago, rustling the fallen leaves.