The Regressor and the Blind Saint-Chapter 277: After Story: And So They Were (1)

Amidst peaceful days, small incidents and accidents naturally wove themselves into daily life.

Elia’s beloved children, cherished by many, filled the city with laughter, while the apostles dutifully fulfilled their roles in their respective places—such were the passing days.

Seated in his office with a full view of Elia, Vera was, as always, busy handling an overwhelming workload.

Some might say, ‘Why make such a big deal out of ruling a city-state with just one fortress?’ But anyone who thinks that clearly doesn’t know Elia at all.

...Another invoice?

What else could it be?

The people of Elia were certainly an unconventional bunch.

The twins, who got into trouble nearly every day; Rohan, who would leave taverns without paying, and Trevor, who secretly ordered all kinds of equipment for his mysterious experiments.

Dealing with them alone was already a handful, but now, Vargo, who had taken an interest in growing flowers worth dozens of gold coins apiece, kept pestering Vera.

His brows furrowed instinctively, and a long sigh slipped out.

On top of these issues, the recent opening of the city gates brought a wave of diplomatic problems, leaving Vera with hardly enough hours in the day.

And yet, this was the reason he couldn’t stop working even as he was constantly berated for neglecting his family.

This wasn’t quite the life he had wished for.

In the midst of these thoughts, one thing was certain—he still couldn’t stop working.

『Sir Lennon has started studying mathematics. He is advancing at a remarkable pace, showing particular talent in geometric spatial calculations.

Lady Leni broke a wooden sword during training. We’re starting to run low on them, so we’ll probably need to order more soon.』

As Vera flipped through the reports, his hands paused when he came across news about his children.

Before he knew it, a smile had crept onto his lips.

Watching the precious fruits of his love—so dear he wouldn’t mind holding them in his very eyes—grow strong and healthy, how could he not feel the urge time and again to push forward just a little more?

Vera picked up his pen again and signed at the bottom of the report.

As he was about to flip to the next report once again, a concern suddenly came to mind.

...Now that I think about it...

He promised himself he would make time for a trip with Renee with just the two of them, but it still hadn’t happened.

With the princess’s studies abroad and joint training with Oben, it was only natural that he hadn’t been able to find the time. But now that those were over, that was no longer the case.

“Hmm...”

Vera checked his schedule.

How could he make some time?

As he continued to think it over, he realized that he could free up some time in the near future.

...This should work.

Maybe he could finally take it easy for once.

A look of satisfaction began to surface on Vera’s face.

His once heavy, rigid shoulders had begun to loosen before he knew it.

The thoughts that came to mind were far more delightful worries than before.

It was a matter of how he should relay it to Renee.

*The cabin in the northern forest was quiet as always.

Even in the snow-covered expanse of Elia where silence lingered, the faint rustling of branches in the wind and the occasional chirp of resting birds barely disturbed the stillness, making this place feel like another world.

In the midst of it, Renee spread out the overdue laundry in the yard and exhaled sharply.

Finally done.

Renee closed her eyes.

The forest breeze cooled the beads of sweat forming on her skin.

The sunlight poured down with a gentle warmth, ensuring that she felt no discomfort even as the cool breeze dried her sweat.

Renee savored the rare moment of leisure while Vera was swamped with work and the children were busy with their daily tasks, a joy she hadn’t felt in a long time, and made her way to the kitchen.

At the highest shelf, a secret that even Vera didn’t know was hidden.

Inside the tea filters which were carefully stacked were undeniably suspicious brown tea bags. They were none other than tea bags of the rare ‘Salt and Pepper Tea’.

Thank you, Albrecht!

Renee’s face was radiant with joy

The first time she visited the empire, she and Vera had gone to a restaurant called ‘The Salt’s Whisper.

Each year, a small package of tea bags arrived from that restaurant through the imperial court, a secret treasure known only to Renee.

She boiled water and steeped the tea bag.

