Chapter 42 Part 7 – Reinforcements. When the souls of the living and the dead intersect. Farewell …… and ……

「…. Wendell …. You see. Scarlet has the same red hair and red eyes as you. She is your daughter. So hug her like you wanted to be hugged when you were a child …..」
Mother smiled as she pulled her horse up beside father.
She, too, had seen father’s memory as a child through the power of the Ruby of God’s Eye.

「….. Here you go, Duke …..」

Mary smiled, turned me toward father, and gently held me out to him.
Father pulled his horse up to the edge of the boat and nervously took me.

Hahhh, you’re such a troublesome, silly father.
I have no choice but to open my arms and appeal to him to carry me.
Come to think of it, when my father was young, he also used to make an appeal using his whole body …..
Could it be that wanting to use body language is genetically passed down to me ……

「….. Go ahead and put your hands around the bottom and pull her toward you …..」

「….. I-is it like this …….」

Under mother’s guidance, father struggled to hold me.

Uwah, he’s really bad at this …..

Still, he somehow managed to awkwardly pull me to his chest.

Uhhh …. It’s so wobbly. I’m going to fall off!! I’m about to fall!!
You should hold me more firmly …..!!

I desperately clung to my father.

「Look ….. Scarlet is holding onto you like this …. I’m sure she loves you …..」

Mother smiled.

Mother, that’s a misunderstanding!!

「…. S-she’s so warm ……」

Father’s eyes widened in surprise.

That’s because I’m clinging onto you with all my strength!! Look at all the sweat on my forehead!!

「…. Don’t tell me. Scarlet. Did you pee on your pants at this critical moment ….」

Bradd muttered anxiously.

No way I’d do that!! You idiot!! A newborn’s body temperature is naturally high!!
Look, now father is trembling because of what you said!! I didn’t wet myself!!

However, father pulled me close to him with his trembling hands.
Mother nodded happily.

「…… This is my family …… my own family …..!!」

Something warm fell on my cheeks. This person is crying ….
He actually has those feelings. Unexpectedly ……

As I was puzzled, a vivid image popped into my mind as if the fog had suddenly cleared up.
A familiar deep forest …….
This is the territory of Melville, my mother’s parents’ house.
I can see my mother’s gravestone under the large tree.
There is still snow here and there in the forest.
Even so, the green freshly sprouted spring buds were peeking out from the ground.
This is …. my memory from the previous 「108 times」 ….?

I am standing there as a little girl, being pulled by my father’s hand.
Father cleared up the snow piled on mother’s gravestone with his bare hands.
His hands were still cold even after wiping off the water.
He never wore gloves when he touched the grave, no matter how cold it was.
After kneeling in front of the grave for a long time, Father stood up and had a sorrowful look.

「….. Father. Whenever father visits mother’s grave, you always apologize and look like you’re about to cry. Saying that father couldn’t make mother happy ….. Father, do I look like my late mother?」

At my question, father’s eyes widened in surprise, then he crouched down and nodded.

「Yes, Scarlet’s and your mother’s smiles are very similar ….」

「…. Really? Then I’m going to smile a lot more. If I do that, father can remember mother’s happy smile and feel happy. So father will smile more too.」

The young me smiled clumsily.
At that time, my baby teeth were in the process of changing, so I had a gap between my front teeth.

「I’m sure mother would want father to smile a lot too. Because everyone wants the person they love to smile all the time. Father loved mother’s smile, too, right?」

At that moment, I think father saw mother’s smile overlapping with mine.
Tears began to well up in father’s eyes as he looked at me.

「…. What’s wrong? Didn’t my smile look like mother’s?」

Seeing my panicked expression, father reached out his trembling hand, pulled me close, and hugged me tightly.

