135. Destiny and Constraints

Darius enthusiastically made pudding for several days. He made fruit pudding, caramel pudding, bread pudding, and finally even blood pudding. He became a pudding master, and I truly grew to hate pudding.

“Does Darius really…… think I like pudding?”

“My lady sometimes becomes blind with love and fails to notice the Grand Duke’s obvious lies.”

Apple said couples grow to resemble each other, but I couldn’t agree. When have I ever?

Meanwhile, Caitlyn, whose mood had suddenly improved lately, continued buying things, which clearly indicated support from the Pochet family.

It was strange that they had entrusted Caitlyn to me without coming to the capital themselves, but it seemed they were pouring money behind the scenes.

After several days of pudding hell ended, I picked up a pen. It was a letter to Margarita, whom I had “coincidentally” met at the temple.

One of my goals in coming to the capital was to find a sacred artifact that could extend Darius’s lifespan.

Since Margarita was deeply connected to the Great Temple, talking with her might provide clues about sacred artifacts.

‘Sylphid said he would let me know if he remembered anything.’

Forget sacred artifacts—I could hardly even see Sylphid since coming to the capital.

Whoosh, the wind tickled my hair. Turning toward the sudden breeze, I saw a blue-haired young man leaning against the wall, quietly watching me.

“Sylphid.”

Seeing him brought both joy and disappointment at once.

“Why has it been so long since we’ve seen each other?”

「I was resting because my energy was depleted.」

“I guess watching me lately hasn’t been entertaining. Yet you never miss joining in on the fun things.”

「Using such great power in the Northern Mountains wasn’t easy for me either. I took on more burden trying to keep Darius alive somehow.」

Perhaps because spirits don’t feel fatigue like humans, Sylphid appeared outwardly calm.

「I was going to rest and wait for my body to recover, but seeing that my strength isn’t recovering easily even as time passes here, I think I’ll need to return to the spirit realm.」

“When will you come back if you go?”

「I don’t know.」

Woo, my cheeks puffed out at his words about leaving right after we met.

I grabbed Sylphid’s arm and sulked like a granddaughter seeing her grandfather after a long time.

「When I depart for the spirit realm, I won’t respond to summons for a while. So don’t worry if I don’t answer when you call.」

Thump. Though I didn’t show it, my heart sank at hearing that Sylphid was leaving because he wasn’t feeling well. I buried my head against his arm that I was holding and pouted without saying anything.

“How long do spirits live?”

「As long as they want to live.」

The gentle hand stroking my head showed no intention of revealing anything about his lifespan.

A blue energy like water mist gathered around Sylphid and then dispersed repeatedly. It was a mystical sight that reminded me once again that Sylphid was not human.

“I’m meeting someone from the Great Temple. Please tell me if there’s a sacred artifact there that Darius needs.”

「What you’re looking for won’t be at the Great Temple.」

“But temples are synonymous with healing.”

「What can I do if it’s not there?」

Squeeze, my fist clenched anxiously.

After Sylphid had comforted me and talked about sacred artifacts, he never brought up the topic again. So I didn’t just sit still but searched everywhere I could, yet I couldn’t find any mention of the sacred artifact he had spoken of.

What if Sylphid had lied to comfort me? What if there never was a sacred artifact that could extend a shortened lifespan……

「It’s okay if you don’t find a sacred artifact.」

“What?”

「Darius is a hero with a mission. What matters in his life is whether he defeats the demon king or not, not how much life he has left.」

Sylphid continued.

「No matter how many days his physical body has left, if Darius doesn’t defeat the demon king, would the demon king spare his life?」

If he doesn’t defeat the demon king, Darius will die regardless of how much lifespan he has left.

My mind went blank at these unexpected words.

“But you told me to find a sacred artifact.”

「It would be good if you could find one. You could go to defeat the demon king in a more prepared state.」

Was it because he was going to die anyway that you so unhesitatingly threw away Darius’s life? I was on the verge of blurting this out in response to Sylphid’s calm declaration.

「The world won’t abandon a hero who defeats the demon king. Remember Grand Duke Inkheart’s treasure vault you opened? Just as equipment is prepared for the hero who will defeat the demon king, there will certainly be a reward for the hero who defeats him. And that will surely be what you want.」

The hero who defeated the demon king lived happily ever after.

That’s what Sylphid was talking about.

「The princess who will live with the hero is already here, so all that’s left is to defeat the demon king and live happily for a long time.」

Sylphid added mischievously.