Still savoring the aroma, she wore a deep, contented smile.

The pure white woman, basking in the tranquility of the afternoon, looked like a painting come to life.

“Hmm-hmm.”

Humming softly, she took a moment to savor the aroma before finally lifting the teacup for a small sip. As the warmth spread through her, her cheeks flushed, and pure delight filled her expression.

“This is it.”

This is the taste of life.

Lately, these quiet moments alone had become all the more precious.

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Day after day, Vera grew more exhausted, and the children never failed to come home with new scrapes and bruises, keeping her busy enough as it was. But on top of that, she also had to handle a constant stream of requests thanks to her damned position.

Even if she had two bodies, it still wouldn’t be enough—so it was no wonder that she found happiness in moments like these.

A sudden thought surfaced while she was smiling to herself, making her sigh in exasperation.

Do these constant hair loss treatment requests ever stop?

Where had it all gone wrong?

When she was in labor, she had unintentionally yanked out some of Vera’s hair and later healed his scalp. Somehow, that incident had spiraled into a wild rumor that ‘the saint can cure baldness!’

...It wasn’t entirely untrue.

Technically, she could even revive dead hair follicles if she overused just a bit of divine power.

However, it wasn’t as if bald men were in short supply.

And just how many among them desperately begged her to bring back their hair?

After carefully picking a handful of cases to grant, she had unknowingly set off a chain reaction where bald men were now pouring in like clockwork every year.

All those gleaming, bald heads.

Of course, she felt sorry for them—but at this point, she really didn’t want to see any more.

...No, of all things, why am I wasting my time thinking about this now?

There was no way she was going to waste her precious break on some pointless, intrusive thought.

Just as Renee took another sip of tea, having put the thought behind her, the cabin door swung open.

“Renee?”

It was Vera’s voice.

Renee’s eyes went wide.

Her gaze snapped to the teacup hovering at her lips.

I’ve been caught!

The Salt and Pepper Tea was going to be exposed!

Before she knew it, she was already moving.

“Gasp!”

Divine power surged up, wrapping around the teacup.

The once-warm tea instantly turned ice cold.

Renee downed it in a single gulp and burned the tea bag to ash, erasing every last trace.

It was a waste, but she had no choice.

No matter what, this was the one thing she wanted to keep as her own little secret!

“...Renee?”

By the time Vera, now inside, called her name again from the kitchen, Renee swiftly turned her head and greeted him with a bright smile.

“Oh, welcome home! You’re home early today?”

Seeing her bright smile, Vera smiled softly in return.

“I came because I wanted to see you.”

What left his lips was a whispered sweetness.

Renee’s eyes widened before she let out a soft snort of laughter, breaking into a smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Be honest. Did you do something wrong?”

“Was I ever that untrustworthy?”

“You’re not exactly brimming with trustworthiness, are you? You always say promises are nothing more than wordplay.”

A playful smile spread across Renee’s face.

Though she was playfully scolding him, she couldn’t hide how pleased she was by his affectionate words.

Renee stood up and embraced Vera.

Vera held her in return, his smile growing even warmer.

“What were you doing? I saw the laundry hanging outside—were you, by any chance, waiting for it to dry?”

“Uh... yeah? That’s right?”

Renee shuddered just a little, but Vera thankfully didn’t seem to notice anything off.

For someone as sharp as him, it was almost strange that he hadn’t noticed, but given the situation, the reason was obvious.

A rare moment just for the two of them.

Sweet words exchanged in an embrace.

Though they were already a couple with seven-year-old twins, the love they had for each other was so overwhelming that in moments like these, it was as if they were taken back to the time they first met, completely swept up in that same excitement.

Vera’s cheeks turned slightly red.

“Lately, I’ve been so busy with work that we haven’t spent much time together. That’s been weighing on my mind, so I came to see you.”

“Hmm, I like that.”

Renee closed her eyes and took in his presence.