「Yes, Scarlet’s smile is just like your mother’s. Your kindness is also just like hers …. That’s right. Cornelia is still living on inside you. And I am your father ….. I almost …. lost sight of what’s important. I have the responsibility to make sure that you are happy. We are the only two people in this family. I’m sorry for making you worried.」

「… No, that’s not right. Not two people. Mother who is in heaven, father, and me. We have three people in our family ….」

I was trying to put my short hand around father’s neck, but he easily held me up with one hand and stood up.
Father smiled at me as I was making a fuss, delighted by his strength.

「….. You’re right. The three of us will always stay together. My dear little lady. I will be Scarlet’s knight and protect you until the day you meet the right man.」

The scene of my father brushing the snow on his cloak then looking up at the blue sky to make the oath was so cool that my heart fluttered. He held me up in his arms and elegantly kissed my forehead, making my face turn bright red.
I wanted to kiss him in return, but I suddenly remembered that I had a gap in my front teeth and covered my mouth.
As the daughter of such a wonderful father, I didn’t want to get close to him with the current condition of my teeth.
After all, it would be terrible if the memory of mother’s smile, which father said looked just like mine, were to be overshadowed by my gap-toothed teeth.
So instead of kissing him, I hugged him tightly.

Then father quietly smiled and spoke to mother’s grave.

「… I’m sorry, Cornelia. It’s going to be a while before I can apologize to you in the afterlife. Until the day when our beloved daughter can leave the nest ….. You left me a reason to live, even after your death. … I’ll come visit you again. At that time too, please give me the courage to do so.」

As if watching over us, the sunlight streamed through the large tree and brushed my cheeks with a gentle breeze.

W-What is this memory …..
That foolish duke actually behaved like my ideal father image ….!?
Then wouldn’t he be a perfect human being ….?

Recalling the memories of the past, my heart throbbed and I got flustered.
I felt a twinge in the bridge of my nose.

This must be my imagination. There’s no way that I’d have such a memory.

I told myself desperately and tried to keep my composure.
But I can’t hide the redness in my ears.
Bradd, Seraphy, and Mary laughed at my confused expression.

「I’m happy for you, little kid. It’s nice to see a child being hugged by her parents.」

「Bradd is also still a kid. But I’m really happy for you ….. The memory of being loved by your parents will be a treasure for a lifetime. It’s also a child’s job to be spoiled …. and that’s a blessing.」

Seraphy looked a little lonely.
Then I realized. Seraphy’s parents are no longer …..

「If it’s okay with you, I’ll give you a hug on behalf of your parents.」

Mary suddenly pulled Seraphy tightly to her chest from behind.
Despite being pressed from behind, Seraphy’s face was caught and buried in between her breasts.
Even though Seraphy is still young, what a destructive power ……!!

Bradd said cheerfully when he looked at Seraphy, who was quietly making a commotion after Mary’s surprise attack.

「It seems that he’s so moved he can’t utter a single word. Miss Mary, can you hug him even tighter?」

「Like this ……?」

Mary put even more strength into her hands that were hugging Seraphy from behind.

「Yup yup, this guy is actually a very shy person and it’s hard for him to voice out his true feelings. So it’s better to be more aggressive.」

No way that’s true! Just look at Seraphy, he’s already pale and limp!
…. Rather than his true feelings, it looks like his soul is about to come out!?

「….. So this is the power of the chosen one ……!!」

Mother dropped her eyes to her own chest and then broke out in a shuddering cold sweat.
The members of the Orange Privateers on the shore whistled and cheered.

Oh, I get it now. It’s the same old routine.
The conclusion has to be with comedy, not an emotional ending….
Though it’s a little unfortunate to have the ending be Seraphy buried in breasts.

For some reason, the Imperial Guards started applauding.
Including Matzo…….

「First of all, we would like to congratulate you on the reunion of your family.」

Matzo smiled and said so while glancing at the ruby pendant hanging on my chest.

Ohh, are they clapping for us, the duke’s family?
You guys witnessed my suspicious transformation right in front of your eyes and are actually giving priority to the reunion of my family?
They are really a bunch of good-natured knights.