My body slid down the wall. My heart, which had risen and fallen several times today, was still beating wildly.

“Will everything really end once the demon king is defeated?”

「Of course.」

“Really?”

「Even if Darius doesn’t live long after defeating the demon king, I’ll use my power to make him live a long life.」

Sylphid promised confidently.

“Then do it now.”

Why wait until the demon king is defeated?

「All conditions must be met.」

Sylphid said with a somewhat bitter expression.

「Divine beings have certain constraints when using their powers. That’s also why I don’t want you to rely on prophecies or sacred artifacts. You’d be surprised if you knew the things I can’t tell you right now.」

“What are you hiding from me?”

「Well, for example.」

Sylphid bent down and pretended to whisper a secret in my ear. I perked up my ears in curiosity, but in the end, all that came out was wordplay saying he couldn’t tell me because constraints are constraints.

Ah! I got annoyed for having expected something.

“When are you going to the spirit realm?”

「Right now.」

When I looked up in surprise, Sylphid was already gone. So you surprise me as much as you can and then leave after saying what you wanted to say?

“Ah, really……”

I remained still for a while after Sylphid left, then summoned a sylph.

Looking at the sylph that couldn’t stay still and kept moving around in front of me, I burst into laughter.

“He’s a seemingly cold yet caring grandfather, really.”

I could feel that summoning even one sylph required more spirit power than usual. It was because Sylphid’s protection was gone. Only then did it sink in that Sylphid, who had always been watching over me from somewhere in the world, was gone.

* * *

Boyer was reading Anette’s letter. It was a letter expressing gratitude for his efforts, saying that Darius, who had successfully proposed, had told her about Boyer’s contribution, thanking him for the labor of personally mining a diamond for her.

“Have you finished eating?”

While Boyer was taking a break and reading Anette’s letter, Ann, who had recently returned from the capital, asked her father while washing dishes.

The daughter who had said she wanted to experience the city seemed to have somehow managed to establish herself in the city without her father’s help, but now that she was back, home seemed comfortable to her.

Boyer felt warmth returning to his life with his daughter’s return, after his household had become sparse with his wife’s death and his daughter’s departure.

“Are you reading that letter from the Grand Duke’s household again? You read that precious letter so often, the paper will wear out.”

Boyer awkwardly grumbled at his daughter’s teasing.

“But why didn’t you tell me? About the orichalcum you found. In that diamond mine.”

Ann looked at her father strangely, saying, “The Grand Duke and his wife would be so happy to hear that orichalcum was found in a mine that’s already profitable with just diamonds.”

The pink diamond Boyer discovered was found alongside orichalcum. After hammering away at the mine with a pickaxe for quite some time, he finally spotted a rock.

〈That’s it.〉

When Boyer excavated the rock after struggling with it for half a day, what appeared before his eyes was a brilliant radiance. The rock that had seemed like an ordinary boulder revealed an unprecedented core when its outer layer was broken with great effort.

It was shining more brightly than cut diamonds despite being in its raw state.

That’s why Boyer couldn’t help but think of orichalcum, said to be the greatest of all minerals, when he saw that mineral.

“I haven’t yet succeeded in refining the orichalcum.”

Boyer gruffly answered Ann after finishing his recollection of that day.

“I’ll tell the Grand Duke and his wife when I can successfully work with orichalcum. I’m not a petty man who gets excited over mere possibilities.”

“Are you afraid you might fail at refining it?”

“Quiet!”

* * *

When I arranged a meeting with Margarita, the temple provided their best reception room. It was a room with a good view, with large windows that let in plenty of sunlight.

Darius didn’t accompany me to today’s appointment. He still harbored resentment over the Great Temple supporting Margarita and interfering with our marriage registration.

Margarita welcomed me with a friendly attitude, unlike someone who had had an unpleasant incident with the Inkhearts.

The sound of the noon fountain smoothly filled the awkward silence between us. Margarita didn’t miss this opportunity and handed me a small box.

“I prepared a gift because I wanted to become friends with the Grand Duchess. I hope this gift will end the misunderstanding between us.”

When I opened the carefully packaged velvet box, I saw something that looked like a long bone fragment.

“It’s a saint’s remains. A sacred relic. They say it’s the finger bone of St. Dismas, who was martyred.”

Let me correct myself. It wasn’t something that looked like a bone—it was actually a bone. Giving someone a human finger as a gift of goodwill!