The steady thump of his heartbeat, his scent curling into her nose, and even the slight chill of his skin.

All these familiar thrills washed over her, and she held them close in her heart as she let out a quiet sigh of happiness. Meanwhile, Vera ran his hand down her back, his lips parting slightly as if hesitating.

Of course, it was because he wanted to suggest a trip for just the two of them.

A brief hesitation.

And with excitement in his heart, Vera carefully chose his words before finally resolving himself and parting his lips to speak.

“So, here’s the thing.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think about taking a short trip?”

Renee lifted her head.

Their eyes met.

Oh, he must mean a trip with the family.

Just as Renee came to that conclusion and was about to reply, Vera spoke again.

“Just the two of us. For about a week.”

Pause—

Renee’s body stiffened.

Her expression went blank, and a blush slowly rose to the surface, gradually painting her face red.

Seeing her face, Vera burst into a cheerful laugh before continuing.

“It just so happens that I found a way to take that much time off. The minor tasks can be left to Trevor, and as for the children, I’ve already asked Lady Theresa to look after them.

Since it’s only a short trip, we can’t go too far... but luckily, among the imperial gifts from the princess’s study abroad, there’s a magitech-powered automatic carriage. With that, we should be able to make it to Remeo and back.”

Everything was already prepared; he just needed her approval.

Ultimately, his long-winded reasoning only made a bright smile slowly spread across Renee’s face.

Time for just the two of them.

She felt a little guilty about the kids, but no other words carried such a sweet ring to them.

“Alright!”

Hearing her elated response, Vera let out a laugh.

“Then, we’ll leave in exactly a week.”

Eight years into their marriage and having been swamped with parenting all this time, they were finally about to experience something that could truly be called a date.

*The gates of Elia were bustling with activity.

The apostles, the very pillars of Elia, along with several holy knights and even their two children, Lennon and Leni, had all gathered to see them off. The entire area buzzed with energy.

“So this is that so-called automatic carriage?”

Vargo narrowed his eyes as he examined the pristine white carriage.

A strangely shaped four-wheeled carriage that ran without a horse.

From what he heard, it was a device powered by magitech.

After inspecting the carriage from various angles for quite some time, Vargo clicked his tongue and turned away.

“Tsk, young folks these days. A carriage isn’t a carriage without a horse, but now they insist on making all these strange contraptions.”

“This is what we call progress.”

“Progress, my foot. Get too caught up in strange things, and you end up forgetting your roots.”

While Vargo was busy arguing Theresa.

Trevor, Jenny, and Annalise were deep in discussion about the carriage’s structure.

The twins were being scolded by Aisha, while Rohan simply gazed longingly at the carriage.

Just looking at the scene, Vera was already dreading the chaos waiting for them when they got back, while Renee let out a snort of laughter, clearly enjoying the moment.

“Alright, we’re off.”

Her voice was filled with energy.

Renee, thrilled about their long-overdue date, spoke up, and Lennon and Leni, who stood beside Marie, chimed in.

“Have a great time! I’ll be studying hard!”

“Travel safely.”

Seeing the children’s bright smiles, a flicker of worry rose in her chest, but she quickly shook it off.

“You have to listen to Lady Theresa, okay? Tell someone right away if you’re not feeling well. And no picky eating.”

No picky eating.

At those words, the twins took on completely opposite expressions.

Lennon made a sullen face, showing his disappointment at not being able to eat Renee’s cooking, while Leni nodded brightly.

“Let’s get going.”

Vera spoke.

Renee nodded and followed Vera’s lead into the passenger seat. He then plopped himself into the driver’s seat as the gathered people at Elia’s gate waved them off.

“We’ll be going now.”

As soon as Vera finished speaking and started up the carriage, a deep hum filled the air, and the vehicle gave a slight lurch.

Their destination was Remeo.

With everything finally behind them and their long-awaited happiness at last in their grasp, the two made their way to the place where their story began.